Blake came back into the room holding out a sticky note and a grim look. “Look, I know why you’re doing this, and I’ll have your back as much as I can when everyone finds out what you did, but call me immediately if shit goes south.” He paused. “Is there anyone else you trust?”
I swallowed and nodded. He was Morris’ partner, but I trusted him explicitly. Ry had nothing to do with this, and even if he helped Gage with the crimes he committed, I knew he’d never condone the killing of innocent women. “Ryu Nakamura.”
Blake blinked, then shook his head with a frown. “That’s Morris’ partner. Why him?”
I sighed, then headed towards the door. “Just trust me. If you need to call anyone, call him. If I give you the word, call Ry.”
I quickly walked through the parking lot and spotted the little red car. Shaking my head, I unlocked the car and sat down. “What the fuck?” I mumbled. “I’m in the backseat.” It took three business days holding down the button to adjust the seat. I swore I heard elevator music in my head as I slowly moved forward, then shifted to another button to raise the seat off the floorboard. Blake’s grandmother was a sweetheart, but what was she thinking getting such a large man a clown car to drive?
Once I could finally see over the steering wheel, I immediately put the car into drive. I glanced down at my phone, where I’d put the address into the GPS app, and pulled out onto the street, heading left away from the police station. I gritted my teeth as I thought about SSA Walker.
If I told him, he might order me to stand down. The Lazy 8 bar was another thirty minutes out of town. If I did what he wanted, it would just be a further delay, putting the girl at risk. Plus, Morris could still be with him. “Damn it,” I cursed. I was probably going to lose my job for this.
I decided a partial truth was better than the whole one, or nothing at all. I picked up my phone and called SSA Walker. After two rings, he picked up.
“SA Parker, what is it?” he asked, sounding irritated.
“Sorry for bothering you, sir. I wanted to let you know that after speaking with the victim’s friend, I might have a lead. I’m following up on it now.”
There was a pause as I held my breath. “You’re leaving the station?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, sir. I’ll let you know what I find out.”Please let that be the end of it.
“Where are you headed? I’ll meet you there. Detective Morris has already left with the footage we captured of the unsub. We’ve talked to whom we can from the bar and are wrapping up here.”
My breath caught at the news. If Morris had the evidence, then it would likely disappear before he ever made it back to the station with it. I tried to keep my voice steady. “No need, sir. Is Detective Nakamura with Detective Morris?” I asked, hoping that a change of topic would divert his attention from where I was headed.
There was a sound that resembled a low, irritated growl. “Nakamura is still here, talking to a witness. Why are you asking about him?” he demanded. “Is there something going on between you two I should know about?”
“Sir,” I began calmly. “If there was, it wouldn’t be your concern. You’re my boss, but you don’t have a say on who I sleep with.”
“You’ve fucked him?” he hissed into the phone. “I thought we had an understanding, Parker. If you need to fuck, you come to me!”
Forgetting for a moment that I was driving, I stared down at the screen, watching the call timer in shock. The audacity.The delusion. “Supervisory Special Agent Walker. I am your subordinate, not your girlfriend. I’m hanging up now.”
“Don’t you?—”
Hitting the end call button was satisfactory, but it would have felt a hundred times better if I’d been able to slam the receiver down. I gripped the wheel tighter and gritted my teeth. No matter what the outcome was, after today, I was leaving the man’s team. There was no way I could continue to be under his direct supervision.
The GPS showed that I had one minute to my destination. Making a quick decision, I made a second call.
“Detective Nakamura.” Ry’s voice was calm and professional, nothing like how he usually sounded when he spoke to me.
“Ry,” I said quietly.
“Pretty girl.” Just like that, his voice became softer, sounding happy.
“Ry, just listen, I don’t have much time.” I drove past a small house in a suburban neighborhood. It had a plain yard that should have been mowed two weeks ago. Next to all the neatly trimmed yards with fences and swingsets, it looked neglected. It was a house for a bachelor in the middle of a neighborhood of families. Or a place for a serial killer to lay low. “I have evidence that Morris is the unsub. I am heading to his house right now. Do what you can to keep him from heading home, okay?”
“Parker!” he called out, sounding panicked.
“Please, Ry,” I paused and lowered to a whisper as I parked on a side road. “I like you, Ry. Tell the guys that I-I like them too.” I cut off the call as Ry tried yelling out to me again.
I climbed out of the car and, using the GPS to pinpoint the house, I went down the alley behind the houses until I reached the one I was looking for. I started to head toward the back of the house when something caught my attention.
I stopped where I was in the middle of the backyard and did a slow circle. Unlike the front of the house, the backyard was mowed. Why would he take the time to mow the back, but not the front? Then I saw the worn track leading to the large shed in the corner of the yard.
Two tracks were worn down to nothing but dirt. One was much deeper and wider, showing a route that was often taken, likely daily, possibly even multiple times a day. That one led straight to the back door of the house. Morris could literally step off the small, square landing, directly onto the well-worn path, and walk straight to the shed. From the looks of it, he could do it in his sleep.
