Payback (Angie Bartoni Case Files Book 13) Read online

  PAYBACK

  Angie Bartoni

  Case File # 13

  By

  MW HUFFMAN

  Payback©2014 By Marshall Huffman

  All rights reserved

  A WaJe Production

  This book is a work of fiction and is not intended to resemble anyone living or dead. It is from the mind of the author and certain names and places have been changed to make the story flow better.

  OTHER BOOKS BY MW HUFFMAN

  THE END–BOOK I of The Event Series

  THE BEGINNING–BOOK II of The Event Series

  THE REVELATION–BOOK III of The Event Series

  The Second Civil War–BOOK I-A Nation Divided

  The Second Civil War–Book II-A Nation at War

  The Second Civil War–Book III–A Nation Healing

  Project BlueBolt – BOOK I – American Gulags

  Project BlueBolt – BOOK II - The Gulag Journal

  Project BlueBolt – BOOK III – American Uprising

  REVOLUTION

  THE BRINK

  CLOSE PROXIMITY

  BLACKSTAR

  CHIMERA

  WORLDS END

  SUN BURST

  Sins of the Fathers

  The Unfinished

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 1 - The Alphabet Murders

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 2 - Frost Bite

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 3 - Dead Aim

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 4 - What Goes Around

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 5 - Nothing to Lose

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 6 - Shadow Man

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 7 – The Club

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 8 – Shakespeare Murders

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 9 – One Too Many

  Angie Bartoni Case File #10 – Weak Link

  Angie Bartoni Case File #11 – Vanishing Act

  Angie Bartoni Case File #12 – Revenge

  Angie Bartoni Case File #13 - Payback

  The Logan Files - Blond Deception

  The Logan Files - Innocence and Avarice

  The Logan Files - The Deal Breaker

  Norris Files - Silver2

  Norris Files – Insurrection

  PAYBACK

  CHAPTER ONE

  The first bullet shattered the windshield between Dan and me. The second one nicked Dan’s ear and embedded itself in the headrest. I yanked the steering wheel to the right and bounced over the curb. Dan dove out of the passenger’s side and I ducked down as low as I could against the steering wheel. It didn’t seem like a good idea for me to try to get out of the car until we knew where the shooter was located.

  “Can you see them?”

  “No. They aren’t shooting.”

  “Well, do something. I don’t want them to start taking pot shots at me,” I yelled.

  “Sure. You want me to stand up and do a little dance to draw their fire?”

  Boy, get a little scratch and he gets all defensive.

  “You think he is gone?” I asked.

  “Sit up and let’s find out,” Dan replied.

  That’s it, no more donuts for him. I had brought him six just this morning and this is what I get for it. While ducking down, I called in shots fired and we could hear sirens coming from down the street.

  “I think he is probably gone,” Dan said as the first patrol car screeched to a halt.

  Several officers got out and soon the area was covered knee deep in cops. An EMT was looking at Dan’s ear and bandaging it. It was all I could do not to laugh. This big old white bandage over the top of his ear made him look like Dumbo.

  “Don’t you dare,” he warned when he saw me trying to stifle my laugh.

  “I…I…I won’t” I finally managed to get out.

  He just glared at me.

  “What do you suppose that was all about?” I asked, making sure I didn’t look at him.

  “I don’t have the slightest idea. Do you think it was just random?”

  “It had to have been. No one knew we were going to go this way. Heck, I turned just to miss some of the traffic up ahead. I didn’t even give it a thought,” I told him.

  “So why shoot at a cop car? That is pretty darned brazen,” he said, tugging gently at his ear.

  Dan Roberts is my partner of going on four years. He has gone from a raw rookie to being one hell of a detective. I had initially hated the idea of having a partner but now I can’t imagine not having Dan watching my back. Dan is a tad over six two and is good looking no matter what angle you look at him from. My attraction to him is purely professional, however. I do not date cops. It is a steadfast rule of mine and I would never consider Dan as a romantic partner.

  You have probably already figured out that I’m a detective. Actually, detective first grade, but who’s bragging? I am just over five-five and weigh &%$$^#. I would translate that for you but then I would have to kill you and that would look bad on my resume. I have long brown hair that I wear up in a ponytail most of the time. I always wear slacks and sensible, but not ugly, shoes. None of those television depicted low cut blouses and tight skirts for this girl. I wear very little little make up, just enough to hide the small wrinkles that seem to be trying to take up residence around my eyes.

  Things have been pretty quiet these last few weeks. We have only had one homicide and that was now wrapped up. Neither of us had any idea what this shooting was about. Hopefully it was just some random nut and that would be the end of it. Honestly, in the back of my mind, I am thinking probably not. People do not decide to take pot shots at cops for fun.

  ***

  “My office,” Captain McGregor said when we came up the stairs. McGregor is our boss and a damn good one. He is fair and doesn’t hold grudges. He gives me a hard time occasionally but then I am not exactly the easiest person to work with. I usually manage to give back as good as I get.

  His office is not much more than a large closet. He has room for his oversized desk, an old leather couch, and one chair. The walls are pretty spartan as well. A clock is hung on one wall, usually indicating the wrong time. There are a couple of pictures of him graduating from the academy, and that is about all. There is a picture of the President but I know he just hangs it because feels obligated too. He isn’t much of a fan of the current administration.

  “So what happened?”

  “We were just driving along and someone shot out the windshield. The second shot almost got Dan. A few more inches and it would have been really bad.”

  “It already is bad,” Dan said touching his ear.

  “Anyway, we never saw the shooter,” I continued.

  “Got anything going on that would prompt this?” he asked.

  “Not a thing that I am aware of. Our slate is pretty clean at the moment. We just turned the last case over to the DA’s office. There’s nothing that would cause someone to want to take a shot at us.”

  “And you saw nothing?”

  “I was ducked down behind the dash. I couldn’t get out. Dan bailed on the passenger side but didn’t see anything either,” I answered.

  “Are you okay Roberts?” the captain asked.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “I hope so. You look like Dumbo with that bandage stuck on your ear.”

  Oh man. I really had to work at not busting out laughing. Those were my exact thoughts earlier. I had to clinch my jaw tight to keep from losing it.

  “I’ll be good as new in a day or two,” Dan said, obviously not nearly as amused as I was.

  “Make sure the lab goes over the car and finds those bullets,” he said by way of dismissing us.

  ***

  “What d
o you think that was really all about?” Dan asked when we got back to our desks.

  “Beats me. I can’t think of anyone we have made mad recently,” I told him.

  “So you really think it was just a random thing?”

  “I honestly don’t know. I guess we will find out pretty quickly. If it happens to us again, it will be personal. If it happens to one of the other patrol cars it will mean we have someone running around trying to kill cops.”

  “Yeah but we were in an unmarked car,” Dan replied.

  “Unmarked? One of our cars? We are about as discrete as a buffalo in a herd of horses. We stick out like a sore thumb. They are a real disguise…not,” I said.

  “Still.”

  “Look Dan, we will know soon enough. There is no use worrying about it right at the moment. Come on, mamma will buy you a nice lunch and make it all better,” I said.

  “Okay, that works for me,” Dan said.

  Men.

  ***

  “Now that’s what I call a burger,” Dan said taking a bite big enough to include the plate, my napkin, and half the utensils on the table. One thing about Dan, the boy can eat.

  He was finished before I had even taken two bites of mine. I hate big burgers like this. There is no graceful way to eat them and Dan makes fun of me if I use a knife to cut it. It’s not that I’m prissy but you shouldn’t have to wear part of your lunch on your clothes for the rest of the day. It never seems to bother him though.

  “You gonna eat your fries?” he managed to get out without missing a bite.

  “Help yourself,” I said.

  I was just about to say something else when the microphone crackled. I turned it up a little and listened.

  “Oh crap,” I said standing up, “Officer down.”

  “I knew it,” Dan said.

  I threw a twenty on the table and we raced to the door. They were used to it here. Cops were always rushing out.

  “24th and Jackson,” I told him as he jumped behind the wheel.

  It wasn’t too far from where we had been hit, maybe three or four blocks at most. Dan did the driving and I turned on the lights and siren. I listened to the banter going back and forth. It sounded bad. At least one officer was seriously hurt and the other was wounded but no one was saying what his condition was.

  We slid around the corner and came to a stop as other cars blocked the street. Dan and I jumped out and ran toward where three ambulances were parked along with a dozen or so police cars.

  “What’s happening,” I asked one patrolman.

  “Two officers are down. One is pretty bad the other one was a little luckier from what I’ve been told,” he told us.

  We made our way through the crowd of officers and walked under the crime scene tape that had already gone up.

  “You guys are the first detectives on the scene,” a Sargent said when we walked up.

  Oh goodie. Now it would land in our laps.

  “Anyone know exactly what transpired?” I asked.

  See, I know some big words. Well transpired isn’t exactly a big word but I could have said ‘what went down’.

  “All we know is that six shots were fired in all. Five hit the patrol car. The sixth hit a parked car. Officer Tomlinson was hit in the throat. Officer Crain was hit twice, once in the shoulder and once in the lower jaw. He is in pretty bad shape from what I’ve heard,” the Sargent replied.

  “Any witnesses that you know of?”

  “We have two right now and are asking others. One says she got part of it on her cell phone.”

  “That’s excellent. I need to talk to the EMT’s first then I want to speak with the witnesses. Keep looking for others. Dan, give them a hand,” I said starting toward the ambulances.

  Three Paramedics were working on one of the officers when I walked up. I could see that he was in pretty bad shape. They had tubes and electrical gizmos attached to almost every part of his body. I decided it would be best if I left them to their work. The other officer wasn’t much better but I did see his eyes flutter from time to time.

  I knew I was going to get nothing from either of them so I looked for Dan. I found him standing with a woman who was showing him a video from her cell phone. He was pointing down the street toward a four story boarded up building.

  “What do you have?” I asked.

  “This is Rita Long. She caught most of the shooting on her cell phone. It is kind of hard to tell where the shots came from but it sort of looks like the third floor, corner window of that building.”

  “Ms. Long…”

  “Rita,” she interrupted.

  “Alright, Rita. Did you happen to see anyone run out of the building?”

  “No. I was just walking along talking on my cell phone when I heard a gunshot. I hung up real quick and switched to the video recorder and started shooting.”

  “How did you know it was a gun shot?” I asked.

  “I’m a range officer at a gun club. I know a gun shot when I hear one,” she said.

  I would imagine she would. At least it explained how she recognized it so quickly and started filming.

  “Did you see anyone?” I asked, getting back to my original question.

  “Nope. Not a soul. Just heard the six shots. My guess is that it was a bolt action or they were shooting really slowly. There was a substantial pause between each shot.”

  “Not many bolt action rifles hold six rounds.”

  “Could have had one in the chamber,” she said.

  I had to give it to her. She knew guns.

  “Would you mind sending that video to me as an attachment?” I asked.

  “No problem. What is your e-mail address?”

  I quickly rattled it off and almost as fast as I said it she sent it off. I let Dan finish the interview and went to find the Sargent.

  “Sarge, I need you to keep everyone out of the area until the crime scene people get here, especially reporters. They are starting to arrive,” I said pointing over his shoulder.

  “Crap,” he muttered.

  “Just keep it to ‘no comment’ and ‘get back’. Don’t give them anything about the officers. I need their names as well.”

  “Officers Tomlinson and Cain.”

  “Alright, keep that to yourself. We need to notify the families right away.”

  “I know the drill, detective,” he said.

  “I know you do Sarge, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Every policeman gets upset when a homicide occurs but when it is one, or in this case, two of our own, it sets everyone’s teeth on edge. That is especially true when the motive is totally unknown. This is now what we refer to as a ‘Red Ball’. It means that pretty much everyone becomes a minion for the lead detective on the case.

  As you know, that happens to be Dan and me. The other thing is that everyone will be looking over our shoulder, adding to the anxiety level. The first thing we did was head to the hospital. There were several things that needed to be taken care of. We needed to inform the family of the shooting, speak to the doctors, and make sure that there was security at all times on the two officers.

  We had been there only a short time when one of the wives and a small boy arrived. She was obviously a wreck. Fortunately the Police Family Support Unit had sent a representative and she took her under her wing. Twenty minutes later a younger woman arrived and she too was quickly taken care off.

  I’m really thankful for that. Being supportive is not exactly my forté. I can be caring but only for so long and then I have to bail out. Even my lunkhead partner is better at it than I am.

  There wasn’t much for us to do so we just took a seat and waited. You know, the next time our government wants to pass a useless law it should be about the magazines they keep at doctor’s offices and hospitals. The most recent magazine I could find was a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. It was so old the models actually had on swimsuits. Their butts weren’t hanging out and they looked like what
you would actually expect to see on a family beach. The newest issue isn’t much more than a Playboy without the articles that men always say they are buying them for. Ha-ha, I get it. They think women are dumb enough to believe that crap.

  What seemed like a few days later, a doctor in blue scrubs came out from the swinging doors. His expression was undetectable to most people but I’ve seen that look far too often. He was tall, had black hair with just a touch of gray and was nice looking. I wanted to get the news first so I went over to talk to him.

  “Detective Bartoni. Which officer where you working on?” I asked.

  “Tomlinson.”

  “I take it that it is bad news,” I said.

  He frowned, “How do you know?”

  “I recognize the look.”

  “We did everything we could but we just couldn’t save him. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Actually I’m the lead detective on the case. I’m not sure which of the women is with Tomlinson,” I said, pointing with my head at the two women seated a few chairs apart.

  “Are you Angie Bartoni?”

  I’m sure I looked surprised.

  “Yes.”

  “I knew you looked familiar. You were at a party at my house with Ben Warman. I’m Doctor Gregory.”

  “I probably was.”

  “You made a very nice looking couple. I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” he said.

  “Those are the breaks sometimes,” was all I could come up with.

  “Anyway, nice to see you again,” he said shaking my hand and walking over to the two women.

  A few seconds later, one of the women wailed and then dropped down to the chair putting her head on the arm rest. The little boy with her started to cry as well. It was a pretty gut wrenching scene.

  We sat back down to wait for the next surgeon to appear. It was almost an hour before he came through the same swinging doors. Again I headed him off at the pass.

  “Officer Cain?”

  “He is in serious but stable condition. He lost a lot of blood and suffered internal damage. He is lucky in some aspects. The bullet hit part of his vest and then went through his shoulder and bounced around before exiting out his back. It missed his spine by millimeters,” he told me.