“That changes things. I’ll see if I can help you find him. Not that I wouldn’t have done my job anyway, brother or not. But now I’m going to get creative. But I believe TV is to blame.”
“What do you mean?” Dale asked.
“Detective, we both know that in real life, the police treat a suspect who comes forward with respect and assume that only an innocent man would voluntarily turn himself in. TV cop shows indicate that cops try to twist a suspect’s story. My brother is probably thinking that.”
“Anything you got will help.”
“Calvin is a survivor, detective. He doesn’t trust too many people. He was only thirteen when our mother died of pancreatic cancer. We didn’t have a father. Calvin bounced around the foster care system, moving from house to house, parents to parents. I was more fortunate. I was twenty-one and already enrolled in the Academy. Even though I was legally an adult, I was in no way capable of taking care of Calvin. I did the best I could, but I wasn’t the brother I should have been. Calvin used football as his salvation and a way out. As a boy, he overcame all of these obstacles to succeed when most
“No leads?”
“It won’t be easy, detective Dayton. Calvin is a U.S. military history buff. He would read up on it any chance he got. I know that he used this knowledge in football to break down team defenses. He showed a special interest in past wars, studying line of defenses, as well as actions taken on the offensive. He had learned every possible tactic used by the military and how the armed forces involved made their decisions. But I’ll do my best to help.”
“Thanks, Detective Watters. Call me anytime,” Dale said over the lump in his throat.
Chapter 22
“Jimmy, I’m going downstairs to retrieve the stuff from Pitt’s office. We can review it now while I decide in which direction we want the team to run.”
Dale skipped down the concrete stairs and into the basement evidence room. “Mornin’, Joseph. I need the Pitt stuff.”
“You got it, Dale.”
The swarthy officer jumped off his stool, dropped the logbook on the counter in front of Dale and walked to the back of the cage. Dale could hear lockers being opened and closed as he signed in. The man returned with two large-sized garbage bags.
Dale eyed him. “That’s it?”
The man shrugged. “That’s all that was signed in last night.”
Dale grabbed the bags and sprinted up the steps. He threw them on his desk. “How many bags did we confiscate from Pitt’s office?”
Jimmy shrugged. “I didn’t stay all night, but there were at least four when I left.”
Dale sizzled with rage and felt a shiver form. Goose bumps sprung on his arms. He marched into his sergeant’s office without knocking. “What the fuck is going on here?”
The sergeant was on the phone. A cigar drooped from his lips. “I gotta go,” he said into the phone and hung up.
“Excuse me, Dayton? Do you know who I was on the phone with?”
“I don’t give a fuck right now. What happened to the Pitt evidence?”
“What Pitt evidence?” His boss seemed genuinely puzzled.
“The evidence we took from the office last night.”
“What are you saying?”
“At least two bags are missing. I want to know what’s happened to them.”
“Dayton, are you accusing me?” The boss did not sound as angry as he should have.
“It’s a mighty big fuckin’ coincidence that bags of evidence with names of important people vanished overnight.”
“Get out of my office! I’ll find out what happened to your fuckin’ evidence.”
“You do that.”
Dale slammed his way out of the office and rushed to dump the bags out on his desk. Jimmy didn’t say a word.
He and Jimmy skimmed the contents of Pitt’s safe, but all the good stuff was gone. What was he going to do about whoever was messing with him from inside the department? He had no clue who it was.
He wanted to make some calls, do some complaining, but he knew his superiors would ignore him and he’d be wasting needed time that they didn’t have.
He reviewed the suspects.
Ace Sanders’ alibi was confirmed by the scared employees from his casino. The household staff confirmed that Linda Grant was at home at the time in question. Shawn Grant was also at his casino. But all three of them could have hired a killer.
The only suspect without an alibi was Calvin Watters and they couldn’t even find him to question.
“Anything?” Jimmy asked.
“No!” His voice was raised. “Sorry, Jimmy. I’m still too pissed to think straight right now. Just give me a few minutes to put my thoughts in order.”
He tried to forget about the missing evidence and corrupt cops. He jotted down assignments and grabbed the files on Pitt and the prostitute. As he opened the file, he heard his name called.
“Dale, conclusion on the tread marks. Perfect matches to Grant’s vehicle.”
“Thanks, Ian.”
Confirmed: smart killer. One set of tire tracks.
Dale got up and approached his team. “Neil, you and Tim interview Pitt’s family, because your natural sleaziness will win them over.”
The men grinned as Dale moved on.
“Amy, you and Smitty talk to Pitt’s employees and business associates.”
Dale moved to less experienced detectives.
“Lucas and Sanchez, you have the hookers. Actually, scratch that. Amy, you can get more out of the hookers than those fine young men.”
He threw a black leather book onto the desk.
He gave Lucas and Sanchez a new task. “That’s Pitt’s client list. Go through every name. Pay particular attention to those with outstanding debts. That’s potential motive. Maybe Pitt was killed by a friend, but it also could have been a client back for revenge for what Pitt had Watters do to collect.”
Before Dale turned to go, Lucas asked, “What about Sanders? Derek and I still haven’t talked to him.”
“Leave him. Jimmy and I will handle that.”
Dale went to his last team. “Charles, you and Eddy see if Pitt’s business was failing according to other bookies.”
Dale and Jimmy returned to the lead detective’s desk. Dale punched a number. “Stan, it’s Dale. Anything on Linda Grant yet?”
“No, nothing. She spent yesterday expressing her grief by shopping. You want us to shut down surveillance?”
“No, I still don’t trust her. Watch her around the clock for at least today. I’ll call Harper and Elliot and have them replace you.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dale hung up.
Jimmy looked at his partner. “What about Sanders? We gonna go see him?”
“Not just yet.”
“Dale,” someone called out.
