Page 61 of The Liar

She nodded. “Got it.” She raised her voice. “Shot fired through the window. Possibly from the roof of another building, or from an apartment inside one of the surrounding buildings. I want the entrances and exits of the mansion sealed, and for at least two officers to report to each building adjoining this one. No one comes in or out. Has anyone called for backup?”

“Yes, ma’am,” a younger officer replied. “A tactical unit is on the way, and so is an ambulance.”

“Good work, Officer Barrie.”

When everyone just stood there, she clapped. “Go.”

I grinned and relaxed my stance. God, she was sexy when she took charge.

“You,” she muttered to me, “put the gun away beforepeople start asking why a bartender is carrying a concealed weapon.”

I winced and immediately returned the weapon to its holster. She had a point.

“All right, everyone, step back.” Captain Thackery appeared beside us. Last I’d seen, he’d been consoling a distressed older woman, but he must have left her in Beth’s care. He bent over Neal, his lips in a grim line. “This was a hit.”

“Yes, sir,” Joanna said. “I would say so, considering this is a perfect kill shot and only one shot was fired. If someone had wanted to cause chaos or ruin the event, surely they’d have taken a different approach.”

Thackery’s cheeks had a waxy pallor. Surprising, considering how many crime scenes he must have attended in the past—many much bloodier than this.

“It would have been easier to kill him somewhere else.” He looked Joanna directly in the eye. “The fact they did it here meant that whoever it was, they were trying to send a message.”

My hand twitched, itching to grab my phone. Because Thackery was right. If this was a hit orchestrated by Ortez, it would have made more sense for him to send Rodriguez in to quietly take care of him. Unless he was trying to show the other cops on his payroll what might happen if they got careless.

My assignment may have just become a lot more difficult.

“You’re right,” Joanna agreed, her gaze quickly flicking to me. “But we can figure that out later, for now we need to secure the scene.”

“It’s all yours.” Thackery raised his voice so everyone still around could hear. “Detective Lee is in charge of the crime scene. No one may leave until she, or one of her officers, hastaken your details so we can get in touch for a statement. If you think you saw anything useful, please stay and you’ll be interviewed tonight.”

A chorus of protests rang out, but they were rapidly silenced as the police commissioner spoke over the microphone, reminding everyone that they were here to support the Chicago Police Department, and right now, that meant being patient and providing whatever information they could.

The ballroom doors opened, and several uniformed officers spilled inside. Joanna jogged up to the police commissioner and held out her hand for the microphone. She ordered the new officers to search the building and to ensure that any doors in or out had been sealed as she’d requested earlier.

“Perhaps you should get a copy of the guest list,” I said to Thackery, voice low. “You know, to double check that no one snuck out.”

He nodded. “I’ll speak to the organizer now.”

Joanna passed the microphone back to the police commissioner and jumped down from the stage. I met her at the base.

“What can I do?” I asked. “I want to help.”

She pursed her lips, her eyes darting around the room, obviously distracted. “If you want your cover to remain in place, you’ll need to lay low. See what information you can get from the other guests.”

“All right.” I was disappointed not to be able to participate more actively, but she was right; allowing me to join the search or interview others would raise too many questions.

I spotted Detectives Sewell and Ireland lingering a few yards behind the body. Both were pale, although they didn’t seem as shell-shocked as the guests who weren’t part of law enforcement.

I made my way over to them. “Can you believe this? I was talking to him just a short while ago.”

“It’s crazy.” Sewell sounded numb. “I was standing right beside him.”

“Shit, man. That must have been terrifying.”

Sewell shook his head. “You’d think so, but it happened so quickly. One minute we were chatting, the next he was on the ground, and it was over. I didn’t even have time to be scared.”

I shifted closer. “You didn’t see it coming?”

“No.” He stared blankly at Neal’s body, which had yet to be covered. “I didn’t even know where the shot came from until Lee mentioned the window.”

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