High Risk by G.K. Parks (books for 10th graders TXT) 📕

“The bank.”

“No. They don’t have that much, and even if they did, it’d be too hard to get in and out. It wouldn’t matter what security uniform you stole.”

“What about robbing another armored truck?”

“That’s what I figured. We beefed up patrols and assigned each truck an escort.” I pushed my plate away. “Where else?”

“Considering the number of ODs that come into the ER, I’d say a pharmacy, but that would require a few extra steps.”

“No, I don’t think so. It has to be somewhere LockBox goes. One of the locations Lindsey Rook knew about.” But we had the list. We had units keeping watch on every possible target. We’d catch them in the act and stop them. No one else would have to die. Officers were sent in undercover to secure the most likely locations. But what if we were wrong?

“You’re worried,” Emma said.

“Yeah.”

She stared at her plate. We’d had this argument before. She, like my mom, thought being a cop was too dangerous. However, it was my decision. And she couldn’t fault me for wanting to make a difference. After all, that’s why she became a nurse.

“Why don’t you take off?” Emma suggested. “I planned on sleeping over anyway. So I’ll take Gunnie out for his final walk of the night and crash in my old bedroom. Unless you want to stay too. We can dye your hair, paint our nails, and talk about boys. Have you heard? I have a crush on a firefighter.”

I snickered. “I heard, but I don’t want to hear any more about it. I just want to go home and shower. Are you sure you got this? At least let me help with the dishes.”

“You worked all day, and you spent last night with a lawyer. But tomorrow, after I get off work, I’m going to be tired and bitchy, so you can do all this fun stuff instead. Deal?”

“That’s only fair.”

“Be careful,” Emma said.

“Yep.” I grabbed my gear off the counter, gave Emma a hug, and slipped Gunnie another treat before leaving my parents’ house.

On the way home, I tried calling my dad, but it went straight to voicemail. I hadn’t spoken to my parents since they left the country and figured they must not have updated their phone plans for use outside the US, or Mom forgot to pack the wall adapters, or they were just having too much fun. I couldn’t remember the last time my parents went on vacation.

But a part of me wanted to hear my dad’s voice. Decorated police captain Vince DeMarco would know what to do with a case like this. Too bad I hadn’t inherited his experience, along with his drive and instincts.

After arriving at home, I ran a couple of miles on the treadmill, did an evening yoga practice, and showered. But even the moving meditation hadn’t brought me inner tranquility. I crawled into bed, unsatisfied with myself and the recent turn of events.

The ghosts of the dead haunted me. I couldn’t shake Richard Golden breaking down into tears at the news of his best friend’s death. And the men and woman who died today would be equally missed. The station agent had a teenaged son. What would happen to him?

I couldn’t just lay here. I had to do something. No one else could lose a parent or child because of these bastards. So I reached for my laptop and brought up a city map.

“Where are you hiding?” I had memorized all of the relevant locations. But they were scattered over the map.

When this didn’t get me anywhere, I called Brad. “Pick up,” I mumbled, but after five rings, it went to voicemail. “Hey, it’s me. I thought you might be up, but I guess not. Don’t worry, it’s nothing pressing. I couldn’t sleep and figured we could brainstorm. Anyway, get some rest. One of us has to. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Restless and determined, I decided to take a drive. As I meandered through the city, sticking to the neighborhoods and areas where the killers had been, I wondered how they knew so much about the traffic cameras to park in the blind spots.

At the next red light, I dialed dispatch. “This is Detective DeMarco.” I rattled off my credentials. “I’m curious about something. Who has access to the city’s traffic cam grid besides the police?” I listened to the answer, but the options were limited. “Any chance it was hacked?”

“No, Detective. We have safeties in place that would identify a breach.”

“So, this isn’t the Italian Job.”

The dispatcher laughed. “No, ma’am.”

I fell silent, hoping to come up with something that would lead to the killers. “Do you know who the city contracted to install the cameras?”

“I’m not sure.”

“All right.”

“Anything else I can help you with, DeMarco?”

“No, I guess not.” I disconnected, again wondering about Moonlight Security’s connection. Gardner had been assigned as night watchman at the dispensary and Star Cleaners. According to both Gardner’s roommate and boss, he’d worked several different gigs in the last month. What other locations did he protect?

I called the precinct, but units had been assigned to sit on those places too. I should have been relieved. We were doing everything in our power to save lives, but it didn’t feel like enough.

Something Brad had said came to mind. The killers knew that liquor store. Or at least one of them did. The owner hadn’t exactly been forthcoming during our previous chat, but maybe he’d be more willing to talk to me now. After all, it was the middle of the night. I wasn’t on shift, and with the rising body count, he had more incentive to share what he knew. Perhaps, I could use my charms to persuade him to give up a name or description.