Page 35 of Special Agent Raven
Noah burst out laughing, and Raven felt good to see him set aside the pall of sadness that had become his natural aura.
“Go figure, when they say opposites attract, those two fit the bill.”
“Except in the similarity of their personalities.”
“Guess something had to bring them together.” She drew up to where Palmer’s house sat a hundred feet up the road and turned off the jeep’s lights. “May be best to go on foot from here on out. No sense in letting anyone know we’re here.”
Noah slipped from his seat after giving her the thumb’s up sign. She followed, staying behind him as they inched closer to the lit house. Sneaking around the back where the lights wereon, they saw a large body in the soggy grass of the back yard and blood everywhere. Taking out his gun, Noah stiffened and signaled for her to stay behind.
In a matter of moments, they’d circled to the front entrance where Noah banged on the door, calling out, “Sheriff’s department. We’re coming in.”
With both hands gripping the weapon held out in front of her, Raven followed his hand signal to search to the right side while he went down the hall. Seeing nothing, she called out, “Clear.” Then continued behind him to where the stairs began. Slowly, as she crept to the second floor, she heard Noah shout clear when he reached the kitchen and living room area.
Speculations pounded through her head that Palmer – sick with Covid – had to be here somewhere, and so she tightened her grip on her weapon and edged her way around each door. Swinging the muzzle of her gun to the right and then the left, she made sure nothing moved.
Finally, she reached his bedroom at the end of the hall and slipped inside only to freeze in place. Palmer, still dressed in his pajamas, lay face up on the floor, the bullet hole in his head a sure sign he’d died instantly. When she noticed the gun he still clutched in his hand, a sob caught in her throat. He’d been brave at the end, obviously ready to protect himself. Unfortunately, an impossibility against the kind of evil he’d had to face.
She heard Noah behind her, his soft voice warning her who it was. “Raven?” He stood next to her, placing his hand on her shoulder, obviously knowing her bereavement for Palmer came from a place of pity laced with caring. “I’m really sorry about this, Raven. I know you and he grew up together.”
“We did. Dammit, Noah, Palmer didn’t have a mean bone in his body and didn’t deserve this ending. That son of a bitch Dale is going to answer for his dirty ways if it’s the last thing I do.”
“I’m with you, city girl. I’m with you.”
She turned and changed the subject, her stunning anger giving her the power to move. “I presume it was Carlos in the yard.”
“Yeah, he’s alive, but he’s lost a lot of blood.”
“Did you call for the ambulance?”
“I did. They said it might take some time before they can get here and, in the meantime, to stop the bleeding as best we can. Haven’t a hope in hell of getting that sucker off the ground so I guess we better cover him there.”
Suddenly, a horrified but angry voice screeched through the night. “Cotton-pickin’, son of a bitch’en bastard… the fuckin’ sneak shot my man.”
Raven looked up at Noah and groaned. “Alice is here.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
By the time Cane had finished filling out the paperwork and reports that Noah had asked him to take care of based on the day’s earlier happenings, Cane wasn’t sure what compelled him to check the desk drawer where he’d hidden the whiskey. Suddenly, he found his hand reaching for the handle. Before he slid it open all the way, the call center lit up.
“Hey, Noah, Henry here. We have some trouble at the fire station. You free to come?”
Cane answered, “It’s Cane. Noah’s with Raven out on a call. I’m here alone at the jail. Can you tell me what happened? I can get a hold of Noah if you think it’s necessary.”
“One of our trucks is missing… figure some kids must be joy riding. Getting sick and tired of those little bastards getting high and having fun at our expense.”
“Is it a fire department vehicle?”
“No. Belongs to a firefighter here on shift, but he’s furious. Just bought the sucker a week ago.”
Before he could get into it further, a message came through the call line from Noah that caught his attention.
“Okay, I’ll let Noah know about it, Henry. Hold on, he’s on the other line.”
After Cane heard Noah’s request for assistance, he reopened the line to Henry. “Noah’s got some trouble out at Palmer’s place. Think you could babysit the jailhouse so I can head over there. Sounds like they walked in on a homicide and need all hands on deck.”
“Okay. Be there in a few minutes.”
By the time he’d arrived, Cane had contacted Raven to let her know he was on his way to help them secure the crime scene. While he got ready, he remembered he didn’t have wheels and using Henry’s vehicle didn’t seem like a good idea. He pushed away from the desk and spotted Dwayne’s jacket hanging on the coat rack standing next to the filing cabinet.