A sober nod is his response.
“When was this?”Rick asks.“How old is that information?”
“Apparently, this was about a month ago.Which would fit the timeline of events here in Silence.”
“Do we know who he sent out?”Savvy wants to know.“Names, pictures, anything to help us look?”
“Yes,” Mancuso confirms as he bends down to pull some papers from a briefcase by his feet.
He hands out copies of what looks to be a gang hierarchy, listing known gang members and, if known, their role in the organization.I’m shocked at the size.There are easily thirty or so names listed in the upper echelon of the Squad alone.That’s not counting the second page with another list of names marked as foot soldiers.It looks like the Lee brothers did okay for themselves with the large network they built.
“I’ll forward a link to a secure cloud folder that holds all the individual profiles, but the file was too big to print out.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Savvy thanks him.
“One other thing,” Mancuso mentions.“My boss was pushing for us to take over this investigation…”
I can almost hear Rick Althof’s teeth grinding.Although our office has always welcomed outside help, nobody is a fan of getting booted off their own investigation.
“But I’ve been able to convince him to hold off and let me stick around here to keep a finger on the pulse and help out where I can.”
The help is very welcome.
Especially since Savvy informed me earlier it looks like we’re going to have to wait to approach Tessa Androtti with an offer to join our department.One of the county commissioners has to undergo some kind of medical treatment, so this week’s scheduled meeting was postponed.
In all honesty, I wouldn’t object if the FBI decided to take over the entire investigation, because that would allow me to focus on keeping Bess safe.Heck, I could take her away somewhere; we could lay low until any threat is eliminated.
That wouldn’t be bad; maybe somewhere warm, with a beach, and with only the bare minimum of clothing needed, if any.
I’m rudely yanked from my daytime fantasies when Savvy calls me to attention.
“Hey, Hugo.I said, are you on board?”
My blank look betrays my ignorance on the subject.
“Not sure where you were for a moment, but it looked like someplace good.Care to share?”Savvy teases.
“Not on your life,” I grumble, causing her to laugh at my expense.
“I was suggesting Rick take a couple of hours to go home, shower, have a nap and a meal, while you get Agent Mancuso a copy of our case file and maybe walk him through the crime scenes to get him up to speed with where we are.”
Crap.
I’d told Bess we’d hit up the grocery store for some supplies, and I still have to figure out what to do about Carson, who is coming home tonight.It doesn’t look like Bess is going anywhere but back home with me.We are nowhere near in the clear yet by any stretch of the imagination.
“Sure,” I answer grudgingly.
Moments later, with Althof gone home for a break and Mancuso off to the restrooms, Savvy turns to me.
“What was that all about?”she asks a tad sharply.
“What was what all about?”
“You hesitated.”
“Bess,” I reply honestly.“I don’t like the idea of leaving her alone.”
“I’ll be here.”
