Читать книгу Pursuit of Justice - Pamela Tracy - Страница 11

The police station represented family to Sam, but, right at this moment, he felt out of place. Something—make that someone—he’d believed in was proving to be a crumbling cornerstone. Cops weren’t supposed to take things personally. Cliff was, and who could blame him? But he seemed to be trying to get revenge on Rosa at any cost.

Sam decided to walk around a bit, try to shake off the disturbing feeling. Three women were in the dispatch room. Two detectives were on the second floor, staring at a wall of photos and arguing. Each photo was marked with large, red, chronological numbers. The number of cars stolen in Gila City had increased from fifteen a month to more than thirty. The mayor promised action; the police worked longer hours. The car thieves probably laughed.

He settled back at his desk and picked up her file. No way should he feel obligated to keep an eye out for her. He had arrested her, but he’d arrested lots of people and figured most—if not all—of them were guilty. Maybe that was the problem. The more he investigated, the more he heard about the interrogation the feds had conducted yesterday, the more he wondered about what else she was guilty of, besides making off with drug money. There had to be something else involved here. The number of corpses certainly supported that theory.

And maybe there’d be one less corpse if she adhered to the Good Samaritan law by sticking around and helping Jimmy. She was a registered nurse. A few minutes of her time might have meant the difference between life and death for Jimmy.

What made her turn her back on a young man dying, literally, at her feet? She could have saved Jimmy, copped a plea and continued life as she knew it. She had no priors and almost every deposition taken after the bust painted Rosa as one of the good guys. She was well liked at work and by her neighbors. Her family supported her. Something was very wrong with the whole picture. If she was such a nice girl, why did so many people want her dead?

“Sam.”

If he were inclined to give credit, he just might thank God for sending him the accomplice he needed. But he’d stopped asking God for anything a long time ago, so there was no need for thanks.

Ruth had dark circles under her eyes and looked as tightly wound as Sam felt.

“What are you doing here at this hour?” he asked.

“I can’t sleep. We arrested someone connected to the Santellises,” she said softly. “I don’t think we asked her enough questions before the feds took over.”

Sam nodded. “Not only did we not ask her enough questions, but we didn’t ask her the right questions.”

“Do you think she knows what happened to Dustin?”

“No.” Sam gathered his notes and a few printouts. “I don’t think she knows anything about your husband’s disappearance. And I think I can convince you that she’s a pawn in somebody else’s game.”

Ruth hadn’t been on the Gila City force during Cliff’s tenure. She’d still been in high school. She might be able to stay unbiased. Especially if she thought it would bring down the family she blamed for her husband’s death. She took the seat that Rosa had occupied, and just like Rosa, she picked up a pen and started fidgeting. Finally, she asked, “So, what’s going on?”

“I’m putting two and two together and I’m not getting four. Someone’s out to kill her.”

“She’s connected to the Santellises. That’s why I’m here. And, someone’s always going to be out to kill her.” Ruth set the pen down and for a moment Sam thought she might leave, might turn her back on what she didn’t want to hear.

Swallowing, he voiced the words that might begin to hammer the nails of his onetime friend’s virtual coffin. “I don’t think Cliff showed up by accident this morning. I think he knew she was there.”

“What?”

“Whoever was shooting at Rosa, probably the Santellis brothers, I think they somehow got a hold of Cliff and told him she’d been arrested.”

“You’re jumping to conclusions. He’s feeling raw. It’s to be expect—”

“He knew we had her before we knew we had her.”

Atkins shifted. “I don’t think I buy that.”

“Stay with me for one more thing, then tell me what you think. I’ve been going through the files. Everyone who was present at the shooting of Jimmy is dead except for Rosa and Eric Santellis. Three of the people present at Jimmy’s death have been killed in drive-by shootings. What are the odds?”

“How many dead in all?”

“Twelve.”

“Twelve.” Ruth sounded incredulous.

Sam continued, “Five went down within the first three months after Jimmy’s death. All in the Phoenix area. The rest were spread out a bit. Think about it. Eric’s alive but in prison, and Rosa dropped out of sight. Now, Rosa’s back in the picture, and Cliff immediately tries to kill her. That’s a pretty bleak picture even without her mobile home blowing up.”

“What Cliff did was purely an emotional reaction. I can’t believe you’re implicating him.”

Sam watched her chin come up. He knew this woman. He’d been friends with her and her family since before she’d joined the force. Her late husband had caught Sam’s pitches way back when Gila City High only had two hundred students and a baseball team with no uniforms. Ruth had changed his mind about the abilities of female cops.

And although she was protesting, he knew she was starting to believe.