Page 116 of Charmed Forces

Lily shrugged. “Most everyone was on Daniel’s side. A few are appalled at Captain Brandt’s duplicity but since he’s not here anymore to defend himself, it’s hard for some to entirely vilify him. Do you think his killer will ever be caught?”

“We’ve been looking for Jacinta Victor ever since she arrived back in town but it seems like she disappeared. If she were even the one who fired that shot. Solomon said it was someone with sniper training and Special Agent McCreary says Jacinta had long-range shooting skills. We can’t confirm anything. There’s no record of her leaving the country. No record of her anywhere except that she’s part of the Victor family. The more I find out about them, the more I realize how invasive their network is. Solomon said she’s one of the best ghosts he’s ever come across.”

“Normally, praise from Solomon is a good thing but that’s just disturbing,” said Lily.

“We’ll keep looking but eventually we’ll have to stop. It’s futile to waste the resources when we have other crimes to solve.”

“Crimes that don’t include solving the murder of a murderer,” said Lily with a knowing nod.

News had spread quickly since the night Daniel was officially cleared, although I expected the general public would harbor their suspicions for some time. Solomon said the next big media item would swiftly overtake any memories, but privately, I wondered how long it would be for people to really forget. Captain Brandt had been so public when he raided Daniel’s house, and so quick to point the finger at work. Of course he was. Detective Hertford even told me he was sure Brandt deliberately tipped the alleged payoff cash out of the bag in front of the cameras at Daniel’s house. He needed to deflect any attention from him onto his patsy the minute he realized his plan had gone wrong. Both Hertford and Crump were convinced Brandt leaked information to the press. I agreed with them.

“So what now?” asked Lily.

“Solomon and I are taking a couple of days off to practice the baby-making thing,” I said, shrugging like it was nothing.

“Text me every day! Tell me everything!”

“I won’t.”

“Maybe just an eggplant emoji?”

“Nope.”

“Fine,” said Lily poking me approximately where my ovaries were. “Good luck in there, girls. I believe in you.”

Daniel strolled over to us, saving me from any advice. “Can I talk to you for a minute, sis?” he asked, inclining his head towards the open door. “In the kitchen.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll be right over there,” said Lily, discreetly stepping away. “Rooting for you,” she whispered, giving me the thumbs-up.

“What’s that about?” asked Daniel, frowning at her.

“Nothing. What’s up?” I asked.

Daniel waited until we were in the kitchen. “I’ve been remembering more and more,” he said. “Snippets popping up here and there. Pete said it’s the same for him. My therapist says that it might not all come back thanks to the drug, but I remember waking up now.”

“That’s encouraging,” I said.

“I’m not so sure. I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. Brandt is dead and we know he killed everyone. They found a partial print of his on my gun. Victor’s been charged with soliciting the murders. I might be called to the witness stand but it’s uncertain.”

“What do you remember?”

“Waking up to the sounds of shouting. I think it was Detective Desmond, then I heard a shot, then another shot. Then I felt the gun in my hand where it hadn’t been before and someone’s hand on mine. My hand was being forced upwards, and someone was pushing my finger against the trigger. I didn’t know what was happening then but I knew it didn’t feel right and I pushed back. I hit someone — I know now it was Brandt — but it’s still a little hazy and as we fought, I saw Pete and the others, lying there. Dead. At least, I thought they were all dead. The assailant had my gun. I don’t know how but I knocked him off his feet and when he fell, I ran out of the house for help. But I didn’t have my phone or my gun and I thought the killer was right behind me. So I just ran. And left Pete there. I left my partner.”

“You thought he was dead and you were drugged and disoriented after being attacked,” I said. “You couldn’t have known.”

“The more I remember, the more I think about it, I know now that I screwed the plan up for Brandt by waking up. The crazy thing is: I’d been talking to Alice about drinking less coffee so I was weaning myself off it anyway. I must have drunk a few sips just to be polite. Anyway, I think Brandt decided to force my own gun to my head, shoot me, and make it look like suicide to take the heat off anyone else. My guess is, even with my death, he would still make it look like I’d taken a payoff for my family before killing myself.”

“I can’t argue with that theory,” I said.

“I have no idea why he picked me. Maybe it was just convenient,” said Daniel. He leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms. “It’s my word against a dead man’s.”

“A dead man with a proven link to a dangerous criminal,” I pointed out. “Brandt was Tom Victor’s guy for a long time before he moved here.”

“Either way, my career with MPD is over.”

I didn’t expect that and it took me a moment to register. “Are you sure?” I asked.

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