Page 57 of Dirty Minds

“Everyone stay down and keep quiet,” Jack called out.

He put his hand on my arm, keeping me inside the restaurant. “Wait until we get clearance.”

I nodded, noticing the few people who’d been in the parking lot were hunkered down by cars.

Jack’s phone rang, and the sound seemed loud in the hushed panic of those around us.

“Lawson,” he said.

I could hear dispatch on the other end of the line. Barbara Blanton had been manning the post for decades and she had a voice like a freight train.

“First on scene said the clock tower was clear,” she said. “He must have been in and out of there in a jiffy because the closest unit was only two minutes away. They’ve got the streets blocked and will decrease the footprint as the search.”

“I want a team at his house in case he goes back there,” Jack said.

“You got it, boss,” she said and hung up.

Two police units were turning into the parking lot along with an ambulance, and Jack and I pushed open the door and hurried over to where William Kirby lay.

“Back to the hollow point,” Jack said. “Is your bag in the car?”

“Yeah,” I said, already kneeling down to see what kind of damage the exit wound had done. I stood up and went back up the stairs, noticing the fragments buried in the outer wall of the restaurant. Jack came back a couple of minutes later with my bag.

“Thanks,” I said, and hoisted the strap across my body.

“I hate to be impressed,” Jack said. “But that was a really good shot. To hit a moving target from that distance…there aren’t a lot of people in the world who could do that.”

“I’m guessing J.D. was a sniper for the marines?” I asked, putting on a pair of gloves and kneeling down next to Kirby.

“He was part of an elite special ops unit,” Jack said. “Just like Bobby Pickering.”

“They were in at the same time?”

“No, but they were part of the same unit,” Jack said. “Once a brother, always a brother. It doesn’t matter that they didn’t serve together. That special ops unit isn’t big. They probably have private groups where they can help each other find jobs or places to live once they leave the service. Once Pickering was here it probably wasn’t hard for J.D. to recruit him for providing a distraction the night Sowers was killed. And he and Steven Machilenski knew each other from their time in Ukraine. But J.D. was the brains behind this operation. He convinces the others that it’s a noble pursuit. That it’s up to them to protect and serve, even though they’re no longer deployed. No one else is going to stop Kirby and Sowers, so why not them?”

“But then they killed Bobby,” I said.

“J.D. would’ve convinced Steven that it was his turn to make the shot,” Jack said. “They were both snipers, but J.D. was the better of the two. If they’d been competitive—and believe me, snipers are when it comes to kills—then it wouldn’t have taken much for J.D. to goad Steven into taking out Pickering. J.D. made the first kill—a justified one in his eyes—so it was Steven’s turn to kill Bobby. Also justified because it was common knowledge that Bobby suffered from PTSD. They knew he wouldn’t be able to hold it together and keep the secret of who killed Sowers. So he had to go too. Sometimes you have to sacrifice the one to save the many.”

I heard footsteps coming up the steps behind me, and I turned to see Cole and Martinez approaching. The affable look that was always on Martinez’s face was gone and Cole looked downright pissed.

“No sign of him yet,” Cole said. “The responding officers on campus are checking every car and pedestrian. Most of the businesses are closed since it’s Sunday, so we caught a break there. Not a lot of places to hide.”

“How’d you figure out it was J.D.?” Martinez asked. “We heard the APB go out.”

“Doug finally finessed his way through the military records of the veterans working for Denaro,” Jack said.

He explained the connection between them and how they’d connected to Sowers and Kirby while in Ukraine.

“So Pickering does the drive-by to cause a diversion,” Martinez said. “And J.D. is in the courthouse ready to take the shot. He’s got an easy alibi with the car park thing and then comes back to the restaurant with Darnell. Where was Steven that night? Surely he wasn’t really with his girlfriend.”

“Getaway driver,” Jack said. “The black SUV Pickering drove was left at the scene and his truck was found in the parking garage. He needed someone to pick him up so he could dump the car and get out of the Towne Square.”

“So then Pickering decides to skip town,” Martinez continued. “So he calls Darnell for help because he was never involved. But Steven is there to take him out before Pickering ruins it for them all. Only problem is a witness got a glimpse of him and the vehicle he was driving. So he goes home and puts a pistol to his temple.”

“Or maybe J.D. helped him along,” I said. “J.D. seems to like to tie up loose ends.”

“And J.D. is the last man standing,” Martinez said. “What could he hope to gain at this point? We have his identity and he’s being hunted.”

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