Page 46 of Shelter for Sharla

“Good. Let’s go that way. I can fill you in on the professor’s info in the car on the way. And pack a bag. If this takes longer than we think, we can get a room and start again tomorrow.”

As soon as Sharla left for work, Carter packed his little duffel and dropped it by the front door. In fifteen minutes, they were on the road, and in thirty-five, they were crossing the state line in Wickliffe,Kentucky, into Cairo,Illinois, to catch I-57 and connect to I-55, their direct route into St.Louis. It was mostly farming country, not a lot to see, and they chatted as Carter drove. Once they were finally settled on I-55, Cruz pulled out his phone. “Let’s listen to the recording and see if you catch anything I didn’t.” Linking his phone with Carter’s Bluetooth device in the car, Cruz hit PLAY and the space was filled with the professor’s voice.

As soon as it finished, Carter snorted. “Well, therearepeople on campus who know about that group.”

“Yeah, and the school’s been accepting donations in order to let it meet on campus without appropriate sponsorship or paperwork. Wonder if they’re taking personal kickbacks?”

“Our department doesn’t have the ability to look into financial records, but?”

“On it.” Cruz spent the next five minutes talking to someone on his phone. Carter wasn’t sure who it was, and he didn’t really feel the need to ask. The job was getting done, and that was all he cared about. When Cruz hung up, he stared at Carter. “Do you think there’s anybody in the sheriff’s office or city police department in Murray who knows about this?”

“I doubt it. If there were, Sam would have some inkling of it, and he’s said nothing. I really believe in an officer’s intuition, and I think he would’ve picked up on it if that were the case.”

“Yeah, probably. So I’ve got one of the analysts in my office working on getting into the financials of the university. It’s a public institution, so that makes it easier, and with the name of the school’s contact, JamesGoodall, we’ve got somewhere to look for personal gain too. By the way,” Cruz asked, “did you send out that email?”

Carter pointed to his phone. “Sure did. Wanted to copy you but I didn’t have your email addy. Grab my phone, open my email, and look in my sent file.” He’d worked on the email for a few minutes before sending it because he wanted it just right, and he was pretty sure he’d nailed it.

TO: All involved investigative entities, Palmer slaying

FROM: CarterMelton, Sheriff, TriggCounty, KY

RE: Welcome to CruzLivingston

As of today’s date, we have assistance from AgentCruz Livingston, FBI out of Texas. AgentLivingston is a personal friend of DetectiveSam Curry, CallowayCounty SD, and in conversation was alerted to the possibility that the FBI has detected a connection between the Palmer shooting and organized gang activity in their district. As a professional courtesy, AgentLivingston has been allowed to assist us in our investigation. I know you all will welcome him, as we can always use additional assistance, especially when it comes at no cost to our already-burdened department budgets. AgentLivingston is staying at my house as a courtesy to his department. Please feel free to contact him if you would like to speak to him about his knowledge of the case. Thank you.

“Perfect. Just what they need to know and nothing more. I like it. And you included my number at the bottom, which I’m glad you did. If they want to know something, they can contact me directly and won’t have to bother you.”

“Transparency. That’s what I was aiming for, transparency on a need-to-know basis.”

“Yep. Exactly.” Cruz settled back into the passenger seat again and they rode along, occasionally commenting on something on the side of the road.

They hit CapeGirardeau, Missouri, at lunchtime, so they stopped and ate, then got back on the road. From there, it wasn’t long before they were greeted with a sign that read,O’FallonCity Limits, and a population estimate. Not a big place, but it was a bedroom community of St.Louis, so that estimation didn’t mean much. It wasn’t hard to find their municipal building and in minutes, Carter and Cruz were checking in at the front desk and being led to the court clerk’s office.

“Looks like you’d better be glad I told you to pack a bag,” Cruz whispered as they carried the boxes of files down the hallway. “These two guys were obviously very note-worthy.”

“Yeah, looks that way. This is going to take forever.”

“You’d better tell your girlfriend you’re going to be tied up for a while,” Cruz said with a wink.

“I thought I told her you were going to be there last night, but she said I didn’t. She was really embarrassed about running into you in the hallway.”

Cruz laughed aloud. “No biggie! She had on a tee and panties, and I was wearing my boxer briefs. It’s not like we were naked!”

“That’s exactly what I told her!” Carter said, laughing, as Cruz backed the conference room door open and they plopped the boxes down on the desk.

And so they started. It was ridiculous. There was motion after motion trying to get the discovery thrown out, trying to get evidence thrown out, trying to get the court dates changed here and there, and worse yet, several motions to dismiss. All were denied, obviously. They’d been at it for about ten minutes when Carter choked out, “Wait! What the hell? This is dated six months prior to the robbery.”

Cruz looked over what was in his hand. “Yeah. This is dated four months prior. Holy shit. We’re in the wrong place. We should be at the police station.”

“Sure looks that way. What should we do with this stuff?”

“Leave it. Tell them we’ll be back. If we don’t need it, we’ll come back and tell them. But we need to see what the department has on these guys.” Cruz stood and headed out the conference room door, Carter right on his heels.

The police station was down the block. They’d asked the court clerk’s office to call ahead, and there was a sergeant waiting for them when they arrived. When they told him what they wanted, he shook his head. “Bad news. I was here the first time they were arrested.”

“First time, huh?” Carter stared at him. “What are we talking about here?”

“Oh, just wait,” the sergeant, whose name they’d learned was Langstaff, said with a smirk. “You’re in for arealtreat. Hope you’ve got some time on your hands.” Carter didn’t see that as a good sign.

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