Young watched from a distance as Brody joined Lisa and John Lindsay. Rush was still sitting in Brody's car, and looked asleep, until he got closer and realised the man was doing something with his mobile phone in his lap. He tapped on the window. Rush wound it down.
"I'm quite the popular one this evening." He said, a little acidly. "Get in, the heat's escaping."
Young slid into the drivers side and pulled the door shut after him. The car began to warm up again quickly. Young stared at the steering wheel for a moment.
"This is the point where I have to ask you if you have any idea who torched your apartment?"
He looked up at Rush, waiting for an answer. After a moment, Rush looked at him, head tilted.
"I have no idea. Honestly, if I did, I'd tell ye."
There was a long pause. Young looked away.
"Will you be alright tonight?" he asked.
"I've a couple changes of clothes at Icarus," Rush said, "for going from meeting to lab or lab to meeting. I'll manage. I'm too drunk to drive, but someone's comin' to get me."
Young nodded.
"Its lucky you weren't at home." He told the scientist. "Would you usually be?"
Rush shrugged.
"It depends. Obviously had I been working on a big project, there woulda been a strong chance I'd ha' still been up at Icarus. Any other week, well…I'd ha' probably been at home."
Young looked at the other man.
"But you were getting drunk." He noted, trying to keep his tone neutral.
Rush gave him a distinctly cold and unfriendly look.
"I'd only recently lost one o' my oldest friends, Sheriff, and then you'd turned up needing, with good reason I'll admit, to bring it all up over again. You'll forgive me I'm sure if I felt a like taking a drink. It's not like I make a particular habit of it."
Young nodded.
"Understandable Doctor." He looked up at Rush. "You missed being interviewed by Camile, Agent Wray though. She'll be doubly interested in speaking to you tomorrow now."
Another scowl.
"Well I'll be sure to make myself available."
Young smiled almost apologetically.
"We'll need to take your fingerprints as well, to eliminate them from the crime scene." He nodded towards the building.
"No need." Said Rush, shortly. "Half the Icarus personnel already have their fingerprints on file with various federal and military agencies due to high level clearance and other issues. I've no doubt that your Agents will already have access to mine, though you can take them if you want. We can also release fingerprints from the staff records for you."
Young's brow furrowed.
"Isn't that…?"
"It's in the employment contract, Sheriff. The company reserves the right to release employment records and staff details to legitimately appointed federal or military investigators in the case of a criminal, federal or military investigation. It covers us in case of a security breach." He pushed his hair out of his face. "We work almost entirely military and federal contracts, Sheriff. Chloe can decide to release staff records to Agent Wray."
Young had to admit he was surprised at this revelation. He'd been working as Sheriff here for years and it had never come up before, but he guessed it had never needed to.
"And you're fine with that?"
Rush shrugged.
"What reason would I have to hide anything?"
A large black SUV pulled into the parking lot and pulled up in a nearby space. Young watched as the doors opened and Telford got out of one side and Ronald Greer out of the driver's side. Both were bundled in the thick uniform parkas of the Icarus security staff and Greer held a further one over his arm. Greer snagged a passing youngster with hands full of plastic cups of coffee who indicated the car Young and Rush were sitting in with a nod of her head.
Young would down the window as Telford and Greer walked over. Greer looked his usual amiable self, despite the lateness of the hour, but Telford's face was sour and his chin uncharacteristically stubbled. Young had the impression that he'd been pulled out of bed.
"I'll say goodbye Sheriff," said Rush behind him. "Thank Agent Brody for me."
Telford came up to his window and Greer walked round to Rush's side.
"David." Young greeted him.
"Everett." Telford shoved his hands in the pockets of his parka. "What can you tell me? Miss Armstrong is concerned that another member of her staff has been targeted."
Young shrugged.
"We don't have much information about tonight yet David." Young said. Telford raised an eyebrow. Young shrugged again. "Well Doctor Rush knows all we have so far, so I guess I can speed things up by filling you in."
They both turned to watch Greer firmly hustling the older man out of the car and into putting on the spare parka over his brown jacket. Greer shepherded Rush over to the Icarus SUV, Rush didn't look particularly drunk anymore, just very tired. Young turned back to Telford.
"Rush was drinking in Becker's. Agent Brody went in for dinner and the two talked for some time, which Rush was drinking. Brody offered Rush a lift home and when they got back here Brody spotted the fire. The pair of them woke the residents and called it in, pretty quickly after the fire took hold apparently and the fire department arrived. Agent Brody, Lisa Park and John Lindsay from the state crime lab are doing a preliminary walk through now."
"No-one saw anything then?"
Young shook his head noncommittally. "We only just got the fire out David."
Telford turned and looked at the building, head turning in profile to Young. His face was guarded but there was a tension to his shoulders. Young watched him scan the scene and the apartments. He took a risk.
"What do you know, David? What aren't you telling me?"
Telford turned back to Young a little too quickly. They looked at each other.
"This is a federal investigation now David," Young continued, "withholding information…"
"Yes," Telford interrupted, "and if I had something I could tell you, I would." He took a deep breath, indicating that was as far as he was prepared to go on that topic. "I need to phone in and make a report, Everett."
Telford walked away. Everett sighed, and zipping up his coat got out of the vehicle. He intended to go and check on the progress of the scene investigators, but as Telford walked around the rear of a van, already talking on his phone, he changed course to hover by the far side. He could only hear Telford's side of the conversation but that was enough.
"I kept your father's dirty secrets for long enough. Don't worry," Telford's voice was sarcastic "I don't intend to be dragging you through the dirt now."
There was a quiet burst of a voice from the phone, unintelligible.
"You don't need to threaten me. I know what side my bread if buttered on. We'll be back and the plant in half an hour, weather permitting."
Young heard Telford's footsteps as he ended the call and started to walk away and quickly walked over to find John Lindsay.
Young stayed around the crime scene for a further couple of hours till Matt Scott arrived to take over from him, babysitting the crime techs. Young looked at his watch. Gone four a.m.. The residents of the apartment blocks had all been dispersed to stay with friends or family. Young had a contact list of where they would be for interview and notification of when they could return to their homes. Tiredly he swung past the office to drop off the list, then took himself home to catch a few hours sleep.
He was woken by his phone ringing. He sat up, dragged himself out of bed and made for the phone in the hallway. The phone stopped as he got within two feet of it, and seconds later, his mobile started ringing in the bedroom. He swore and trotted back to his bedroom, snatching up his phone, registering as he did so the time as 9.47 and that the call was from the office.
"Young."
"It's Becky."
Her voice was calm, but there was an edge to it that suggested something had happened.
"What's up?"
"David Telford was shot. He was found in his car with the driver's side door open on the River road. He was slumped in the driver's seat, a single bullet to the chest."
Young sucked in a sharp breath.
"Is he alive?"
"He's in surgery at the moment at the County General Hospital. It's touch and go though. He was shot in the chest and suffering hypothermia when the paramedics arrived. Ruki Richmond found him."
"Damn!"
Becky sighed. "Yeah. They took her in as well for observation, the shock. She's 34 weeks."
"We need a guard on him."
"Already done." Said Becky. "I called Vanessa as soon as the call came in. She met the ambulance at the Hospital."
Thank God for Becky, Young thought gratefully.
"Who's on scene then?"
"Agent Wray, she was in the office when the call came in. She's waiting for you."
Young rubbed tired eyes, running his fingers through his already messy hair. He could see it sticking up in the mirror.
"We just don't have the manpower for this, not two major crime scenes."
Becky chuckled.
"That's why you've already sent an email this morning, requesting support from the state police, two officers."
"I have, have I?" Young asked wryly.
""Yep, it was a beautifully worded email."
He couldn't help but chuckle himself. "Thanks, I'll get dressed and get straight out there. Where is it?"
"About four miles past the Jackson place."
It didn't take Young long to dress and grab all his gear. He dug around in the cupboards finding a packet of rather stale cookies and some chocolate, then took a short while to make a large flask of coffee. He piled everything into the back seat of his car, then drove out to the River Road.
The preceding night's snow was a thick blanket over everything and Young was glad of the four wheel drive, the chains on his wheels and the fact the vehicle was stick shift not automatic. The Jackson place was on the limits of Destiny proper, the last house before the forest started in earnest. There were a few houses further out but not many in that direction. Thankfully the snow had stopped for the moment, but the landscape was more white than winter grey.
He took the hill down to the river carefully and in low gear. The river was hard frozen, had been for a good couple of weeks, white with black-grey panes of glassy ice where the wind had drifted the snow away. The bridge over it was a lighter grey, still visible against the snow, a substantial concrete affair with high sides, too many people having gone off the previous wooden bridge in bad weather.
Another two miles on he came across the scene. Telford's car was pulled up on one side of the road and on the opposite side a crime scene van and Agent Wray's hire car were nose to tail with a third car. He could see a crime scene tech, anonymous in a white boiler suit, even bulkier than usual with cold weather gear. Agent Wray was hanging back from the scene, watching wrapped in a ski jacket and salopettes.
He pulled his car in behind Wray's and shrugging into his coat, got out. Wray was waiting for him.