False Pretenses - Kathy Herman [116]
Pierce walked ever so softly down the hall, slipped into the bathroom, and put his ear to the wall.
“You got my partner killed. Now you can pay me.”
“We d-don’t have that kind of money. I told Cowen we would have to borrow it. It would take time.”
“He gave you time. You stiffed him—again. Now you’re gonna pay with your life—but not till your husband pays me somethin’. I’m not walkin’ away from this with nothin’.”
“Please, I’m not the Zoe Benoit you think I am.”
“I don’t believe you. But I don’t really care. Let’s see how much that husband of yours can scrape up if he thinks he’s got two hours before I gut you like a catfish and throw you in the river.”
Zoe squealed. “You’re hurting me.”
“Trust me, I’m not. When I start hurting you, you’ll be beggin’ me to stop.” He laughed. “Now call your husband’s cell phone.”
No! Pierce started to pat himself down, trying to find his cell phone before it could ring. He pulled it out of his back pocket and it slipped out of his hand and dropped onto the floor, his lively ringtone version of “The Sting” echoing in the bathroom. It was several more seconds before he could grab it and turn it off. He stopped breathing and listened.
“What was that?” the man said.
“Pierce’s cell phone. That’s his ring. He must have forgotten to take it with him.”
“Has your call gone to voice mail yet?”
“No.”
“Then why’d it stop ringing?”
Jude hung up the phone and turned to Aimee Rivette and Gil Marcel.
“We’ve got an ID on Cowen’s sidekick from the artist sketch we released to the media. The manager of an adult bookstore remembered him coming in a few days ago and pulled his credit card receipt. Suspect’s name is Jag Jones. He did time for robbery, aggravated assault, and drug possession. The Fort Worth PD had him under surveillance for drug trafficking, but he disappeared before they could move on him. Sure sounds like our guy. I’m thinking that the third set of shoe prints we cast at the scene of Remy’s murder belong to him.”
Gil raised his eyebrows. “Jones probably high-tailed it out of here after we took down Cowen.”
“Well, I just put out an ABP on him,” Jude said. “We’re going to get this creep.”
Aimee smiled knowingly. “Why don’t I call the Broussards and the Langleys and let them know about the new development?”
“Do it. Thanks.” Jude folded his hands on his desk. “Boy, what a difference a day makes. Once news got out that a white man was behind Remy’s murder—and that we took him out—the racial unrest came to a halt. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Deshawn Macey pulled through.” Jude’s mind flashed back to those fragile moments in the park when he was afraid the boy was bleeding to death.
“I’m glad we got it done before Remy’s funeral.”
“We all are.” Jude moved his gaze from Gil to Aimee. “But what we did between the time we found Remy murdered and the time we took out Cowen was equally important. We managed to keep a powder keg of racial violence from exploding. I have you two to thank for that. You did a brilliant job of putting deputies and police officers where we needed them—and with the pressure of the whole world watching. I’m proud of you.”
“Works both ways, Sheriff,” Gil said. “The way you represented this department in front of the cameras and behind the scenes makes me proud to be a part.”
Aimee nodded.
Jude felt his face flush and brought his palms down on his desk. “Okay, we’ve still got work to do.”
“I’ll go get ready for the afternoon briefing,” Gil said. “It’s great that we have an ID on this Jag Jones. Cowen got off easy. I want to catch this dirtbag and make sure he stays alive and goes to trial.”
Aimee rose to her feet. “I’ll go call the Broussards and the Langleys.”
The assailant forced Zoe down the hall, gripping the back of her collar with one hand and holding the knife to her neck with the other. He stopped her at the bathroom door.
“Where’s the light switch?” he said.
“Just to the right of the door.”
“All right, turn it on,” he said. “Slowly.”
Zoe reached to the right and flipped the switch, shocked to see Pierce standing with his back flat against