Open Case by Mickie B. Ashling

Author:Mickie B. Ashling [Ashling, Mickie B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63533-294-0
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2017-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

AFTER THE four-day weekend—five for Bryce as he’d skipped work on Wednesday—Monday was a shock to his system. With his travel mug in one hand and his project folder in the other, he’d left the apartment thirty minutes earlier than normal to get a head start on the traffic. A good thing, as it turned out, since every problem that had been put on hold prior to the holiday erupted that morning. He was running on six cylinders until his secretary walked in at one o’clock to let him know the Chicago PD, in the form of Adam and Jack, had arrived to pay him an unexpected visit.

They looked grim when they approached his desk.

“What happened?” Bryce asked, instantly on the alert. “Is Seth okay?”

“The last time we checked in with the surveillance team, he was fine,” Adam said. “Seth hasn’t left the apartment all morning.”

“Then why are you here?”

“A murder-robbery occurred at a Chinese restaurant out in La Grange early this morning, and we uncovered some interesting facts.”

“What’s this got to do with me?”

“The owner of a popular hole-in-the-wall was killed, and it seems he’d been renting out a room over his restaurant to someone fitting Owen’s description. We ran the prints, which were all over the place, including the murder weapon, and they match.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I’m afraid not. After questioning the employees and showing them Owen’s photos, they ID’d him as Mr. Shu’s tenant going by the name of Bryce Wilder. They also mentioned his head was shaved and he was sporting a full beard.”

“That fucker! Why didn’t those people report his whereabouts sooner? Owen’s mug has been on the news for days.”

“Come on,” Jack said. “You know the public doesn’t give a rat’s ass about anything they see on TV if it’s not related to them. Besides, Owen looks different with his new look, paid his rent in cash, and kept a low profile. Pete Shu had no idea he was harboring a criminal.”

“Or,” Adam offered, “Pete didn’t want to draw attention to his corner of the world. Most of the people we questioned were Asian and looked terrified. People in that neighborhood aren’t fussy about paperwork. Harboring illegals and paying peanuts for long hours of work are common practice. They don’t want to see cops and investigators getting too nosy.”

“Yeah, and now one of them is dead. Jesus,” Bryce said, running fingers through his hair.

“He must have been caught off guard,” Jack surmised. “There was no reason he should have been in the restaurant at all, and now we’re starting to put two and two together.”

“In what way?”

“A few days ago, we got word from his former employers that someone had hacked into their system. Turns out, Owen and one of his investigator buddies exchanged log-in information a while back, and he’s been using the guy’s password to snoop around. When the agent found out, thanks to a security alert, he flipped out and went running to his boss. Unfortunately, they fired him for his trouble, claiming he was no longer trustworthy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.