LITMIR.BIZ

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      “We’ll do it first thing,” Charlie said. “Anything we can do to catch whoever did this.”

      “Appreciate it,” Sam said. “The Patrol officer can give you a ride home.”

      “We live close by,” Kelsey said. “We’re okay to walk.”

      “I’d feel better if you’d let him take you. I also have to caution you that you’re material witnesses to a homicide. You’ll need to be very careful until we catch the son of a bitch who’s picking people off in our city.”

      Charlie’s complexion became even paler. “This isn’t the only one?”

      “Second one tonight,” Sam said.

      Charlie glanced at Kelsey. “We... We’ll take the ride.”

      Sam signaled to Beckett’s partner and asked him to drive them home. “Make sure you see them inside.”

      “Yes, ma’am.”

      Sam crossed the street to return to the scene of Joe Kramer’s nightmare in time to see his distraught sister emerge from a cab and run to him. He stood to meet her and caught her in a hug, both crying hysterically. The woman’s husband followed, putting his arms around them.

      “Goddamn, this blows,” Sam said to Freddie, who nodded in agreement. That he didn’t chastise her for using the Lord’s name in vain said a lot about how deeply the family’s grief had affected him.

      “Malone called me when he couldn’t get through to you,” Freddie said. “HQ is looking for an update. I told him we might have two instances of the same shooter randomly picking people off on side streets. He wants us to brief the brass as soon as we can.”

      “First we need to update the APB to let everyone know we have a second shooting. Let’s get every Patrol officer in the city looking for these assholes.”

      “On it.”

      While he took care of that, Sam went to see if there was anything else they could do for Joe Kramer and his family.

      “C-could we see her?” he asked when she offered the department’s assistance.

      “I think it might be better if you wait until we get her back to HQ.”

      She watched him process what she wasn’t saying and could almost see him deciding whether to argue the point. But then he sagged with resignation.

      “Okay. Whatever you think is best.”

      “Could I get your address and contact info?”

      “Yeah.” He rattled off his address and phone number, which she recorded in her notebook.

      “I’ll be in touch with you as soon as we know anything more, and I’ll ask the Medical Examiner to let you know when Melody will be released to the funeral home of your choice.”

      At the mention of funeral homes, his sister buried her face in his chest, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Her poor husband stood beside them, seeming unsure of what he should do.

      Sam wanted to tell him there was nothing he could do other than be there for them, but she held her tongue. They would figure it out the same way everyone else did when their lives were permanently altered by violence. She handed Joe her business card. “If I can do anything for you, day or night, my cell number is on the card. Feel free to use it.”

      “Thank you,” he said.

      “Officer Beckett will see you home.” She signaled to Beckett. “Please make sure Mr. Kramer and his family get home safely.”

      “Yes, ma’am.”

      Before he left with Beckett, Joe took a long last look back at the cloth-covered body of his wife, his despair palpable. Only when his sister tugged on his arm, urging him to move, did he finally tear his gaze off his wife and begin to put one foot in front of the other toward a suddenly uncertain future.

      Undone by his grief, Sam bent at the waist, hands on her knees as she focused on trying to breathe. She appreciated that Freddie didn’t ask if she was okay or if he could do anything. Rather, he stood close by and let her do what she needed to.

      After she’d gotten herself together, she stood to her full height and looked at Freddie. “Let’s find these motherfuckers.”

       CHAPTER SIX

      THEY RETURNED TO HQ, where Captain Malone met them in the lobby. “I came in when I heard about the second shooting. The chief is here too. Come tell us what you’ve got.”

      To Freddie, Sam said, “Go see if Archie was able to get anything from the video feeds from the Kramer shooting.”

      “Will do.”

      Sam went with Malone past the Dispatch area to the chief’s office where Joe Farnsworth, known affectionately to Sam and her sisters as “Uncle Joe” when they were growing up, nodded to her. He was one of her father’s closest friends and one of Sam’s greatest supporters.

      The chief was on a testy-sounding phone call. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I understand. We feel the same way. Believe me.” He held the phone away from his ear, and Sam could hear the woman talking on the other end but not what she was saying. “Of course I’ll keep you posted. Lieutenant Holland is here now, back from the scene of both shootings.” Another pause. “Yes, we’ll brief the media and let people know what’s happened. We’re doing everything we always do when there’s a homicide in our city.”

      After another full minute of listening, he managed to extricate himself from the phone call. “She drives me crazy.”

      “I assume that’s our esteemed mayor,” Malone said.

      “You assume correctly.” To Sam, Farnsworth said, “Welcome back. I hope you had a nice vacation.”

      “We did.”

      “Glad to hear it. What’ve we got on the drive-bys?”

      Sam filled him in on the details of both shootings.

      “Ugh, a kid and a pregnant woman.” Farnsworth sagged into his chair. “What’s your gut telling you, Lieutenant?”

      “That we’re looking at random thrill kills, but we’ll dig into the vics to make sure.”

      Farnsworth nodded in agreement with her plan. “I hate stuff like this. Hell, I hate all of it.”

      “It does keep us in business,” Sam said, going for a moment of levity.

      “There is that,” Farnsworth said with a small smile. “How’s your husband doing?”

      “He’s great. Never been better.”

      “I believe there’s a certain level of denial going on in the Cappuano household,” Malone said to Farnsworth.

      “It goes something like this,” Sam said, placing her hands over her ears. “Lalalalalala.”

      “Can you picture her as first lady?” Malone asked.

      “Not even kinda,” Farnsworth said, “but then again, I couldn’t picture her as second lady either.”

      “It’s the whole ‘lady’ part that gets me every time,” Malone said, rubbing his chin as he studied her.

      “Very funny, boys,” Sam said, amused by their banter. “How about you spare me the agony of dealing with the media and handle the briefing for me?”

      “You know they enjoy it so much more when it’s you, Lieutenant,” Malone said. “Besides, you were at the scene and have the firsthand information.”

      “Fine, whatever. I’ll do it.”

      “I’ll go out

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