“Wow,” Jennifer said. “You think?”
“Yeah, I think that’s exactly what she was thinking, and after spending ten minutes with her I think she consciously thought it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Victoria was the one who gave them the knife set for their wedding. Parker is calculating and sharp, but she’s extremely angry.”
“Angry criminals fuck up,” Jennifer said. “Should we arrest her?”
“It’s going to be Victoria’s blood, but we can’t prove it yet. I think we follow the plan. But,” Lucy added, “we do need to give them a receipt for everything we take.”
Jennifer smiled. She asked Ash to bag and sign the evidence bag, then grabbed it from him. She walked down the hall and back to the study. “We’ll be leaving now, we found what we came for.” She held up the knife.
Harrison stared at it in shock. Faith stared at it in disbelief.
“It tested positive for blood,” Jennifer added. “Under the hilt. Very hard to clean no matter how many times you wash it.”
“Out of my house,” Faith said.
“I’ll give you a receipt.”
Jennifer walked to the kitchen and gave the knife back to Ash. Faith was hot on her heels. “Please give Mrs. Monroe a receipt for the knife that we’re taking.”
“Of course,” Ash said nervously, signing a slip and holding it out to Parker. She didn’t take it. He put it on the counter and left with the evidence, followed by the remaining officers. Jennifer and Lucy trailed behind.
In the entry, Jennifer said to Faith, “Remember what I said. No travel.”
“You’ll be hearing from my lawyer,”
“I look forward to it.”
Lucy felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. She knew that feeling.
Someone was watching them.
As the sensation washed over her, a loud report echoed at the same time as Faith staggered back into the house. Blood spread across her chest.
“Down!” Jennifer screamed as she and Lucy took cover inside the house. She reported on her radio that shots were fired.
“It’s a sniper,” Lucy said. She shut the door.
Harrison ran to the foyer. He stared at his wife, who was struggling to breathe. Lucy started to administer first aid.
But it was too late.
* * *
Jennifer was talking in her radio. “Find him!”
To Lucy she said, “There’s a sniper in a tree. Someone said it’s Carl Chavez.”
Harrison stared at her. He didn’t say anything, but it was clear from his expression that he knew who Carl Chavez was and he was shocked that the man had just shot and killed his wife.
A bullet came through the front window, then another and another.
“Get down!” Lucy shouted at Harrison.
He stared at her again, as if frozen.
Lucy rushed Harrison and tackled him to the floor. “Stay here!” she ordered. She went back and checked Faith’s pulse. Nothing.
Lucy shook her head to Jennifer to indicate that Faith was gone, then she had her gun around and positioned herself next to Jennifer.
“What about our people outside?” Lucy said.
Jennifer put her finger up. She was listening to her earpiece.
“Everyone has cover, though it’s tight. They’re working on a plan now.”
“Did she really kill Victoria?”
Lucy turned to where Harrison was on the floor, his back against a wall, in the hall off the foyer. He was staring at Faith’s body, expressionless.
“Yes, Harrison, she really did,” Lucy said.
“She couldn’t hold a candle to Victoria,” he said. “Fuck you, Faith,” he said, his voice soft. “I hope you’re burning in hell.”
Jennifer looked at Lucy, her eyebrows raised. “I have no problem with that,” she said. She put her finger to her ear again, then said to Lucy, “We confirmed Chavez. They’re going to flush him out, stay put.”
Lucy wasn’t moving, but this was the best time to get some answers from Harrison.
“Harrison, did you order the hit on the Albright family?”
He slowly looked at her. “What?”
“They were executed. Their bodies were found. Certainly you’ve been following the news.”
He nodded but looked confused. “Why would I kill them? She left the country. She wasn’t supposed to come back. We gave her three million dollars to stay away.”
“Three million that you embezzled from Kiefer.”
He didn’t say anything to that. He looked back at Faith’s body. The blood didn’t bother him. Because he was a killer or because he hated his wife?
A moment later, Jennifer said, “They have him in custody.” She nodded to Harrison. “Do you want to do the honors, or shall I?”
“Go right ahead, I want to talk to Chavez before he lawyers up.”
Jennifer approached Harrison and read him his rights. He didn’t resist or say another word.
Lucy went out to the yard, where two officers had already cuffed Carl Chavez and were standing sentry while he sat on the ground next to a squad car.
Chavez glared at Lucy. “Fucking bitch.”
At first, Lucy thought he was talking to her, but he was looking behind her. She could see Faith Parker’s dead body in the foyer.
Chavez continued, “That woman ruined my fucking life, and I’m glad she’s dead.”
“Tell me one thing,” Lucy said. “Did Faith Parker or Simon Mills order the assassination of the Albright family?”
“Mills? That fucking wimp?” He laughed, which bordered on hysterical. “Parker. She said the bitch would be back within the week spilling her guts if we didn’t take care of her then. And then she turns on me? She sets me up? After I fucking did everything for her? Hell no, I’m nobody’s fool.”
Jennifer came up behind Lucy, leading Harrison Monroe from the house.
“You certainly aren’t,” Jennifer said, looked at Lucy, and winked.
Lucy’s phone vibrated and she pulled it from her pocket. She needed a hot shower as soon as possible—she had Faith’s blood all over her.
The call was from her boss, Rachel.
“Kincaid.”
“I owe your husband a beer.”
“He’ll be happy to hear that. Why?”
“Mitch Corta just turned himself in to our office with boxes of documents that he says will show how and where Harrison Monroe and Simon Mills laundered their illegal gaming money. He has a lawyer, says he wants to work on a plea arrangement. Adam and his team are more than a little excited by what he’s brought us.”
“Did he say why he didn’t come in yesterday? Sean thought for sure he would.”
“He said he needed to go to three different banks to collect the evidence and he was paranoid that someone would follow him, so it took all day. He drove back from Dallas this morning.”
“Great news,” Lucy said, then filled her in on what had happened at the Monroe house.
When she finally got off the phone, Ash Dominguez came over to her. “We finally know the truth,” he said. “We can put that family to rest.”
“You’re going to get another commendation in your file,” Lucy said. “You went above and beyond.”