Shatter (Unbreakable Bonds 2)

The nagging feeling over that address came back to him and he lifted the phone only to hear the cop cursing along with the sounds of clothes rustling.

“I’m back. Sorry, couldn’t find my keys.” He unlocked his car, got in and tossed the phone into the passenger seat when it automatically hooked up to the Bluetooth.

“So is there a reason for this two a.m. call?”

“Yeah,” he breathed as he slowed at a red light. “Gidget called me because she tracked down Gratton. Something about suspicious computer use, IP address, and other stuff I was too tired to catch. She gave me an address. I need to put it into my GPS and I called because—” All of a sudden, the nagging feeling clicked. “Oh, fuck.” Panic froze him.

“What?”

“Banner, listen to me. I was calling you to meet me there and I just realized where it is.”

“Hell no, you are not going there. I’ll call it in. Give me the address.”

“Look, I’m on my way already, but I don’t want to mess something up for you, so just meet me there already. And now, okay? I just remembered why I know the street name. It’s the one behind Ian’s.”

Complete silence came over the phone. It was followed by the sound of a slamming door and the rumble of the cop’s old muscle car.

“Listen to me, Banner. I’m going to hang up and call Ian’s bodyguard to make sure everything is okay there.” He rattled off the address in Mt. Adams and hung up.

He called Gidget for Sven’s number.

She answered on the first ring, one step ahead as usual. “Ian’s okay. I called him as soon as I figured out Gratton was near him. I also called Rowe. He didn’t answer. As always.” Her voice broke.

“Did you call Andrei?”

“Not yet.”

“Don’t. I’m taking Banner out there with me.”

“The cop?” Her soft voice squeaked. “He doesn’t know where you got the address, does he?”

“No, but I’m sure he can guess. Don’t worry about him. Something tells me he would use your skills before arresting you.”

“I don’t trust cops, Snow, but let me know if Gratton is there. If not, I’ll dig some more.” She hung up.

Snow parked down the street and waited until Hollis’s Chevelle pulled in behind him. They got out at the same time. Banner hadn’t bothered to do more than pull his leather jacket on over the T-shirt he must have been sleeping in. He shivered in the winter night air.

“Really shouldn’t be doing this with you, doc. Promise me you won’t touch anything.”

“I can do that.” He glanced down the street at the dark townhouse. “See how tall it is? There’s an unobstructed view from that top window across the top of that house. He could see right into Ian’s bedroom window with the right equipment.” Snow’s hands curled into fists. “Come on, let’s go.”

When they reached the townhouse, Banner pointed to the side yard and Snow nodded to show he understood before following. The only sound was the crunch of their shoes on hardened snow and the faint sound of someone’s television on too loud in the house next door. The pine trees were thick in the backyard, their snow-laden branches blocking a lot of the moonlight as well as the street lights. A dog growled a couple of yards over, but thankfully didn’t start barking.

“Do you smell that?” Snow whispered as he frowned and covered his nose.

“Yeah, and I know that odor, unfortunately.” Hollis watched the back of the house for a long time before walking toward a metal shed half hidden among the trees. “It’s coming from in here.”

“I know that smell, too,” Snow whispered, grimacing. The odor of death was unmistakable and whatever had been killed here had been dead awhile. “You going to look in there?”

“I have to. Stay back and again, don’t touch anything. Shit.” He looked back at the dark townhouse again. “You shouldn’t be here. I’m calling this in.”

“Not yet. It could be a dead raccoon or something.” Snow nudged him toward the metal door. “Just look already!”

“You and I both know that’s no dead animal in there.” Hollis pulled out his phone. “Just retrace your steps and wait by your car. Or better yet, go home. The last thing we need to do is mess up this investigation so that asshole goes free.”

Banner must have assumed Snow would just do as told. He sneered at the idiot then strode to the back door. He didn’t slow, keeping up the momentum and slammed into it with a solid kick. The flimsy door gave fast and Snow walked into the kitchen, ignoring Hollis’s cursing behind him. The smell wasn’t much better inside. Moonlight spilled through the large, uncovered windows over the table and sink. Dirty dishes with half eaten meals cluttered every available surface. The silver trash receptacle in the corner reflected moonlight, but had overflowed in a complete half circle of debris on the floor around it. The pungent odor of rotting garbage filled this room—different, but nearly as bad. He glanced back at Hollis. “How much time until they get here?”