Page 24 of Operation: Sharp Angel

“Tell me all of it,” Detective Davis prompted as he sat across from her.

“I worked here packing things up all day,” she began. She proceeded to tell him all of what happened up until the police officers arrived.

“They could have just been looking to burglarize a vacant place,” Davis said.

“Didn’t you hear me?” she demanded. “They were looking for something specific. Said the police hadn’t found it and even if I did, I wouldn’t know what it was. This was not random, and Nick did not kill his family. This is all connected, the murders, these intruders in the house. They didn’t know I was here, or they probably wouldn’t have come in. They would have waited until I left.”

“I’ll agree with you on the last part. As far as the rest, we’ll see.”

Becca looked away, disgusted. “Have you seen the full crime scene report yet?”

Davis looked embarrassed. “It hit my desk a few days ago. I’m sorry, I’ve been busy, too busy to look at a report on a closed case.”

Becca raised her chin a little further into the air. “Look at it and then give me a call.”

Detective Davis eyed her suspiciously. What did she know? “I will. You can step out into the living room. Can you please send one of the Shepherd Security men in?”

Tessman came in first. He placed both the guns from the two Tangos on the table. “This one is from the dead Tango in the closet. You’ll find both Becca’s and my prints on it. And this one is from the guy I shot on the stairs.” Then he pulled his own weapon from the back of the waistband of his jeans where he’d shoved it, right beside his holster that had the first Tango’s gun in it. “This is my weapon that I used to shoot the Tango on the stairs. First round went into his thigh as he was standing on the stairs when he fired at me. The second round went into his chest. Then he took the seat across from Detective Davis.

Davis stared at the three weapons lined up on the table. “You’ve been busy.”

“Hey, I didn’t start this. The guy on the stairs shot at me first. And the guy in the closet assaulted Becca.”

“Why didn’t you wait for backup when you arrived?” Davis asked.

“Your DOA was assaulting Becca in the closet when I arrived. I heard her screaming when I got to the front door.”

Davis took Tessman’s badge and wrote down the information before handing it back to him. “So, the shooter on the stairs, was he heading up or down when you arrived?”

“I assumed up as Becca was screaming and pushing the mirror onto your vic in the closet when I arrived. But I can’t say for sure. I opened the door and two seconds later his first shot hit the door. I returned fire, hit him in the thigh and he collapsed into a sitting position. He raised his gun at me again and I got the shot off faster than he did, hitting him in the chest.”

“I’m sure it was a good shoot,” Davis said.

“Damn right it was,” Tessman said. “If you have any questions regarding it, contact Shepherd.” Tessman knew he had immunity, and Shepherd would handle any issues.

Davis shook his head. He knew this group was connected to Washington D.C. He knew they were a special multi-agency task force; however, he thought they had an NGO arm of the agency, and he was surprised badge carrying agents had been working Rebecca Elliot’s case. It made him wonder why they’d taken it.

“Okay, send Jackson in next,” Davis said. “And after I’ve interviewed each of you, you’re free to go. You’ll see Becca Elliot home and make sure she’s protected?”

“We can stash her in a safe location for a few days. You’ve already had your shot at the items in this house to see what they could have been looking for. Do you mind if we comb throughthe contents?” Tessman asked. He and Jackson had already discussed both before Davis arrived.

“That’s fine,” Davis said. “You’ll keep me in the loop if you find anything?”

“Yes. And will you re-review all you have in on the murders of the DeSoto family?”

Davis nodded. “Yeah, I’ll try to go over it with fresh eyes. Becca Elliot is convinced that once I see the final lab reports I’ll change my mind on it.” He stared at Tessman for a long moment, seeing confidence in Tessman’s return stare. “And something tells me you think so too. Makes me wonder if you both have already seen it.”

“Our office hasn’t received it from Shepherd’s request yet,” Tessman said. His lips pulled into a half-smile, half-smirk.

“Yeah,” Davis said, even more convinced that somehow, they’d already seen it.

Golf

Becca was exhausted by the time she fastened her seatbelt in the front passenger seat of Carter Tessman’s four-door silver Jeep Wrangler hardtop. Jackson stood beside her door as Tessman retrieved his spare handgun from the locked storage box under the floormat of the backseat on the driver’s side. The police had kept his weapon and gave him a receipt.

She sat back as Tessman drove. Her house was the destination to grab a few essentials, with what he’d described as a safe location: the final destination. Jackson followed in a black SUV of some sort. She appreciated the protection, but truly wished they would protect her at her own house. She wanted nothing more than to put on her pajamas and crawl into her own bed.

“You were comfortable handling a weapon,” Tessman said.

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