Page 82 of Spark
“Fine.Navarro was behind the fire.I hacked into the system—pain in theass, by the way—to take down security and containment to give him access, but the crazy fucker did the rest himself.He’s desperate to cover up that murder.I’m not sure how he plans to deal with the dagger, but…” She blew out a breath.“Like, two weeks ago, he told me to hack into your system to get the identity of the witness.”
“Did you try?”Sinclair asked, and Tyler heaved a sigh of relief when Runner shook her head.
“To be clear, I’m not saying I can’t.But getting information to wreck some DNA is one thing.Getting it so he could commit murder?That’s a whole different ball game.I know he’s a bad guy, and I’m not a paragon of the community, either, but that was a bridge too far, even for me.”Her mouth flattened to a thin line.“Then, he threatened my mother, and I knew I was never going to be safe.So, I made up some bullshit lie about how I needed a couple of weeks to figure out how to get into your database.I used the time to weigh all my options and came up with this.”
Sinclair looked at Tara, who gave up the slightest lift of her chin.“So, Navarro doesn’t know who the witness is?”
“No, but he won’t stop until he finds out.”
“Oh, yes, he will,” Tara said.“Sergeant Sinclair, can you please go pick his sorry ass up while I get a judge on the phone to issue a new arrest warrant?We’re amending the charges against Leo Navarro to include arson and destruction of evidence in a felony.I want him in jail right now.”
“Wait,” Runner said, her shoulder blades thumping against the back of her chair as she pulled back, surprised.“You thinkLeoNavarro did all of this?”
Sinclair froze to his spot in the interview room.“He committed the murder.”
“Okay, well, yeah.That, he totally did,” Runner said.“But Leo’s a fucking idiot.No way could he come up with something like that fire.”
Tyler’s gut plummeted at the same time Chloe gasped, and Addison took a step back, shaking her head.
“Wait…that means…”
“Oh, shit,” Tyler breathed, getting to the same realization Addison had clearly just made.“The difference between the arson and the murder.The separate profiles Dallas did.It all makes perfect sense.”
“What makes perfect sense?”Chloe asked.
Tyler’s skin turned ice cold when Runner answered the question she hadn’t even heard.
“You’ve been after the wrong Navarro.Simon’s the one behind all of this.Not Leo.”
27
Simon prowled a path over the threadbare carpet at the non-descript motel he’d holed up in and cursed the fact that he hadn’t jammed an ice pick in Runner’s brain when he’d had the chance.She was the least of his problems right now, though, and he’d get to her eventually.First, he needed a plan.
A plan that involved revenge.
Simon had barely gotten enough advance notice to escape the estate before the Intelligence Unit arrived.He’d grown tired of Runner’s whining about not being able to hack into the RPD’s database, so he’d hired outside assistance two days ago.While the new hacker, who went by the alias Anonymous—no points for originality—hadn’t gotten into the database quite yet, he had proven his usefulness by letting Simon know that the police had issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of arson, destruction of evidence in a felony, and they’d recently added conspiracy to cover up murder to the list.He’d been able to leave with a secure phone and enough cash to last until he had a plan.
Also, a Kimber .45 ACP that would do the damage he needed it to in order to carry it out.
Ignoring the musty smell emanating from either the carpet or the bedspread, or possibly both, Simon pulled out his phone and read the updated alert.The police had brought Leo in for further questioning, which wasn’t going to bode well for Simon.Although Leo was mostly unaware of Simon’s side dealings, he knew enough to be a detriment, and Simon had no doubt that Leo would sing like a fucking canary if there was something in it for him.Simon found a scrap of solace in the fact that Leo would still probably go to prison forever—that dagger wasn’t going anywhere now that Simon wasn’t there to handle things.But now, Simon was facing way more serious problems.Charges.An investigation.The empire he’d created himself, the onehe’dearned, all gone.
Anger coursed through him, turning his vision red and making his hands shake.Running wasn’t much of an option.The RPD would probably seize his assets by the end of the day, if they hadn’t already, and he was too good for shit-hole motels and watching his back.He could take his anger out on Runner’s mother, making the little turncoat suffer until he decided to put her out of her misery himself, although the cops probably had a protection detail on the woman, just in case.Assisted care facilities had security features he didn’t want to deal with right now.But someone needed to pay for this fucking mess.Simon needed to take action, to do something.
He would not lose control.He wouldnot.
Simon,his mother tsked, her cold, hateful voice making his rage spiral.You don’t have control.You never did.Face it, you’re useless.They’re going to come for you, and you’re not even going to be in charge of when you can take a shit.You’ll go away forever.
Simon snatched up his phone, smashing his way through the files Anonymous had sent him.Taking down anyone in the Intelligence Unit was out of the question.They were too well-protected, and probably all sitting smack in the middle of his estate right now.The A.D.A.was also going to be too difficult to pull off.
His eyes snagged on a name, an idea blooming in his brain like a bloodstain.Tyler Gates.The firefighter who kept shoving his nose where it didn’t belong.Who kept digging, who thought he’d bested Simon with the HazMat suit.
Tyler Gates, Simon thought, taking down his address and shoving his gun in his waistband, turning toward the door.
Who was going to die today.
Tyler pulledup to his apartment building, feeling absolutely wrecked.He and Chloe had stayed at the Thirty-Third long enough to see new arrest warrants issued for both Leo and Simon Navarro and to get the news that, while Leo had been taken back into custody, whining like a toddler, Simon had fled the estate and was currently MIA.Intelligence had located his car in a motel parking lot by the airport and currently had BOLOs out at every terminal, gate, and security checkpoint.
“If he tries to go anywhere, we’ll find him,” Addison had promised before changing into the street clothes in her locker and joining the team at the Navarro estate to execute a second search warrant, this one with input from Runner on exactly where to look, “and if he doesn’t, he’s a dumbass, and we’ll still find him.”
