Page 36 of Charmed Forces
“A very good question.” Solomon paused, thinking. “If that is the case,” he added.
“Why not kill him too? Why drug him?” Another thought dawned on me. “Maybe they were all drugged? That would have made them all compliant. Yet that doesn’t make sense either. If a person could drug them, why not simply poison them?” I stopped as we came downstairs and I heard my mom offering the kids snacks before a small cheer chorused.
We left with little fanfare, saying our goodbyes to the adults quickly and slipping away before the kids noticed. The kids were mostly still awake but Mom wanted my old bedroom for Ben and Rachel to sleep in and Lily and Jord were also preparing to leave. As we headed out, we bumped into Garrett on the street. “Everyone else here?” he asked, glancing toward the house, the lights all on but the window coverings drawn.
“Everyone except Daniel,” I told him.
“Are the kids okay?”
“None seem too perturbed. The story we’re pushing is: the house searches were a drill that the parents forgot to mention. Now they’re enjoying an impromptu movie night.”
“Good. That’s good,” said Garrett but his face belied his words and told me nothing was good. “I spoke to Delgado. He said you might have some intel on the case and we should assign a police guard to the survivor.”
“We felt it would be fortuitous based on some chatter we tuned into,” said Solomon.
“Are you going to tell me the source of this chatter?”
“No.”
“You?” Garrett turned to me.
“Not presently. Did you post the police guard?”
“I suggested it the moment I caught wind of what was going on. But the fact is I was frozen out of the scene the minute I got there. I’m the murder squad lieutenant! It makes no sense even if Danielisa suspect, which we all know is the biggest pile of crap anyone ever heard.”
“What do you mean by frozen out? By whom?” I asked.
“Captain Brandt. He was on scene when I showed up and had me escorted off the property with strict instructions that I couldn’t set one foot inside. What did he think I would do? Tamper with the evidence?”
“Probably,” said Solomon.
Garrett’s nostrils flared. “Then I’m really freaking offended.”
“We met Captain Brandt earlier when he came to our house,” I told him. “Did he order all our homes to be searched, or is he answering to someone higher up?”
“He’s definitely in charge. It would be my guess that he made the order too once he had Daniel in his sights. He knows we’re a police family with a lot of reach. He would be covering all his bases. I would have done the same. Plus, and I can guess you know this by now, your house is only a few blocks from the scene.”
“So are plenty of other homes,” said Solomon. “And Daniel’s not stupid enough to hide out in the first place they’ll look.”
“Exactly,” snorted Garrett. “Although why they assume Daniel is even hiding is ridiculous. My fear is he’s injured somewhere and needs help. I was told on the quiet that they found blood drops near the front door and a bloody fingerprint on the doorknob so he might have given chase or escaped. I don’t know. I just hope we find him before it’s too late.”
“He’ll be okay,” I said.
“You can’t possibly know that! And don’t tell Mom and Dad I said any of that either. I know they’re both freaking out.”
“Everyone is. You should know Mom and Dad hired us.”
“To do what?” Garrett frowned.
“Find Daniel and prove he had nothing to do with the murders.”
“I guess it makes them feel better to be doingsomething.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“I’m not disparaging you. I have to agree it’s the right idea to have other eyes on this. That brings us back to what Delgado said about you having some intel on the case. What is it?”
“We heard that Daniel and his partner, Detective Pete Wayne, were guarding one or two witnesses that were due to testify before MPD handed them off to US Marshals. Do you know what the case involves, or whom they’re testifying against?” I asked.