Page 68 of The Drowned Woman
“Detective Sergeant Luka Jericho, Cambria City PD,” he called, making sure his coat was pulled back to reveal his badge at his belt. He’d arrested a few of the Homans when he was in uniform, but wasn’t stopping to put names with faces. Right now he was more interested in what their hands were doing. “I got a 911 call of a disturbance. If everyone could please put their weapons on the ground and step away, I’m sure we can sort this all out.”
The crowd was still for a long moment. Luka kept his breathing steady, forcing himself not to glance at Nate but to focus on the immediate threat. Someone in the back of the crowd sniggered, then came the sound of a child giggling. The adults relaxed.
“Sure thing, officer.” Luka recognized the man in front, Dale Homan, as he spoke. Dale fanned his fingers away from his pistol’s trigger and with an overdramatic, exaggerated motion set the pistol on the ground. “Sorry if our second amendment rights intimidate you. Wouldn’t want you to feel scared for yourself.”
That drew another round of snickers from the crowd behind him.
“We’re in our rights,” the woman said, still holding her shotgun but pointing it down at the ground. “Caught him trying to steal our dog.”
“Trespassing and theft,” Dale said. “You going to arrest him? Do your duty and lock him up?”
“Clear a path, step away from the kennel and the boy,” Luka replied. The crowd shifted slightly—enough so that Nate could go through the kennel gate. Except he didn’t.
“Nate, get over here. Now.” Luka inserted every level of command into his tone. Not that it did any good.
“No, sir,” Nate shouted, his arms wrapped around the cowering dog. Both the dog and Nate were splattered with paint ball impacts. But no blood that Luka could see in the dim light of the gathering dusk and misty rain. “Not leaving him. He’s hurt.”
Luka heard a car pull up behind him. No lights or sirens, which was probably for the best—no need to infuse more drama into an already tense situation. A car door slammed and the Homans all turned to look at the newcomer. Luka glanced over his shoulder just as Ruby Quinn, Leah’s mother, stalked past him, going straight for Dale Homan.
“This how you people get your kicks?” she shouted. “Terrorizing little kids and poor defenseless animals? You all get into the house right now, or I’ll do more than call the cops, I’ll call someone who can really ruin your life and you know exactly who I’m talking about, don’t you, Dale Homan?”
To Luka’s surprise Dale looked down, scuffed his feet. He masked the motion by bending forward to retrieve his gun, making Luka tense his fingers around his own weapon, but simply shoved it into the back of his jeans. “We was just fooling, Miss Ruby,” he said sheepishly. “Can’t no one take a joke?”
“Joke’s over.” Ruby raised her hands and waved them. “Go on now, back inside.” The crowd slowly dispersed to their respective domiciles leaving Luka, Ruby, Dale, and Nate. “Emily Wright, get your skinny butt out here before I spank it raw!”
From the shadows of a metal barn, Emily stepped forward. “Sorry, Miss Ruby. Don’t blame Nate. It’s all my fault. I’m the captain, he was just the navigator.”
Luka had no idea what she was talking about, but at this point all that mattered was getting them out. Keeping his gaze on Dale and the house behind him, he edged over to the kennel and opened the gate. “C’mon, Nate. We’re leaving. Now.”
“He needs help.” Nate drew back far enough for Luka to see the animal’s wounds. The poor thing had been whipped and beaten, starved to the point where its shoulder blades were like two knife edges beneath its matted fur. “Can we take him with us?”
“That dog’s going nowhere. Belongs to my kids,” Homan said. “And that boy is the one who hurt him. You can’t prove otherwise.”
“The dog’s been shot with a paintball gun,” Luka pointed out the obvious. “And the boy is unarmed.”
“Just my boys defending themselves best they could. Besides, maybe he got rid of the evidence. No matter. It’s our dog and he’s staying here.”
“I got evidence, Mr. Luka,” Emily said, running over to Luka. She handed him her phone. “Here, I videoed everything.”
A patrol car pulled in and two officers emerged. Luka waved them over as he watched the video. It showed the Homan boys shooting paintballs at the dog and Nate, then their father and uncle pointing handguns at Nate, one of them laughing as he fired into the mud a few feet in front of Nate. The sight had Luka clenching his jaw so hard his ears popped. And yet Nate had stood his ground, refusing to be cowed. A flush of pride overwhelmed Luka. He couldn’t wait to tell Pops. “What were you two doing here anyway?”
Emily answered. Hands on hips, she glared at Dale. “Billy and Jimmy stole Nate’s medal, the one from World War Two that his great-great-grandfather won for bravery. And they wouldn’t give it back, so we came to get it.”
Ruby joined Emily, adding her glare to the little girl’s. “Well?”
“My boys ain’t no thieves. Must’ve been a misunderstanding.” Dale swiveled his gaze to the house. “Boys! Get out here and bring whatever you too—borrowed from this kid.”
Emily had done a good job of documenting several crimes: cruelty to animals, child endangerment, he could maybe even squeeze a felony assault for the weapons fire. But there was something even better caught by Emily’s video.
A black Dodge Ram parked in the metal garage. Its front bumper and hood were dented and smeared with bright orange paint. Tangerine Daze-glow, to be exact.
Thanks to Nate and Emily, he’d just found his hit and run bicyclist victim Gary Wagner’s killers.
Forty-Two
Given its traumatized clientele, the CIC’s adult interview room had been designed to convey a sense of intimacy, security, and comfort. After their more than two hours of conversation, Leah was more exhausted than after a shift in the ER.
It didn’t help that the only break they’d taken had come when Luka called to ask Risa about the dead man he’d found in Smithfield. Risa had refused every offer of a break, saying that she just wanted to get it over with. Finally, McKinley was satisfied that he’d learned everything he could from her and they finished for the day.
