Chapter Fifteen
“A woman?” Jess echoed. She glanced at Sam. His expression hadn’t changed but his eyelids narrowed. It was Jess that gaped like a trout. After all, there was nothing in the PI handbook that required her to be stoic. “Are you sure?”
They’d considered that option, but most snipers were men. To hear Doris say it threw the case off course. If true, this added a new dimension to the investigation.
Doris nodded. “I may be old, but I do know the difference between the sexes.” She spun the flamingo. “She had on a dark sweatshirt with a hood and was carrying a long case. I noticed her because she had the hood up. It was hot that day. Why would she need a hood?”
Jess knew hoods up, even on a hot day, wasn’t uncommon for young people. That might help them pinpoint an age range. “Tell us about her.”
“Well, she was hippy, and her sweatshirt and baggy black pants hid her figure. I didn’t get a real good look at her face but she was wearing pink lip gloss. No male assassin would wear makeup, right?”
“Agreed,” Jess said. Doris was observant.
“Hippy?” Sam asked.
“You know. Like those popular girls on TV with the big bottoms and rounded hips.” Doris pushed a finger under the shower cap and scratched. “But she was small on top. Pear shaped, poor dear.”
“Damn.” Sam gritted his teeth. “We’ve been duped.”
Doris made an excellent witness. Jess pressed forward. “Could you tell her hair color or any other features that could identify her?”
The woman thought for a moment, and then her shoulders slumped. “No. Nothing. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Jess said. “You’ve been a huge help.” She assured Doris that she made an excellent PI. The older lady beamed with the compliment.
Jess’s phone pinged. It was Alvin.
Emergency. We need you at the office.
Emergency? Her heart skipped a beat. The only emergency they ever had at the office was when the coffee ran out and the staff got surly. For Alvin to send out an alert was unusual. He wasn’t someone who panicked. This had to be serious.
Worry tugged at her.
“We have to go,” Jess said. “Thank you so much, Doris. You did great. If we have any more questions, we’ll call.” She hurried off. Sam fell in beside her.
“What’s up?” he asked. She held out her phone. “I assume this is the first time you’ve gotten one of those?”
“Yup.” They got into the SUV. Once inside she tried to call Alvin back. Then Irving. And finally, Gretchen. No one answered. All the calls went to voicemail. She lowered her phone onto her lap. “Something is very wrong.”
Sam broke speed records as they weaved in and out of neighborhoods, taking the back way in. Jess’s stomach knotted when she saw a trio of police cars parked in front of Brash and several employees standing outside talking to the officers.
“Oh, no.” She jumped from the SUV while it was rolling to a stop and ran for the doors. There was no one at the security desk as she and Sam skipped the elevator and took the stairs up three flights. Gretchen was not at her desk.
Jess ran past. The hallway was packed with employees as she headed for Irving’s office. Gretchen stood in the opening of the double doors, crying silently into a tissue.
“What’s going on?” Jess demanded.
Gretchen grabbed her arm. “Irving’s been shot.”
Jess’s legs went out from beneath her.
* * *
Sam caught her by the elbow before she went down. He squeezed her arm painfully tight. Jess would be horrified to show weakness in front of all those people. And he was right. She snapped upright under the pressure.
Giving him a thankful glance, she gently pushed past Gretchen and headed for Irving’s office. He stayed behind her.
The office was a hive of activity. Jess scanned the room and locked onto her boss. He was seated in a chair while a medic attended him. Jess wavered slightly with relief and hurried over. She elbowed Alvin aside and dropped onto her heels. Irving took her hand.
The warmth of his fingers wrapped around hers caused tears to spring into her eyes. Irving was much more than a boss. He was like a father/grandfather to everyone who was part of his Brash & Brazen family. The idea of losing him was beyond what she could take.
“Don’t cry,” he whispered and squeezed her hand. “If Gretchen sees you break down, she’ll lose it.”
Jess blinked and nodded. Sam called her Tough Girl. She could do this. “What have you gone and done to yourself?” she asked softly and struggled to check her emotions.
“A sniper shot me through the window. He grazed my leg.” The EMT had his pant leg cut open and wrapped padding and tape around the injury. “They want to take me to the hospital.” He and the EMT exchanged frowns. “It’s just a scratch.”
“You’re going,” Jess said before he could solidify his argument. “If you don’t go, Gretchen will lose it.” She turned his words on him. “You don’t want that.”
Bushy gray brows tangled together above his nose. “That wasn’t nice.”
She refused to look away. Instead she leaned in. “We care about you, stubborn old man. Without you, Taryn will want to be in charge and you know how bossy she is.”
“Taryn isn’t the only one,” he grumbled. “The three of you haven’t given me any peace in three years with all your nagging and bossing.”
“And you love us.” Jess patted his knee and lowered her voice. “Please don’t fight me on this. Everyone is concerned.”
Irving looked past her to the clutch of worried faces in the hallway. Jess watched him deflate. He cared just as much about them as they did him. As the leader of the company, he’d do what was needed to assure everyone he was okay.
He turned to the EMT. “Do you plan to continue strangling my leg with all the tape or are we getting out of here?”
The EMT smiled.
* * *
Sam looked over to where a pair of officers examined the broken window. Glass littered the carpet from a golf ball-sized hole. Sam chased out all non-essential personnel and joined them.
“What have you got?” he asked and bent for a better view. Knowing the sniper was a young female made the situation even more unbelievable. Most snipers were seasoned by many years of honing their craft. To make a shot like this took skill.
He wondered if she had military training.
“One shot through the glass. It was a hell of a shot,” Stafford said, echoing Sam’s thoughts. He was a patrolman wanting to be a detective. Sam liked him. “We assume it came from the building next door, but can’t confirm without further investigation.”
Sam looked over at the building on the other side of the parking lot. What Stafford said made sense. It was the closest and tallest building in the area. But even with the air conditioning and heating units on the roof, it was still a half-story below Irving’s office and several hundred yards away.
He turned to the desk and found a pen. Sliding it into the bullet hole, the angle confirmed trajectory. The bullet had come from above and hit Irving as he stood at the window.
Whoever the woman assassin was, she’d done her homework.
Sam returned to Jess as the medics loaded Irving up. He put a hand on her shoulder. She was trembling.
“We’ll catch her,” he said. Jess nodded. She, Alvin, and Gretchen followed the emergency crew out.
Sam waited until the team was loaded into the elevator. He caught a glimpse of Jess’s face right as the doors closed. She sent him a brief nod. Though upset, he saw a flash of anger in her eyes. She’d make sure Irving was settled and safe before slipping back into PI mode.
The sniper had made a huge mistake in hurting someone Jess loved, and Jess adored that old man.
It was Game On.