Page 68 of Disarming Caine

Janelle. I whipped out my phone and dialed.

She answered before the first ring was done. “You okay, Sam?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry if I woke you.”

“Got on an hour ago.”

“Merry Christmas?”

“Right.” She laughed. “Now, why are you calling me in the middle of the night?”

“Do you have the results back from NIBIN on the shooting at my hotel?”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Please, Janelle, do you?”

“Gimme a minute.” I heard footsteps, the creak of a chair, and a few taps on a keyboard. A long minute passed. “Not yet.”

“Shit, seriously?”

“Sometimes things get a little backed up around Christmas. Or paperwork gets misplaced. You know how it is.”

“Janelle…” I rubbed my free hand over my face. “I found a bullet and casing at Mason’s Gallery.”

“When?”

“Two days ago. One bullet impacted the brickwork between the two panes of glass.”

“You’re kidding me.” She muttered a few curses under her breath I didn’t make out, and what could have been a name or two. “So, why didn’t you turn it over to us?”

I shrugged, like she could see it. “Here’s the thing…”

“Sam?”

“I found the same stuff at my hotel. One bullet wedged in the outside wall and the casing that went with it.”

“And you’re assuming those are from your shooting on Tuesday?”

“Well… the casing from Mason’s and the casing from my hotel are a match.”

“Fuck. The guy we have in custody for your hotel claims to have an alibi for the shooting at Mason’s.”

“Claims to?”

“They always do, and we’re still chasing it down.” She tapped a few more keys. “NIBIN tested the gun he had in his possession when we arrested him. Hits on a gas station robbery a couple of months ago. That’s it. It wasn’t a match for Mason’s Gallery.”

“You got that back before the results from my hotel?”

“Maybe Lansing’s still processing your bullets. I’ll check with them.”

I peeked through the microscope again and took a deep breath. The guy who came after me in Naples was locked up, as were his accomplices. There could have been others working with them, but why wait three months to come after me? And what link could they possibly have to Mason’s or Rhonda?

“What are you thinking, Sam?”

“You have one witness pointing to the guy in custody. What if that witness is wrong?” If the same gun meant the same shooter, only one thing made sense. “What if it’s David and Olivia Scott?”

She was silent a moment, then the clacking of keys again. “Special Agent Skinner’s out here every week to talk about that. There are no sightings of them anywhere near here. And if you think the two are related, what’s the tie-in with Mason’s Gallery?”