Chapter 2

"I guess Sally has some money too," Andi commented, looking up at the large, immaculately kept brick house.

"Yeah, not exactly shabby," Sam answered, walking up the curved flagstone walkway. He hadn't quite reached the porch when the door was flung open and a red haired woman came flying out with a child on her hip. She launched herself into his arms before he had time to brace himself and he barely managed to keep from tumbling backwards with her.

"I knew you'd come," she cried, holding onto him frantically. "Rachel said she'd call you and I knew you'd come!"

"Sally," Sam said, carefully trying to extricate himself from her arms, all the while making sure she wasn't going to drop the dark haired boy she was carrying. "Sally, calm down. We're here and we're going to check things out, okay?"

"Thank you," she said, stepping back. She wiped her red tear filled eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm not as good at dealing with things like this as Rachel is. I almost had a heart attack when Joey here called me over to ask what that thing in the garden was."

"Did he touch it?" Sam asked, giving the child a smile. The young boy turned green eyes on Sam and shyly smiled back at him.

"No," Sally quickly said. "I would have had a heart attack if he'd done that."

"Is there any chance at all of it being your husband's gun? I remember that he's a soldier, right?" Sam asked.

"No, Shaun never brings his guns home at all. He leaves them on base." Sally hugged her son close to her. "I made it clear when we got married that I never wanted to see a gun in our house."

"Why don't you show us where the gun is," Sam said, nodding towards the house.

"Okay," she said, leading them up the stairs and into the house. They passed through the lobby and into a large family room that was filled with toys. On the other side she opened a patio door and led them out onto a cedar deck. "Over there." She pointed to a large flower bed against the back fence. "It's by that large yellow rose."

"Okay. McNally, why don't you stay here with Sally and Joey, and I'll go take a look."

"Yes, sir," Andi answered.

Sam walked across the yard, fervently hoping that the gun was just a toy that some kid had tossed over the fence when it didn't work anymore. He stepped into the bed, carefully trying to avoid stepping on some delicate looking flowers that were in his way. The glint of sun off metal caught his eye and he hunkered down to look at the object in front of him. He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. This was definitely not a toy. The gun was a high powered semi automatic handgun. Whoever threw this gun over the fence was getting rid of it for a reason.

He stood up and looked over at Andi, giving her a small head shake, letting her know that it wasn't a toy. Then he pulled out his cell phone.

"Barber."

"Jerry, I need your help," Sam said, looking over the fence for anything else that might help him figure out who threw the gun away.

"Shoot."

He gave Jerry the address of the house he was at. "Have there been any homicides or assaults in this area?"

"Please tell me you've found a gun!" Jerry said quickly, his voice hopeful.

"Yeah, I have."

"What caliber?"

"9mm. It's a Beretta PX4."

"Sammy, I could kiss you. You've probably just found the murder weapon of a double murder two blocks away from where you are. Has it been touched?"

"Not according to the owner of the house. Her two year old kid found it," Sam said, glancing over at Sally who was nervously bouncing Joey on her hip.

"Alright. Secure the area. I'm getting a team and we'll be out there as soon as we can."

"You got it," Sam answered, ending the call. He quickly browsed through his received numbers until he found Rachel's number.

"Hello?"

"Rachel, it's a real gun," Sam said, rubbing a hand through his hair.

"You're kidding me," Rachel gasped.

"Wish I was," he said, looking down at the weapon lying on the ground.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath, "what now?"

"There's a forensic team coming to pick up the gun and sweep the area for evidence." He looked over at Sally. "I haven't told Sally yet about the forensic team."

"Let me," Rachel said. "I'll get her to pack a bag and come to the farm to stay with me until Shaun gets back." She sighed. "Never a dull moment with our family."

"I've noticed this," Sam said dryly.