Nancy was pacing the floor, trying to gather her thoughts. The police had called to say that Malcolm had been killed by some type of long-range rifle, but had not been more specific than that. As a minor crime lord, she already had an idea of what type of weapon had been used. She had used a similar one herself many times.
What she didn’t know was why. He had barely joined the organization. He didn’t know anything, hadn’t done anything that would have drawn someone’s attention. This felt like it was someone who had a beef with her, and Lord knows that list was a long one.
Her phone rang, interrupting her thinking. “What?” she snapped when she answered the phone.
“Nancy, it’s Andy.”
“This isn’t a good time, Andrew.”
“It’s business, and it’s important.”
Grinding her teeth, she took a deep breath. “Andrew, my son was murdered outside of my house yesterday. Right now, there is nothing more important than that to me right now, not even you.”
There was dead air for a moment, then he said, “Tell me about it.”
“I don’t know much, except the police say he was killed with a long-range rifle.”
“Someone opened fire on the playground where my son-in-law and grandchildren were playing.”
“Are they all right?”
“Philip required surgery, but the doctor assured us he would make a full recovery. My grandchildren are traumatized. There was collateral damage; some people were killed.”
“I’m very sorry to hear this, Andrew, but I am not sure what you expect me to do about it. My attention right now is…”
“Tell me what you saw when you went out to the Strangerville lab,” Andy interrupted her.
“Exactly what we told you about before.”
“Do you have a copy of the footage you shot?”
“I might,” she hedged.
“I figured you did,” Andy replied. “I want you to go through the footage. See if anything stands out at you. Write down anything and everything. I want to know your opinions and observations.”
“Why?”
“Because the man that you rescued from the lab was my son-in-law, and I think what happened to him, Malcolm, and a few other men are all tied together.”
Nancy didn’t hesitate. “I’m in. I’ll help you in any way I can. However, I want you to promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“I want to kill the man who killed my son.”
