WELL RESTED AND equipped with the knowledge that their lives weren’t about to become more complicated anytime soon, Sam returned to work, ready to close the case that had been such a vexing source of frustration. Upon arriving, she met with the Missing Persons detective leading the search for Captain Wallack.
“What’ve you got for me, Detective?”
“We’re zeroing in on the stepson from his first marriage.” Detective Jacqueline DiMaio had gorgeous long dark hair and sharp blue eyes. Sam hadn’t worked with her before, but had heard about her because she was good at her job. “Curtis Moore. He was an infant when his mother married Wallack. He’s been in and out of trouble for close to a decade. Wallack washed his hands of the kid after he and the mother split. Word is they split because of the kid.”
“Where’s Curtis now?”
“No known address. We’re looking for him, but I wanted you to be aware of where we are.”
“You have a picture of him?”
“Nope. His files were sealed for some reason.”
“Could that reason be a favor his stepfather did for the kid’s mother?”
“That’s one possibility we’re looking into.”
“Keep me posted?”
“Absolutely. I heard about the funeral home plan. That’s brilliant.”
“Thank you. I have my moments.”
“From what I hear you have more than a few moments. Have a good day, Lieutenant.”
“You do the same.”
Sam spent the rest of the afternoon hunkered down with her team, making their plan for the funeral home tour. Angel had been released from the hospital and was resting at home until they picked her up at six to prepare her for what they needed her to do.
Roberto had been understandably hesitant to allow his Angel to be exposed to the men who’d hurt her, but she’d prevailed, saying she wanted to do whatever she could to get them.
Sam had always admired her protectiveness of Roberto. But now she admired Angel’s strength and determination too. She went with Freddie and Gonzo to pick up Angel at the home she shared with Roberto.
Everyone had agreed that Sam should be part of the preparation, but Green would be the one to escort her into the funeral homes. He and Angel would be wearing wires so they could be monitored from the van that would transport them. Sam would be in the van with Freddie and Gonzo. Green would escort Angel with Jeannie following them through the line for additional backup, and they’d have Tactical Response teams on standby to help apprehend the suspects if Angel spotted them.
Angel had made an effort with her hair and makeup that went a long way toward hiding the bruises and abrasions on her face, but she moved slowly, grimacing in pain on occasion.
“It’s too soon for her to be doing this,” Roberto said to Sam. “She just got out of the hospital.”
“If we’re going to grab them at a wake, it needs to be now,” Sam told him. “I promise my team will take very good care of her and bring her back to you in a couple of hours.”
“She acts tough, but she’s broken. They broke her.”
“She’s too tough to be broken. She’ll bounce back. It’ll take some time and patience and all the love you can give her, but she’s going to be okay. Someone who was broken wouldn’t be capable of what she’s doing tonight.”
“You bring her back to me, Sam. I’m trusting you with the most important person in my life. You ain’t never let me down before. Please don’t start now.”
“I won’t. I promise.” Sam planned to make sure she kept that promise by surrounding Angel with security every step of the way.
Green walked Angel through two wakes, expressing condolences to grieving family members before emerging into the heavy humidity, shaking his head.
They got back in the van and moved on to the third one, the group more subdued after two strikeouts.
“This next one is one of ours,” he said, referring to the Greenlawn Funeral Home on Georgia Avenue Northwest. “I’ve known the funeral director for years and gave him a heads-up that we’d be by.”
“And he knows not to acknowledge you?” Sam asked.
“Yes, I talked to him.”
“Why the hell is there so much freaking traffic at this hour?” she asked.
“The Feds are in town,” Gonzo said.
“Whose idea was it to have a baseball team in this notoriously congested city?” Sam asked.
“Don’t let Scotty hear you saying that,” Freddie said.
“How’re you holding up?” Sam asked Angel.
“I’m okay.”
“Are you hurting?”
“A little, but I can handle it. I don’t want to stop until we find them.”
Sam gave her arm a gentle squeeze and nodded. “You let me know if you need to go home.”
They knew it was possible they might not get this finished tonight. There were other wakes they could check tomorrow. But she hoped for Angel’s sake and the sakes of the other victims’ families that they could finish this up tonight.
Gonzo, who was driving, brought the van to a stop in the parking lot.
“Here we go again,” Green said to Angel. “Are you ready?”
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Green got out first and helped Angel. She moved slowly and carefully, making Sam feel terrible for putting her through this so soon after her first ordeal.
“She’s a trouper,” Freddie said.
“She is indeed. If she spots these guys, we’ll have her to thank for closing this one.”
“And you,” he said. “It was your idea to do this.”
“She gets the credit.”
After that, they were quiet, listening to the feed coming from the wires.
“Take your time,” Green said in a low, soothing tone. They’d agreed ahead of time that he would keep an arm around her in case she needed the support and to better sell their cover as a grieving couple.
Sam listened intently, sitting on the edge of her seat waiting to hear something, anything that might indicate that Angel had seen someone she recognized.
After a long period of quiet, a sharp gasp echoed through the interior of the van.
“She’s got something.” Sam keyed the radio to convey the news that Angel had seen someone she might recognize to the Tactical Response team that was standing by, waiting for the word to go in. She waited breathlessly for the single word from Green that would trigger the next stage of their operation.
Seconds and minutes passed in agonizing silence. Sam listened so hard she began to hear things that weren’t there. A full five minutes after the gasp, Sam heard the word she’d been waiting for from Green.
“Go.”
“Move in,” she said into the radio.
Everything happened fast after that. Officers swarmed the funeral home from all sides. Sam, Freddie and Gonzo followed them inside, where two men dressed in black suits with Greenlawn name badges on their lapels ushered stunned guests out of the building.
In one of the rooms, Sam saw Green directing the teams while Jeannie had an arm around Angel as she walked her toward the door.
Sam reached for her and wrapped her arms around the sobbing young woman. “You did good,” she said, stroking Angel’s hair and back while making eye contact with Jeannie. “Let’s get you out of here.”
She had no sooner said the words when a shot rang out behind them. Sam held on tight to Angel and ran for the door, determined to get her to safety.
Angel stumbled and nearly fell, and only Sam’s tight hold kept her standing and moving forward.
Jeannie followed and between the two of them they got Angel into the van and out of harm’s way.
“Stay with her,” Sam said to Jeannie.
“Yes, ma’am.”
With Angel in good hands, Sam ran back into the funeral home, where Gonzo and Freddie had two young men on the floor, their knees pressed to their backs as they cuffed them and advised them of their rights.
“This is outrageous,” another man said. “You can’t come into my sister’s wake and arrest my nephew!”
“Looks like we just did.” Sam tried not to look at the woman laid out in the coffin at the front of the room. It was a wonder she wasn’t rolling in her coffin from the goings-on at her wake. The powerful smell of too many lilies in one room made Sam feel a little sick.
“I’ll have your badge.”
“Okay.”
He lunged at her, and Cameron Green intervened. Before the man knew what hit him, he too had been cuffed and was on his way to be processed at HQ.
“You’re going to pay for this,” he screamed as he was hauled away.
Gonzo and Freddie followed with the two young men they’d been looking for. They walked with their heads down as they were escorted from the building and placed in squad cars for the ride to HQ.
“Good job, Detective,” Sam said to Green.
“Thank you.”
“Who fired the shot?”
“One of the perps pulled a gun and got off a wild shot.” He pointed to the ceiling where the plaster had been shattered by the impact. “We neutralized him before he could get off another.”
“What do you want to bet that the bullet in the ceiling is going to match the ones from the shootings?” Sam asked him.
“I’d bet the farm.”