His frustration evaporated. “A Mustang?”
“Not sure.”
“Where was it?”
“In front of the Schroeders’ house.”
“How well do you know them?” he asked.
“Not that well. I say hi to Kaden when we’re both outside—he’s the teenage son. Not sure of the dad’s name.”
Mason wasn’t the only one who thought the twenty-two-year-old man looked very young. “What time did you see the car?”
Gillian gazed across the street at the home as she thought. “Don’t know the time. It was dark, though, so maybe close to ten?” She nodded as if confirming her thoughts. “I was locking up before bed.” She met Mason’s gaze, uncertainty in her eyes. “I double-check every lock before bed now. Windows too.” Her voice lowered. “I’ve asked to break my lease. I can’t live here anymore.”
“I don’t blame you.” He stood and offered his hand. “Good luck, Gillian.”
“Thank you.”
He strode across the street to the Schroeder home. He was certain no one related to the investigation had been in the neighborhood at 10:00 p.m. The crime scene team had wrapped up, and Nora drove a black SUV.
Probably a friend of Kaden’s.
He knocked on the door, waited twenty seconds, and then pushed the doorbell as he wondered if Kaden was gaming with headphones on. Mason’s son Jake never heard his phone when his were on and he was deep in a game.
Impatient, he pressed the bell again.
He took two steps to the side to glance in the window just in case Kaden was gaming within sight, and he found himself peeking into a casual living room. No screen or gamer was visible. Mason looked back at the red truck, noticing the PCC parking pass hanging from the rearview mirror. The vehicle was definitely Kaden’s.
Mason pulled out a business card and wrote a note on the back for Kaden to call him. He shoved it into the crack of the door, and it opened two inches. He bumped the door as he snatched the falling business card, and it opened farther.
Should I yell for him?
Feeling like an intruder, he’d started to pull it closed when he caught a whiff of a familiar scent.
Dread crawled up his spine, and he shoved open the door. “Kaden?”
He heard something. It sounded like a TV program in a back room.
He drew his weapon but didn’t step inside the home as he yelled for the young man again. The odor was stronger now, and heat wafted out of the house. It was warmer inside than out, no doubt from the hot morning sun on the large front windows.
Call for backup and wait.
What if he needs immediate medical attention?
Mason placed a call, asking for local backup at the address, and then entered the house, clearing each room as he worked his way through the stifling home. The TV noise grew louder, and Mason continued to call Kaden’s name, warning him that he was in the house. Like Gillian’s, the home was identical to the Braswell home. He worked his way down the hall. Yelling sounded from the TV program.
The last door was open a few inches, and the TV noise grew louder as he moved closer. Mason shoved it open and his heart sank.
Kaden sat in a low gamer’s chair, the warriors in his game shouting from the huge monitor in front of him.
He’d been shot in the head.
20
“It’s got to be related,” Nora said in a low voice to Mason as they watched the medical examiner look over Kaden’s body. The young man was still in his gaming chair.
“Right across the street from another murder? I have no doubt,” said Mason.
“But why?” murmured Nora.
“Number-one question on my list. Well—right after ‘Who did it?’”
“Has to be the same person.”
“Odds are likely.”
“The father was gone overnight?” she asked.
“I assume so. Kaden said he was out of town when I talked to him yesterday.” Mason didn’t want to discover that the father had murdered his son. “I can’t find a phone number for him.”
Eliminate family as suspects first.
“You talked to the neighbors?” she asked.
“I sent two uniforms to knock on doors, but I talked with Gillian Wood,” Mason said. “She couldn’t help me contact the father. I told her to pack a bag and find a hotel or stay with family. It might not be safe here for her. She’s the only other person on this street who was involved with Reuben Braswell in some way—as far as we know.”
“We don’t know that Kaden was involved with Reuben,” Nora pointed out.
“No, but I did interview him, and he’s the one who told me about the silver Mustang.”
“Think he was holding back on you?”
Mason eyed the dead man as Dr. Gianna Trask bent the victim’s arm, checking for rigor. It barely moved. “I suspect so. There’s a good chance he knew more than he let on.” He raised his voice. “What’s the verdict, Doc?”
“Gunshot wound to the head,” Dr. Trask said dryly. Nora made a small choking sound.
“But when?” asked Mason.
“Give me another minute.” She raised a brow at Mason. “I’m not magic.”
Mason struggled to wait. Patience wasn’t his strong point.
“Detectives?” A tech looked into the gaming room. “I found something in a bedroom I’d like you to see.”
Mason tensed, the tech’s statement reminding him of how the courthouse bombing notes had been found.
He and Nora followed the tech into the bedroom across the hall. Mason had determined earlier that it was Kaden’s room. It had an odor that reminded him of his son’s dirty socks and sweaty shorts. The smell of a teen boy’s room. An unzipped long, green duffel bag was on the floor next to the bed.
Several rifles were visible inside.
Mason blew out a breath and squatted next to the bag, opening it wider with the tip of his pen. He leaned over and sniffed several times. None of them had been fired recently.
“Five long guns,” the tech said. “The bag was under the bed. Seemed an odd place to store them.”
“Agreed.” Someone who owned this many guns should have a gun safe or at least a rack. Not keep them dumped in a duffel bag and shoved under a bed.
“No ammo,” said the tech. “At least not that I’ve found. Might be somewhere else.”
Mason stared at the weapons for a long moment, a question growing in the back of his mind.
Are they from the ATF robbery, like the gun that Ava found?
“Do me a favor,” Mason asked. “Send in the serial numbers before you do anything else, and have the results sent to me. Tell them I want to know if these are registered to Kaden . . . or his father.” He stood and stretched his back.
This case is taking more turns than I can count.
“Where’s Kaden’s cell phone?” Nora asked.
“I saw it next to the monitor in the other room,” said Mason.
Nora raised a brow. “I think we need to contact this boy’s father ASAP. Especially after finding those.” She pointed at the duffel.
“Agreed,” Mason said. The two of them went back to the gaming room. Kaden’s cell phone was still where Mason had seen it.