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Billy secured Suzie in the back of our squad and we were on our way to Shelby for our next arrest.

“I’ll have the techs run her car when they search her house for the poison,” I said to Billy.

“They more than likely used the load bed in Raza’s truck,” said Billy. “Easier than stuffing his body in a trunk.”

“Whatever was handy at the time.”

Raza Residence. Shelby.

With Suzie sobbing in the back of the squad, we carried on to make our second arrest of the day. Billy drove north to Shelby and easily found the trailer Raza lived in on the edge of town.

When Billy parked in front of the single-wide, Suzie began screaming, “Don’t touch him. Don’t arrest Carter. He didn’t do anything.”

I took the front door and Billy ran around to the back of the trailer in case there was another exit. After pounding on the door for a full minute, Raza didn’t answer and I figured he wasn’t going to.

Raising my boot, I kicked the door hard just under the lock and the framing gave. The door hung by one hinge and I kicked it out of the way and stomped inside with my Sig in my hand.

“Show yourself, Raza. You are under arrest. Come out with your hands on your head. If you don’t give yourself up, I’ll put a bullet in you.”

He sauntered out of his bedroom wearing a pair of torn jeans and nothing else, his hands on his head. “What are you arresting me for?”

“Suspicion of murder as well as conspiracy charges. And you can add resisting arrest.”

“I’m not resisting. You got me.” He eyed the sling and sized up my disadvantage and he went for it. As he tried to sweep my leg in some pseudo Bruce Lee martial arts move, I countered with a vicious kick to his groin, and down he went, howling and clutching his package.

I was rolling him onto his belly just in time for Billy to run in from the back door and cuff him. “Put a shirt and a coat on him.”

“Copy, boss.”

I held the back door of the squad open while Billy shoved Raza in and secured him next to Suzie.

“So sorry, Carter,” said Suzie between sobs. “I’m so sorry you got mixed up in this.”

“Shut up, Suzie. They can’t prove anything.”

“You and your sister have been a busy little pair, haven’t y’all?”

“She’s not my sister,” snapped Raza.

“Nope. Not your biological sister. But y’all are close in other ways. I get it.”

“You don’t know anything about me and Suzie,” snarked Raza.

“I’m about to find out,” I said. “I’m going to hang all of your dirty laundry out for the citizens of Harrison County to see what the two of you have been up to.”

That set Suzie off on another crying jag. We were making good progress. It wouldn’t be much longer and Miss Suzie would be clearing her conscience and giving us the details we needed to convict her and her foster brother.

Listening to her cry was the annoying part.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

At the station, Billy booked them both on suspicion of murder along with conspiracy charges, and he added resisting arrest for Carter Raza.

Before locking them up I had to decide who was going to be roommates with who. Billy and I had a little conference in the break room.

“Put Suzie in one of the empty cells and when we pick up the Thorns, we’ll shove the wife in with Suzie.”

“Then Raza will be in with Thorn?” asked Billy.