The Edge of Night by Sorenson Jill

Author:Sorenson, Jill [Sorenson, Jill]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Suspense
Publisher: Bantam
Published: 2011-04-05T05:00:00+00:00

15

On Monday afternoon, Noah reported for work.

He’d tried to spend some time with Meghan this morning, but she’d insisted that she wanted to be alone. She didn’t need him “breathing down her neck,” as she put it. She been holed up in her room all weekend.

When he came home from April’s yesterday afternoon, in need of another cold shower, he’d looked in on her. She pretended to be asleep.

The counselor had told him to expect extreme behavior. Sluggish fatigue or hyperawareness. Overeating or rejecting food. A victim might be needy one day, standoffish the next. She could speak of the incident constantly or refuse to say a word.

Noah wanted to help Meghan, but she was shutting him out. Maybe because he was a man. For the hundredth time he considered calling their mother. Was he making a mistake by keeping her secret?

Rolling the tension from his shoulders, he walked through the station, heading toward his cubicle. Patrick was already there, a surly expression on his face. “Sarge wants to talk to us.”

“What about?”

Patrick shrugged.

Noah had a pretty good idea. He’d heard about the car chase last night. He and Patrick had been on the other side of town, so they’d missed the action. Apparently, Junior Lopez and another gang member, Carl “Conejo” Arroyo, had fled the scene of a drive-by. Arroyo broke his collarbone in the resulting crash, and Lopez suffered a moderate concussion. They were awaiting charges.

Oscar Reyes, the intended target, hadn’t been home. His girlfriend and their two-year-old daughter were sleeping inside. One of the bullets had ricocheted, hitting the side of the house, but they’d been spared.

Noah wondered how the Lopez family was dealing with Junior’s arrest. Daughter dead, son headed to jail. Unfortunately, these kinds of trigger incidents were all too common. Traumatized people led traumatic lives.

He followed Patrick into Sergeant Briggs’s office. Detective Santiago had pulled up a chair next to Briggs, presenting a united front. Behind his black-framed glasses, Santiago’s eyes were flat. Briggs’s expression also revealed nothing.

Each man had a distinct presence; together, they were formidable.

“Have a seat,” Briggs said, indicating the two unoccupied chairs across from his desk. He was a former military man with rigid posture and a streamlined physique. His job took him into the realm of city politics and away from the nitty-gritty of police work, so they didn’t see him very often.

Patrick slumped in one chair, his body language defensive, and Noah grabbed the other. This wasn’t going to be a pleasant chat.

“I assume you know about the 318 last night.”

“Yes,” Noah said, and Patrick nodded.

“Junior Lopez demanded a lawyer as soon as he regained consciousness, but he won’t escape charges. Officers witnessed him opening fire. Luckily, they were patrolling the area.” He looked back and forth between them. “Is there any reason Lopez would think the Eastside leader was responsible for his sister’s murder?”

Noah glanced at Patrick, who maintained his stony silence.

“Officer Cruz told me you asked her to keep an eye on the situation, Officer Young.”

Now Patrick was looking at Noah.

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