Read Online Public Enemy Zero by Andrew Mayne - Free Book Online Page A

“He’s going to be fine. When was the last time you remember seeing Rick?”
    “ When he was in the bathroom. I think that was it.”
    “ Did Rick approach Mitch? Did the two argue?”
    Rachel shook her head. “No. No. I don’t even think they’ve ever met.”
    “ OK. We need to talk to Mitch. Do you have a number where we can reach him? Maybe a photo?”
    Rachel turned her head to look around. “In my apartment. On the table.”
    Rios looked at the clipboard. The first officer on the scene had taken down her address. It was only two streets over. “I can get it.”
    Simmons turned to Rachel. “Do you mind if my partner goes into your apartment and gets your phone to bring to you? You can take it to the hospital with you if you like.”
    Rachel nodded.
    Rios looked at the apartment number and then handed the clipboard back to Simmons. “Be back in a second.”
    He looked down and gave Rachel a smile. He couldn’t imagine what he would do if someone had done something like that to his own child or sister. He knew there were two sides to every story. In his mind, though, nothing could explain the smashed-up face and the scared and trembling girl. The anger turned what would have been a brisk walk into a fast jog to the apartment.
    He took a shortcut and passed through a wooden gate next to a spilled-over garbage can. In the middle of the alley between the two buildings there was a metal gate on the ground. It looked like it had been ripped from it mountings. There was blood all over it. Some of the bars were bent in. He made a mental note to make sure they took that in as evidence.
    Down the street he could see another ambulance. Paramedics were working on the current boyfriend. His right leg looked like a bloody mess. From where he was standing, it looked like they were just trying to stop the flow of blood before they took him to the hospital. The man was screaming out in agony.
    He overheard one of the EMTs mention something about trying to “save it.” From the report Simmons let him look at, it looked like the man had walked three blocks on a green-stick fracture. How that was possible without being high out of your mind was beyond him. He was curious to find out what was in his blood when they took him to the hospital.
    Rios reached the foot of the stairs. It was taped off as part of the crime scene. At the top of the stairs he could make out where part of the support bars had been bent in a little. There were a few drops of blood. He looked around and found another staircase leading up to the second level.
    The screen door to the apartment had been ripped partially off its hinge and hung at a funny angle. The wooden door was wide open. Rios stepped inside and looked around. Well kept and in order, it didn’t look like the fight started inside. He could see wet footprints leading from the bathroom to the door. Those were most likely the current boyfriend’s, he assumed. Rios wondered if he was using but didn’t want to use the girl’s permission to get the phone as a pretext for looking for drugs.
    Angry ex-boyfriend. New boyfriend. Girl. That was all you needed for a first-rate domestic disturbance. Add some alcohol to the raging testosterone and things got worse. How the parking officer figured into it was the next question. Rios would bet that she just ran into Mitch on the really wrong day.
    From somewhere he heard a whimpering. His hand immediately went to the butt of his gun. He loved dogs, but dogs didn’t always love cops. He heard the whimper again. This was a small dog. Rios relaxed. He spotted a large couch and leaned down.
    Under the couch, two scared-looking eyes peered back at him from locks of dirty blond hair. It was trying to hide behind his paws.
    “ It’s all right.” Rios patted the ground to see if the dog wanted to come out. “Your mommy is going to be fine.”
    The dog didn’t want to budge. It just let out another whimper.
    “ OK, buddy. Stay there.” Rios made a mental