The partners in crime co.., p.12
The Partners in Crime Collection, page 12
“So, quit the force and come work with me,” Joey said as they sat on stools at the counter to eat. “Resolute Investigations, LLC was filed today. I’m going to look for office space this week.”
They passed containers back and forth as they ate and Jamie took a few bites before he spoke again. “If this is such a great thing, starting up your own business – why the hell do you look like someone died and you’re two steps from sucking on the end of your gun?”
“Because it feels like the assholes won,” Joey said. “I left because they wouldn’t trust me. I couldn’t be responsible for you ending up dead, too – and I most certainly didn’t want to die. If we don’t get backup, support, or cover – we could end up dead too easily. I don’t want to go out like that.”
“And neither do I, but that’s not going to happen,” Jamie said.
“Really. How do you know this?”
“Because I’ve got your back, Joseph Xavier Mahoney, just as much as you have mine. Once the case is settled, with Paulie and Katie in prison, when the tangles are smoothed out and presented for all and sundry to see? There will be no question that you are innocent of everything they suspect.”
“And yet there will always be a question in the back of their minds. Just how did Giannetti do what he did and Mahoney never knew? Is he that much of an idiot? Or was he complicit?”
Jamie had to admit there was truth in that. “So, you’re going to let them win? Give it all up and walk away?”
“I look at it as me taking the win,” Joey said. “I’ll get my partial retirement package and benefits, and I get to start my own business while I’m still young enough to do well at PI work.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes while Jamie processed what Joey had said. Finally, he lifted his beer bottle and held it out to Joey. “To new beginnings.”
Joey lifted his bottle and tapped it against Jamie’s. “To new beginnings.”
Dead & Buried: Chapter Fourteen
Jamie worked from home the next two days, then went and picked up Joey. He’d secured Joey’s promise of help with getting the stuff out of the Donovan house, and they really needed to get moving so the house could be shown and sold. They pulled up to the house with the moving truck and backed it up to the garage door. Katie said most of the kid’s stuff was stacked in the garage, but Jamie wanted to take a look around and find any photos or mementos the kids might appreciate as they got older.
Jamie unlocked the house and went through the kitchen to the garage to unlock the door and open it up. They found the boxes labeled for the kids right in the middle of the space.
“Do we take their bikes and skateboards, too?” Joey asked.
“Yeah, we can put it all in one of those pods later and ship it down to them. Let’s load up anything that looks like theirs,” Jamie said.
While Joey got started on that, Jamie found a few flat boxes. He taped one together and carried it into the living room. The family Bible with the births, deaths, and marriages went into the box first. Then Katie and Mike’s wedding album and the baby photo albums for each kid that had sat on a shelf next to the TV. He found framed photos piled on the dining room table, and wrapped each one as he packed them. In the master bedroom closet, he found Mike’s dress blues and Katie’s wedding gown, both outfits preserved in plastic. He took all of Mike’s ties and his favorite sweatshirts and put them in a duffel bag. The kids rooms were stripped bare and their closets were empty, so he hoped Katie had just boxed up everything. Each time he filled a box, he brought it out to the garage door and Joey would take it over to the truck.
“I think I’ve got everything the kids might eventually want. I got all of the photo albums and framed stuff that I could find,” Jamie said as he carried the last box out and slid it into the back of the truck.
Joey had a tool box open on the shelf at the side of the garage. “I found a couple of smaller tool boxes and I’m putting together a kit for each one of the kids. There are a ton of tools here, but the cabinet is bolted to the wall, so we can’t just load that up.”
“You still good with loading this into your garage for a few days until I can arrange payment for a shipping pod?” Jamie asked.
“Yeah, no problem. No point in renting a storage unit for a week or two of boxes sitting around,” Joey replied.
Jamie looked at his phone and sighed. “Crap, I need to get this truck back in like an hour and a half. Want to come help me unload it and then you can come back and I’ll return it and join you here? Anything that’s left we can put in your pickup, right?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Joey said. He closed the garage door and got into the truck while Jamie locked up the house.
Midway through the unloading at Joey’s, Jamie’s phone went off. He got into the cab of the truck to take the call so Joey wouldn’t hear.
“Ms. Popov, why are you calling? Are you okay?” Jamie asked.
“I’m fine, Jameson. I wanted to check on you. I heard that your partner quit the force. That’s not good, is it?” Drina said.
“It’s not, but I understand why he did it. Trust is a big part of policing,” Jamie replied. “I’m in the middle of something, can I call you later?”
“You may, but I wanted to hear for myself that you were okay.”
“I’m fine. Just picked up a load of stuff from Michael’s house for his kids. I’m storing it for a few days before I ship it out to them. In fact, I need to hurry to return the truck so Joey can go back and get the last couple of things. I’ll give you a call in a couple of hours?”
“I will wait for your call. Don’t worry, Jameson. I have your back.”
The call disconnected and Jamie shook his head. “Weird lady,” he muttered, then got out to help finish up.
Joey closed the back of the truck and locked up his garage. He took the Donovan’s house keys from Jamie and got into his truck. “I’ll see you back at Mike’s when you’re done. Then we’re going for steaks, on me.”
“That sounds like a plan, my friend,” Jamie replied as he got into the truck. It didn’t take him long to drop off the moving truck, get into his car and head over to the house. He didn’t want to block Joey’s truck in the drive, so he found a spot on the street a couple of houses down and walked up. A couple of raps on the garage door and Joey let him in, then closed it down again.
“It’s getting dark, we don’t need to advertise what’s still in here,” Joey said. “I put some of the power tools and a few things into my truck already. Got a few things for you and me in there. I’m just making sure I didn’t miss anything. Seems a waste to just sell off and throw out whatever’s left.”
“I’m going to go inside and make sure I didn’t miss anything either. Give me a yell when you’re done,” Jamie replied as he headed inside.
In the owner’s suite, Jamie went through the dresser once more. He found a ring box with an antique opal ring inside and tucked it in his pocket. Maureen would appreciate that some day. He dug up a couple of loose photos, and then pulled out the Harbor PD sweatshirt Mike liked to wear when they played basketball. That one, he would keep for himself.
“I’m glad you found that,” Mike said.
Jamie slammed a drawer shut as Mike startled him. “What have I said to you about not scaring me into a heart attack?”
“Sorry it took me a while to catch up to you. Elise and Dad and the kids are all good. I’ve not popped in on someone that far from my bones before and it took me a while to come back around. I’m glad I caught you before you left, though. There’s a secret I need to show you, so you can get the stuff out of there. Even Katie didn’t know about this.”
“Okay?”
“In my closet, on the left side, near the floor, there’s a loose panel in the wall,” Mike said.
Jamie got down on the floor and pulled a few shoes and odds and ends out of the way, then started to tap on the wall to find the panel.
“Up a little more, to the right...right there,” Mike said as Jamie tapped a spot that had a flap of loose wallpaper.
“Pull the paper up, stick your finger in the hole, and pull,” Mike said.
Jamie popped the panel off and found an old metal cash box inside. “Is this what you meant?”
“That’s it. There’s also a cloth bag underneath it, down between the studs. Get that, too.”
Jamie pulled both things out, fit the panel back, and backed out of the closet. “I smell smoke,” he said as he stood in the room.
Mike disappeared as Jamie wrapped the box and bag up in the sweatshirt, then stuffed it all into an old backpack along with the photos he’d found. Before he finished zipping the bag shut, Mike was back in the room.
“You’ve gotta get out, the house is on fire,” Mike said.
“Where’s Joey?” Jamie asked.
“He’s here? I’ll go look,” Mike said. Jamie opened the bedroom door and a cloud of smoke rushed in. Coughing hard, he went back into the master bath and soaked a towel, then wrapped it around his head. He put the backpack on and went out into the hall again.
“He’s lying in the garage, unconscious. Someone hit him on the head,” Mike said.
“I need to get him out,” Jamie replied, and started down the stairs and towards the door that led into the garage.
“You’re not going to make it that way. The whole kitchen is in flames,” Mike said. “Go out the back and break the glass in the back entrance to the garage, you can get him that way. There’s a crowbar jammed into the gears of the lift door.”
Jamie turned towards the family room near the back of the house and got out the window, then ran a round to the back entrance. It was painted shut, but a few hard kicks had it broken open. He ran into the garage, the smoke making it hard to see anything. “Where is he?” he yelled at Mike.
“To your left about five steps, then reach down,” Mike said.
Jamie followed Mike’s instructions and found Joey’s shirt in his fist. He patted the body on the floor until he reached his shoulders, then grabbed him under his armpits and dragged him towards the back door.
Once out in the cool night air, Jamie kept going until they were in the middle of the back yard before he collapsed on the grass. The house was fully involved now and Jamie could hear sirens in the distance. His head was pounding and his throat ached from breathing in the smoke, but he was more worried for Joey. The towel he’d had wrapped around his face, he now pressed to the wound in the back of Joey’s head and made sure his friend was breathing. Shallow breaths and a thready pulse told Jamie his friend was in rough shape. He pulled out his phone and dialed 911. “Officer down,” Jamie rasped. “We’re in the back yard of 9683 Cavendish. The house is on fire. I can hear sirens, but we need medics.”
“An ambulance is on the way. Can you get to the front yard?” the operator asked.
“I don’t want to move him anymore than I have to. He has a bleeding head injury. I dragged him out of the burning building, but I don’t want to make it worse,” Jamie said.
“Understood. They should be there any minute now. I’ve let the firefighters know you’re in the back. Were there any other people inside?”
“We were the only two I know of. It’s my friend’s house and we were packing up things for his kids before they sold it. If anyone else was in there, I never heard them.” Jamie coughed hard and wheezed as he held the phone.
“Hang on, detective. The ambulance just arrived. They should be with you shortly,” the operator said. “Go ahead and hang up when you see them.”
“Thank you,” Jamie rasped, then disconnected the call as he saw a section of the fence between the neighbor’s yard and this one come down and two medics rush through. Jamie waved his phone in the air, then shoved it in his pocket when they rushed over to them.
“Joseph Mahoney,” Jamie said as he pointed to Joey. “Someone hit him on the back of the head. I found him unconscious and dragged him out of the burning house.” The two medics started to check out Joey and Jamie coughed hard again. One of them pulled out an oxygen mask and small tank and pressed it to Jamie’s face.
“Here, detective. Breathe with this for a bit. You hurt anywhere?”
Jamie shook his head and sucked in the oxygen. He watched as they worked over Joey, then backed out of the way when they slid him onto the back board and got ready to carry him to the ambulance.
“Are you able to walk?” the medic asked Jamie.
“Yeah, I can walk. Don’t worry about me, just take care of Joey.” Jamie followed them across the yard and through the fence where they lay the board on a gurney and strapped Joey down. They jogged towards the ambulance and Jamie stopped at the back of it to glance at the house as the fire raged. They’d almost died in that house tonight, and he knew it was not an accident.
The medic called out to him and Jamie climbed in the back as the doors shut. He saw Mike’s ghost standing on the lawn, staring at the burning house, hands shoved into his front pockets as he watched the place he’d lived with his family, crash and burn.
Whomever was responsible? Jamie would see that they paid.
Dead & Buried: Chapter Fifteen
They kept Jamie and Joey overnight for observation, but they were both released the next day. The only reason they let Joey out was because Jamie said he’d make sure he was never alone and someone would be monitoring him constantly. The concussion Joey had would have kept him in the hospital another day or two, but Dai was home and had shown up at the hospital last night. Jamie had texted him from Joey’s phone, and let him know what had happened.
“How did you know to reach out to Dai?” Joey asked as they sat in Dai’s car while he pushed the wheelchair back inside.
“I had your phone in my pocket and I saw a notification that Dai had landed at the airport. Not sure if you had planned on getting him or not, I sent him a text that you were in the hospital but they said you were going to be okay,” Jamie said.
Dai slid into the driver’s seat and glanced over at Joey. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he whispered.
“You’re welcome,” Jamie chirped from the back seat and they all laughed.
“Don’t worry, boyo. I’ll thank ya properly later. You sure you’re okay to drive?” Dai asked Jamie, his gaze meeting through the rear-view mirror.
“I’m fine. I just breathed in too much smoke and they wanted to make sure I was coughing up the gunk and not getting worse,” Jamie replied. “I’m hoping Joey’s truck is okay.”
“Yeah, well, I parked it halfway down the driveway because I had the garage door open for a while until it got dark. Too close to the door and there’s no breeze,” Joey said.
They all fell silent as they approached the ruins of the house. A fire department SUV sat parked next to Joey’s truck – which had a few soot marks and scratches, but was otherwise fine. They saw two figures moving around in the mess and pulled over. Jamie got out and leaned in the window. “Give me the spare keys and I’ll move your truck out of their way, Joe. I’ll put the stuff in my car and you can come pick this up when you feel better.”
Joey handed Jamie the keys and leaned back in the seat. “Thanks, Jamie. Call if you need anything, huh?”
“You, too. Take care of him, Dai,” Jamie said and waved as they drove off.
Jamie headed up the driveway and waved to the two men. “Hello, I’m Detective Kennedy. I was here last night.”
“Hello, detective. I’m Captain Stanislaus, and this is Lieutenant Jacobs. We’re with the Fire Investigation Task Force. Did you know of anything that might have been running or turned on while you and Detective Mahoney were here?”
“Other than a few lights? No, nothing. In fact, I unplugged the televisions we didn’t pack up because we weren’t sure which ones we would be taking until I looked up the models on my phone to know which were the newer ones,” Jamie said.
“Taking stuff?” Jacobs asked.
“Yes, we were packing up things to ship to the kids. Their mother signed the property over to me to handle the dispersion of the contents and sale so I could get the funds to her children. My ex-wife is their guardian now,” Jamie said.
“And you thought maybe you’d burn it down instead?” Jacobs asked.
“Hey, back off, Jacobs,” Stanislaus said. “He’s a cop. He’s on our side.” Stanislaus turned back to Jamie. “Besides, Kennedy’s partner nearly got killed in the fire. How’s Mahoney doing?”
“He’s going home to recuperate. Had a pretty nasty concussion and about twenty five stitches in the back of his head. I almost died getting him out of this place, so watch your mouth about accusing us of anything,” Jamie replied.
“Ignore Jacobs,” Stanislaus said. “He’s kind of a dick.”
Jacobs gave them both the finger and walked around the side of the property.
“Seriously, he’s a dick,” Stanislaus said. “But we found where accelerant was used in three different spots. Whoever set this? They didn’t want anyone getting out. How did you get out?”
“I went out the window in the back, out of the family room, then kicked the painted over door in the back of the garage until it smashed and dragged Joey out that way,” Jamie said. “We collapsed in the middle of the back yard, then the medics came through the fence and got us out into the ambulance.”
“Does it surprise you that someone tried to kill you?” Stanislaus asked.
“No, not really. I mean – yeah, I wasn’t expecting it, but my partner, Michael Donovan, was killed a couple of weeks ago and this was his house.”
“So maybe someone was just adding a final insult to injury?” Stanislaus asked.
“Maybe. Or maybe they were trying to kill Joey. He just quit the force because of the crap he’s had to deal with since his partner got arrested. I have about six different possible theories and no suspects,” Jamie said. “Speaking of which, can I move Joey’s truck out of your way? I have to move the stuff in the truck into my car anyway.”
“Sure, you can move it,” Stanislaus said. “Here’s my card. If you think of anything, give me a call?”
