Page 11 of Craving Vengeance
Did Buhr really just call the victim by his first name?“You know the victim?”
“Yeah, it’s Chad Williams, the city building inspector. He’s been on the site several times already, and I’ve worked with him on other jobs.”
“The building inspector,” Walker repeated.
Buhr nodded.
“Did you all leave for lunch?” Spinelli questioned.
“Yeah. We don’t usually eat on the work site.”
“Did you all eat together?”
“All of us except for O’Neil and Crass,” Buhr said as he pointed in the direction of the crew.
Spinelli couldn’t tell who he was pointing at, but he would surely find out which of the crew they were later. Then he and Walker would have a chat with them.
“Why didn’t they go with you?”
“I don’t know. They had some errands to run or something. They’re not required to eat with us,” Buhr said unable to hide the defensiveness in his tone.
Spinelli glanced toward the construction workers. “We’ll need to talk with O’Neil and Crass. Which ones are they?”
Rather than answer, Buhr yelled across the room, “O’Neil, Crass, you guys need to come over here.”
Every construction worker’s head snapped in Buhr’s direction, and then slowly most heads turned toward just two of the workers. Spinelli would have been able to identify the two even if the others hadn’t zoned in on them. The second Buhr yelled their names the blood drained from their faces. O’Neil and Crass slowly walked toward him and Walker.
“Buhr told us you didn’t eat lunch with the rest of the crew today. Is that correct?”
They both nodded.
“What did you do on your lunch break?”
The shorter of the two men spoke for the both of them. “We buzzed through the Burger King drive-through and then went to the jewelry store to get Valentine’s Day gifts for our wives.”
Spinelli thought about the ring in his pocket for Shannon. What would he do with it now? A crater the size of the Grand Canyon filled his chest.Damn it. Focus!
“So, you both were together the entire time?” The two men nodded in unison.
Spinelli and Walker finished questioning the men and headed back to the precinct.
“Are you okay?” Walker asked as he wove their unmarked car through the heavy traffic.
Spinelli sat in the passenger seat staring out the front window. “Yeah, why?”
“You seem a bit distracted. And when those two guys talked about stopping by the jewelry store, your jaw knotted so tight I was sure I could hear your bones cracking.”
“Well, we’ve got three dead cupids on our hands, and it’s only 3:00.
I guess you could say I might be a bit distracted.”
“Nope, that’s not it,” Walker responded as he signaled and turned left.
“What?”
“Nice try but we both know murder doesn’t affect you like that,” Walker said as a chuckle escaped his lips, “and don’t forget, I’m a trained observer.”
Spinelli sat silent.
