Page 57 of Off the Hook

The agent answered patiently, though. “I’m aware. We’ll be taking over that investigation now. But we’ve got your guy, and we will prosecute him.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.After all this, we still didn’t have any answers and now the feds were cutting us off at the knees. “What are we supposed to tell the victim’s family?” I asked.

“That he’s going away for a very long time,” the agent answered.

“So you have the perp in custody?” Oscar asked, fuming.

“Yes. We brought him in on unrelated charges. But when your message was relayed to me this morning, I reviewed the case records in your system. It ended up being a good bargaining tool for us to get him to talk.”

My mouth dropped open.Son of a bitch.“You questioned him about the murder?”

“Yes, with the threat of the death penalty if he didn’t talk. He admitted to killing the girl.”

A chill ran through me as he continued.

“We’re working on getting the details and tying it into the bigger case.”

“Please loop us in as soon as you can,” I said, disappointment heavy in my voice. “We’d like to know the outcome of the trial.”

“Will do. I’ll share what I can as soon as I’m able.”

Oscar’s head hung after we’d rolled to a stop in the station parking lot. “I’ll be damned.”

Seeing him so dejected, I had to wonder if it was having the case yanked out from under us, or having to give up his pursuit of Coulter as the murderer, that had gotten him so down. “They’ve got the killer, Oscar. That’s what counts.”

“More questions than answers, that’s whatwegot,” he grumbled as he stepped out of his Charger, slamming the door behind him.

His frustration was understandable. But as far as I was concerned, I had all the answers I needed. “We can close this case in good conscience now. Don’t you agree?”

“Just write up the report,” Oscar sighed as we walked into the station.

“No problem,” I said. “I’ll get that done now. And then I’m taking tomorrow off.”

“I guess you deserve a day off,” he conceded.

“So do you, Detective. Let this case go anddo something fun.” I gave him a long look, wondering what that meant for him. “Take your wife down to Key West for the day,” I suggested.

“No thanks,” Oscar grinned. “I’d rather work.”

“Suit yourself.” I wasted no time typing up the report. It didn’t take long with the details so sparse.

From the sample obtained from underneath the victim’s fingernails, a DNA match was found in CODIS that belonged to a suspect in federal custody. Agent James Flannigan with the FBI confirmed that the suspect had confessed to the crime, but the suspect’s identity cannot be revealed at this time. Per orders from Agent Flannigan, all evidence and case files are being turned over to the FBI to continue the investigation and prosecution.

When I hit the upload button to close the case, a weight lifted off my shoulders. But my heart was still heavy. I had to find Coulter to tell him it was finally over. I had to make it right.

CHAPTER 30

FAITH

Hoping I’d catch Coulter after a charter, I jumped in my Charger and drove straight to the marina. Coulter was nowhere to be found on the dock, but I ran into his dad coming out of the bait shop.

“Mr. Rodman?”

He looked me over with kind eyes. “Call me Spencer.”

“Okay, Spencer, I’m looking for Coulter. Have you seen him?”

“Yeah I’ve seen him,” he said, shading his eyes against the sun. “He’s been moping around here like his life is over for days now.”

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