Second Chance

Chapter 46

STAFFORD walked me down from the stone gate on Cerntos

“The chief was on his way home.” She bit her bottom lip. “He lived a couple of houses down that way. No witnesses, but his driver's over there.”

I went to the spot where Mercer's body had been found.

Charlie Clapper's team was already combing all around it. It was a quiet, residential street, the sidewalk guarded by a high hedge that would've blocked anyone from seeing the killer.

The spot had already been chalked off. Blotches of blood soaked the pavement inside the outline of the body. The remains of his last moments, some plastic bags containing magazines, fruit, and a bottle of wine, were scattered around.

“Didn't he have a car stationed in front of his house?” I asked.

Lorraine nodded toward a young uniformed officer leaning against the hood of a blue-and-white. “By the time he got down here, the perp had fled and the chief was bleeding out.”

It became clear the killer had been lying in wait: He must've hidden in the bushes until Mercer came by. He must've known. Just like he knew with Davidson.

From up on Ocean, I saw Jacobi and Cappy coming toward us. The sight of them made me exhale with relief.

“Thanks for coming down,” I whispered.

Then Jacobi did something totally uncharacteristic. He grasped my shoulder and looked firmly into my eyes. “This is gonna get big, Lindsay; Feds are gonna come in. Anything we can do, anything you need, anytime you need to talk about it. You know I'm here for you.”

I turned to Lorraine and Chin. “What do you need to finish up here?”

“I want to check along the escape route,” Chin said. “If he had a car parked, someone must've seen it. Otherwise, maybe someone saw him come out on Ocean.” “Fucking chief.” Jacobi sighed. “I always thought the guy would hold a news conference at his own funeral.”

“We still classifying this as a hate crime, Lieutenant?”

Cappy sniffed.

“I don't know about you,” I said, “but I hate this bastard pretty bad.”