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

want to look at it just to keep your story straight. No reason to make them question you or what you remember. We’ve already had enough run-ins with them when we worked that last case for intelligence.”

“Don’t remind me, but this is different.” All I knew was Brad didn’t want me to see that file.

“IAD already verified her story. Liv acted above and beyond her duties. We have evidence, the calls to dispatch, and Officers Roberts’ and Ainsley’s reports. That’s not a concern.” Jake smiled at me. “Have I mentioned it’s good to see you up and around.”

“Thanks.” I reached for one of the grain-free pastries he’d gotten from a Paleo bakery. “And thanks for not sending flowers.”

“They can be overwhelming.”

“Like this case,” Brad mumbled. “Liv’s supposed to be taking it easy. Maybe we should call it a night.” He put the folder down beside Jake.

“What did Emma say to you before she left?” I asked. “Did she tell you to be a pain in my ass?”

Brad didn’t even bother to acknowledge that I’d spoken. Instead, he stared at Jake, hoping to silently communicate something.

Jake handed me a copy of the owner’s statement and took the file I had grabbed and tucked it beneath his elbow. “That’s what you’re looking for. He spoke to a sketch artist, but I don’t know if that’ll help.”

“I never saw his face, just the back of him.” I skimmed what the store owner said and studied the line drawing. “I just wanted to see what one of these bastards looks like.”

“Might look like,” Brad corrected. “If the security camera worked, we’d know for sure.”

“If the security camera worked, the guy wouldn’t have gone inside the store.” And then a thought hit me. “Did the offenders do anything to the camera? Spray the lens or try to destroy it?”

“Nothing,” Jake said.

“So they knew it didn’t work.” I leaned back in the chair, resisting the urge to rub my sore shoulder. Touching it only made the bruises and cuts hurt worse. “The one with the gravelly voice knew how to disarm the system. Once the alarm sounded, he went to the counter and turned off the alarm and the flashing lights. Or maybe the lights went out first.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose, which was also sore. “I can’t remember the order in which it happened.”

“That’s understandable.” Jake got up from the table and poured himself a cup of coffee. “You said they were armed, but when you frisked one of them, he didn’t have a gun. Are you sure you cuffed him?”

“Yeah.” But now I wondered if I failed to fasten the second bracelet.

“We found your cuffs on the floor.” Jake swallowed and stared into his mug. “He’s the one you said hit you.”

“He’s the one who wanted to kill me – the one with the gravelly voice. He was in charge. He told me he’d make it hurt, that I’d beg him to kill me before it was over.” I licked my lips, recalling the look in his eyes. “He meant it.”

Brad pushed away from the table and circled the living room a few times, looking for something to hit. “I should have been there.”

Jake leaned against the counter, looking anywhere but at me. “Anything else?”

“He has brown eyes,” I said. “Dark brown.”

Jake put down the mug. “Okay, that’s something.”

“I guess.” I stared at the folder the men had taken from me and slid to the other side of the table. “I know he had a weapon. Actually, he had two.” I squinted. “He gave one to the blond. He wanted him to shoot me, almost like a gang initiation. But if the blond man didn’t do it, he was going to shoot him.”

“What about the other guy?” Jake asked.

“I hit him with a bottle. I thought I knocked him out, but these guys are like cockroaches. Nothing can keep them down for long. He got up.”

“That’s Diego, right?” Brad asked.

I nodded.

“Did you find anything on the name?” Brad asked Jake. “You should have robbery cross-reference it with known crews and previous offenders.”

“I did,” Jake said.

Brad stopped pacing and put his hands on his hips. “And?”

“There are a lot of Diegos in the system.”

“You’re not doing it right. Did you cross-reference it to other cases with crews of three? If you enter the stats we have on the other two, you’d probably get a hit.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Jake said.

“I doubt that.”

“Then get your ass down to the precinct and do some research. No one’s stopping you,” Jake said.

“Fellows,” I snapped, and two sets of eyes turned to me, “this sucks. Don’t make it worse.”

“Sorry,” Brad mumbled.

“Me too,” Jake said. The three of us stared at the table for a few moments.

“All right, we need to reassess. We know they broke into Star Cleaners to steal LockBox uniforms, but they only got two. We assume they attempted to rob the truck and not the dispensary, but the money truck never showed. So they kidnapped the LockBox driver, stripped him, and killed him.”

“They tortured him,” Jake said. “The medical examiner noticed his fingers and toes had been broken, probably smashed with a hammer. Not a lot of blood, but a lot of pain.”

“They didn’t want to make a mess on the uniform,” Brad said, which went along with what we’d already learned.

“They needed the third LockBox uniform,” I said. “When they went into the subway station, they each had one.”

“We’re working under the assumption they intended to rob the station agent, possibly to increase their score from the dispensary,” Jake said. “Footage from the subway tunnel showed two LockBox guards enter together. They each carried a duffel bag.”

“Those are the two with the dark hair – Gravelly Voice and