Chapter 6
Lark left Alora and Frankie at her small house to catch up on some sleep as she went back to John's apartment with Tim. They were going to go over the apartment room in search of anything that could point them toward the person that had taken a shot at John Kilmer.
Lark immediately found her way to John's bedroom and her eyes scanned over the tiny pieces of glass that had been shattered all over the floor. She pulled on a pair of white gloves and picked up a few pieces of the glass. She had brought her finger print kit with her, but at the moment she didn't think it was going to do her any good. The bullet had obviously been fired through the window from outside, so there would be no finger prints on the glass. Luckily Colonel Atkins had asked the doctors to keep the bullet they retrieved from John's side. That could be a very vital clue as there didn't seem to be many others.
Tim came into the room and pulled his own white gloves off of his hands. "Find anything in here?"
Lark shook her head. "No, there's nothing. It's as if this person left nothing behind." That's when a sudden thought hit her. "Wait a minute. This is a three story building."
Tim nodded slowly, seeing what Lark was getting at. "And John's apartment is on the second floor." He eyed the bed carefully. "If his bed is level with the window, that means someone couldn't have seen him from the ground and definitely couldn't have gotten a bullet in him…especially straight toward his heart."
Lark nodded, "Exactly. So how did the shooter make himself…or herself…high enough to get a clear shot at John?"
Both Tim and Lark allowed their gazes to swing toward the window, searching outside for anything tall enough to reach the second story window.
"The tree!" Tim suggested as he moved over to the window to get a better look at the lower half of the tree. "It's perfect for climbing and there's a large branch straight out from the window." He put his hands on his hips. "That's got to be how the shooter did it!"
Lark smiled, glad that they finally had something to go on. "Then let's get out there and take a look at that tree."
Once they were outside, they approached the tree slowly. Lark's eyes were scanning the ground searching for any kind of footprint or for anything that might have fallen from the shooter. And there was her first clue!
"Hey, Tim! Come here." She kneeled down on the ground and pulled her gloves back on before she picked up an AA battery and twirled it around between her fingers.
Tim jogged up to her and knelt down as well. "A clue. How long do you think it's been here?"
Lark shrugged and shook her head. "I guess there's really no way of knowing. It would be great if this fell from the shooter, but I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to leave a battery lying around if they were about to shoot someone."
Tim tilted his head to get a better look at the battery. "Well, you never know." He pulled out a plastic bag from his back pocket and held it open so Lark could drop it inside. "We can have it checked for fingerprints when we get back to headquarters."
Lark nodded. "Of course." She stood up and brushed the grass off of herself before turning her attention to the tree. "Alright, let's check out this tree."
Tim was the first to reach the tree and he climbed up it with ease. He reached the large branch he had spotted from the window. "Yup, I was right, Lark. I have a perfect view of the bed from here!"
"Good!" Lark nodded. "I think we may have something here. She was slightly hesitant to climb up the tree behind him, and decided against it because of the high heels that she was wearing. "Now look around up there, Tim! Do you notice anything out of the ordinary?"
Tim looked at the tree around him. He climbed onto a nearby branch so that he could see the large one on which he had been standing. "No." He shook his head, but leaned toward the branch for an even closer view. "Wait…there's some bark scraped off this branch. Probably got scraped off when the shooter tried to steady himself."
Lark nodded. "Good. Now come on down. I'll get a lab team out here later this afternoon to do some tests on the tree." She lifted the bag that contained the battery. "Let's get this down to headquarters and have them check it for fingerprints."
Tom slid quickly down the tree and landed on the grass with a dull thud. He grinned slightly at his quick landing and followed Lark to her car. Hopefully the battery would get some results. If not, they could always go back to the tree with the lab team and see what turned up there.
-
Colonel Atkins was standing around a table looking at the notes that had been sent to Frankie and Alora. Both of the women were standing around the table as well as Mo.
Tim and Lark entered the room and the group discussion was interrupted with Lark spoke. "We got something over at the apartments, Colonel." She tossed the plastic bag onto the table and motioned toward the battery.
Tim stepped up beside Lark and pulled his gloves out of his coat pocket and laid them on the table too. "We found it on the ground near the tree that we believe the shooter used to get a bullet through the window."
The Colonel nodded and picked up the bag. "Good work you two. I'll get this down to the lab right away for a finger print test."
"I can take it, Colonel." Lark suggested. "I'm going down to the lab right now to get a team to go back to the tree and do a few tests on it."
Atkins nodded and passed the bag to her. "Ok."
Lark turned toward the door, but paused and glanced back to the table. "Did you get anything off the letters?"
Frankie shook her head. "No finger prints, ink smears….nothing. We can't even go by handwriting because they were typed. It's as if these are perfect letters without a single flaw!" Despite the sleep she had gotten that morning, Frankie still looked very tired. Lark noticed this but didn't comment on the matter…they didn't need anything else to worry about right now.
Lark nodded. "Do you want me to take 'em back down to the lab and have them rerun the tests on them?"
Alora shrugged and picked up the letters. "You might as well, we're not getting anything from them up here." She handed the letters to Lark and watched as she walked out the door. "I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Colonel Atkins nodded and turned to Frankie as Alora exited the room. "Frankie, I want you to run down to the hospital and get that bullet from the doctors. It's going to be a vital piece of information in this investigation."
Frankie nodded and pulled up her coat. The Colonel stopped her with one last statement. "Oh, and Frankie…I don't think I need to tell you to check up on John's condition while you're down there."
Frankie shook her head. "No, Sir, you don't." She pulled her coat on the rest of the way and nodded a farewell before turning to Mo. "Hey, Mo, will you drive me over to my apartment so I can pick up my car?"
He nodded and grabbed his car keys. "Yeah, sure." Colonel Atkins watched as the two disappeared down the hallway.
-
Alora slid into the driver seat of John Kilmer's car. She didn't know why she was still using it…probably just because she hadn't gotten a chance to go back and get her own. She turned the key in the ignition and the engine revved to life.
A few minutes later she was pulling back into the empty parking lot of the abandoned factory. She ran a hand through her dark brown hair as she tried to think of what she was going to say…she had a few bones to pick with Jamison.
Alora Stari walked back into the office area of the warehouse and called Jamison's name. It was only a few seconds before he emerged from one of the side offices and gave her a questioning look.
"Who did you send to shoot John Kilmer?" She put her hands on her hips, tapping the heel of her boot on the linoleum floor.
Jamison rolled his eyes and let out an irritated sigh. "Not this again." He picked up a pile of papers from the main desk and turned to slip back into his office…he didn't have time to argue about this.
"No…this is about something else. Who did you send to shoot John Kilmer?" She repeated her question, slightly annoyed that Jamison had turned his back on her.
He turned around and tapped the papers on the desk, trying to remember whom he had sent. "Derek."
"Where is he?" Alora demanded, her authority echoing through her words.
Jamison shrugged, "I think he's in the next room."
Alora rolled her eyes as if her next order was obvious and she shouldn't even have to be giving it. "Go get him."
He nodded and disappeared through a wooden door. He reappeared moments later, a tall young man with dark brown hair following close behind. Jamison paused to see if Alora wanted anything else from him, but she motioned for him to stay so he did.
"You left evidence at the scene of the crime, Derek." She folded her arms, a frown appearing on her lips. "You're getting sloppy. We can't afford to let this work get sloppy! If they find out where we are, we're finished!" She leaned against the wall, waiting to hear what Derek had to say.
"What evidence did I leave?" He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, worried that he had left something important.
"Does the word 'battery' ring a bell?" Alora raised a challenging brow.
Derek slapped the palm of his left hand to his forehead and grimaced. "The battery!"
Alora closed her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from yelling. "You left the battery! Great! Now they have your fingerprints."
Derek's eyes suddenly lit up and he shook his head with relief. "No they don't."
Jamison shot Derek a questioning look. "What do you mean they don't. You touched it didn't you?"
Derek nodded causally. "Yeah, I did…but I had gloves on."
Both Alora and Jamison let out a sigh of relief. "Well, it was too close, Derek. Don't let it happen again." Alora brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as Derek nodded. She nodded toward the door, telling Derek that he could go back to what he was doing. Once Derek was out of hearing range Alora turned to Jamison, "That kid better not give us away. We got a big operation going here."
Jamison nodded, "He won't. I'll keep a closer eye on him from now on."
"Good." Alora reached into her pocket quickly as she felt her phone vibrating. "Hello?" She said as she flipped it open. She put a finger forcefully to her lips, warning Jamison to keep absolutely silent.
"Alora Stari? This is Colonel Atkins." So it was Colonel Atkins on the other end of the line.
"Yes?" Alora held the phone a little ways away from her ear so that Jamison could listen in on the conversation.
"We have some more evidence here. I just called Frankie and told her to come over to headquarters so I decided to call you too."
Alora nodded even though she knew Colonel Atkins couldn't see her. "I'll be right over." She tried to sound cheerful on the phone, but disappointment was definitely showing on her face.
"Great. See you then." Colonel Atkins hung up the phone and the rooms silence was filled with a constant dial tone.
Alora pressed the 'end' button on her cell and shoved it back into her pocket. She turned to Jamison angrily, pointing at him. "If this new evidence ruins this organization, I'm going to hold you and Derek personally responsible."
Jamison moved to protest. "Why me?"
"Because you're the one who sent in an amateur kid to do a professional's job." Alora hit her fist on top of the main desk and leaned her head back, looking at the ceiling. "I'll be back later."
Jamison nodded and walked back into his office.
Lark left Alora and Frankie at her small house to catch up on some sleep as she went back to John's apartment with Tim. They were going to go over the apartment room in search of anything that could point them toward the person that had taken a shot at John Kilmer.
Lark immediately found her way to John's bedroom and her eyes scanned over the tiny pieces of glass that had been shattered all over the floor. She pulled on a pair of white gloves and picked up a few pieces of the glass. She had brought her finger print kit with her, but at the moment she didn't think it was going to do her any good. The bullet had obviously been fired through the window from outside, so there would be no finger prints on the glass. Luckily Colonel Atkins had asked the doctors to keep the bullet they retrieved from John's side. That could be a very vital clue as there didn't seem to be many others.
Tim came into the room and pulled his own white gloves off of his hands. "Find anything in here?"
Lark shook her head. "No, there's nothing. It's as if this person left nothing behind." That's when a sudden thought hit her. "Wait a minute. This is a three story building."
Tim nodded slowly, seeing what Lark was getting at. "And John's apartment is on the second floor." He eyed the bed carefully. "If his bed is level with the window, that means someone couldn't have seen him from the ground and definitely couldn't have gotten a bullet in him…especially straight toward his heart."
Lark nodded, "Exactly. So how did the shooter make himself…or herself…high enough to get a clear shot at John?"
Both Tim and Lark allowed their gazes to swing toward the window, searching outside for anything tall enough to reach the second story window.
"The tree!" Tim suggested as he moved over to the window to get a better look at the lower half of the tree. "It's perfect for climbing and there's a large branch straight out from the window." He put his hands on his hips. "That's got to be how the shooter did it!"
Lark smiled, glad that they finally had something to go on. "Then let's get out there and take a look at that tree."
Once they were outside, they approached the tree slowly. Lark's eyes were scanning the ground searching for any kind of footprint or for anything that might have fallen from the shooter. And there was her first clue!
"Hey, Tim! Come here." She kneeled down on the ground and pulled her gloves back on before she picked up an AA battery and twirled it around between her fingers.
Tim jogged up to her and knelt down as well. "A clue. How long do you think it's been here?"
Lark shrugged and shook her head. "I guess there's really no way of knowing. It would be great if this fell from the shooter, but I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to leave a battery lying around if they were about to shoot someone."
Tim tilted his head to get a better look at the battery. "Well, you never know." He pulled out a plastic bag from his back pocket and held it open so Lark could drop it inside. "We can have it checked for fingerprints when we get back to headquarters."
Lark nodded. "Of course." She stood up and brushed the grass off of herself before turning her attention to the tree. "Alright, let's check out this tree."
Tim was the first to reach the tree and he climbed up it with ease. He reached the large branch he had spotted from the window. "Yup, I was right, Lark. I have a perfect view of the bed from here!"
"Good!" Lark nodded. "I think we may have something here. She was slightly hesitant to climb up the tree behind him, and decided against it because of the high heels that she was wearing. "Now look around up there, Tim! Do you notice anything out of the ordinary?"
Tim looked at the tree around him. He climbed onto a nearby branch so that he could see the large one on which he had been standing. "No." He shook his head, but leaned toward the branch for an even closer view. "Wait…there's some bark scraped off this branch. Probably got scraped off when the shooter tried to steady himself."
Lark nodded. "Good. Now come on down. I'll get a lab team out here later this afternoon to do some tests on the tree." She lifted the bag that contained the battery. "Let's get this down to headquarters and have them check it for fingerprints."
Tom slid quickly down the tree and landed on the grass with a dull thud. He grinned slightly at his quick landing and followed Lark to her car. Hopefully the battery would get some results. If not, they could always go back to the tree with the lab team and see what turned up there.
-
Colonel Atkins was standing around a table looking at the notes that had been sent to Frankie and Alora. Both of the women were standing around the table as well as Mo.
Tim and Lark entered the room and the group discussion was interrupted with Lark spoke. "We got something over at the apartments, Colonel." She tossed the plastic bag onto the table and motioned toward the battery.
Tim stepped up beside Lark and pulled his gloves out of his coat pocket and laid them on the table too. "We found it on the ground near the tree that we believe the shooter used to get a bullet through the window."
The Colonel nodded and picked up the bag. "Good work you two. I'll get this down to the lab right away for a finger print test."
"I can take it, Colonel." Lark suggested. "I'm going down to the lab right now to get a team to go back to the tree and do a few tests on it."
Atkins nodded and passed the bag to her. "Ok."
Lark turned toward the door, but paused and glanced back to the table. "Did you get anything off the letters?"
Frankie shook her head. "No finger prints, ink smears….nothing. We can't even go by handwriting because they were typed. It's as if these are perfect letters without a single flaw!" Despite the sleep she had gotten that morning, Frankie still looked very tired. Lark noticed this but didn't comment on the matter…they didn't need anything else to worry about right now.
Lark nodded. "Do you want me to take 'em back down to the lab and have them rerun the tests on them?"
Alora shrugged and picked up the letters. "You might as well, we're not getting anything from them up here." She handed the letters to Lark and watched as she walked out the door. "I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Colonel Atkins nodded and turned to Frankie as Alora exited the room. "Frankie, I want you to run down to the hospital and get that bullet from the doctors. It's going to be a vital piece of information in this investigation."
Frankie nodded and pulled up her coat. The Colonel stopped her with one last statement. "Oh, and Frankie…I don't think I need to tell you to check up on John's condition while you're down there."
Frankie shook her head. "No, Sir, you don't." She pulled her coat on the rest of the way and nodded a farewell before turning to Mo. "Hey, Mo, will you drive me over to my apartment so I can pick up my car?"
He nodded and grabbed his car keys. "Yeah, sure." Colonel Atkins watched as the two disappeared down the hallway.
-
Alora slid into the driver seat of John Kilmer's car. She didn't know why she was still using it…probably just because she hadn't gotten a chance to go back and get her own. She turned the key in the ignition and the engine revved to life.
A few minutes later she was pulling back into the empty parking lot of the abandoned factory. She ran a hand through her dark brown hair as she tried to think of what she was going to say…she had a few bones to pick with Jamison.
Alora Stari walked back into the office area of the warehouse and called Jamison's name. It was only a few seconds before he emerged from one of the side offices and gave her a questioning look.
"Who did you send to shoot John Kilmer?" She put her hands on her hips, tapping the heel of her boot on the linoleum floor.
Jamison rolled his eyes and let out an irritated sigh. "Not this again." He picked up a pile of papers from the main desk and turned to slip back into his office…he didn't have time to argue about this.
"No…this is about something else. Who did you send to shoot John Kilmer?" She repeated her question, slightly annoyed that Jamison had turned his back on her.
He turned around and tapped the papers on the desk, trying to remember whom he had sent. "Derek."
"Where is he?" Alora demanded, her authority echoing through her words.
Jamison shrugged, "I think he's in the next room."
Alora rolled her eyes as if her next order was obvious and she shouldn't even have to be giving it. "Go get him."
He nodded and disappeared through a wooden door. He reappeared moments later, a tall young man with dark brown hair following close behind. Jamison paused to see if Alora wanted anything else from him, but she motioned for him to stay so he did.
"You left evidence at the scene of the crime, Derek." She folded her arms, a frown appearing on her lips. "You're getting sloppy. We can't afford to let this work get sloppy! If they find out where we are, we're finished!" She leaned against the wall, waiting to hear what Derek had to say.
"What evidence did I leave?" He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, worried that he had left something important.
"Does the word 'battery' ring a bell?" Alora raised a challenging brow.
Derek slapped the palm of his left hand to his forehead and grimaced. "The battery!"
Alora closed her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from yelling. "You left the battery! Great! Now they have your fingerprints."
Derek's eyes suddenly lit up and he shook his head with relief. "No they don't."
Jamison shot Derek a questioning look. "What do you mean they don't. You touched it didn't you?"
Derek nodded causally. "Yeah, I did…but I had gloves on."
Both Alora and Jamison let out a sigh of relief. "Well, it was too close, Derek. Don't let it happen again." Alora brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as Derek nodded. She nodded toward the door, telling Derek that he could go back to what he was doing. Once Derek was out of hearing range Alora turned to Jamison, "That kid better not give us away. We got a big operation going here."
Jamison nodded, "He won't. I'll keep a closer eye on him from now on."
"Good." Alora reached into her pocket quickly as she felt her phone vibrating. "Hello?" She said as she flipped it open. She put a finger forcefully to her lips, warning Jamison to keep absolutely silent.
"Alora Stari? This is Colonel Atkins." So it was Colonel Atkins on the other end of the line.
"Yes?" Alora held the phone a little ways away from her ear so that Jamison could listen in on the conversation.
"We have some more evidence here. I just called Frankie and told her to come over to headquarters so I decided to call you too."
Alora nodded even though she knew Colonel Atkins couldn't see her. "I'll be right over." She tried to sound cheerful on the phone, but disappointment was definitely showing on her face.
"Great. See you then." Colonel Atkins hung up the phone and the rooms silence was filled with a constant dial tone.
Alora pressed the 'end' button on her cell and shoved it back into her pocket. She turned to Jamison angrily, pointing at him. "If this new evidence ruins this organization, I'm going to hold you and Derek personally responsible."
Jamison moved to protest. "Why me?"
"Because you're the one who sent in an amateur kid to do a professional's job." Alora hit her fist on top of the main desk and leaned her head back, looking at the ceiling. "I'll be back later."
Jamison nodded and walked back into his office.