Silent Night - By Tom Barber Page 0,73

he’ll leave town immediately with the rest of his crew.’

‘That’s going to screw up ATF’s operation.’

‘Or it might help it.’

‘How?’

‘Sway’s not going to hang around. He knows we’re breathing down his neck. And any man who’s under pressure and in a rush is much more likely to make a mistake.’

Josh’s phone rang. He was mid-mouthful of Danish, but grabbed the phone and answered it.

Pause.

‘Yeah, I’m with Arch,’ he said. ‘We’re still at the coffee shop.’ As he spoke, Archer put the remaining piece of cookie in his mouth, then picked up his tea and leaned back, considering the situation.

Josh was right. Sway was a home run. He ticked all the boxes, fit the profile perfectly. It was clear from his dismissive attitude towards Josh and Marquez that he had no time for anyone not white Caucasian. But he was here at the time of the shooting. It was on camera and an eye witness backed it up. It was a rock-solid alibi. He couldn’t have fired the rifle. Which meant somewhere, they’d missed something. They needed to go back and reconsider the evidence. Adjust their train of thought.

There was an answer here.

They just had to find it.

Josh ended the call. ‘That was Marquez. They let Sway go. CSU are still trying to pinpoint exactly where the bullet came from. No one saw a muzzle flash and no one heard the shot.’

‘The rifle must have had a silencer.’

Josh finished his Danish and wiped his mouth with a napkin. ‘So what now?’

‘We forget about Jacobs and pray that we get a lead at the campsite.’

Silence followed. The Starbucks had music playing; considering the hectic day they’d had so far the normality of the atmosphere was welcome. A moment of calm in the eye of a storm. Archer looked around at the other customers. They had no idea what was going on right now and the potential danger they were all in. He thought back to this morning. Seeing Katic off for the last time. It didn’t even feel like the same day. He ran through everything that had happened since watching her taxi leave. The initial briefing. The ride into Manhattan. Peter Flood’s suicide. Macy’s. The Seaport. The house. Kyle Gunnar. Tonic. He reached up and felt his nose gently. It was sore as hell.

‘She got you good,’ Josh said, watching him. ‘You and Kruger look like twins.’

Archer shot him a look and he thought back to the fight in the club. ‘Thanks for your help by the way. I thought they had me.’

‘No problem. Hell of a day, right?’

‘Yeah. Thank God we’ve got Shepherd back.’

There was a pause. Archer thought for a moment.

‘What?’ Josh asked.

‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Shoot.’

‘Why did Shepherd take time off?’

Josh’s expression changed. He looked across the table at Archer, instantly serious.

‘You think I know?’

‘You and him go back a long way.’

Josh watched Archer closely. A long moment followed. Then he nodded.

‘This stays here. Understand?’

‘Of course.’

‘At the end of October, Shepherd was asleep in bed with his wife, middle of the night. Something woke him up. He heard a noise from downstairs. He was burgled at the beginning of the year so he thought they’d come back for another slice. He pulled his nine and crept out. None of the lights were on in the house. He went downstairs and saw a figure dressed in black, holding a gun. Shepherd shot him twice in the chest. Killed him on the spot.’

Josh looked down.

‘Turned out the guy was his son.’

Archer’s mouth opened. ‘What?’

‘He’d snuck out to go see his girl. The gun in his hand was one of his brother’s toys that the kid had left on the rug. He’d picked it up off the floor to put it away and then Shepherd had appeared and put two in his chest. He was only eighteen.’

‘Jesus Christ. Shepherd killed his own son?’

‘That’s why he took the time off. That’s why he hasn’t been the same since he got back.’

Archer’s mouth was open in shock. He couldn’t believe it.

‘How’s his wife?’

‘She hasn’t spoken to him for weeks. She kicked him out of the house. He’s been staying with Hendricks.’

‘Shit.’

‘Yeah,’ Josh said. ‘Hell of a thing. Man tries to defend his home, ends up killing his own boy.’

With that the conversation ceased, Archer still shocked at the revelation. Both men sat there in silence.

Then Josh shot his cuff and checked his watch. ‘We should get back downtown.’

‘OK. I’ll be a few minutes behind.’

‘Where you going?’

‘We need a lead. Something more than the