Ryker (Hope City #6) - Kris Michaels Page 0,32
trying to clean up the mess Fenton had dropped in my lap. Then, when I figured out who Brie was, it was self-preservation. I’d never put my command or your position in jeopardy because of this relationship. So, suck up whatever objections you have about me and your sister and climb on board, or get the hell out of my way. I don’t give a shit which way you fall. Brianna is it for me and you doing the silent angst thing is done. Copy?”
Brody stared at him for several long moments. “Loud and clear.”
The door opened and Terry peeked in. His lieutenant spoke over his shoulder to someone, “No blood, you can come in.”
He stared at his friend and narrowed his gaze. Terry would make a joke out of anything. It was his way of reducing the tension in the room. Only it didn’t work this time, it just made things more awkward. Two men stepped in behind Terrence.
“Captain Terrell, I’m Detective Callaway, this is Detective Forsythe.” They flashed their badges and Ryker acknowledged them. “We need to find out exactly what happened at your house this evening.”
Ryker shifted in his bed and winced. “I came home as usual.”
“Did you notice anyone following you, anything out of normal on the drive home?”
“No. I’m very cautious. There was no one tagging me. I parked in the driveway and waved to Mrs. Thorn, my neighbor. She was doing whatever it is she does with her plants. I unlocked my kitchen door, walked inside, flipped the deadbolt, and dragged my ass into the living room. I took off my jacket, flopped it over the arm of my couch like I do every night, and dropped into the corner of the couch to veg for a couple minutes.”
Forsythe looked up from his notebook. “The corner of the sectional nearest the kitchen?”
Ryker shook his head. “No, the one closer to the hall. It’s where I always sit.”
Both Callaway and Forsythe scribbled something down. “Then what happened?”
Ryker thought carefully. “I got a phone call, so I slid across the couch to grab it from my jacket. That’s when all hell busted loose.”
“Do you have any idea who called you?”
“No, but it would be on my caller ID. If I hadn’t reached for the phone, the bullets wouldn’t have come anywhere near me.” Ryker stopped and swiveled his head from the two detectives toward Terrence. “Where is my phone?”
“Brie has it,” Brody answered. “I’ll go get it.” He darted from the room.
“Do you think someone called you to get you into a position to take you out?” Terrence spoke the question that was on his mind but then continued, “Your number is unlisted.”
Callaway looked up from his notepad. “Have you given it out to anyone recently?”
He shook his head but then stopped. “No, but Mouse did.”
“Who’s Mouse?”
“Mouse is my CI that is now a linchpin witness in a major case. She gave my number to a prostitute working the streets. Alice is her name. She texted me Mouse’s pickup location, and I sent a team to go get her.”
“Do we know Alice’s actual name? Where to find her?” Callaway scribbled as he asked.
Ryker shook his head. “No. I’d start at the Cottages and then the warehouses where the homeless congregate. That was where Mouse said she’d been hiding.”
The door opened and Brody walked to the head of the bed, giving Ryker the phone. With his good hand, he swiped the screen and entered his code. He hit the call log and winced at the top outgoing call. His stepfather? Damn it.
Forsythe must have noticed the reaction. “Do you recognize the number?”
“No, sorry, my shoulder twinged a bit. Here is the cell number from which I received the text to pick up Mouse. This is the unanswered call that I was moving to answer when they took shots at me.” He handed them the phone so they could write down the number attached to the pickup text and the last one on his call log. “Should I try to call it back?”
Forsythe shook his head. “No, we don’t want the players to know we’ve connected the dots. Besides, this is probably a burner phone. We’ll have tech run it and figure it out. If we go that route, we’ll let you know. Until then, pretend it doesn’t exist.”
He nodded and dropped the phone onto his lap. “Maybe you can ping it, see if it is still active.”
“We threw up a geofence around your neighborhood when the shooting