“Excuse me,” Faith said, lifting a hand and moving so she was an equal distance from the two combatants.“Special Agent Faith Bold, FBI.Is everything okay here?”
The woman cast a fierce look Faith’s way.“Took you long enough!I called over an hour ago!”
Faith let the exaggeration pass.“Can you tell me what seems to be the trouble, ma’am?”
The woman jammed her finger toward the suspect.“This man is here without a dog!He’s being suspicious!He’s hiding his face, and I think he’s the man who killed those people!”
The man threw his hoodie back and glared at her.“Here’s my face!Here it is!Not hiding it!Not being suspicious!”
He had blond hair liberally streaked with gray and eyes so light blue they were almost transparent.A two-day stubble covered his face and neck, and the lines in his forehead suggested an age closer to fifty than forty.It was hard to tell what his build was underneath his thick sweater, but he was definitely in the right height and weight range to fit their killer’s profile.
And it would be very easy to conceal a gun underneath that sweater.
“Where’s your dog?”the woman demanded, stepping forward.“Where is he?”
“He’s dead, you stupid bitch!”
“Arrest him!”the woman shrieked, turning toward Faith and pointing imperiously at the suspect.
Faith met Jessica’s eyes, and her partner nodded and stepped closer to the woman.“Let’s go this way, ma’am.”
“Is he going to be arrested?”the woman demanded petulantly.
“My partner’s going to deal with him,” Jessica replied.
Faith met the man’s eyes and gestured with her head for them to walk away.“Let’s go talk over here.”
The man turned to see Meyers standing a few yards off, face impassive, hand resting on the butt of his gun.He swallowed.“Am I in trouble here?”
“We’re going to figure out what’s going on,” Faith said.“Come talk to us over here.”
“I wasn’t doing anything,” he protested.“I was just watching the dogs.”
“Let’s go over here,” Faith repeated, more firmly.
The man looked between Faith and Meyers.Meyers casually but very pointedly unclipped his handgun.The suspect sighed and said, “Fine.This is bullshit, but fine.”
He stomped away from Jessica and the still-shouting caller.Turk followed, keeping himself in between Faith and the suspect.He wasn’t growling or behaving aggressively, but he remained alert, ready to launch into action at a moment’s notice.
The man muttered softly as he walked away.“I wasn’t doing anything.That bitch probably just hates men.”
Faith didn’t offer an opinion to that.She led the suspect about fifty feet away, far enough that they could hear each other over the caller.
The suspect was much calmer now that he didn’t have her shouting in his ear.Or maybe it was the stoic, imposing presence of Sergeant Meyers and the watchful eyes of Turk that encouraged him to be docile.Either way, he seemed far less tense than before.
He put his hands in his pockets, and Meyers said, “Nope.Hands where we can see them.”
The suspect stared at him.“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Meyers’s eyes narrowed, and the suspect pulled his hands out, fingers splayed open.“Okay, fine.Look, see?Not carrying anything.You want to search me to make sure?”
Faith shrugged.“Sure.We might as well get that out of the way.”
The suspect stared at her.“What?Seriously?”
“You’re being very jumpy right now,” Faith explained.“For my peace of mind, and for your safety, yes, I’d like to search you.”
He rolled his eyes.“Whatever.”
