Page 63 of Nightcrawler

Miguel frowned, leaning forward. “What’d you find out, Cassidy? Did you call his parole officer like you said you would?”

Cassidy nodded.

“Okay. What happened?” I asked.

“Well…” Cassidy hesitated. He sighed. “Unfortunately, he’s not working down at the Port of Long Beach anymore.” He lifted his hands. “I’m sorry. I fucked up.”

“You didn’t fuck up,” Mike said. “That idiot did the fucking up.”

Cassidy waggled his head side to side. “I’m still responsible for his actions.”

“What happened?” Miguel asked, crossing his arms. He was frowning even deeper, if that was possible.

Cassidy tore his gaze away from Mike and looked over at Miguel. “I called his parole officer yesterday and talked to him about Howell, but I made the mistake of telling him I had it on good authority that he was working down at the Port of Long Beach as a longshoreman using a fake ID.”

“What the fuck happened?”

“He called me back early this morning,” Cassidy said. “Apparently, that idiot made the mistake of calling someone at the Long Beach PD after my call.”

“Shit,” Miguel said. “And let me guess…those yahoos tipped him off?”

“They went out there yesterday afternoon to arrest him and Howell put both patrolmen in the hospital as well as the parole officer,” Cassidy said, frowning.

“Are they okay?” I asked. I felt sick to my stomach.

“One of the patrolmen came out of it with broken ribs and a broken arm but the other one is in critical condition,” Mike said. “The idiot parole officer got some minor scrapes, a bruised ego, and he’s feeling pretty stupid at the moment.”

“He should be,” Miguel said. “He really blew it by tipping him off.”

I reached over and put a hand on his arm. He uncrossed them as he glanced over. “You were right to accept our help in this takedown. It could have been you in the hospital or even dead, Miguel.”

He looked down at my hand and covered it with his own as he nodded. When I let go, he groaned and leaned back against the booth. “You were right. It was stupid of me to think I could do it on my own.”

Jarrett cleared his throat. “Well, you got us now, so you won’t have to worry about gettin’ hurt.”

“So, Cassidy, any idea how we’re gonna find this jackhole?” Thayne asked.

“Maybe. When I ran his past associates, I found out one of the guys he was busted with before he went into prison, is out on parole.”

“You think he’s alive?” Miguel asked. He sounded so hopeful, and my heart went out to him.

“According to his parole officer, he was alive and well as of two weeks ago when he did his check in, so chances are, it’s our best hope of getting a line on this guy,” Mike said. “Cass and I are going to talk to the parole officer right after breakfast. That’s why we asked to have you meet us here in Burbank instead of Brentwood. The parole officer works in Van Nuys near the courthouse close by.”

“Good,” Miguel said. “I’d like to go with you two if you don’t mind.”

“That’d be fine,” Cassidy said.

“Can I come too?” I asked.

“If that’s okay with Miguel, I don’t see why not,” Cassidy replied.

He looked over at me and smirked. “Well, I don’t really think I have a choice, Cassidy. He’s my ride after all.”

I beamed at him and was still smiling a few minutes later when the waitress came over and began setting down plates of delicious-looking food.

Chapter Twenty-One

MIGUEL

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