Page 16 of Craving Vengeance
“Hi, Shannon. Are you looking for Joshua?” Father Daniel asked as he stepped toward her.
“Yeah. Have you seen him?”
“Actually, I haven’t. Not since he’s been back. I wasn’t expecting him back until next month, but I did talk to him on the phone earlier today. That’s when I told him about the fundraiser, and he volunteered to work. Of course, his caveat was that he partner with you,” Father said with a sheepish smile. “I figured you’d be okay with that since so much time has passed.”
“No problem. He and I talked earlier today as well,” Shannon replied. What was she supposed to say? After all, it was for the good of the church, and due to the abundant number of clients this year, every available volunteer was a welcome sight, especially those with beautiful voices such as Joshua. Shannon recalled how his glorious voice always landed him the lead in the Christmas pageant before he’d decided to leave her and run off to Nicaragua with the mission group.
Father cleared his throat. “Yeah, I assumed you had. Joshua said he was going to pay you a visit at work.” He shifted his gaze about the room. “I wonder where he is.”
Shannon shrugged.
She visited with the others while she waited for Joshua. Several more minutes passed. Still no Joshua. She glanced at her full clipboard. The clock was ticking. There were so many deliveries to make and so little time. After a few more minutes, she and Father Daniel decided she’d better just get started on her own. There were no cupids left to help her.
Chapter Eight
Captain Jackson yelledacross the precinct as she stepped through her office doorway, “Spinelli, tell me you guys have something on this cupid case.”
He, Walker, and Marsh exchanged glances. He knew they were of like mind, wishing they either had something to go on or that they were anywhere Jackson wasn’t.
Jackson walked toward them, her gait brisk. Her short brown curls bounced with every step she took. Her dark brown eyes fixed on Spinelli. Though she was a small woman, all of one hundred and thirty pounds, she managed to scare the hell out of him at times. Her twenty-plus years on the force had hardened her, but overall Spinelli liked her. She was smart, good at what she did, and fair.
Jackson stepped up to the board and studied the pictures of the dead cupids for a moment before she returned her gaze to Spinelli. “Well?”
He shook his head in shame. “Nothing. We’ve got nothing.” He glanced at Marsh. “Marsh has been going through their financials, computer records, and contact lists but is coming up empty on making any sort of connection between the three of them.”
Jackson inspected the board again. “So you think these are just all random cupids?”
“It’s looking that way.”
She glanced at the cell phone in her hand and tapped the screen a couple of times. “Well, maybe this will help,” she said as Spinelli’s phone buzzed.
He pulled it from its holder on his hip and glanced at the text message she’d just sent. “What’s this?”
“The address of dead cupid number four. The call came through a minute ago.”
“Son of a bitch,” Spinelli growled.
