She Who Watches (28 page)

They both changed into a set of street clothes, jeans and T-shirts, which they routinely kept in their lockers for circumstances such as this. They didn't want to look like cops, just a couple hanging out on a sunny afternoon.

After donning his jeans, an Oregon Ducks T-shirt, and running shoes, Mac went out to start up the van. Dana joined him a while later, wearing a loose purple T-shirt and jeans.

Before pulling out of the parking lot, Mac grabbed his ballistic vest, raid jacket, and AR-15 rifle from his trunk. He was going to suggest that Dana do the same, but she already had her trunk open.

Before driving to Gresham, Mac had one more stop to make.

“Where are you going?” Dana asked when he headed north off I-205.

“Home.” He tossed her a sly grin. “We're picking up Lucy.”

“Really? May I ask why?”

“She's a great prop, and since dogs love to stop and sniff things, her dallying will give us time to look around. Besides, nobody would expect a dog as sweet as Lucy to be anything but a pet.”

“Good thinking, Mac. I take it she's been on surveillance with you before?”

“A few times. Once, I even had a suspect pet Lucy before going into his house.” Mac chuckled. “You should have seen the guy's face when I handcuffed him an hour later.”

Lucy could hardly wait to get inside the van. Mac tossed her leash and food and water dish into the back and returned to his apartment for a cooler and some sodas.

On the way out, they stopped at Brewed Awakenings for twenty-ounce iced lattes and returned back to the Oregon side, taking the I-84 exit toward the gorge. They pulled off at the 181st Avenue exit, eventually taking a winding road that followed Johnson Creek on Gresham's east side. Dana navigated for Mac as they worked their way into the residential area where their suspect supposedly lived.

“There it is, Mac. Nice home for such a sleazy guy.”

“Yeah, but it probably isn't his.” It was an older two story on some acreage with a small barn and a shed of some sort. They were in a rural area, where most of the homes had an acre or two of land, which meant they probably wouldn't have neighbors to worry about in case things went south.

Mac drove past the house without slowing, to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

“I don't see anything.” Dana examined the house and yard as they passed. “I couldn't tell if there were any cars in back; nothing out front, though.”

Mac drove a half mile down the road and turned around, then he backed the van into a driveway of a fenced utility area. The driveway allowed them to watch the house in an unobtrusive manner. “Shall we take a walk?”

Lucy's tail thumped on the side of the van, recognizing the key word in Mac's question. She loved going for walks and runs, and one in the middle of the day was a special treat for her. Mac removed his pistol from the holster and slipped it into the small of his back, pulling his shirt over the weapon for concealment. Dana put on a lightweight vest to cover hers.

“Ready?” Mac asked.

“Yeah. Does she have a leash?” Dana motioned to Lucy.

“I put it in next to her water dish, but we don't really need it out here. Besides, you don't have to worry about Lucy. She does really well off leash, especially if I have my ultimate control tool with me.” He reached into the back of the van and pulled out a ragged tennis ball. “She won't get two feet from me when I have this thing. I think she likes this ball more than me!” Mac slapped his leg, and Lucy jumped out of the van, excited when she saw the tennis ball. “Let's go, girl,” Mac began the short walk toward Sinnott's house, bouncing Lucy's ball on the road.

Dana activated a tape recorder she'd hidden in her vest pocket. “Testing 1-2-3,” she said in a normal speaking voice. She then rewound the tape to make sure the sensitive recorder had picked up her voice. She would record her observations while walking along with Mac and Lucy.

Mac tossed the tennis ball for Lucy a few times on the way to the house. Each time, the dog caught the ball in her mouth after it bounced twice on the ground and brought it back to her master.

They rounded a deep five-foot hedge on the south end of the property, and Dana started talking into the recorder as they came closer to the house. “Two-story, wood-framed residential dwelling.”

She looked at Mac as she spoke to give the appearance of having a conversation. Her observations would be used in the search warrant affidavit.

“Primary color is taupe with dark maroon trim, wood shake roof, the numbers 3161 prominently displayed on the east entrance, next to an apparently wooden door. The numbers are painted black and appear to be metal. There is a paved circular drive, with two large outbuildings in the back of the residence. One appears to be a metal pole building, cream in color, and the other a wood construction that is similar in paint and material as the primary structure.” Dana pushed the pause button and looked around to see if there was any more relevant information she needed for her warrant.

“I don't see any cars in the back, do you?” Mac hunkered down and ruffled Lucy's ears.

“I can't tell,” Dana craned her neck as they walked in front of Sinnott's house. “We need to go down the driveway a bit to see.”

“I have an idea.” Mac threw the ball, putting a curve on it so it would land in the side yard. As the ball bounced toward the back of the house, he whispered, “Fetch it up, girl.”

The dog tore off after the ball, and Mac jogged after her, playing the part of dog owner who was concerned that his pet might be trespassing. “Hurry up and get the ball, Lucy. Come on.” Mac jogged to the end of the house where he could see around the back. There were no vehicles in the back of the house that he could see. The doors were closed on both of the outbuildings. The smaller building was large enough to hold a car, but not much else, so it was probably more of a storage building. The second building, however, was big enough to hold several cars.

Mac wanted to have a look inside the buildings, but that would be an illegal search and his observations would be tossed out in court. He had known officers who would fudge on fine lines such as these, but Mac wasn't one of them. No case was worth losing his integrity, not even a murder case.

Lucy grabbed the ball and ran back to Mac, who immediately took it from her mouth and tossed it back toward the main road. He hurried after his dog, not looking back at the house. Dana caught up and jogged alongside him. “See anything?”

“Nothing, but his car could be stored in the larger of the two buildings. Let's get back to the van and call our description in to Kevin so he can get the paper started on the warrant.”

Once they reached the van, Mac called in, stating their vehicle's location while Dana relayed the description of the house.

“I ran a power and utility search on the residence,” Kevin told them. “The owner of the home is an elderly woman named Alma Sinnott. Probably the suspect's grandmother or another relative.”

“I'm not surprised,” Mac said. “There's nothing going on here— at least not that I can see.”

“Keep a watch on the house while we make an application for a search warrant based on the DNA evidence and the fact that Sinnott listed this address as his home.” The warrant affidavit would seek permission from a circuit court judge for both the search of Sinnott's person and the home for evidence of the murder. “We're also asking permission to search his vehicle when we find it.”

“Did you get anything on the car?”

“It's registered to Alma Sinnott as well. I suspect Owen is using it, though, as she no longer has a valid driver's license. We'll get there as soon as we can,” Kevin assured him, then hung up.

Mac told Dana about the older woman. “I suspect Alma Sinnott is only guilty by association in this case. No doubt Sinnott appealed to her sympathies with a promise to walk the straight and narrow.”

“That's so sad. She's about to have her whole life turned upside down just because she took pity on her grandson or nephew or whatever.”

“I wonder if he's there,” Mac said. “Too bad I couldn't get a look inside the barn.”

“We'll find out soon enough.”

The tinted windows in the van concealed their identity, but they had to be careful to avoid any movement that might indicate that they were inside. Lucy snuggled down in the back of the van, content with the amount of exercise she'd had.

Mac and Dana slipped into their ballistic vests and raid jackets, preparing for the eventual SWAT team assault on the house. Mac thought how tough it would be on the tactical team members, this being their first call out since Trooper Revman had been killed less than a week ago. Emotions would be running high, but these guys were pros and would be able to check their feelings at the door. They were trained to react appropriately during high-stress situations.

Mac pulled his AR-15 rifle from the black carrying case, seating the thirty-round magazine in the weapon. He propped up the gun on the side slider door of the van so he'd be ready in a moment's notice to charge the weapon and exit the van. He and Dana then settled in for the duration. A nice breeze came through the open window on Mac's side, keeping the van at a comfortable seventy or so degrees.

“Did Kevin say how long we'd have to wait?” Dana asked.

“Nope. We're probably looking at a couple of hours at least.”

Dana sighed. “No offense, partner, but I hate waiting around.”

“Me too, but orders are orders.”

They watched the house without speaking for a time. Dana finally broke the unnatural silence. “You talked to Kristen lately?”

“No. I think she went back to Florida. I haven't heard from her, and I've been too busy to call.”

“That doesn't sound good.” Dana tipped her head to the side. “Are you losing interest?”

Mac shrugged. “I have no idea.” He didn't especially want to talk about Kristen. The whole deal with her rushing back to Florida to see her ex frustrated and confused him. Dana confused him, too, so what else was new?

“I hope things work out for you and Kristen. She's perfect for you.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Think about it, Mac. She knows what you do and is OK with it. She understands your hours, and from what you've told me, she's pretty flexible. And she's nice. And if you and Kristen were together, I could worry less about you.”

Mac pulled his gaze from the house. “Where did that come from? Since when do you worry about me?”

“Um . . . that sort of slipped out.” She chewed on her lower lip. “I know splitting up with Linda was really tough on you, and when you started dating Kristen, you seemed happy. Now . . . I don't know, Mac. You seem lost.”

He shook his head. “I'm not lost. I had a friend die, remember?”

“I know, but . . . I'm sorry. I have no business butting into your personal life.”

“Yeah, actually, you do.” Mac felt the heat creep up into his neck. Maybe this would be a good time to pull out the stops. “You're one of my best friends, and that's reason enough. Anyway, I don't think you really want me dating Kristen. I think you want me for yourself. I could be totally wrong, but I'm thinking all this garbage about not dating a cop is bogus. Why don't you just admit it?”

Dana stared straight ahead for several long moments. “Mac, I love you, but I don't
love
you. If I've given you that idea, then . . . It was letting you stay at my place the other night, right? And driving with you to work? I know a while back I said that I liked you, but . . . The hotel, when I hugged you?”

“No.” It was Mac's turn to stare out the window. Had he really misread her intentions? Dana was just being Dana. His cell rang, and he managed to answer.

“Hey, boss.”

“How's it going over there? Are you and Dana having a heart-to-heart?”

“How'd you guess?” Mac tried to make light of the question.

“Because I've been sitting on houses since you two were in diapers. You always get down to the nitty-gritty with your partners on a surveillance. I just wanted to read what I have on the affidavit.

See if there are any changes.” He read through it.

“Sounds fine to me.” Mac said.

“The SWAT team is standing by at the Portland OSP office, awaiting the word to get started.”

Much to Mac's disappointment, Kevin hung up, bringing back the tension between him and Dana.

“Are you getting hungry?” Mac asked, hoping to draw her attention away from their discussion. It was after seven.

“Not getting, I'm there.” Dana rubbed her stomach. “I should have thought to grab something. Do you have anything to eat?”

“Just Lucy's dog treats.” The dog's ears perked up, but the conversation apparently wasn't worth her full attention, so she went back to sleep after a couple halfhearted tail wags.

“In the rush I didn't think to bring food. I hope this isn't an all-nighter.”

“Me too.” Mac blew out a long breath. “Dana?”

“Mac?” They both spoke at once.

“You go first,” Mac said.

“No, you go.”

He thrummed his fingers on the wheel. “OK. I'm sorry if I read you wrong. It was probably the funeral. I really appreciated you coming with me, and maybe I did misread your intentions.”

She nodded. “It's hard, Mac. If we weren't both cops, maybe . . . But we are cops and we are partners, so we can't go there, not even in our dreams. Besides, I've met someone.”

“Yeah? Who?”

“Remember the attorney I said I was dating?”

Mac nodded. “You haven't mentioned him for a while.”

“Well, we've seen each other a few times. He came over last night and . . . I really like him.”

“I'm happy for you, Dana.” In a way he was.

“By the way, I got another call last night, but not until after Jonathan left.”