“It’s all right, Mrs. Kovac, we appreciate your help. Everything you’ve said certainly helps us,” Adrian replied as Marcus muttered to himself. “We’ll let you get back to your day now.”
“But we’ll be back,” Marcus added.
“Or maybe we won’t,” Adrian smiled. “Again, thank you for your help, we appreciate it.”
Marcus didn’t have time to say another word for Adrian was already walking toward the door, without waiting for him or even speaking. Until Marcus got into the car and Adrian refused to do so.
“What?” Marcus asked him.
“Listen, I don’t know how you did your questioning in your city, but this is not how we do it here. We treat people with respect if we want to get help from them. I’ve known Mrs. Kovac since I was a kid; she’s incapable of lying or hurting anyone,” Adrian said.
“So what? You want me to be nicer to a witness who’s not willing to cooperate because you got soft on her, seriously? Do you have any idea how many times I’ve heard a woman like Mrs. Kovac claiming innocence while she kept a bloody knife underneath her pillow? Being an old woman doesn’t make her an exception to commit a crime,” Marcus replied.
“So now you’re raising the level from witness to suspect, just like that?”
“Hey, you never know. She could be casually hiding something or committing crimes while we look away.”
“Committing murders, an 80 year old woman? Are you fucking serious?” Adrian asked him with rage. Marcus raised his eyebrows and shrugged.
“A killer could be hiding in the strangest places.”
“Maybe in your city, but in LinHill we’re hardworking people, not criminals.”
“So what, you want me to apologize to her for doing my job? Buy flowers and chocolates so the poor woman can forgive me?” Marcus replied with a sardonic smirk.
“You could start by stopping being an asshole,” Adrian snapped.
“Listen man, if you don’t like the way I do things, you might as well walk the hell away. The last thing I need is someone whining every fucking minute because he doesn’t like how I roll,” Marcus replied harshly. Adrian closed the door with so much strength Marcus thought the glass would break. His face was flushed and his hands had turned into fists. Adrian was ready to fight, though Marcus was really not in the mood.
“Go fuck yourself. I’m done with your bullshit,” Adrian said and stepped away from the car, in the opposite direction.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m walking away from you, dickhead. You’re on your own now. Good luck with getting help from someone.”
Marcus watched as Adrian walked away, arms still resting on the steering wheel. He was certain he could do things on his own, didn’t need an assistant to get through an investigation. He had his means, he had his connections, and he had his ability to solve cases. The last thing he needed was someone who could become a problem, and right now Adrian was exactly that.
After all, Marcus worked better solo.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Adrian walked home and paced around before coming back to the station. He had been too angry to see Marcus again, so he waited until the rage was gone to concentrate on his job. After all, there was no use being angry at someone whose job he was supposed to share. When he waltzed into the office Marcus was sitting on his desk, head resting on the chair, eyes closed, tie loose and jacket on top of his desk. He looked more disheveled and tired than before.
“How did the interrogation go?” Adrian asked. Marcus raised his head. He shrugged in reply and didn’t look exactly pleased.
“It didn’t. I had more doors shut in my face than I have in a lifetime,” Marcus confessed.
“Told you, wasting your time. They’re not gonna talk. It might sound weird to you but they feel safe, protected even.”
“By a criminal?” Marcus asked.
“To these citizens, the Vigilante is not a criminal but—a hero, if you will”
“Why would they not feel protected in the first place? Who are those men he killed?” Marcus asked. Adrian had forgotten he hadn’t mentioned Julius’s men at all and he didn’t want to reveal Julius’s name either, afraid Marcus might figure out his connection to him.
“Gang members, thieves. Common criminals,” Adrian lied.
“So this Vigilante guy is protecting citizens because apparently you CAN’T?” Marcus asked him with a look between incredulity and annoyance.
“Hey! Don’t give me that look. We’ve done everything we can; sometimes things are out of our hands.”
“And now we have another criminal in town. A criminal who kills businessmen for a reason we don’t know.”
“We’re not certain last night’s kills were the work of the Vigilante, though. There were a lot of inconsistences from the previous scenes,” Adrian argued.
“Not yet. But if the ballistics match–”
“We don’t have a lab here,” Adrian interrupted.
“No, but I have friends in the city, and they’re gonna run what we found through the system. We’ll find out soon if this Vigilante killed Noah and the others.”
“Right. So, while you wait for your friends, what’s gonna happen?”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna keep an eye on Riley Spencer,” Marcus said.
“What does she have to do with anything?”
Marcus raised his eyebrows. “Everything, or maybe nothing. But there’s one thing I’m sure of, and that’s there are no coincidences when it comes to Riley.”
“You sound very certain. How long have you known her?”
“We go way back,” Marcus replied. Adrian couldn’t ignore the unease this revelation caused him. “I knew her, but with another name. “I met her as Riley Marcone, wife of Santino Marcone, who was one of the most powerful mobsters I’ve ever known. He was in weapons smuggling. She wasn’t directly involved, but she was the only beneficiary of his business when he died.”
“I knew she had been married but she never said anything else about her husband,” Adrian said.
“Well, it isn’t like she would be proud, especially after he died in the most vicious way, betrayed by his own
