Rainey Nights Part 24

Danny leaned in closer. "Don't watch Katie. Look at the people at the table."

Rainey directed her attention to the table and stopped on Jared. Before she ever cleared Gillian, and made her way to Katie, he was watching Rainey. He came in and out of the shot, as Rainey moved around, but he was always watching her. At one point, the camera caught him taking a picture surrept.i.tiously with his phone. Everyone else's attention was on Katie and Rainey, so no one noticed.

Jared's expression changed when he was introduced to Rainey. He forced a smile and maintained it until Rainey's attention was drawn back to Katie. The video continued for a few seconds and then James stopped it.

"That's all there was of him on the feed. We have him on surveillance from the door camera leaving with his girlfriend right after you went out the back with Katie." James. .h.i.t a b.u.t.ton on the keyboard and the image changed to the man in the b.u.t.ton down s.h.i.+rt. "We also have a good shot of oxford man leaving. We're running it through facial recognition software."

Danny stepped away from the back of the van and Rainey followed. Lightning flashed far off in the distance. A storm was coming.

"Rainey, that's not all we got on Howard. He was dismissed from the military for striking a female officer. They let him resign, calling it stress related. He did use several slurs against her s.e.xuality during the a.s.sault."

"Do you have enough for a warrant?"

Danny scratched his red five o'clock shadow. He'd had a very long day, as well. "I have a car on his house. His Jeep is in the driveway. Someone is in the house. The surveillance team saw the TV come on. Not sure if it's him, but he lives alone. Could be the girlfriend."

"No, Dara told me Chelsea would not go to his house without a chaperone, remember."

"We can get a warrant to match his tire prints to the ones we found at the last scene. It's a c.r.a.pshoot though. There were so many tracks in there before we got to the scene. We can sit on him, wait for him to make a move, keep running his info until we find enough, but no, I don't think I can get a warrant because he took your picture and he happened to live in San Diego."

"Bring him in for questioning," Rainey suggested. "He's the weak partner, he'll break."

Paula waddled over to them, cell phone to her ear. She hung up and told them, "We have the connection. Brooks came in tonight and ran Howard's name through her 'magic machines,' as she calls them. Howard was the tech the prison's new software company sent to trouble-shoot the install. He's been inside Central Prison. They're not sure how he gained access to Dalton, but they're looking into it."

Danny sprang into action. "That's enough. I'll get the warrant." He pointed at Paula. "Get the team together and coordinate with Detective Robertson on the arrest."

"What about me? What do you want me to do?" Rainey asked.

Danny didn't answer. Paula stepped away, as if she knew this wasn't going to go well. It seemed the team had discussed it without Rainey present, which was obvious when Danny spoke.

"Go home, Rainey. I don't want you on this bust. You've been drinking and you're looking for a fight. Come in tomorrow and I'll let you question him, but right now, you are to go home, or better yet, go stay with Katie in the hotel until we have him in custody."

"Are you f.u.c.king kidding me, Danny?"

"No, I'm not, and if I see you anywhere near the bust, I'll have you arrested. One of these nice deputies is going to follow you home. I'll call you when it's over."

Rainey was livid. "I had one shot and a couple of sips of the first drink. You're just looking for an excuse to keep me out of this."

"And you gave it to me," Danny answered, adding, "Now, go home and stay out of trouble. We know who he is. It's over, Rainey. Just go home."

Rainey stormed off in the direction of her car.

Danny called after her, "Don't follow us, Rainey. I told them to pull you over if you did."

Danny conveniently never said where Jared lived, so Rainey couldn't go there ahead of them. She wasn't going to the hotel at this hour. Katie was probably still pa.s.sed out. She thought maybe in the confusion of the moment, while officers were moving to their cars, preparing to leave, she could slip out of the parking lot and avoid the tail. Rainey didn't need anyone to follow her home if Jared was under surveillance. It felt like an intrusion and a punishment, one she did not deserve.

Rainey reached her car, pushed the b.u.t.ton on the remote, and reached for the door handle. She pulled the door open, just as a man stood up from the shadows, behind the car. It happened so fast Rainey didn't have time to react consciously. Her gun was in her hand and pointed at the man in a split second.

She screamed, "Freeze, a.s.shole!"

Mr. Blue Oxford took several steps back, his hands flying into surrender position. "Whoa! Whoa! I just wanted to talk to you."

The commotion at Rainey's car drew other officers' attention. In a flash, Blue Oxford was surrounded by cops, with weapons drawn.

Rainey took a step closer to the frightened man. She shouted, "Get on your knees! Hands on the back of your head!"

The man complied, but kept on pleading with Rainey. "Jesus, man! I just wanted to talk to you."

"Shut up!" Rainey shouted at the man, making eye contact with the closest cop. "Cuff him and search him."

Danny appeared at Rainey's side. "Where'd he come from?"

Rainey holstered her weapon, and said a bit accusatorily to Danny, "Behind my car. He was waiting for me in the middle of all these cops."

The officer finished cuffing the man and stood him up at the back of the car. Another officer pulled on latex gloves and began asking the man questions.

"Do you have anything in your pockets that might injure me? Are you carrying any weapons?"

Blue Oxford realized how much trouble he was in. He explained in earnest, "No, I don't have any weapons. There's a pen in my right pocket. I just wanted to talk to Agent Bell. Really guys, I'm not some creep, I'm just a writer."

The gloved cop handed Rainey the man's wallet. She looked at his ID. "Martin Douglas Cross," she read aloud. "Martin, what did you want to talk to me about?" Rainey continued to go through Martin's wallet.

Martin looked scared to death, when she glanced up at him. He apparently lost the ability to speak.

Rainey prodded him. "You wanted to talk to an armed FBI agent bad enough to spring up out of the darkness and scare the s.h.i.+t out of her, so talk. What's on your mind?"

Martin sputtered, then got on a roll, "M... m... my name is Marty Cross. I write crime novels. I'm writing about the Y-Man murders. Cookie Kutter said you were in the bar on Twitter. I've been dying to interview you, but I can't get around that woman in your office and your numbers are unlisted. She reads your mail, you know, that woman, Ernestine... I think that's her name...anyway I saw you in the bar and I decided to go up to you, but first I had to go to the bathroom. Then I changed my mind halfway there, and came back to the lobby. I couldn't find you so I found your car and waited... I wasn't..."

Rainey waved her arms. "Stop! Just stop.

"But I..."

"Zip it, Mr. Cross," Rainey commanded.

Martin clamped his mouth shut like a kid in trouble, sucking his lips inward.

"Let me get this straight, you came to this bar to talk to me, because Cookie tweeted about me being here." She folded the wallet, and dropped it on the trunk of the car. "Martin Cross, this is your lucky day. Agent McNally seems to think I'm a loose cannon. Good thing I didn't fly out of control and shoot you. Oh, and here's my statement on the Y-Man case - you're going to want to write this down, Marty - No comment!"

Rainey opened the door to her car, got in, and slammed it shut. The engine roared to life. She threw the Charger into gear and punched it. Rainey looked in the rear view mirror to see the gloved officer s.n.a.t.c.h the wallet off the trunk just before she sped away. One last glance behind her revealed Danny pointing and shouting while officers ran in all directions. Rainey smiled.

"Catch me if you can."

Chapter seventeen.

Rainey took the Boulevard out of Durham and around Chapel Hill. By the time she joined the 15/501 highway, she was positive no one was following her.

"You have a call from an unlisted number, please press the call b.u.t.ton to answer, or say..."

Rainey hit the b.u.t.ton on the mirror. "What?"

"Girlfriend, you need to chill," Brooks' voice enveloped the interior of the car.

"Brooks, I'm sorry. I thought it was Danny."

"No, Agent McNally thought you might talk to me. He said you were in a 'mood.' I asked him which one and he said, 'The b.i.t.c.hy one.' Have we forgotten how to play well with others, Agent Bell?"

"He sent me home, Brooks."

"That a.s.shole, trying to protect you from yourself. How dare he?"

"Now, don't you start on me. He didn't have to pull me off the bust. I wasn't going to shoot the guy in front of everybody. I'm not crazy."

"He's just looking out for you, Rainey."

"I know, but it still p.i.s.ses me off not to be there."

Brooks' voice brightened. "How about the next best thing? We can listen to the feed. James is my homeboy. Taught him everything he knows."

"Hook it up. I want to know the second that piece of s.h.i.+t is in cuffs."

"Okay, hang on and be quiet, while I talk to James. He won't be able to hear us after I cut off my mic."

Rainey enjoyed the feeling of conspiracy. She listened as Brooks talked to James, scanning the road out of habit while she waited. The lightning flashes were growing closer and more frequent. Rainey heard the feed go live and then Brooks was back.

"Okay, Rainey Bell, you have a front row ear to the action."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it."

Rainey heard Danny's voice in the speakers, giving instructions as to who was going where. The SWAT team would do the knock. The BAU team would follow with the warrants for Jared Howard's arrest and the search of his property and vehicles. His instructions were followed by silence. Then one by one each group of officers called in their ready positions. Rainey's heart rate quickened, even though she was miles away. She turned on her signal light and pulled onto the road, leading to the cottage. She heard the blam, blam, blam of an officer banging on a door with his fist.

"Jared Howard, this is the police. We have a warrant for your arrest."

Blam, blam, blam.

"This is the police, open the door and come out with your hands in the air."

Danny's voice came out strong. "Go, go, go!"

A door splintered in the air around Rainey. She heard voices shouting.

"Clear, right."

"Clear, left."

"Clear, upstairs."

"All clear, n.o.body's home."

Rainey slammed on brakes, loudly screeching to a halt. It wasn't because of what she was hearing; it was what she saw in her headlights in front of her car.

Brooks heard the brakes lock up. She shouted excitedly, "Rainey, are you okay?"

The feed from Howard's house mingled with their conversation.

"Agent McNally, there's no one in the house."

Rainey, staring straight ahead, said softly, "There's a cat run over in the road. It looks like my cat."

Danny said, "Dammit. Somebody get me Rainey on the phone."

Rainey told herself Freddie never came this far up the road, but she really didn't know where he went.

Brooks echoed Rainey's next thought, "You know that's a trap, don't you?"

"Agent McNally, can you come to the bas.e.m.e.nt?"

"Be right there," Danny answered.

"Let me shut this feed off." The white-noise from the audio disappeared from the speakers. Brooks continued, "I'll say again, you do know that's a setup, right? This is when you scream at the hero, 'It's a trap! Don't do it.' Listen to your gut, Rainey."

Clouds moved in, shutting out the moonlight. A flash from a far off lightning strike announced the rain as it began to fall in sheets around the car. Rainey peered into the darkness. The rain forced her to turn on the winds.h.i.+eld wipers.

She shouted over the rain drumming on the roof of the car, "Yeah, Brooks, I know it's probably a setup, but if that's my cat, I can't let him lie out there in the rain."

The sky lit up again. Rainey could clearly see it was a black cat. She couldn't see its tail the way it was positioned. She spoke to Brooks as she slowly began to pull the car forward.

"I'm going to pull up beside it and open my door. If it's not him, I'll know very quickly. Freddie doesn't have a tail."

The drumming became a roar, as the wind buffeted the car, blowing the rain sideways. The noise was deafening. Rainey heard the call waiting tone and knew Danny was calling her. She ignored him.

Brooks shouted over the din, "Sounds like the skies opened up on you. There's a big storm on the radar down there."

Lightning struck nearby, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Rainey kept her eyes on the cat in the road, careful to pull just to the side of it. She stopped the car and sat still for a minute. Checking the mirrors and looking in the woods on both sides of the road, she realized she was perpendicular to a one-lane dirt road on her left. A metal gate across the entrance denied access. Rainey couldn't see anything out of place, but it was pouring down rain. She dug out a flashlight from the console and s.h.i.+ned the beam down the dirt road. The rain was coming down so hard it reflected the light back at her.

"Okay, Brooks, I'm going to open this door now. Let's hope for the best."

"I'm with you. You just keep talking to me."

Rainey pulled the door handle and pushed the door open a few inches. Rain blasted her in the face. The wind roared amid the torrent of water, while thunder rumbled through the trees. She put the flashlight in her left hand, pointing it down at the road. Holding the door open, she slowly pulled the car forward. The body of the cat came into view headfirst. It looked like Freddie, but so many black cats looked like him, she wasn't sure. Lightning flashed. A loud slap and deafening rumble followed. Her heart began to break, but stopped abruptly when a long tail came into view.

"It's not him," she exclaimed, shutting the door, one second before the truck slammed into the driver's side of her car.