“He was stabbed. Can we drop this?”
Jeffers’ eyes widened. “Ohh. Then his relationship with the perp might be personal, rather than a hit.”
“I don’t know, Jeffers.” Anne blinked wearily.
“Guys?” DeWinter poked his head into the room. “Lopez wants to talk to all of us in the briefing room. Now. I’m pretty sure it’s about your case.”
Anne pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Hey. This case is getting big enough that they’d take it away from any one of us. Two is just not enough,” DeWinters said.
“That’s not much comfort come evaluation time,” Jeffers said.
“It should be. Sutton, you turned a single murder into multiple homicides, potentially closing a dozen cold cases.” DeWinters slapped her shoulder as she exited the room. “Be proud. Hell, you’ve helped us on cases. Let us help you.”
“I don’t think the captain notices when I help you guys on cases,” Anne said.
DeWinters was quiet for a moment, then scratched the back of his graying black hair. “I dunno. I think Lopez notices everything.”
Anne sighed and headed with them to the briefing room. Whatever was about to happen, she wasn’t going to like it.
***
“We’re closed,” William said irritably after the bell to his shop sounded. He stared fixedly at the pile of books he was sorting. Maybe he should’ve elected to run a comic book shop. Or an ice cream parlor. He blew the dust off of an old tome that someone had ordered but not picked up.
The sound of heeled boots came nearer, and he ignored them.
“William?” Anne’s soft voice floated toward him.
He said nothing, hoping that she would just leave.
“Look, it’s been a few days, and you haven’t answered your phone. They’re gonna send someone else down here if you don’t answer. I told them to let me try first since I’ve been your contact so far.”
“Oh, is contact what you call it?” William muttered.
“Will?” Anne peered around the bookshelf. “God, I was afraid someone had silenced that smart-ass mouth of yours permanently.”
“You’re a real sweetheart, you know?” William slammed a book down. “What do you want this time?”
“The department wants to put a man inside,” Anne explained, shifting her weight onto one foot. “Get some information from Egerton. We’re pretty sure we can link Egerton to seven hits at least, and if we bust him, the money dries up for his hit man. He might even roll on the guy to reduce his sentence.”
“And you, what? Want me to do the honors? Get on the inside, do your dirty work, help you arrest the old asshole?”
Anne shook her head. “No, that’s what the department wants. I wanted to be the one to tell you because I don’t want you to go.”
William brushed his hands together and stood. “Why?”
“You told me what Egerton said, what he’s like. This man is as insane as your father, even if he seems to like you a bit better.” Anne shoved her hands in her pockets. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“So you’re here to tell me you suddenly care oh so much.” William wiped his hands on his jeans. He tended to dress down for inventory, in nothing but an old pair of jeans and a worn-out T-shirt. “Well, it’s no skin off my nose if you lot put some other sucker in there to get information for you.”
“I care, William,” Anne insisted.
Turning swiftly, William fixed a withering look on her. She pulled her head back but didn’t move, so he stormed toward her and grabbed her wrist.
“Do you? Do you really care?”
“Ow,” she said with more annoyance than pain.