Disclaimer: Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and others own the characters of "Walker Texas Ranger" and "Sons of Thunder". Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation and no copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and I am not making any money from it.
Chapter 6: Bullet Match
Darryl sat at one of the tables in the Perfect Cup, with his second cup of coffee looking at the morning light that made the shadows slink away. He was allowing himself to enjoy the morning, so his mind would be clear and open for the rest of the day. He had discovered this technique when he was little that was the best way to solve any problem. He noticed someone approaching his table and turned to look.
"Hey, anything else I can get you?" Tess asked.
He smiled at the owner of the Perfect Cup. "Well, Tess, I've had my eye on those blueberry scones."
"Good eye, detective," she said nodding her head with approval and a sunny smile. "That should tide you over until your partner arrives."
He smiled. "I think that will more than tide me over. I think I will be skipping lunch after eating that monster scone."
She laughed and then went to get the biggest blueberry scone in the case. She brought over a butter knife and a fork with the breakfast pastry.
"Enjoy," she said with another smile and a wave before she left him to attend to two customers that had just entered.
As he cut the scone in half and applied the butter as someone pulled out the other chair and sat down.
"I didn't see you come in," Darryl said as he set the knife to the side of the plate and looked up at his partner.
"I've been practicing," Lucy replied. She nodded her head toward the direction of the serving bar, having signaled Tess that she wanted her usual.
"Look, Lucy."
"I'm sorry, Darryl," she said quietly. "I know you would never do the things that I said yesterday." She paused as Tess arrived with her coffee and when the other woman left she leaned toward her partner. "I have trust issues."
He nodded as he took a bite from the enormous scone. After chewing and swallowing, he looked at his partner. "We have to trust each other. We are partners and we need to look out for one another."
His partner's mouth opened, but before she could say a word, his cell phone rang. He offered an apologetic smile as he answered the phone.
"Good morning, Detective Sun? It's Connie."
"Morning, Connie."
"Are you with your partner?" The forensic scientist asked.
"Yeah, she's here with me."
"I have some information for you about the bullet that killed Tony Cruz. I think you guys should come to see me."
He raised an eyebrow, but didn't question her. "Ok. We'll be right there." He ended the call and put his cell phone back into his pocket.
"She got a match?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah and she wants us to go to the lab."
"The ballistics is significant if she didn't give you any information over the phone."
He wondered why his partner had trust issues. It didn't take a detective to figure out that it had something to do with her former partner and department. He wanted to ask her, but knew that it was better to wait. If she decided to tell him, he would be there for her.
She nodded her head and picked up her coffee. "We should head out since Connie wants to see us." She drank some of her coffee.
He picked up his coffee. "That means she's found something interesting if she wants us to go to her."
She nodded her head in reply, and finished her coffee.
He decided he had better finish his scone quickly before his partner became antsy. He waved to Tess, having decided to get himself and his partner some more coffee, but into a to-go cup. He had a feeling that they would need the extra caffeine.
Darryl knocked on the door. When he got an affirmative to enter, he opened the door and motioned for his partner to enter first.
They entered the visitor's area, since the lab was restricted to technicians. It was to maintain the purity of the evidence.
"Hi, Connie," Lucy said as she took a seat in one of the chairs.
"Hi, Lucy. Hi, Darryl," Connie said as she took motioned for Darryl to take a seat.
He greeted her and decided to take a seat on the well-worn sofa while Connie took the chair facing the two detectives.
"What do you have for us?" Lucy asked.
"I've examined the bullet from your case and it just happens to be a match to another murder that happened a week ago. A man by the name of Joe Smith."
Darryl looked at his partner who shook her head. Neither of them had come across the name while looking into Tony's life.
Lucy turned and looked at the forensic scientist. "So who's working that case?"
"Ranger Walker and his team," she replied as she handed her report over to Lucy.
Darryl smiled. "We've worked with them once before."
"Yeah," Connie replied as she stood up. "I gave Ranger Walker a call just before you arrived and told him that you guys were going to meet him at his office."
"Thanks, Connie," Lucy said as she rose from her seat. "Let us know if you find anything else."
"I'm not certain if there is anything else. It looks like it's the same with Joe Smith's case. The brass was taken and there were no foreign fibers, hairs or fingerprints."
"Ok," Darryl said after thanking Connie and the forensic scientist had left. "Let's go see Walker and see if they have heard about our man." He got up from the sofa, which had sunk in about an inch.
"At least we are in the Ranger's neighborhood," his partner pointed out as they headed out of the building.
"It is rather convenient, isn't it?"
"I think that's what Connie had in mind when she wanted to see us in person."
"I thought she wanted to see us because she enjoys our company," he quipped as he opened the car door.
His partner smiled. "I think that was a part of it."
He returned is partner's smile and got into the car. He was glad to be working with the Rangers again and hoped that they would have something to help them with their murder case.
Darryl and his partner had arrived at Ranger Headquarters. They had filled the Rangers in on their case. He hoped that with the combined information, they would be able to resolve both murders quickly, but he had a feeling that it wasn't going to be that easy.
"So, the two cases are related," Sydney said as she handed Darryl and Lucy cups of fresh coffee.
"Related by a bullet," Darryl remarked as he blew on the steaming coffee. He wondered if he really needed another cup of coffee.
Gage nodded his head. "We'll have to see if the two victims are somehow related."
"I'll take a quick look," Trivette replied as he sat down at his computer and went to work. After five minutes, he was shaking his head. "I haven't found a connection between Cruz and Smith. Nothing obvious, anyway."
Darryl was disappointed, but that wouldn't stop any of them from looking even deeper. He just wondered how deep they would have to go to find something. Anything.
"There is one connection. The murder weapon," Walker pointed out.
Lucy nodded her head in agreement. "Find the murder weapon will lead us to the murderer and the connection between the two victims."
"Easier said than done, Lucy," Gage replied.
"Joe Smith was going to testify against Eli Parker. Does either name ring a bell?" Sydney asked.
"No," Lucy replied while Darryl shook his head.
"Parker owns a bunch of hotels and they believe he is running an escort service," Sydney answered. "As well as some connections to drugs and money laundering."
"So, is there a connection between Parker and Cruz?" Gage asked.
"They didn't run in the same circles," Darryl remarked.
"As far as we know, anyway. Tony could have been involved in something with Parker before he had gone straight," Walker pointed out.
"Nothing is showing up on my search, but that doesn't mean they couldn't have come across one another," Trivette said.
"What did Smith do for a living?" Darryl asked.
"He owned an electronics store," Trivette answered.
"How was he connected to Parker?" Lucy asked as she set her cup down. Darryl noticed, and wasn't surprised, that it was empty.
"Parker used Smith to create videos of his escorts in his hotels with some prominent people," said Walker as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Blackmail," Darryl said, shaking his head.
"Yes," Sydney said, nodding her head. "He was even using Smith's store to launder money. Even to buy and sell drugs."
"We got surveillance from the cameras at the electronics store," Gage said.
"Why didn't you say so before?" Lucy asked as she went over to Trivette's desk.
"I'll bring them up right now, but I have to warn you, it only shows the past two weeks. That's how long Smith kept the tapes."
"Well, we'll see if Tony stopped there. If he did, it might lead us to a connection between our two cases," Lucy said as she looked at the computer.
"Let's hope so," Darryl replied. He hoped that the video would show Tony Cruz going into Joe Smith's store. At least, that would reveal a connection between the two murdered men.