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

Voice, and then I fired off a shot and they bolted.” I closed my eyes, seeing the blond-haired man stare at me. I’m sorry. I recognized that voice. I just couldn’t place it.“Shit.”

“What is it?”

Before I could answer, the phone rang.

“DNA analysis came back on one of the samples,” Detective Lisco said when I answered. “Diego Eisner. Does the name mean anything to you?”

“Diego Eisner.” I caught Brad’s eye. “He attacked me?”

“It looks that way,” she said. “The lab just got a hit off the blood we found on the broken wine bottle. He has a record. He served five years for armed robbery. He got paroled eighteen months ago. According to his PO, Diego appears to have been rehabilitated. Well, that was before he went on this high stakes crime spree.”

“High risk, high reward,” I said.

“Ain’t that the truth.” Lisco hesitated. “I just thought you’d want to know.”

“Yeah, thanks. Are you bringing him in?”

“Ink’s drying now.”

I went to the computer and typed in his name, narrowed my search to the city, and waited. “Great,” I said absently. “Have you made any progress identifying the other two men?”

“Not yet. Voletek’s hoping Diego will give up his accomplices for a deal. Since our boy’s been through the system a few times, he ought to know how this works. I bet he’ll talk with the proper incentive.” She lowered her voice. “By the way, have you seen Fennel?”

“I’m looking right at him.”

She let out a sigh. “Okay, good.”

That caught my attention. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just wondered what he was up to. I wanted to make sure he was staying out of the investigation.”

“Of course,” I said. “We both are.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, right. Just know, we’ll handle this, DeMarco. If we need you, we’ll call. And remember, that goes both ways. You remember something, make sure you let me know.”

“Absolutely.” I put down the phone to find Brad had already written Diego’s full name on the board and had confiscated my computer to continue running a search. “They IDed one of them.”

“I heard,” Brad said, lost in the research. “Why was Lisco asking about me?”

“I’m not sure.” I scooped his tablet off the table and brought up Diego Eisner’s photo. I never would have been able to ID him with the Halloween mask, but he fit the bill.

He mumbled something under his breath. “I’m gonna make sure Lisco gave Mac the heads up. Is Voletek bringing Diego in now?”

“Someone is,” I said while Brad shot off a text. While I searched the internet and social media for Diego Eisner, it hit me. I realized why the blond man’s voice was so familiar. “Shit. The bastard who nearly shot me is Michael Tolliver’s roommate. Carter something.” My brows scrunched together while I concentrated on recalling his last name. “Moore. Carter Moore.”

Brad started dialing before he even asked, “Are you sure?”

“Almost positive.”

“That’s good enough for me.” He relayed the news while he paced in front of the board. “Yeah, you should bring him in too. Bring them all in. The roommate. Everyone. Scoop up the whole bachelor party if you have to.” Brad disconnected and tapped the phone against his chin a few times. “What about Michael Tolliver? Was he there too? Is he the one with the gravelly voice?”

“No, Gravelly Voice has a bad knee. He’s the one who must have been using the CBD and menthol. He probably kept an eye on Gardner. He’s probably also the one who killed him.”

“Tolliver doesn’t have bad knees.” Brad knelt down beside me, so I could see the computer screen. “Carter Moore.” He checked the police database first. “He doesn’t have a record. No priors. Nothing. Dammit.”

“What?”

“They smoke pot.”

“So does forty percent of the population or something like that.” I didn’t know the statistics, but it was common enough. But I saw where his mind had gone. “The dispensary.”

“Assuming Carter Moore or Michael Tolliver obtained their stash legally, they could have gotten it from the dispensary that was targeted. And Tolliver works at Star Cleaners.”

“You checked Tolliver’s alibi. He’s not involved.”

“No, but his roommate is. We just don’t know if Tolliver is assisting or if his roommate obtained the intel unintentionally. Even if Tolliver didn’t tell Carter a damn thing about work or the security code or the uniforms, Carter could have overheard Tolliver talking to Gardner when they were playing video games. And if Gardner was talking to his buddies about work or bitching about guarding the dispensary, Carter could have gotten even more intel. And if that’s where he went for his stash, he could have seen it firsthand.” Brad keyed in another search.

We had requested a warrant to access the dispensary’s records, but it never came through. The judge thought our request was nothing more than a fishing expedition, and given the nature of the shop, an attempt to harass people with medical conditions.

“We knocked right on their fucking door. That’s how they knew we were on to them,” I said. “That’s why they panicked and moved on the dispensary even when the truck didn’t show up. Shit. By following up on a lead, we tipped them off.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Yeah, well, shit.”

Brad climbed to his feet, automatically checking his belt for his gun and cuffs. I knew my partner. He wanted to make the arrest, except he was barred.

“Voletek will get him.”

“Yeah.” Brad paced back and forth, his hands tucked in his back pockets while he stared at the data on the board. “How did we miss this?”

“We checked. They alibied out. Wait,” I sat up, forcing Gunnie to return to the floor, and grabbed the computer, “they alibied out. Carter Moore attended the bachelor party. It can’t be him. I must be mistaken.” But my gut said I