Dixie Under Siege (A Warrior's Passion #2) - Natasza Waters Page 0,110
Dean?”
The veteran cop shrugged. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
Dean left the viewing room and Josh watched as an officer handcuffed Melodie and Lt. Manchester escorted her from the room. Josh retrieved his cell when it vibrated in his pants’ front pocket.
EB 30 mikes?
Josh responded with a thumbs-up.
****
Mace and Tinman were waiting when Josh entered the Erotic Bean. Soon as Sabrina caught sight of him, she practically bolted across the coffeehouse.
“How’s Dixie? What’s happening? Are the cops going to let her go?”
He pointed at the chair because her complexion paled as if she might faint, but Dixie’s second in command wouldn’t sit.
Mace and Tinman nodded their greetings at him.
Josh took a seat in the alcove next to the front door, where Lt. Bach’s girlfriend liked to hang out on her days off and before work. “Dixie is safe. You handling things around here?”
She nodded. “Of course I am, but we want Dixie back. This is crazy. She didn’t kill anyone. Nobody believes that.”
Dixie’s employees were good people. They had faith in their leader, which was the sign of a respected boss. “Everything is going to be fine, Sabrina. It would be a lot easier on Dix if I can tell her the business is running smoothly.”
Sabrina yanked the white terry towel from her shoulder and balled it in her hands. “No problems here.” She took a deep breath. “Guess you want to talk with your men.”
“Yes, I do.” By her fidgeting, Sabrina wanted details, which he couldn’t provide other than to reassure her.
She swept a wisp of red hair from her eyes. “Okay, I’ll get you all something to drink.”
“That’d be great. Thanks, Sabrina.”
When she headed for the service counter, he asked. “What did you find?”
Earlier, Josh had asked the men to conduct some recon of their own. Mace and Tinman edged forward in their seats.
T-man took the lead. “We got a hold of the janitorial staff at the Ardon building, as you asked. Wasn’t easy, they’d gone into hiding. We located a guy named Paulo Flores. He owns the company contracted to clean the building. It’s a family-run operation. Once we eased his fears that we weren’t cops, he told us what they’d heard the night Chandler was murdered. One of Flores’s sons was working on the fifth floor around seven-thirty. He’d been in the office next door. The son can’t identify faces, but he said there were two women and two men. Four distinctly different voices.”
Good information Josh could use. “Gesem had to be one of the women. And one of the men was Chandler.”
Mace nodded. “Flores’s son said he heard loud voices. Shouting. Definitely an argument. The next thing he heard was three shots fired. After the gunfire, a woman started crying. He couldn’t hear everything, but one woman yelled, “What do we do?” Flores’s son quickly headed for the staircase. He told his father what had happened. Flores grabbed two other family members working there that night, and scrammed.”
Josh nodded. “Okay, so now we know four people were in the Ardon office that night. I was just in El Cajon. NCIS arrested Melodie Kallis.”
Tinman raised a brow. “Did you know Lt. Manchester’s intentions?”
“No, I didn’t. I got the distinct feeling Det. Dean and Manchester came up with a plan. Dean’s captain is pressuring him to wrap up Chandler’s case and blame Dixie. The senator’s reach stops short of NCIS. I think they both suspect Senator Kallis murdered Gesem, and the only way to get information is to arrest Melodie and hopes she talks. The senator is using legal counsel to stonewall being questioned by the cops.”
Tinman grimaced. “Not sure the senator gives a shit about Melodie. We heard from Cracker before he started the work-up exercise. I don’t know whether to feel sorry for that gal or hate her for trying to dump a murder weapon on Saxton. Either way, she’s a victim. Cracker told us the senator is just as sick as his son. The whole family is fucked up, Commander.”
Josh nodded. “No doubt there.”
The front door of the Erotic Bean opened and Ditz joined them. “You called, sir?”
“I did indeed. How’s the exercise going?”
Ditz wore his combat fatigues, his face covered in camo grease. Josh had pulled him out of Container City for an hour. All SEALs prepped for deployment. Didn’t matter if they had fifteen years in service or one. Training exercises not only sharpened a Frog’s skills, but created a cohesive team under duress.