Page 66 of Daybreak

But there was one positive thing about his visit. Finding out that Samuels was just repeating what Rowdy told him. For Gunner, that eliminated his boss from suspicion. But while he was driving home, he remembered something from the day Yankee Dan had been brought in to give a statement and how pissed off Gunner had been to find the old man still handcuffed with no food and nobody to see to his foot. That day, Yankee Dan mentioned something about talking to Rowdy, and the detective had not mistreated him, but seemed curious about him. Now Gunner wondered if Rowdy had actually questioned Dan about everything he’d seen and done before Gunner’s arrival and read between the lines and told Dixon.

That was two black marks against Rowdy now. Something to dig into when he got home. But thinking of home brought him back to the robbery in his neighborhood and the two elderly people who’d been beaten and tied up while they were being robbed. If the Robbery division was able to identify the bastard from the still shot Nora sent, then they had the opportunity to find him and get him off the streets.

He wanted to call Holly. He wanted to hear her voice. God, he was sick of this cat and mouse shit. He wanted it to be over and wanted her in his arms, but not yet… Not quite yet. He had some digging to do on Tom Rowdy.

He exited the Loop and was driving into his neighborhood when he noticed a For Sale sign in a yard down the street.

It was the house that had just been robbed. The one belonging to the retired postman and his wife. That was fast! Bless their hearts. He didn’t blame them for not wanting to come back.

* * *

Hours later, Gunner was still on the computer when his phone rang. It was Asher, and his first words were, “Are you okay?”

Gunner frowned. “Yes, why? What do you know that I don’t?”

“Wondered if you’d heard Burgess Dixon is dead. It appears to be a suicide, but the only note on his desk was a list of informants. I know the Feds demanded a copy of the list, on the grounds that whoever gave away the location of their safe house abetted in the ensuing murder of their agents and the loss of a witness. They couldn’t nail Dixon, but they’re all fired up about the informant.”

“My God…and no, I didn’t know. We had a neighborhood robbery down the street this morning, and I went to the hospital to see my lieutenant after that. He had a heart attack at work.”

“Do you still have reason to suspect him?” Asher asked.

“No, but a homicide detective named Tom Rowdy is the one who told him the hit was off and it was safe for me to come home. And Rowdy also talked to our homeless guy who was later killed by a hit and run. If Rowdy’s name is on that list…” His voice trailed off, but Asher wasn’t through delivering news.

“Then I may have one more nail to put in Rowdy’s coffin. Nora has been researching all the names, remember?”

“Yeah, so what did she find?” Gunner asked.

“She mentioned it in passing this morning and wasn’t sure it would mean anything to the big picture, but it was a rather shocking connection. One of the special agents murdered at the safe house was Tom Rowdy’s brother-in-law. That could have given Rowdy inside knowledge of the location of the safe house, too, but that only matters if his name is on the list.”

Gunner stilled. “You’re right. I’ll just have to wait and see how this all plays out, but it’s now out of my hands. I suppose the Feds are all over it.”

“I would assume,” Asher said.

“Right… Anyway… Thank you for the info,” Gunner said.

“Any time, brother,” Asher said and hung up.

Gunner leaned back, absorbing the new information. With Dixon dead, and Samuels and Cliff no longer under his suspicion, and the Feds all over the list, it felt like the skies were clearing faster than he’d hoped.

He glanced at the clock. Nearly 5:00 p.m. If Holly wasn’t working late, she’d be getting ready to head home. The usual suspects were either dead or cleared of his suspicions. And with Dixon dead, there would be no automatic guilty party for someone else to blame if they wanted to take a potshot at him.

The storm in his life was passing. He was ready for blue skies.

The phone was still in his hands, and the thought of Holly in his arms was too strong to deny.

She answered on the second ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey, darlin’. How’s your day been?”

Hearing his voice became the best part of her day. “Crazy busy, but winding down. How about you?”

“I could say productive and not tell you a lie. Do you have plans for tonight?”

Her heart skipped. “No.”

He shifted from one foot to the other. “I would love to have dinner with you and stuff.” Her laugh sent shivers up his spine.