held his face in his hands. All he’d ever wanted was to ride free and enjoy the biker life, and instead he had to deal with the ticking time bombs that Frank had left for him. “Is everyone else accounted for?”
“Yeah, for now. Half the guys are keeping watch at Tim’s house, the other half are at headquarters.”
“Ok, good. We’ll be along to Tim’s in a couple seconds. Has Kat been told yet?”
I couldn’t believe his first thought was to his ex. They had split years ago and she’d only been back in town for a few days, but it seemed as though they had a closer bond than Jed and I did.
Nathan shook his head. “I haven’t yet, I don’t think anyone else has. Did you want me to, or are you going to break it to her?”
Jed pondered. “I should tell her. After we deal with things there though.” He turned back to me. “Are you good to go? I’ll have to catch a ride in your car.”
I nodded. “Sure. Let’s go.”
FRIEND
I see why Nathan described it as finding Tim bled out.
The living room was a mess.
Tim’s body was lying across the area rug in the wide expanse of the room. His TV on the wall continued to play sports highlights; nobody had turned it off yet.
Jed stood there, silent, almost the exact same pose that he had held when first seeing Patrick’s body a couple of days ago. I knew that thoughts warred fast and furiously inside of his head, but I left him to his contemplations as I completed my own circuit around the scene.
“Has anyone else been in and touched stuff here?” I asked Nathan. “It’s vital that we keep the crime scene clean for when the teams come in to check for clues.”
“We’re not going to call this in,” Jed said.
I stared at him, incredulous. “Are you kidding? I need to report this, Jed. Patty was one thing, that could have been just a drunk crash, an accident. This is a completely different situation now, someone is hunting down the members of the club!”
Jed shook his head. “Getting the cops or the feds involved isn’t going to help anything, Leslie. This is my club, and my town, and I’m going to find this fucker. I’m not going to go running to your bosses every time something happens, ok?”
I could believe my ears. “This isn’t running away or being weak, Jed. No one would blame you for getting some outside help on this one. Frank, Patty and Tim are dead, and you and Kat are lucky to be alive after the blast that took out Nightshade. This needs to go to the proper authorities so we have the best chance of catching the one responsible before more people die.”
I could tell by the set of his chin that my arguments weren’t making a dent on his decision. “We deal with this ourselves, that’s final.” He paced away, turning his back on me.
I turned to Nathan. “Nathan, you have to admit that the right thing to do here is to let me call this in and bring in the experts. Anything else is just foolish. It could be Jed next, or you. Or Kat, or anyone else in the club. Is that what you want?”
Nathan looked me in the eyes, looked after Jed, and grimaced. “I wish it was my call to make, Leslie, but it isn’t. Jed’s the president, and his word is law in this town. I can’t control you, either, but I would say that you hold off at least for a little while. Things were bound to get messy sooner or later, and the feds can’t come in and bail us out every time. Otherwise word will find a way out and we’ll be useless to their plans for penetrating the bigger crime rings.”
He had a point. There was a certain amount of gang warfare that had to go on if only to maintain appearances. But my biggest concern wasn’t with the DEA and its desires.
“Dammit, I’m not saying this as an agent, I’m saying this as someone who cares about the members of this club. Let me report this, and help stop any more deaths. This is crazy.”
Stony silence met my plea.
Fine, I’ll at least take a look myself to figure out what I can. Then I can
“Yeah, for now. Half the guys are keeping watch at Tim’s house, the other half are at headquarters.”
“Ok, good. We’ll be along to Tim’s in a couple seconds. Has Kat been told yet?”
I couldn’t believe his first thought was to his ex. They had split years ago and she’d only been back in town for a few days, but it seemed as though they had a closer bond than Jed and I did.
Nathan shook his head. “I haven’t yet, I don’t think anyone else has. Did you want me to, or are you going to break it to her?”
Jed pondered. “I should tell her. After we deal with things there though.” He turned back to me. “Are you good to go? I’ll have to catch a ride in your car.”
I nodded. “Sure. Let’s go.”
FRIEND
I see why Nathan described it as finding Tim bled out.
The living room was a mess.
Tim’s body was lying across the area rug in the wide expanse of the room. His TV on the wall continued to play sports highlights; nobody had turned it off yet.
Jed stood there, silent, almost the exact same pose that he had held when first seeing Patrick’s body a couple of days ago. I knew that thoughts warred fast and furiously inside of his head, but I left him to his contemplations as I completed my own circuit around the scene.
“Has anyone else been in and touched stuff here?” I asked Nathan. “It’s vital that we keep the crime scene clean for when the teams come in to check for clues.”
“We’re not going to call this in,” Jed said.
I stared at him, incredulous. “Are you kidding? I need to report this, Jed. Patty was one thing, that could have been just a drunk crash, an accident. This is a completely different situation now, someone is hunting down the members of the club!”
Jed shook his head. “Getting the cops or the feds involved isn’t going to help anything, Leslie. This is my club, and my town, and I’m going to find this fucker. I’m not going to go running to your bosses every time something happens, ok?”
I could believe my ears. “This isn’t running away or being weak, Jed. No one would blame you for getting some outside help on this one. Frank, Patty and Tim are dead, and you and Kat are lucky to be alive after the blast that took out Nightshade. This needs to go to the proper authorities so we have the best chance of catching the one responsible before more people die.”
I could tell by the set of his chin that my arguments weren’t making a dent on his decision. “We deal with this ourselves, that’s final.” He paced away, turning his back on me.
I turned to Nathan. “Nathan, you have to admit that the right thing to do here is to let me call this in and bring in the experts. Anything else is just foolish. It could be Jed next, or you. Or Kat, or anyone else in the club. Is that what you want?”
Nathan looked me in the eyes, looked after Jed, and grimaced. “I wish it was my call to make, Leslie, but it isn’t. Jed’s the president, and his word is law in this town. I can’t control you, either, but I would say that you hold off at least for a little while. Things were bound to get messy sooner or later, and the feds can’t come in and bail us out every time. Otherwise word will find a way out and we’ll be useless to their plans for penetrating the bigger crime rings.”
He had a point. There was a certain amount of gang warfare that had to go on if only to maintain appearances. But my biggest concern wasn’t with the DEA and its desires.
“Dammit, I’m not saying this as an agent, I’m saying this as someone who cares about the members of this club. Let me report this, and help stop any more deaths. This is crazy.”
Stony silence met my plea.
Fine, I’ll at least take a look myself to figure out what I can. Then I can
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