“Boy, we arereallygrabbing at straws here,” Jessica said, picking up the phone to call Meyers.
“You know as well as I do that those straws could end up leading us to the answers we need.”
“Fair enough.”Jessica dialed the number, and a moment later, Meyers answered.“Hey, Detective.Can you find out if anyone’s made any complaints against our victims?We think this might have been a personal killing.”
“Really?Seemed oddly… I hate to use the word professional.Disconnected.”
“Just take a look,” Faith said.“If we’re wrong, we’ll let it go, but I have a hunch.”
“Sure thing.Do you want me to call you back or just hang out on the line?”
“We’ll stay here unless it looks like it’s going to be a long search.”
“Shouldn’t be.I’ll just plug their names in and see if anyone comes up.”
Faith focused on keeping her breathing slow and steady while they waited.She reminded herself that it was still early in the case, and it wasn’t the end of the world if they didn’t find anything right away.
Sure enough, though, Faith’s hunch was correct.After about a minute, Meyers said, “Well, how about that.Looks like they both received complaints about a month ago.”
“Yeah?”Faith asked, excited.
“Yep.Five weeks ago, someone reported Mark Patterson for letting Beau walk on a sidewalk without a leash.A week later, that same person called us about Iris for Luna’s excessive barking.”
“Who?”Jessica asked.
“Brian Meadows.And wouldn’t you know it, he lives in Iris’s neighborhood.”
And just like that, they had their first lead.
CHAPTER EIGHT
It was late evening when Faith and Jessica reached Brian Meadows’ home.He lived in the same subdivision as Iris but five blocks away.Faith wondered how he would know that Luna barked excessively if he lived so far away, but then again, he could have been delusional.After all, murdering someone over their dog barking wasn’t normal behavior.
Turk, as always, led the way to the front door.As they crossed the street, Faith saw a pair of eyes peek through an upstairs window to look at them before quickly disappearing.She frowned and unclipped her weapon.It was a pair of binoculars, not a rifle scope, but she didn’t feel like taking any chances.
For that reason, she stood to the side of the door and reached over to rap it firmly rather than stand directly in front of it.Jessica stood at the bottom of the porch where she could jump for cover behind the garage at a moment’s notice.Turk stood like a coiled spring on the top step, ready to go on the attack the instant Meadows showed any sign of being a threat.
There was no answer.Faith turned to Jessica and said, “Go behind the house in case he tries to run.”
Jessica nodded and moved that direction.Faith knocked on the door again and called, “Brian Meadows!This is the FBI!I need you to come talk to me!”
No answer.Faith waited until Jessica informed her over the radio that the back of the house was secure, then knocked again.“Brian, I know you’re in there.I saw you through the window checking us out with your binoculars!We need to talk to you about a very serious situation.If you don’t respond, I’ll be forced to escalate this contact.”
That was a bit of a bluff.Without a warrant, they couldn’t force entry into his house, and they had very little in the way of actual evidence that might earn them one.They could probably dig up enough probable cause to get him down to the police station for an interview, but it would be a lot easier and a lot faster if he just came to the door now.
Fortunately, Faith’s bluff worked.She heard an irritable, “Hold on!”and some equally irritable muttering.She whispered into her radio, “He’s coming to the front door.Stay in position unless I tell you otherwise.”
“Roger,” Jessica replied.
Turk tensed as footsteps approached.Faith widened her stance and put her hand around the butt of her service weapon.
The door opened a few inches, and a sour face peered through the gap at Faith.“What’s this about?”
“Can you open the door please?”Faith asked.
“No.”
She took a deep breath.“Mr.Meadows, I’m Special Agent Faith Bold of the FBI.I’m investigating the murders of Iris Caldwell and Mark Patterson.”
