“His ego lets him believe everyone else is stupid.”
Olson shook his head. “That’s how most of those guys eventually fall. They get sloppy because they think they’re untouchable.” He lifted his chin. “How you feeling today?”
“Like the nurse came in and dug the bullet out with a spoon this morning, rather than just changing the dressing.”
“They’re not giving you anything for pain?”
“It’s bad enough I’m sitting here with no gun, barely able to move while guys like Ginocassi are walking in and out of my room. I can’t take shit that makes me groggy.”
“Sucks.” Chief Olson nodded. “But I guess that’s a good call. What was Vince doing here anyway?”
“Came to thank me for taking a bullet for his daughter. Said he’s going to be hanging around a few days.”
“What about the meeting they were supposed to have? I know your captain was looking forward to picking up one of the guys in town for it.”
I shrugged. “Postponed, I guess. Can’t imagine they’d have it without one of the bosses.”
He nodded. “Anything else? I don’t want to stick around too long in case Vince and his guys are waitinguntil I leave. You’re not supposed to have anything to tell me, so I shouldn’t be here more than a few minutes.”
“No.” I hesitated for a few seconds before finally deciding I needed to land on the right side of this mess. “Actually…I remembered something this morning. There was a guy acting suspicious at the farmer’s market, maybe five minutes before the shooting. Never saw him before. I thought he might’ve been tailing us. Short. Stocky. Dark hair, tan complexion with a big hook nose. Wore a leather jacket that looked like one of those old Member’s Only types.”
Detective Olson’s eyes narrowed. “This just came back to you this morning?”
“Yeah. You know how it works—blank spots, delayed memory, things come back when the body isn’t in survival mode anymore.”
He crossed his arms, his expression skeptical, even though it was very common for a victim’s memory to play catch up later. Eventually, he pulled out his phone and started typing. “I’ll have a sketch artist come up to your room later. Might have to do it in the middle of the night, once visiting hours are over, so Vince or one of his guys doesn’t pop in again.”
“They could be watching the place twenty-four-seven, so maybe have him wear scrubs and hide his pad in a backpack or something.”
“Good idea.”
After Chief Olson left, I felt a surprising relief for the first time in twenty-four hours. Holding on to the information about the potential suspect—and not being sure who I wanted to give it to—had kept me awake last night almost as much as the pain. I sank back into thebed and let the quiet of the room finally settle around me, knowing it wouldn’t last long.
***
Two days later, I was packing the few things I had with me into a plastic bag, getting ready to go home, when Chief Olson walked in again.
“Look at you, up and around.” He smiled.
“Won’t be running a marathon any time soon, but I’m glad to get the hell out of this place.”
He nodded. “I’m not a fan of hospitals either. You’re supposed to get rest, but all they do is wake you up to take your blood pressure and give you meds.”
“What’s up? Juliette is going to be here any minute.”
“I have a guard at the entrance. My phone will buzz if anyone shows up. Just wanted to let you know we might have a lead. It’s going to be harder to have access to you once you’re discharged.”
I stopped packing. “Whatta you got?”
“We canvassed the area surrounding the market and asked business owners if they had security cameras. Guy who owns a liquor store said he didn’t have any. Turns out he was lying because he’s going through a divorce and was afraid if anyone knew he had cameras, his wife might find out his girlfriend stops by a few times a week. But he checked the footage himself and called this morning to say he has video of a guy running from the farmer’s market—short, dark hair, leather jacket, hook nose—around the same time as the shooting. I’m on my way over to take a look at the footage now. Gonna need you to check the phone your captain gave you so I can send through pics to see if you can identify the guy as the same person you saw acting suspicious.”
“All right. I can do that.”
“Where you heading after this?”
“Back to Juliette’s.”
Chief Olson’s brows pulled tight. “Ginocassi put other guys on her. He’s not gonna let you guard his daughter in your condition.”
