making me nervous and I’ll bail if you wait much longer.”
Nick glanced in the side-view mirror. “Fair enough.” The Porsche squealed into the street, leaving a fiftyfoot skidmark on the pavement. “There’s a chocolate croissant in the bag there,” he said after the car had settled into its dartlike motion in and out of traffic.
Jackie stared at him. “How’d you know I wanted that?”
“I asked. Tina says hello, by the way. So, do you have any specifics on the crime scene other than the murder victims?”
The bag did indeed contain two chocolate-filled croissants. She bit into one, licking off the chocolate that was about to drip out of the middle. “Thanks. Actually, let me call Denny and see what kind of info he has. He can’t say no to me.”
“Really? Why’s that?”
“Think I scare him a little,” Jackie said with a smile, and keyed in Denny’s number.
“You?” Nick gave her a disapproving look. “But you’re so little.”
For about a half second, Jackie thought he was seriously making fun of her. She changed her tone as the words flew out of her mouth. “Fuck you. I pack a mean punch.”
“Get no argument from me on that one.”
“You know what? I’m tempted to just—Denny? It’s Jack.”
“Jack?” Denny sounded surprised and a bit cautious. “Good to hear your voice. We miss you around here.”
“Believe me, I miss you guys more,” she said. “I was in the office for a few and saw everyone was out on a new case.”
“Yep, it’s an ugly one too. You back on the job already?”
Jackie winced. “Sort of. I’m allowed to push paper for the next two weeks.”
Denny paused. “Not supposed to involve you then, Jack. You know that, right?”
“Den, come on,” she pleaded. “Just give me a little something. I’m dying out here.”
“Yeah, well,” he said, “just don’t let any of this get around. It’s my ass if it does.”
“Mum’s the word.” Her stomach danced with excitement. Finally, something to focus on.
“I’ll send you a couple of crime-scene pics to look at, but what we’ve got here is a Hispanic male, twentyseven, with bullet wounds to the knee, head, and groin, as well as a large, vertical knife wound running from groin to sternum. Second vic has a single gunshot wound to the face.”
“Ouch. Someone was sure pissed off,” she said.
“Wounds are similar to the Hispanic woman and white male killed earlier. All were affiliated gang members except the white guy. I think he was the woman’s boyfriend or something. Might just be internal gang violence, but this has marks of some kind of ritual killing. Both vics were eviscerated and shot in the head. I think the other two were just unfortunate enough to get in the way.”
Jackie frowned. “Hold on. There’s been more? When did this murder happen?”
“Last night, about two AM from what we can tell.”
Nick’s hands turned white on the steering wheel. “Damn it. It’s our ghost. She knows who she’s after.”
“What? Who?” she asked.
“The ghost. She knows her killer . . . or killers,” he said. “They need to figure out who else the vics might be associated with. Fast.”
“I got that,” Denny said. “I’ll pass that along to Pernetti.”
She groaned. “Pernetti is in charge of this? Great.”
“Sorry.” Denny laughed. “Everyone deserves their shot.”
“Or not. So what happened at the first one?”
“That one was worse. The vic was pregnant.”
Eviscerated a pregnant woman? “Fuck. What’s wrong with people?”
“Got me, Jack. Anyway, we’re still trying to confirm the connection between the two murders, and I really don’t want to be caught feeding you info when you’re supposed to be parked at a desk.”
“OK, thanks, Den. This is great.”
He laughed. “You got a twisted notion of good news there, Jack.”
“Just nice to hear some work-related stuff, you know?”
“I know,” he said. “I’ll tell you if anything else comes
Nick glanced in the side-view mirror. “Fair enough.” The Porsche squealed into the street, leaving a fiftyfoot skidmark on the pavement. “There’s a chocolate croissant in the bag there,” he said after the car had settled into its dartlike motion in and out of traffic.
Jackie stared at him. “How’d you know I wanted that?”
“I asked. Tina says hello, by the way. So, do you have any specifics on the crime scene other than the murder victims?”
The bag did indeed contain two chocolate-filled croissants. She bit into one, licking off the chocolate that was about to drip out of the middle. “Thanks. Actually, let me call Denny and see what kind of info he has. He can’t say no to me.”
“Really? Why’s that?”
“Think I scare him a little,” Jackie said with a smile, and keyed in Denny’s number.
“You?” Nick gave her a disapproving look. “But you’re so little.”
For about a half second, Jackie thought he was seriously making fun of her. She changed her tone as the words flew out of her mouth. “Fuck you. I pack a mean punch.”
“Get no argument from me on that one.”
“You know what? I’m tempted to just—Denny? It’s Jack.”
“Jack?” Denny sounded surprised and a bit cautious. “Good to hear your voice. We miss you around here.”
“Believe me, I miss you guys more,” she said. “I was in the office for a few and saw everyone was out on a new case.”
“Yep, it’s an ugly one too. You back on the job already?”
Jackie winced. “Sort of. I’m allowed to push paper for the next two weeks.”
Denny paused. “Not supposed to involve you then, Jack. You know that, right?”
“Den, come on,” she pleaded. “Just give me a little something. I’m dying out here.”
“Yeah, well,” he said, “just don’t let any of this get around. It’s my ass if it does.”
“Mum’s the word.” Her stomach danced with excitement. Finally, something to focus on.
“I’ll send you a couple of crime-scene pics to look at, but what we’ve got here is a Hispanic male, twentyseven, with bullet wounds to the knee, head, and groin, as well as a large, vertical knife wound running from groin to sternum. Second vic has a single gunshot wound to the face.”
“Ouch. Someone was sure pissed off,” she said.
“Wounds are similar to the Hispanic woman and white male killed earlier. All were affiliated gang members except the white guy. I think he was the woman’s boyfriend or something. Might just be internal gang violence, but this has marks of some kind of ritual killing. Both vics were eviscerated and shot in the head. I think the other two were just unfortunate enough to get in the way.”
Jackie frowned. “Hold on. There’s been more? When did this murder happen?”
“Last night, about two AM from what we can tell.”
Nick’s hands turned white on the steering wheel. “Damn it. It’s our ghost. She knows who she’s after.”
“What? Who?” she asked.
“The ghost. She knows her killer . . . or killers,” he said. “They need to figure out who else the vics might be associated with. Fast.”
“I got that,” Denny said. “I’ll pass that along to Pernetti.”
She groaned. “Pernetti is in charge of this? Great.”
“Sorry.” Denny laughed. “Everyone deserves their shot.”
“Or not. So what happened at the first one?”
“That one was worse. The vic was pregnant.”
Eviscerated a pregnant woman? “Fuck. What’s wrong with people?”
“Got me, Jack. Anyway, we’re still trying to confirm the connection between the two murders, and I really don’t want to be caught feeding you info when you’re supposed to be parked at a desk.”
“OK, thanks, Den. This is great.”
He laughed. “You got a twisted notion of good news there, Jack.”
“Just nice to hear some work-related stuff, you know?”
“I know,” he said. “I’ll tell you if anything else comes
Similar Books
