“She called you, man, not me. Why would I go?” Was he whining?God, I sound like a baby,he thought.
He didn’t want to admit that it peeved him that shehadn’tcalled him, but then again, if it was moral support she wanted, Adam was a better choice.
Just because they’d made out twice didn’t mean they had any kind of relationship. In all honesty, they were barely friends. Still, he’d have to analyze the pang of annoyance he was feeling later. Could he be jealous?
Adam told him the name of the bank and relayed that all the witnesses agreed the culprits were four Hispanic men. “Coincidence? Maybe. But Maggie also said the leader has some sort of birthmark near his right eye.”
“I’ll meet you at the station.” Mitch hung up and stood. “Gotta go, Mr. B. See you next week.”
Mr. B. waved but didn’t look away from the TV.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Mitch ordered an Uber while walking to the elevator, and it was waiting for him as he exited the hospital. He asked the driver to hurry and ended up arriving before Adam and Maggie.
Lance was chatting up the receptionist but made a beeline for Mitch as he walked in. “Hey. You hear the news?”
The receptionist looked relieved and quickly returned to her typing. Mitch ignored Lance, not wanting to start a conversation.
“So, have you found out anything more in your investigation?” Lance whispered, putting air quotes around “investigation.”
He gave Lance a deadly look. “You’d be the last fucking person I’d tell. Get lost.”
Lance retreated quietly just as Adam, Maggie, and a handful of uniformed officers came rushing through the doors. Mitch’s mood changed immediately. He slapped Adam on the back and smiled. “Son of a bitch. I can’t believe we might be getting close.”
“Yeah, wait till you hear what Maggie saw. They called in Honeycutt to get the sketch done ASAP.”
Maggie looked dazed, taking in all the commotion as ifshe’d never been in a police station before. Eyes wide, she wandered off.
Once she was out of earshot, Adam turned to him. “From her description, I’m almost certain it’s Manuel, but I don’t know why she wouldn’t recognize him. His face was everywhere for months.”
Mitch thought about it for a second. “She stayed with Jenny for a couple of months after it happened. I’m sure they didn’t watch the news. Then she returned to North Carolina where the story had probably died down to nothing by then. It’s entirely possible she’s heard of him but never seen him,” he speculated.
“That makes sense. Well, I let her know it was possible she’d IDed someone we’ve been searching for, for a long time but was purposefully vague. I don’t want to taint her thoughts or memories before she talks to Honeycutt.”
“Hey, guys. You can call off the sketch artist,” Maggie called out. She was staring at a wall of outdated, worn-out wanted posters and pointed straight to Jimmy’s killer. “That’s him. No doubt in my mind.”
“Fuck me. Heishere. Iknewit!” Mitch was torn between excitement and absolute rage. That fucker was still in town, and Mitch hadn’t found him. But he’d fucked up, and now he would pay. This would put his ugly mug back on everyone’s radar, and sooner or later they would catch him.
A thought struck him. “If he knows we’ve IDed him, it’ll drive him further underground. It might be months before he resurfaces. He could even leave town again.”
“You’re right,” Adam agreed. “We should talk to the brass about keeping his ID under wraps with the press for now. If he thinks he got away with it, maybe he’ll become complacent and make more mistakes.”
Mitch was pumped. He’d been searching a long time for this son of a bitch. Recently, feelings of guilt had been nagging at him because he’d let his after-hours investigation wane. Then again, that might be what made Manuel decideto come out from hiding. Maybe he thought no one was looking anymore, and that’s why he had the balls to rob the bank again.
“Maggie, how would you feel about keeping this quiet?” he asked. “We’ll get your statement tonight, and then you just go home and pretend like you didn’t see anything more than any other person in that bank. Even if reporters ask you directly.”
“I can do that,” she said.
Mitch was in full detective mode now, mind racing with the implications. Manuel was in the city, had men working for him, and was still living his life of crime. So much for learning his lesson.
When he finally looked up, he noticed Adam was wearing a baseball jersey and hat, identical to what the boys had shown him as their uniform. “What’s with the baseball get up? Jenny’s boys have that same uniform.”
After a brief look of panic, he squared his shoulders and stood straight, thrusting out his massive chest. “I’m coaching the boys’ baseball team,” he said. His casualness seemed forced.
“What? You don’t even know them. How’d that happen?” Suspicion crept into Mitch’s voice.
“Well, I left my sunglasses at Jenny’s the night of the barbecue. When I went back to get them, I found out the boys’ coach had to quit, so I offered to step in. We’ve, um, we’ve been hanging out a lot lately.”
