Page 34 of Rescuing Sara

“Frank Sullivan.” Haggerty frowned. “Isn’t that the name of that suspected hit man we’ve been after?”

“It is,” Miller said, tapping down his mounting excitement. “There are at least four suspected hits over the past six years attributed to him, but he’s like smoke. Haven’t been able to prove a blessed thing. My snitches say he commands a high price and usually gets what he asks for.”

“Why do I have the feeling you’re about to tell me something important?” Haggerty asked. “Something current?”

“Guess what we found in the trunk of his car?”

“I know you’re probably enjoying this, Miller, but don’t make me tease it out of you,” Haggerty warned, but she was smiling. “What?”

“A recorder–as in the musical instrument–and a man’s fake beard.”

“Good Lord in the morning,” Haggerty breathed out. “Does the lab have it?”

“After CSI had swept the scene, they had the car towed straight there and handed it over.” Grant Miller could not keep the triumph from his voice. “Hopefully, the son-of-a-bitch didn’t wipe the recorder clean of fingerprints, but there could still be saliva on its mouthpiece. I don’t remember from Danni Blake’s description of the recorder player if he were wearing gloves the day she saw him, but there could still be some there.”

“And that fake beard could have enough residual skin and sweat to give us some DNA,” Haggerty added. “Damn, it’s about time we had some good news on Leo Anderson’s case. Having one of your own get killed right before a major holiday always sucks. Morale has been low ever since he was killed. Good man, good cop.”

“Yes ma’am, that he was,” Miller said. “Always had time for the new recruits, letting them ride along if there was an interesting case, and never too tired to answer even the dumbest of questions. I should know because I asked plenty myself when I was getting started.”

“Do you know how Danni Miller is holding up?” Haggerty asked. “You being the point person between us and Brotherhood Protectors.”

“I’ve not talked to her in a day or so,” Miller said. “Do I have your permission to tell her we have a possible lead or suspect in Leo’s death? Might make her feel a bit better.”

“Get the results from AFIS to see what they have and then tell her,” Haggerty approved. “Since she was with Leo when he died, she needs some good news.”

“What do you want me to tell her about the Larsen case file being gone?”

Haggerty frowned and Miller was glad that frown was not directed at him. He’d only come under that frown once and he’d sworn he’d be damn sure it would never happen again. Someone’s ass was about to be chewed.

“Don’t tell her unless she thinks to ask,” Haggerty finally said “IT is bringing in their own forensic people to take a hard look at our system and find out how in hell an entire case history could be wiped from the system. Especially one that may have led to Leo Anderson’s murder.”

“Are we sure it was digitized?” Miller asked. “And who was the last person to open The Larsen case file?”

“Every case KPD has handled in the last 30 years is electronically filed.” Haggerty said “And the last person who opened it was Leo, the Friday before he died. Of course, there were others in and out of the records-file room all day, including staff, but they’d have to log in on their own names and passwords and Leo’s was the only one.”

Miller’s stomach began to roll in the old familiar pattern when apprehension hit. “Jocelyn,” he said softly. “You don’t think Leo erased that file?” They seldom used their given names when alone together, and never in the presence of others. Only when cases involving police misdeed or corruption were suspected did they allow themselves that freedom.

“No way, Grant,” Haggerty said just as softly. “For one thing, Leo was a technophobe. Took him years to get a handle on entering case notes electronically. I was glad when he did ‘cause his handwriting was a mess.”

“Could someone else have done it, hacked into it pretending to be him?” Miller’s thoughts raced. “He told you someone sent him threatening e-mails that looked to be sent internally. Maybe the source hacked into our system using his identity and erased the Larsen case file. Has IT learned who the sent the e-mails yet?”

“No, but I’m going to be paying some major overtime to find out,” Haggerty said grimly. Behind her, came the gentle hum of the fax machine engaging. She rolled her office chair to its station and took several sheets from the tray. “Hot damn,” she said, reading over them. “We got him.”

Rolling back, she handed Miller the sheets. “Frank Sullivan’s DNA was all over that recorder and inside the wig,” she told him. “Now we just need to learn who hired him and why.”

“DidDanni get a chance to send you the contact information for Leo’s brothers?” Miller asked.

“She did, a short while ago along with several electronic addresses for officials at the American Embassy in Maputo, the capital,” Haggerty said. “I’ll get to it after I’ve double checked on the time change between here and there because I’d really like to speak with the person in charge of such things. I’m not sure if it’s an ambassador or an attaché I’d be speaking to, but I hope like hell he can find the brothers Anderson to tell them in person. This is not the kind of thing to relay over the phone or by e-mail.

“No, it isn’t,” Miller agreed. “Leo Anderson deserves more than that. I’ll go start to see about tracking down Frank Sullivan’s next of kin. Bad as he was, if he has family, they need to be notified as well.”

And he left Haggerty alone with the painful task of writing a message to Leo Anderson’s brothers to gently inform them that he was dead.

CHAPTER 13

Later that night.The Safehouse

“Thanks, Anne.” Danni addressed her friend’s image on the wide screen in the Safehouse office. “This is going to make for a great article.”

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