Chapter 36

Midnight. The witching hour. The time when evil things came to light or when snipers came out to roost. Joe put a hand to the dining room window, spread the blinds with his fingers, and scanned the dark alley below. Anyone down there?

Vanessa was sleeping and Joe didn't want to disturb her, didn't want her to know he was looking for a sniper. A sniper with a red-dot scope.

Who the hell shows up with a red-dot scope? Only the baddest of the bad. Or fools who thought they were the baddest of the bad.

Aw, and there he was in the exact spot where Frank had seen him two nights ago. The fool didn't even vary his location. Amateur.

But who was he? Frank and Joe had taken out all the big players. Luka was dead. Mr. X was dead. Wade was in the hospital, soon to be jail. Same for Boris. Marcus was in jail and not likely to get out for a long time. Of course, even behind bars he still wielded a lot of power. This sniper could be working for Marcus. Maybe he hadn't gotten the memo: the boss is in jail. Game's over. Time to go home.

Joe stepped away from the window. Did Frank know the sniper was out there tonight? Probably not. Frank, hopefully, was in bed resting and hopefully, with Nancy next to him.

Another possibility tumbled around in Joe's head, another possibility for the sniper. Joe crept into the bedroom and dug his cell phone out of his pants pocket.

In the dining room, he leaned a hip against the table, and checked his messages. One e-mail from a buddy in New York. The e-mail Joe had been waiting for and it confirmed his suspicions. He went to the window and checked the alley. Yep, sniper-dude was still there. Had to be cold out there. Uncomfortable hunched over that rifle and scope. Tedious work standing watch all night. And what about the day? Doing that, too? Joe had to give the guy credit for persistence. But that was all Joe would give him.

Joe got a drink of water and returned to the bedroom. He slipped beneath the covers and spooned Vanessa. God, she was warm. His arm went around her waist and he pressed his face into her hair.

She snuggled into the curve of his body. In a sleep-heavy voice, she mumbled, "I missed you."

"Sorry, had to go to the bathroom." He kissed her hair and thought about the man in the alley. Who was he and what did he want?

# # # #

Monday morning things were crazy at the Endeavor Office. Glass guys were there installing the new window. It was big and awkward and took a team of men to carry it, then position it, and get it into place.

Joe watched the process with detachment. Frank was upstairs resting. Joe had scoffed at Frank's plan of catching up on office paperwork. He was going to do paperwork with only one eye?

"You look like a train wreck, bro. You need to rest," Joe had said.

Thirty minutes later when Joe checked, Frank was resting on the couch. The TV was on, but he wasn't watching it.

"Looks like you took my advice," Joe said.

"Vision's still blurry and my head hurts whenever I lean over."

"See, told you so," Joe said.

Nancy arrived at ten-thirty and Joe gladly handed over the reins. "Security guys will be here in an hour to install the alarms and monitors. Frank's upstairs sleeping and I'm heading out to buy a new truck. Unless you need me to stay."

"No, I'm fine." Nancy's eyes swept over the demolished kitchen counter. "I left a bottle of wine here yesterday. Have any idea where it went?"

A sheepish grin lifted the corners of Joe's mouth. "Sorry, Vanessa and I drank it last night. I'll get you another bottle while I'm out."

Nancy smiled. "No problem. I'm glad to hear things are good between you two."

"Yeah, she's giving me a ride to the car dealer and we're having lunch afterwards to celebrate my new purchase."

"You can celebrate the end of the Romanoff case, too. Detective Burkhart called me this morning. They found Heinz' body on the mansion grounds. Burkhart said it looked like Heinz' died from a broken neck. He also said Marcus' arrest has thrown the organization into chaos. Word on the street is, the Mexicans are moving in. They've waited five years for retaliation and they're not wasting any time. Local drug dealers say hits have been ordered on most of Marcus' lower level leaders. Burkhart put Wade and Shell under protective custody and is moving them to a secure location."

Joe lifted an eyebrow. "So, basically we've traded one set of thugs for another."

Nancy ran a hand through her hair and ruffled it. "Yeah. I called Detective Cutter and brought him up to speed on the case. He's putting Boris under protective custody just to be safe." She saw the look on Joe's face. "What? What wrong?"

"The sniper. He's back. Or maybe he never left." The way Joe said it sent a chill down Nancy's spine. "I saw him last night. Around midnight. In the alley, in the same place Frank saw him."

Nancy slumped against her desk. "This is not good. I thought the sniper was Luka or Shell. Or that Heinz guy. I thought we'd gotten rid of him."

Joe blew out a breath. "Yeah, me, too. Guess we were wrong."

Nancy crossed her arms and cocked her head. "Now what? Should I call Burkhart or Cutter?"

"No, not yet. I'm working on a theory. I have a hunch this sniper isn't part of the case."

Nancy frowned and lines spread across her forehead. "If he's not part of the case then what's he part of?"

"Another case I'm working on. Give me two days. If I don't have an answer by then, then we'll call Burkhart or Cutter." Joe smiled. "I'm sure Cutter would love to hear from us. It's been a while."

# # # #

Joe entered the Farmer's Insurance office and Vanessa handed him a check for a new truck. Aunt Muriel graciously allowed the use of her vehicle once again. Joe thanked her and promised this would be the last time.

Two hours later Joe and Vanessa sat in a small café. Joe's truck was visible through the window. He lifted a glass of iced tea. "To my new truck."

Vanessa gave a faint smile and clinked her glass to his.

Joe set his glass on the table. "You've been quiet today. Care to talk about it?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Joe laid a hand on Vanessa's. "This isn't about last night, is it?"

"No." She was quick with the answer.

He ran his thumb lightly over her knuckles. "Then what?"

She studied their hands, his on top of hers. "My ex-husband. He's been calling. He wants to see me. I've told him no. I told him, it's over, he needs to move on and leave me alone." She shook her head and smirked. "I almost said, I'll call the police. I'm sure he would've found that laughable. He is the police."

"Not here. Here, he has no authority."

"True. But I know how it is. They shield their own. He taught me that." Her voice was bitter. "That's why I moved here. To get away. I thought it was far enough and he didn't know about Aunt Muriel. I should've known he would find me. He has resources. Lots of them. He can track me anywhere." She lowered her head and her hair fell forward. "I'm sorry I got you into this."

He reached out and swept her hair behind her ear. "You didn't get me into anything. I'm a big boy. I go where I want and get into what I want. We're in this together. I can help you. We'll get a restraining order."

"I don't know." She rubbed her arms as if she was cold. "You don't know Brice. He .. he can be violent."

Joe's face hardened. Vanessa saw the sensitive, fun-loving man she'd come to know slip away. A warrior, ready to fight, rose to the surface. "I'll protect you."

# # # #

Joe leaned through the open car window and kissed Vanessa good-bye. "Seriously, if he calls you again, tell me."

Vanessa had thought – hoped – they'd put this discussion behind them at lunch. She gripped the steering wheel with both hands and let out a heavy sigh. "I don't want you involved in this. It's my problem. I'll take care of it."

Joe worked his tongue around his mouth. "I'd like to think of it as our problem."

Vanessa looked at him. The afternoon sun made her squint. "I wish you'd let it drop."

"I know. I can't."

She stared at the steering wheel. "I'll let you know if he calls."

"Thanks." Joe stepped away from the car and watched her drive out of the parking lot.

It wasn't the way he had hoped lunch would end. Their relationship felt strained, he was on edge, and she looked defeated. Based on their short track record, he and Vanessa didn't do well at lunches. Next time he'd skip lunch and go straight to dinner. The last dinner date had turned out fine. Hell, skip dinner and go with a bottle of wine. That had turned out the best so far.

He got the call as soon as he climbed into his truck. Hadn't even put the key in the ignition. He jerked his phone out of his pocket. Unknown caller. Probably one of those disposable cell phones.

Joe lifted the phone to his ear. "Hello."

"You were kissing my wife."

Joe hunched and peered through the windshield, looked around the parking lot. "I was kissing my girlfriend, pal."

"Stay the hell away from Vanessa."

Joe started checking cars. A family getting out of their car. A couple, hand in hand, getting into their car. He checked the entrances to the café. "Where you at, pal?"

"I'm not your pal. Take my advice and stay away from my wife."

"Tell me to my face. Coward." Joe scanned the parking lot, the street, the sidewalks. He looked higher, at rooftops and balconies. Where was this guy?

"You really need to learn to shut the fuck up."

"So I've heard. But you're just some clown calling me on a disposable phone telling me to leave his wife alone. That makes you a coward and I don't listen to cowards."

A car pulled into the parking lot. Joe's eyes sharpened into icy blue slits. He watched the car park, watched it slide slow and easy into a parking slot. The doors opened and three women got out.

The silence on the other end of the cell phone grew, stretched to an uncomfortable length. "You there, pal? Or are you busy putting on your clown suit? You got some kid's birthday party to get to?"

"Very funny. You wanna do this? We'll do it. Meet me at eight in the alley behind the Bullpen Bar. You know the place?"

"Yeah. I know it. I'll be there." Joe didn't know where Brice was at this precise moment, but he sure as hell knew where Brice would be at eight.