Page 34 of Deadly Target
“He’s a model prisoner and hasn’t caused any problems in the ten years he’s been incarcerated. The State takes securities fraud seriously, of course, but in the overall scope of things, we have an abundance of more serious criminals flooding into the system daily. Rapists, murderers, you name it. Model prisoners are paroled early to make room.”
Her stomach cramped. She had the evidence to keep him locked up, but hadn’t used it when she’d had the opportunity. She couldn’t bring herself to testify against her own father. She’d trusted the agents working the case along with the lawyers prosecuting him to find evidence against him in regard to the last murder he’d committed. Most of what they’d had was circumstantial, and he’d pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of securities fraud while setting up his partner, Joey DeMarco. Two days after being incarcerated, Joey had been killed by a fellow inmate. Olivia knew who had been behind the hit, knew her father was responsible. Joey had been a good friend of the family. “He’s like my brother,” her father often said.
What kind of man had his own brother murdered?
“You can’t let him out. He’s a stone-cold killer and you know it.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Fiorelli. There’s nothing I can do. If you have evidence the parole board should be made aware of, I encourage you to attend the meeting and bring it forward.”
The call disconnected and Liv stood frozen in place. She was damned if she did, damned if she didn’t.
“Olivia?”
She turned to see the concern on Victor’s face.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
Covering up the emotions her father always evoked was second nature. She’d been doing it a long, long time. “Everything’s fine.”
She put the phone in her armband and started jogging. “Come on. I’ll buy you breakfast.”
Running would help. She could pound out her anxiety, keep Victor from seeing the fear she knew had to be on her face, and maybe find a way to sort through the sticky, awful confusion in her brain.
Focus on what you can control.
Control, an elusive concept just like family.
Victor caught up to her with ease, the dog as well. “Are we still on to go see Molina’s ex-girlfriend?”
“Absolutely. We can pay her a visit after breakfast. I have shooting practice this afternoon but I should be able to help with your investigation after that.”
And somewhere in between, she had to find a way to keep her father in jail.
* * *
Everything wasnotfine.Ever since the phone call, Olivia had been acting strange. Victor had not intentionally eavesdropped, but had been concerned from the moment he saw the look on her face when the call came through. Her body language had only gotten more worrisome as she had spoken to whoever was on the other end.
You can’t let him out. He’s a stone-cold killer and you know it.
Who had she been talking about? Someone she had arrested?
As he ran beside her, he figured it was better not to pry. She obviously didn’t want to talk about it, even though she was upset. Injustice sucked. He dealt with it every day, and it never got any easier. Bad guys—really bad guys—got off easy, while some folks couldn’t seem to catch a break.
They ran an easy pace, Taz staying in stride, his tongue lolling out the side. The dog was so easygoing, nothing seemed to faze him. The only signs of his former life were the scars around his mouth and ears. He didn’t seem to hold the past abuse from his previous owner against the rest of humanity, and that made him very adoptable. Only thing was, Victor didn’t think he wanted to put Taz up for adoption. Keeping the dog, however, wasn’t the most responsible thing to do, since he was gone so much.
“Race you the rest of the way,” Olivia said, laughing as she charged ahead full speed, the dog up for the chase.
Olivia was fast, but Victor had been a track star back in the day, and still enjoyed running half marathons. Sprinting wasn’t his favorite, but he liked the dynamic, explosive, and precise version of putting one foot in front of the other. He might have been several years older than Liv, but his legs were longer and he liked the chase as much as Taz. He let Liv stay a few feet ahead so he could watch her curvy backside. At the last second, he poured it on and passed her, reaching her front door three steps before she did.
She bent at the waist, panting. “You…cheated.”
He laughed, feeling better than he had in the past couple of days. The earlier phone call aside, he felt hope with the new leads. If indeed someone had shot Cooper from that building, it opened a whole new can of worms, and put them on the right track. All the threads they had crisscrossing with the Suarez Kings and Fifty-seven Gang had not produced the results he wanted. One of the reasons he’d gone to the park that morning was to do the same thing Liv had—stand where Cooper had and get a feel for possible options. She seemed to think along the same lines he did, and now they had an alternate possibility. Some days, that was the thing that blew the lid open on a case.
They showered together, and Victor enjoyed taking advantage of her wet, naked body as he helped wash her hair, as well as the rest of her. The water festivities ended up taking longer than expected, and they grabbed protein bars on the way out the door to track down Olivia’s lead.
A car was parked behind Olivia’s blocking it in. A sandy haired guy with a beard and a slim frame leaned against the hood. “Hey partner,” he said to Liv. Then he looked over Victor. “I see why you haven’t been answering your phone.”
Olivia didn’t hide her surprise. Taz stopped next to her, his hackles rising. “Danny, what are you doing here? I didn’t realize you were back in town.”
