“Here I am, boys.”
Chapter 12
The detectives arrived back after three to a buzzing station. The room was noisier than usual with gossip and unanswered questions.
Dale threw down his fast-food lunch and sat at his messy desk. He opened a drawer and swept every piece of paper inside. The new case files had been stacked on the filing cabinet. He grabbed the files and tossed them onto his clean desk. The forensics, coroner, crime scene and street police all had completed their reports. There was a crime scene analysis and a crime scene sketch as well as Grant’s bio. But other than the tread marks found on the side of the road, nothing else had yet been discovered. The reports offered little cause for optimism. He had already issued an APB for Grant’s missing car.
The phone call was the only promising lead. It just didn’t make sense.
“Hey, Dale.” One of his officers approached his desk. “Linda Grant has already placed a call to Ace Sanders. Sanders didn’t let Linda speak long enough to say anything incriminating.” He started to walk away and then stopped. “Oh yeah, the tracking device has been planted on Linda’s chauffeured limo and is operational.”
Dale thanked his officer, took a long gulp of coffee, powered up his computer and grabbed the first file. Then he heard his sergeant storm out of his office.
“Has anyone seen Dayton?” The sergeant yelled into the crowd at no one in particular.
The detective waited for his name to be called.
“Dayton, get in here!”
He took his time walking toward his sergeant’s office, picking up Jimmy on the way.
The sarge was sitting at his desk watching the television when the detectives walked in. An unlit cigar hung from the side of his mouth. “Sit down, you two!”
Then he grabbed the remote control and turned up the volume on the television. Dale and Jimmy sat back and watched the full report on the Grant murder. The news crew did “man on the street” spots with scared citizens.
Then Dale watched as the mayor was interviewed and said they’d have an answer soon.
The sergeant hit mute. “Personally I don’t like the conniving little prick, but I’ll kiss his ass any chance I get. We’re in the middle of a political disaster. Grant was a major contributor to the mayor’s political campaigns and a close friend. The Greek was great PR for Vegas.” He was making his point by tapping his finger hard on the desk.
“I’ve assigned you twelve officers, Dayton. Here.”
The sergeant passed Dale a piece of paper. Dale recognized the names on the list. All of the officers were capable investigators. The latitude and assistance that was being given to him re-emphasized how big this case really was.
“Now get outta here and find somethin’.”
As he was walking out, his boss called him back.
“Dayton, don’t screw this up. And get that fuckin’ thing off my desk!” The sergeant pointed at the spit cup as Dale smirked and grabbed it.
Outside the office, ten of the twelve-man investigative team members caucused around Dale’s desk.
This was it—bumped up to top-grade detective, or proof positive he couldn’t handle a big case or higher ranking. This case would be either a career-maker or a career-killer.
He refocused. “Jimmy, let’s fill in everyone. First, nobody talks to anyone about this case. Duncan and Parker, take Grant’s son, daughter and ex-wife. His son, Shawn, has been running the Greek, so he should be a good source. What was Grant’s
The officers nodded and left the huddle.
He turned to the next two in line. “Harper and Elliot, take Grant’s friends and pricey lawyer, although attorney/client privilege may stop him from saying anything at all. But seeing as how Grant was murdered, the lawyer might be authorized, or feel a moral obligation that most lawyers don’t, to say something. But I’m assuming this guy is both Grant’s and his wife’s lawyer.”
The team wrote down their assignment and departed.
Dale gestured toward two officers. “Smith and Ramirez, you take all employees, from pit bosses to cocktail waitresses.”
He paused for a moment and then continued. “Sanchez and Lucas.” The two stepped forward. “Rival casino owners.”
He turned to his two remaining officers. Edwards and Morris were Dale’s two most experienced members of his team. “I need you guys to go to Grant’s casino office and strip it to the walls. Go into the walls if needed. All of it comes back here. He’ll have a safe so take Mark with you. Here, take this.” Dale handed over the search warrant. “You’ll probably have to push Shawn Grant hard with the warrant to get into Grant’s office.”
“What are we gonna do?” Jimmy asked when the room was empty.
“We, my friend, are going to Grant’s private office.”
“Hunch?”
“Yeah. Hunch.” He picked up the phone and dialed his sergeant’s office. “I need phone records.”
Before they left, Dale turned to his youngest officer. “Craig, get me phone records from Doug, Linda and Shawn Grant, as well as Calvin Watters and Ace Sanders. I need local and long distance from their home, work and cell phones.”
Chapter 13
To save time, Dale brought a couple of members of the LVMPD forensic team. Having twice as many pros working the same office at the same time would expedite everything.
Dale flashed his badge at the guards, displayed the search warrant for Grant’s office and made his request. After carefully scanning the warrant and examining the badge, Dale, Jimmy and the two forensic experts were asked to sign in as the security guard fumbled for his keys.
“You two go ahead.” Dale indicated to the forensic unit.
The two men followed the security guard across the lobby floor and toward the elevators.
Dale checked the name tags on the security guards’ shirts. “Gus, Fred, I was wondering if my partner and I could ask you guys a few questions?”
The guards fidgeted.
“Just relax, fellas. We’re all on the same side here. Who was on duty this morning?”
The chubby one swallowed hard and answered. “We were, sir.” A drip of perspiration leaked from the guard’s forehead. The man looked as if he were going to blow a blood vessel.
“We want to know if a Winston Coburn III had a nine-thirty appointment with Grant this morning and if he had gone up to the private office.”
“He sure did.”
Quick answer.
The taller guard handed the guest list to Dale, who noticed the perfect penmanship. He gave the clipboard to Jimmy and continued with his questions.
“Do you remember what this guy looked like?”
“I sure do.”
He sighed. Evidently, the men had been trained to say as little as possible. He could tell that Jimmy was getting impatient too.
“We knew you’d be coming, so we prepared the video footage. Just come around.”
