High Noon (27 page)

“It's for wherever you need it to be.”

“I need to keep as much as I can away from here.” She glanced back toward the house. “Whenever I can. So…about Saturday.”

“I'll pick you and Carly up about ten. How's that?”

“It's nice of you to offer her such a treat. I don't want you to feel obliged to—”

“Don't.” He tapped a finger to her lips. “Don't do that. And the fact is, you might as well know, if things don't work out with you and me, and Essie turns me down, I figure I can wait about, what, fifteen years, for the kid.”

“Twenty. Minimum.”

“Hard-ass.” He tipped her face back. “Still, that oughta be some motivation for you, seeing I've got multiple choices here.” He kissed her, long, very long, very soft.

“I'll see you Saturday.”

“Saturday. I'll pack a few gallons of sunscreen for us redheads.”

She waved him off, stood there a while. And after a while walked over and sat on the front steps. She needed to go in, of course, needed to go tuck Carly into bed, keep an eye on Mama, just in case. But she sat awhile longer.

Carter came out. Saying nothing, he sat beside her, took her hand.

Together, they sat awhile longer yet.

Phoebe wasn't wrong
about the media storm. It raged across the television screens, the newspaper headlines, the Internet. In death, Charlie Johnson became a symbol of gang violence, racism, police corruption and incompetence—depending on which side you were on at any given time.

She fielded dozens of calls from reporters, and for the first time in her career received death threats.

And she once again found herself interviewed by IAB.

“How you holding up?” Dave studied her as she drew lines down the condensation of her glass of iced tea. He'd pulled her out for a quick lunch.

“I keep seeing him coming out, hands up. Just that one second when I thought: Good job, Phoebe. High five. Then the sound of the gun, the way his body jerked like a puppet. Just one more second, really, for it all to go to hell.”

“You did a good job.” He shook his head at her expression. “You did. Let's just get that on the table.”

“Crisis negotiators are part of a team, Dave. Who taught me that? The team failed that boy, and the hostages. It failed everyone.”

“Something broke down; we're still not sure what. Your end of it didn't. Regardless,” he continued, “a boy died, a hostage was injured. No member of the tactical team fired their weapon. The weapon fired and discovered wasn't ours. And regardless,” he repeated, “the failure's on us. Someone got through, or was overlooked, during the evac of the area.”

“There was more violence on both the east and west sides last night,” she pointed out. “More shootings. They're using that boy to justify killing. The media and the mouthpieces are using him, whittling it down or blowing it up—I'm not sure which applies—to race. To white against black. And I don't know that you can say race has nothing to do with it, because it's certainly one of the elements that play into gangs. But I don't believe Charles Johnson was shot because of his skin color. And I don't believe he deserves to have his death pushed into that.”

She said nothing while the sandwiches they'd ordered were served. “Franklin Johnson died this morning.”

“I know.”

“Opal Johnson's lost both her sons. Her children are dead. The first, that's not on us, at least not on the surface. We found and arrested the man who killed him. Would we have done so as quickly, even at all, if Charlie hadn't gone into that liquor store yesterday? I don't know the answer. That troubles me.”

“I don't know it either, but I do the best job I can. So do you. We save who we can, Phoebe, one crisis at a time.”

“Maybe.” She picked up one of the chips that came with her sandwich, broke it into pieces. “I told him it was going to be all right. If he came out, it would be all right.”

“You didn't make a mistake. It
should
have been all right. He should be in custody now, with his public defender working to cut a deal with the prosecutor. The mistake was in Tactical, and we'll find it. Every minute of the incident is going to be investigated. Every move, every order. Meanwhile, there's the anger of the community, the public relations nightmare and the very real problem of keeping this from boiling over into riots and burning. You'll be giving a press conference this afternoon, along with the tactical commander. You'll each read a brief statement and answer questions. It'll be short, and it's necessary.”

“And it provides a visual. I'm a white woman, the commander's a black man.” She lifted a hand before he could speak. “I'm not discounting the fact that the visual doesn't matter nearly as much as the statements. I'll do my part. What time?”

“Three.”

She nodded. “All right. That'll give me time to go over to Hitch. I want to see the crime scenes. Both of them.”

 

She stood at the window where the shots had been fired, verified now by the crime-scene investigative team. It was a narrow window, casement style, on the second floor of a building diagonal from the liquor store.

According to the reports, the fifteen-unit apartment building had been evacuated, and SWAT team members stationed on the roof and on the third floor. As it was within the inner perimeter, no civilians should have been in or around the building.

But it wouldn't be the first time a perimeter had been compromised.

The sniper would have had a decent view and angle from there, Phoebe judged. Better on the roof, better on the third floor, but decent from here.

Especially if the intent was to take down an unarmed man who would step into clear view. Oh yeah, not so hard to hit the target when the target was standing still, hands in the air. All that body mass just open and waiting to be riddled.

“Tenant's a Reeanna Curtis, single.” Detective Sykes spoke from behind her. “Two kids, boy age five, girl age three. No criminal. They were outside the barricade at the time of the shooting. Witnesses verify. Her boyfriend was at work at the time. Also verified.”

Phoebe nodded. “I read her statement. She said a cop came to the door, ordered her out, hustled them along. Cops swarming through the building, according to her, and all over the place outside. She got out with her kids, straight to her sister's place a few blocks over.

“She doesn't remember if she locked the door. Can't clearly remember if she even
closed
the door. Said it all happened so fast, and she was scared.”

“Somebody else is getting hustled out,” Sykes speculated, “but doesn't want to miss the show. Dips in here.”

“Armed?” Phoebe turned back. “Whoever came in, unless we suspect the single mother with two preschoolers kept an AK-47 in the broom closet, he came in loaded. And if it wasn't target specific, why not take out a big bunch of cops?”

“There are Lords members in the building, plenty more in this block. They'll all get a close look.”

Didn't make Charlie any less dead, Phoebe thought. Then pulled herself in. It wasn't about that any longer, that was done. Now it was about fixing what had gone wrong.

“How did the shooter know Charles Johnson, specifically, was inside?” Phoebe wandered the cramped, cluttered apartment.

“Maybe not specific. Just a Posse was inside.”

“All right, how did he know that? Did he see Charlie go in—he was wearing his colors. Timeline puts him inside for nearly ten minutes before the first response. And that came quick because one of the tenants in the building next door to the liquor store called in gunfire. She states she saw him crossing the street a few minutes before the first shot.”

“Shooter sees him, or the word flies around. Gets the weapon, then gets lucky and finds a solid sniper spot.”

“Let's find out if they've pulled the LUDs from this apartment—this building. See if any calls were made out of here after it was supposed to be cleared. Cell phones are more likely, but you never know.”

She stepped to the window in a small bedroom obviously shared by the children. From that angle she could see the diner where she'd sat at a four-top, talking Charlie down, and out. “I wonder how many gang members could resist taking out cops. Resist until the specific target's out—or taken out, yeah, I can see that. But why not try to take a few cops out, too, once you open up? More blood, more confusion, more goddamn points, come to that. But the only other hit is a stray that injured one of the hostages inside. That's just odd, isn't it?”

He pursed his lips. “That's a puzzle. Any reason to think it wasn't gang retribution?”

“I'll let you know.”

 

She did her own runs on the tenants of the building, and filled her briefcase with files for the trip home. She made certain she was home before dark.

Phoebe wanted all her family tucked inside before sundown, in case the rumblings in the city turned to a roar. In case those blocks between Jones and Hitch weren't enough to hold back the flood if it came.

She broke her own hard-and-fast rule, and though she put her weapon up on the high shelf in her closet, she kept it unlocked and loaded.

Once Carly was settled for the night, Phoebe checked the locks, the alarms, then settled at her own desk. She kept the TV on low, in case of a bulletin, and began reading through the logs, the reports, the witness statements.

When her cell phone rang, she answered it absently, her mind on the diagram of the apartment building on Hitch. “Phoebe Mac Namara.”

“Duncan Swift. Hiya, cutie.”

The idea of being called “cutie” when she was surrounded by ballistics, diagrams and various crime-scene reports made her smile. “Hello, Duncan.”

“Just checking to make sure I still have a crew for tomorrow.”

“I think you'd best use the term ‘crew' loosely, but yes, we're on for that. Carly would give me the silent treatment until her eighteenth birthday if I pulled out of this.”

“Silent treatment's a formidable weapon. It makes me beg every time.”

“Good to know.”

“And stupid to admit. Anyway, I was meeting with Phin earlier today, and ended up asking his gang to come along tomorrow. That all right with you?”

“Absolutely. Carly'll be thrilled to have someone her age around. She loves me, but I will bore her after a bit.” She leaned back from the work, rising to walk to the terrace windows. “It sounds more like a party. I could use a party, I think.”

“Figured you had a rough one. I caught you on TV this afternoon. Is it shallow of me to say you looked hot?”

She laughed. “Yes, and thank you. It's a god-awful mess, Duncan. God-awful.”

“Why don't I come over for a bit? I'll be shallow again, sneak up to your room and distract you with heroic sex.”

She had one silly and delightful fantasy image of him scaling the wall to her terrace. “Oh God, that sounds amazing. But no. Are you home? On the island?”

“Yeah, I had some stuff, so I'm here. But I've dealt with a good chunk of the stuff, and the rest can wait. If heroic sex is out, we can just neck like teenagers in the parlor, or watch a bad movie.”

“I'd love to do any of that. Possibly all of that. But I don't want you coming into the city, not tonight. Things are bubbling tonight. You're good where you are, should they boil over.” She disengaged the alarm on her zone so she could step out onto her terrace. “It's warm tonight. Not hot but warm, and that's good. Heat can set these things off.”

“How about if I tell you besides looking hot, you handled yourself really well in that press conference? Anybody looking at you during it who didn't see you cared had to be blind.”

“A lot of this kind of thing is about blindness. And could I be any more depressing?”

“What are you wearing?” he asked after a beat.

“What?”

“I'm cheering you up with phone sex. What are you wearing?”

“Oh. Hmmm.” She looked down at her cotton pants and tank. That would never do. “Oh, nothing much, just this little black slip I picked up in a vintage shop.”

“Nice. Anything under it?”

“Just a few dabs of perfume…here and there.”

“Very nice.”

“How about you? What are you wearing?”

“Guess.”

“Jeans. Just jeans, those washed-a-few-hundred-times Levi's. Riding low on the hips with the waistband button carelessly open.”

“My God. You must be psychic.”

With a sound of amusement, she sat down. For the first time in twenty-four hours her stomach wasn't knotted. “Oh my, these straps just keep falling off my shoulders. Those would be my delicately scented creamy white shoulders. I probably shouldn't be out here dressed like this, leaning over the railing. Why, my soft yet firm breasts might—oops—spill right out. What would the neighbors think?”

“You're a killer, Phoebe.”

“Honey, I'm just getting started.”

 

In the morning, it was easy to put the work away, to tuck it into a corner of her mind. Death and sadness, Phoebe supposed, had a way of making those who brushed up against them appreciate a blue-skied, sunny day, and the excited chatter of a child.

And Carly's first sight of the boat said it all.

“It's big! And it's pretty! This is going to be the best time ever.”

“Then we better get started,” Duncan decided.

“But where are the sails? You said it was a sailboat.”

“They're rolled up right now. We'll hoist 'em once we're clear.” He clambered on, then held out a hand for the girl. “Here you go. Welcome aboard.”

“Can I look at stuff?”

“Sure.”

“But don't touch,” Phoebe called out as she came aboard. “It is big, and it is pretty. And I realized I should have asked if you really know how to handle this thing.”

“I've only capsized her four times. Kidding. I always wanted to sail. Used to come down here and watch the boats. So when I decided to get a boat, I took lessons—and a course—as I didn't want to drown after achieving a lifelong dream. Still, the kids need to wear PFDs. Personal flotation devices. So will Biff.”

“Who's Biff?”

“That would be Biff.” Duncan pointed.

Phoebe spotted Phin, his wife and his little girl coming down the dock. Lumbering on a leash ahead of them was a stubby-legged, homely faced bulldog.

“Phin's dog. He figured a bulldog would lend an air of dignity. Which, you could say, he does if you discount the drool.”

Obviously an old sea hand, Biff jumped aboard, then wiggled his butt until Duncan hunkered down to rub him all over.

“What a perfect day for this. I'm going to do as much of absolutely nothing as possible.” Loo stretched. “Hi, Phoebe. I hope you'll be joining me.”

“I'll be glad to. Hi, Phin. Hi, Livvy.”

“Puppy!” Carly scrambled on deck from the cabin below and all but tackled Biff. “Oh, he's so cute! What's his name? Mama, can't we get a puppy?”

“She's painfully shy,” Phoebe announced. “I hope you'll pardon her.”