“Yeah? Tell me.”
“Dave Grady was sitting with the Ridge manager while the operation was in progress. No arrest yet, so no cuffs. Just sitting. Paul Shippensmith, that’s the manager—”
“I know him,” Bailey said impatiently. “What’d he do?”
“He offered to make coffee for Grady, threw the hot coffee at his face and chest, and then slammed one of those heavy Ridge mugs against the back of Grady’s head. Grady collapsed, out like a light. I’m with him now and he’s sitting up, refusing medical, more embarrassed than hurt is my take. He still has his weapon.”
Bailey frowned. Grady had a head like a cinderblock, so if he went down, he was hit with considerable force. He probably had some burns from the coffee too. Bailey had little patience for macho posturing. At least the detective hadn’t lost his weapon. “And Shippensmith?”
“Gone. Still need to find out if anyone saw him leave and where he might have gone. I’m going to send a car to his house as a first step. Got the address from the personnel files. We have a statement from one of the warehouse employees who folded like origami paper when he saw us coming. Didn’t even try to run. Says that Shippensmith arranged the delivery of Caribbean Coast to the store. Nothing accidental about the arrival. We got some other names. One of them pretty high up in the Ridge organization. It’ll be helpful if Shippensmith turns on him too.”
“You have to get him first.”
“On it.”
“Keep me posted.”
“Will do. Also, thought you might want to know since you personally recommended him for the task force, that Sullivan Day was a real good pick. All his intel was solid and he played well with others.”
“Thought he would. Still, good to know. Thanks.” Bailey hung up and went to the door of his office. He looked out at the men working at their desks and his eyes landed on Karl. “Longabach. Get over to the Ridge, find Grady—he’s probably still in the manager’s office—and haul his ass to the ER. If he gives you any trouble, you tell him I said he had to go. Make sure he does all the damn paperwork for a work injury.”
Karl pushed away from his desk and stood. “There hasn’t been a shooting, has there?”
“No. Just an unexpected encounter with hot coffee and a ceramic mug. Make him tell you about it. That, and going to the ER, will be sufficient consequence for not keeping up his guard.”
The chief returned to his desk as Karl got his coat and hustled out of the station.
Marlena Templeton had worked for the Clifton police department as a dispatcher for fifteen years. She was a steady, reassuring presence when the 9-1-1 calls came in. Even when the babysitter she used was on the line to report that a child in her care was turning blue on account of a hotdog nub—and the child was Marlena’s own two-year-old—Marlena calmly talked the sitter through the Heimlich while she dispatched EMT’s to the house. She was known for not rattling, and while she wasn’t precisely rattled with the call from Allied Security, the hairs at the back of her neck did stand tall.
Because she didn’t know if Ramsey Masters owned a police scanner, Marlena dispatched the call to the station via a phone line. As it was Saturday, she didn’t expect to get the chief but was relieved when she did. She was confident he would understand why she was calling instead of using the radio.
“Got a lot going on today, Marlena,” said Bailey when he saw the caller ID. “What do you need?”
“Allied Security called for police presence at 2419 Keenan Avenue. That’s Ramsey Master’s residence. Her security alarm went off and she didn’t give Allied the correct passcode on the call back. She said, “Jabberwocky.” Does that mean anything to you?”
“It means I’m sending out a car. Thank you, Marlena.”
“Where do you want to do this?” asked Ramsey. “The kitchen would be my preference. I want to put away my groceries.”
Jay nodded. “Fine with me, but your groceries can wait.”
“No, they really can’t. I have milk and meat and other perishables.” She picked up two bags and indicated he should get the third. Ramsey judged that Jay must have been feeling good about his chances of getting what he wanted from her because he lifted the last tote and carried it out to the kitchen. When she told him to have a seat, it was more of a directive than an invitation.
Ramsey opened the refrigerator door and began to pick through the totes for the items that needed to go inside. Aware that Jay was watching her, she was careful not to give him much opportunity to study her from the back. The Walther felt as big as a cannon under her sweater. She did not want to risk Jay glimpsing the outline.
Ramsey picked up the half gallon jug of milk and slid it to the back of the fridge. She closed the door and leaned a shoulder against it. “There’s something I don’t understand, Jay.”
“Really?” His fingertips beat a soft tattoo against the tabletop. He stopped drumming. “Just one something?”
She ignored his condescension. “Why half a mil? Whyonlyhalf a mil?”
“I explained. It’s what I need to make things right with Willow Garden and get this financial auditor pointed in another direction.”
“Sure, but it’s unusual for you, wouldn’t you say, to only ask for what you need? Besides that, I don’t understand how you’ll make the reimbursement. It’s not as if you can deposit half a million in the Willow Garden accounts and no one will notice.”
“That’s my problem. Let me worry about that.”
“Does that mean you don’t have a plan?”
