“Yeah, Dana was in earlier and put some meds through your IV she said would probably bring some relief.”
I must’ve been out of it, because I never woke once.But feeling better and thinking clearer, I want to be brought into the loop.
“Is it safe for Bess with just KC and Nate?”
Savvy grins.
“Yeah.We took care of the snake’s head and the FBI, in conjunction with the Seattle Gang Task Force, is quickly rounding up the rest of the Lotus Squad echelon.What do you remember?”
I think back to the moment I knew something was off.I’d caught a glimpse of a guy in a boom lift, facing the hospital instead of the electrical post.It took a fraction of a second for me to realize he had a rifle aimed right at us and I immediately reacted, but obviously not quite fast enough.
“Shooter was a utility guy in the cherry picker.”
She nods.“Correct.The utility company had been doing inspections along the road yesterday as well, and Mancuso’s team made sure and checked out the work orders.When the truck with the lift was out there again this morning, they assumed the work was still ongoing.We later discovered one of the utility trucks was stolen from the yard sometime during the night.They saw an opportunity to get eyes in the room and took it.”
Clever.
“So, I assume they picked up Shane Lee?”I inquire.
“More like picked off Shane Lee,” Savvy volunteers.“That’s what I meant by the head of the snake; Shane Lee was the shooter.One of Mancuso’s guys took him out.He’s dead.”
The agent was right the other day; the gang boss was gung ho to take care of business himself, but ended up making himself vulnerable in the process.
“Mancuso mentioned he suspected as much when Lee went missing.He figured Lee wanted to make Ken watch his sister get killed before he was executed himself.”
“Man, he was a cruel bastard,” Savvy comments.
“What about the third brother?Mike Lee.”
“He’s slick.He managed to slip across the border into Canada, so now he not only has the feds on his tail, but the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as well.He’s the money guy and has always stuck to the business side of things.It’s suspected he may have had an exit plan all along, and funneled the bulk of the gang’s money across the border.Looks like he’s more interested in maintaining the lifestyle he’d become accustomed to than seeking revenge, like his brother.”
Good.Let Canada worry about the guy.
I briefly close my eyes in relief.It sucks to be stuck in a hospital bed where I’m no good to anyone, but it looks like things are under control, even without my help.
“Are you tired?”
“No, I’m good.I just don’t like sitting on the sidelines.Especially when we’ve already clocked what has to be record hours in overtime this past week alone.”
I’m the one who normally allocates hours and makes sure we stay within budget, and I already know there’ll be a headache waiting when I finally have time to sit down and crunch the numbers.
“About that,” Savvy returns.“I guess today’s events were good for something, because I got a call earlier from Judge Stephen Crombie.”
Judge Crombie is the chairman of the county commission.
“He’d received a complaint,” she continues.“It was from the mayor’s office, and outlined the blatant incompetence of the sheriff’s department given the rise in criminal and violent activity in Silence, and used today’s shooting as an example.”
Unbelievable, that miserable asshole did not waste any time, did he?
In a surge of anger, I try to sit up, only to be painfully reminded of my injuries.
“Whoa, easy, my friend.You’ll be happy to know Merrick’s complaint did not have the desired outcome, for him at least.Judge Crombie asked if I felt our budget was sufficient, which I told him it was not.I mentioned the request for additional budget I’d submitted for the next meeting’s agenda, which he apparently had not seen yet.”
She chuckles and shakes her head.
“Anyway, as a result of Merrick’s interference, Crombie has called an emergency meeting for first thing tomorrow morning, and he is going to put forth a motion to allocate us sufficient budget for an additional investigator, as well as two more full-time deputies, effective immediately.He expects the motion to pass without much push back.”
“I’m calling Tessa Androtti the moment I get the green light,” she adds with a smug grin.
