"Get everything you can on Hakan's property. I want to know the layout inside and out by the time we land. And find out what the fuck a small army means."
The motherfucker was going to die today, and I looked forward to taking out as many of his men as possible. Anyone who associated with a child molester deserved a ride straight to hell, and I would be honored to be the one who provided it.
CHAPTER SIX
BECKETT
I lifted the crime scene tape and motioned for Sylvia to duck under before I followed her to where one of the detectives stood over a body. My first guess was male based on the size, but it was hard to tell. The person was beat so badly it would take a lot of work to identify the remains.
"Detective Reyes." I gave him a chin lift. "What do we owe the pleasure of this call?" The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department was one of those cities that didn't particularly like calling in the feds, even though we had a field office in their city. The relationship wasn’t strained, but it wasn't great either.
"I believe this body is going to be of some interest to you."
I glanced down at the mutilated corpse and raised my brow. "How do you figure? We can't even be sure of the person's ID."
"Not yet, but I found this wallet sticking out from under the body."
I took the evidence bag from Detective Reyes and immediately recognized the driver's license. "Lex Dunkin?"
"Can't be sure until we run the DNA through the database but…"
But if it was Lex, then things just got a whole hell of a lot more interesting. Lex was Mason's older brother and the heir to the Dunkin family. Without him, there was no one but Mason to take over for their father, Alexander.
"I heard you had Mason locked up, so I figured you'd want the heads-up."
I couldn't take my eyes off the body. "I appreciate the call." A million different scenarios ran through my mind all at once. I needed to sit down and figure out what this meant for my case. Finally I looked up at the detective. "Keep me in the loop if you don't mind. I would like to know when you have a positive ID."
"You'll be the first person I call."
I gave him a chin lift and headed back the way I came with Sylvia tight on my heels.
"So what now?" She waited until we were back in the vehicle to ask.
"I have no idea." I rubbed the scruff of my five o'clock shadow. I hadn't had time to shave my face after I got the call in the dead of the night.
"Lex had no shortage of enemies. Honestly I'm surprised he made it this long in life."
That made two of us. "I'm going to have to set up another meeting with Mason. Let him know what's happening. If Lex is dead, Alexander is going to want Mason to take over."
"Doesn't Mason hate his family? I wouldn't think he would want anything to do with them."
"He does, but power has a way of making people do stupid things. I need to figure out where his head is at."
I was going to have to do some serious convincing to get him to meet with me again. I was probably the only other person, besides his family, that Mason hated. "I'm going to drop you off back home. I'll call the prison first thing in the morning and set up a meeting with Mason."
"Do you want me to go with you?"
I tossed the idea around in my mind. If it had been Callahan asking my answer, it would be yes without hesitation. However, despite telling Sylvia some of the details of the case, she wasn't involved.
"Yeah, why don't you join me?" I remembered one of the last pieces of advice Callahan gave me before he retired.
A partner isn't just someone you work with. It's someone you have to trust with your life. To build trust,you have to open yourself up and put aside the need to be a lone wolf. Otherwise you'll just keep bouncing from partner to partner.
For the briefest of seconds, Sylvia looked surprised by my answer before shaking it off. It was a good reminder that I hadn't been following Callahan's orders like I thought.
"Let me know when you have the meeting set up. There's no way in hell I'm going back to bed now, so I might as well go into the office early."
I glanced at the clock. It was only a little after three in the morning. I was usually up by five to work out anyway, so it would be pointless for me to try to grab some extra sleep. "I won't be far behind you."
