“Yeah, he was a big help. I wish I’d asked him to stay.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”
“Why?”
“I also heard the dad mentioned Harry Lee?”
“He did, but his wife thought he was just blowing smoke.”
“Yeah, except Mal Flynn and Harry Lee aren’t names I like to hear together.”
“Why’s that?”
“Sometimes undercover guys get lost in their legend. There’s a lot of talk Flynn may have gone too far trying to get in Harry’s good graces.”
“A lot of talk?”
“Yeah, rumors. It could be bullshit, but sometimes where there’s smoke there’s fire. It's kind of weird him being here and Harry Lee possibly looking for this kid.”
“The only reason he was here is he called me when I was on the way over. If I didn’t tell him what was going on, he never would have showed up.”
“He called you?”
“He updated me on the shot house shooting and asked me to dinner.”
“Did you say yes?”
“Yeah.”
Ames shrugged. “Be careful. Like I said, it could just be nonsense. He made a lot of arrests and sometimes people get jealous. Going out with the ‘hot cop’ won’t help.”
“Enough ‘hot cop’ talk already. Let’s talk to the kid.”
Sean chose to sit in his bedroom. Even though it was almost two in the morning, an officer got him soda to drink and it seemed to calm him down.
Margot sat down next to him.
“Can you tell me what happened? Start at the shot house.”
“The shot house?”
“The house your brothers sometimes hangs out at. Were you there?”
“You mean Boogie Bullfrog’s place?”
“Yes.”
“They killed Boogie.”
“I know. Do you know who they are?”
Sean shook his head. “I was only there because Steve told me they had a new PlayStation and a bunch of games. He said I could come over and play.”
“So you were playing games and someone came over and killed Boogie?”
Sean shook his head. “They were going to kill us, but Boogie ran into the bedroom, and then the shooting started. Darin had a gun and he started shooting at the other guy. He didn’t shoot very well because he ran out of bullets and the other guy was still standing. We ran out the back door, but Steve got shot in the arm.”
“Why were they going to kill you and your brother? All you were doing was playing a game?”
“The storage unit.”
“The storage unit?”
“Yeah, Steve asked them if they were here because of the storage unit and the big guy with the scar said, ‘Yes’. I think that’s where they stole the PlayStation.”
“They came to kill you guys over a PlayStation?”
“It was a new one.”
Ames looked at Margot. “It’s weird and messed up, but it happens. I’ve seen people get dead over less. Hey Sean, any idea where your brother would go?”
Instead of answering, Sean looked at Margot.
Before Margot could ask him anything, Mal walked into the room. Sean looked up at him and immediately looked scared. With his long hair, facial jewelry, and tattoos, he looked a lot more like the people chasing Sean than he did a cop.
“It’s okay,” Margot told Sean, “he’s a police officer.”
Sean calmed down.
“What are you doing here, Flynn?” Ames asked.
“The shot house shooting is my case. Sean and his brother Steve are persons of interest so when I heard the kid’s name over the radio, I headed over. Plus, I was worried about Margot. I knew she was staying here.”
“It’s two in the morning.”
“I keep odd hours.”
While the two homicide detectives bickered, Margot turned her attention to Sean and repeated the question, “Do you know where your brother might go?”
“If we got separated, we were supposed to go back to Boogies’. Darin didn’t think anyone would look for us there.”
Margot stood up.
“Where are you going?” Ames asked.
“The shot house. You two coming?”
“I’m a detective. Normally, I call a uniform to check out that kind of thing.”
“I am a uniform.”
“I’m coming with you,” Mal said. Ames followed her out the door as well.
Chapter 6
They took Ames' car. He drove past the house once and they both spotted the tricked out Nissan in the drive.
“That wasn’t there this afternoon,” Margot said.
“I guess Darin’s idea that no one would look here had some flaws.”
“I get the feeling Darin was a guy with a lot of ideas with some flaws,” Mal added.
“I wish I had a shotgun and a vest,” Ames said as he parked across the street.
“It looks like someone is in the car,” Margot pointed out.
Ames called for backup and Margot drew her gun and hustled across the street. Mal followed. He went to the driver’s side and Margot went to the passenger side of the vehicle. Margot approached the car slowly. There was definitely someone sitting in the passenger seat, but he wasn’t moving. She covered the distance quickly. The window was down so she stuck her gun in his ear. He groaned a little but otherwise didn’t react.
Margot peered in and saw he was a big guy with a scar on his face. He also had a bullet wound in the stomach. Margot figured this was the guy she’d hit coming in the front door. He wasn’t dead yet, but if he didn’t get to a doctor soon, he would be.
While she was looking at him, the door to the house swung open and a man walked out holding Steve by the back of his shirt. Next to him was Mr. Oliver, looking sheepish.
The man took a few steps before he saw Margot. She swung her pistol his way but held her fire when he pulled Steve in front of him. The man raised the gun in his other hand. Mr. Oliver dove on the ground and covered his head.
“Trying to avenge your stolen PlayStation would be a dumb way to die,” Ames told him.
The man looked over and saw Ames had flanked him on one side and Mal had done the same on the other. He couldn’t use Steve for cover if the shooting started. He dropped the gun, let go of Steve, and put his hands in the air.
“Hey,”
