Dead Man's Hand (12 page)

“
Money
al
ways
is your
first priority.
”
He
watched the man, suspicion growing with every minute.
“
I told you,
Don.
You
’
re gonna have to find someone else to get it. We agreed
that
my last job was collecting from Grant. I went there
.
W
hen I left without finding Grant or the money, I
’
d finished the job. It
’
s over now. I
’
m walking outta here.
”

“
Not without giving me back that $10,000 I paid you in advance yesterday.
”

“
I consider that final payment for the work I did today. You don
’
t like it, try to collect from me.
”
He
widened his stance.

With a groan,
P
itt sat back in his chair.
“
I
’
m too
tired to fight with you. Keep the money
. Just g
o.
”

Without so much as a han
dshake, Calvin strode out of the office. He was free. Finally.

Now I can start my new life.

And w
hatever was wrong with the Grant situation
, it
was Pitt
’
s problem now.

Chapter 1
0

Dale was used to
working
with Jimmy. He and his partner
had developed a pattern for their searches. They walked
about three feet apart, searching the ground for clues.

“
You
’
ve been on th
e force
four years longer than me,
”
Dale said
.

“
Yeah. Thirty-one
years, why?
”

“
You ever see
a case of this magnitude?
”

“
Never.
”

He
smiled.
“
How long we been partners?
”

“
Nine years.
”

Dale grunted. Nine years was more than most marriages lasted.
“
I remember whe
n we were first paired together,
”
he said.

“
Yeah, everyone called us the odd couple, like Lemmon and Mathau.
”

“
Yeah, the black-white thing wasn
’
t said back then, but everyone was thinking it.
All I heard about was how Jimmy Mason was experienced, conservative
,
a real by-the-book man.
”

“
Yeah.
”
Jimmy smiled.
“
And all I heard was that Dale Dayton was a cowboy—instincts and no rules.
”

“
I guess I
’
ll have to be more like you on this investigation.
”
He
nodded
toward
the supervisors huddled at the scene.

“
They said we would never make it. Even our age difference would come between
us
.
”

“
But it didn
’
t. I trust you with my life.
”

“
What, you gettin
’
all sentimental on me, Dayton?
”

“
J
ust sayin
’
, partner. I can
’
t figure it out.
”

“
What?
”

“
You have four years on me on the force
and
yet I
’
m the lead for all of the major cases.
”

“
You think it
’
s a color thing?
”
Jimmy smiled wide.
“
You think, just maybe?
”

“
Yeah,
but
I don
’
t have time to listen to your whining about persecution right now.
F
or most senior officers, taking a back seat would cause some problems. But not you.
”

Jimmy stopped walking and turned
toward
Dale.
“
Dale, I
’
m not okay with racism, but I know you do the lead drill better than I would
and it has nothing to do with the color of my skin
. But as you know, I am tougher and smarter than you.
”

“
Fuck you very much, Jimmy.
”

“
Okay, enough sentimental bullshit. What do you think?
”

He knew the stats. The list of possible motives for any murder was profit, jealousy, revenge, conceal
ment of
a crime, or the killer was a homicidal maniac.

“
Could be a crime of passion,
”
Dale stated.
“
A passion for near
decapitation.
”

He
thought sex was probably involved somehow, but
he
had no idea how yet.

“
Wife?
”
Jimmy inquired.

“
Think about it. Who benefits the most from Grant
’
s death? Linda Grant is now a wealthy woman.
”

“
She was already a wealthy woman,
”
Jimmy stated.

“
Come on, that was her husband
’
s money. But now she has no one to share it with. It
’
s all hers.
”

“
You think Linda Grant did this?
”

“
I don
’
t think Linda committed the murder, or any woman for that matter. Sure, she could have lured her husband out her
e
, but she
’
s much too small and weak to slice his head nearly off. But could be hired work.
”

“
We better tell her first that she
’
s a widow and gauge from there.
”
Jimmy
wore a big smile.

“
What are you so excited about?
”

“
Meeting Linda Grant.
”

“
Your wife know you
’
re a perv?
”

Jimmy smiled
again
.
“
Of course, but she likes it. How do you think we
’
ve made it through
twenty-five
happily married years? I just always appreciate a beautiful woman.
”

The
search was going nowhere. Dale snapped off his gloves, the rubber smacking loudly. He
dialed the police station.

“
Henry, it
’
s Dale.
”

“
You in the field?
”

“
Yeah. I need you to find a
judge. Tell him that I need two search warrants sworn out ASAP on probable cause. Doug Grant
’
s home and casino,
t
he Greek.
”

“
T
he casino owner?
”

“
Yeah, the same one.
”

“
What did he do?
”

“
Don
’
t worry about what he did, just do it. Have them ready by the time I get back. Wait. Rephrase that. Get me one
unspecified search warrant for Doug Grant.
”

Dale hung up without saying goodbye. The search would have to be fast, deep and wide.

“
Unspecified?
”
Jimmy asked.

Dale shrug
ged.
“
Who knows what Grant owns?
”

As he was walking away, Jimmy put his hand on Dale
’
s shoulder.
“
Dale, be careful whose toes you step on with this one.
”

After almost two hours of thorough searching, all they had were the tire tread marks.

“
Let
’
s go see the widow.
”

As he
and Jimmy turned to leave, Dale felt a sharp tug on his coat sleeve. The detectives turned to face their sergeant standing beside the
m
ayor.

“
Dayton, Mason, we need to talk.
”

Dale spit into his cup.

“
Jesus Christ, Dayton, you know I hate that shit!
”
He turned to the man beside him.
“
You know Mayor Casey. He wants a few words with you boys before you get going. I
’
m heading back now. I
’
ll meet you at the precinct.
”

The men shook hands as the sergeant left. This was the first time that Dale had been this close to Paul Casey. Casey was tall and slender, a bit cocky.
Dale couldn
’
t believe he was standing in this heat in a pin-striped double-breasted suit
, with not a drop of sweat on him
.

“
What do you think?
”
the
m
ayor asked.

“
It
’
s still too soon in the case to tell, sir. There is little evidence to go on right now.
”

“
Detectives, I don
’
t want to slow you down. I just wanted you to know that this case takes precedence. This case should be treated with your utmost professionalism and speed. I am depending on you gentlemen to bring me swift justice. Doug Grant was a friend of mine
and
I don
’
t have to tell you the impact that he and his family have had on this city. I would consider it a personal favor if you brought down the son of a bitch
who
did this. The city would be in your debt.
”

It might have been Casey
’
s shifty eyes or trite words but something didn
’
t feel right
.

“
We
’
ll get him,
”
Dale said.

“
That
’
s all I wanted to hear. Get to work, gentlemen.
”
The
m
ayor marched off.

Something wasn
’
t kosher about the whole deal.

Jimmy
’
s face showed he agreed.

“
Wait here, I
’
ll be back in a minute.
”

Dale hopped out as Jimmy pulled u
p to the police station. As he
entered the precinct, the attendant at the front desk shrugged at him.
“
They just found the judge at the
c
lub, rubbing elbows with Vegas
’
s
elite. The papers should b
e here soon
.
”

He
thought about running outside to tell Jimmy it would take a while,
but t
hen he heard his name called. Detective Joe Hartford rushed toward him.

“
Dale, I
’
m glad I caught you.
”

“
What
’
s up, Joe?
”

“
The
sergeant
said you
’
re working the Grant case?
”

“
That
’
s right.
”

“
I think you should hear this.
”

Dale looked back outside toward Jimmy, but
he
followed Hartford
across the lobby and
into the tech room.

“
We recorded this
911
call earlier this morning. Didn
’
t think much of it at the time.
Thought it was just some prank.
”

The lab tech started the recording.

Dale scratched his salt and pepper
crew cut as he listened.

When it was done, Hartford said,
“
After we got the call, we phoned over to the building lobby, but there was no answer. We had to call a second time, a few minutes later, before a security guard responded. We told him the situation
and
stayed on the line as they tried to locate Grant. There was no answer at his office
,
and
when they finally got up
stairs
, no one was there. That Coburn character, or Calvin Watters, was nowhere to be found.
”

“
They didn
’
t lock down the building?
”

Hartford shrugged.
“
Amateurs. We sent a couple of patrol cars to the private office, but by the time they got there, there was nothing to see.
”