Julia Spencer-Fleming - I Shall Not Want

Isabel ducked out of the stairwell. Russ and Lyle backpedaled as someone large and heavy crashed down the steps. Neil Christie emerged, pulling a T-shirt over his head. He stopped when he saw them. "What the hell?"

"Neil, we want you to come with us," Russ said. "We want to ask you some questions about Amado Esfuentes."

The big man's jaw unhinged, then clamped shut. He narrowed his eyes. "You arrestin' me?"

"Not yet," Lyle said.

Neil swung his head, left, right, like a bull readying for a charge. Russ hoped he wasn't going to try to take them. Then his gaze fell on Isabel, pressed against the dining room wall. "You," her brother said. "You let ' em in. You -the ram ain't out, is he? You lying bitch!" He raised one meaty hand in a fist. Isabel cringed.

"Touch her and we'll have you up on assault," Lyle said.

"C'mon, Neil." Russ dropped his voice some. Confidential. Persuasive. "You don't want any trouble, and neither do we. You come on down with us and answer a few questions. You'll be back in time for lunch."

He could see the wheels and pulleys clanking slowly in Christie's brain. But he was surprised when Neil turned on Isabel again. "Is Don really at Desiree's? Or is that you lyin' again? Do they already have him?"

"No! It's the truth!"

"We'll pick up your brother from his girlfriend's house," Russ said.

At the same moment, Neil said, "So it's just me? God damn!" and swung at the girl.

Lyle, who was closer, lunged forward, wrapping both arms around Christie's midsection and heaving backward. Isabel ducked. Russ was unsnapping his cuffs from his belt, yelling, "Get his arm," when a shrieking harpy flew from the stairwell and landed square on Lyle, screeching, "Leave him alone, you rat bastard son of a bitch!" Lyle staggered and released Neil, struggling to shake off the woman clawing and punching him.

Isabel ran. Neil pivoted after her. Russ slammed into him with a shoulder block, but his angle was wrong to put Christie down. Instead, he jolted sideways against the table, which scraped over the wooden floor.

The fiancée was screaming nonstop, and over the din Russ could hear the rumble of many footsteps overhead. Oh, no, not the kids, too. In this house, they were as likely to join in as to be traumatized.

"Lyle, can't you-" Russ began. Neil reeled around and nailed him in the breastbone with a ham-sized fist, knocking him into the sideboard. Every last molecule of air exploded out of his body as the clash and clank of dishes added to the noise. Russ managed to roll out of the way as Christie leaped like a TV wrestler coming into the ring. The big man landed with a bone-rattling thump on the floor. Russ heaved up to his hands and knees and threw himself on Christie's back. Still gasping for air, he dropped all his weight onto the man's arm.

Lyle howled. "Jesus hell! She bit me!" Russ heard the crack of bone on bone and the high-pitched swearing broke off. The fiancée thudded to the floor next to Neil.

Russ wrestled a first cuff onto Neil's wrist and yanked the man's arm back, not much caring what damage he did. As Neil hollered and flailed, Russ snapped the second cuff on. He sat up, still on Christie's back, still trying to catch his breath.

Lyle was cuffing the unconscious Kathy. "Damn," he said. "I hate to hit a woman."

"Why the hell'd she go after you?"

Isabel peeped around the door, ready to bolt again if Neil managed to shake off Russ's 220 pounds and tear loose of the restraints. "She was sleeping with Neil, too. Donald doesn't know."

Neil bucked beneath Russ. "You goddamn trouble-making bitch!" His yell was muffled by the carpet. "I shoulda let you go with that Mexican! You ain't worth it! What we done for you? You ain't worth it!"

"How does that feel?" Lyle gestured toward Russ's chest with his mug of coffee. In the dispatch room behind them, Kevin was filling Harlene in on his thrilling capture. Since Bruce Christie had nodded, called his lawyer, and gotten in the cruiser without fuss or mess for Eric and Kevin, it was going to be a short story.

Russ touched his sternum. It was tender, with an ache that went right through him. How did it feel? Like letting go . "Sore," he said.

"You ought to have it looked at. Make sure you didn't crack anything."

Russ pointed to the bandage swathing Lyle's hand. "Pot, meet kettle."

"Hell, I'm going in for a tetanus shot soon as we're done here. I want P.J. to impound that woman for ten days to make sure she doesn't have rabies."

"And we were worried about the dogs."

Hadley Knox came in from the squad room. She looked at them like a mom checking out two kids who've fallen suspiciously silent. "Children and Family Services are sending a caseworker to the Christie farm."

"Good," Russ said.

"Ms. Adams called in. The German shepherds are in the shelter for the time being." She raised her voice for the benefit of Kevin, who had drifted in to see what was up. "She says they're really sweet dogs."

Lyle snickered. "Maybe it's just you, Kevin."

Russ swigged his coffee, wishing there were some way to add a couple shots of espresso and double the caffeine content. He had gotten four hours of sleep on one of the old cell cots downstairs, waiting for the warrant to come through. He had sent Lyle home from the Muster Field, but there was no way he had gotten more than five. By comparison, Knox and Kevin glowed with vim and vigor. He had been that age once. A long time ago.

"I want Noble to take the guns to the ballistics lab." They had seized four sidearms that might match the caliber that had killed Amado.

Lyle nodded. "Didja see the twenty-twos?"

"Yep." The Christies had an arsenal worthy of a militia.

"I wish to hell we could get those to ballistics."

"Take it up with Judge Ryswick." The judge had a horror of general warrants. When he wrote large caliber, he meant it, and the fact they had three unsolved killings by.22s didn't impress him.

Eric came in and took in the crowd. "What? We finally got good coffee?"

"Not a chance," Lyle said.

"Eric," Russ said, "You've been working the Christies all along. I want you to question Bruce and Donald."

Eric nodded. "What about Neil and the girlfriend?"

"They can go on the back burner while they're getting booked and waiting for a bond hearing. I'm going to my mom's for a shower and a change." He checked his watch. "I'll be back before noon." He caught Eric's sleeve before he left. "Find a wedge. Maybe the cheating fiancée thing, maybe imply one of 'em's cutting a deal to roll on the others. The Christies are tight; if you can split 'em apart, you'll have 'em."

Eric nodded, then left for the interrogation room. Russ took another drink of coffee. "Lyle, go to the hospital and get that bite looked at. Then head home and get some sleep." Lyle opened his mouth to protest. "Just go," Russ said. "I'm getting some, too."

Lyle shrugged. Slouched toward the squad-room door. "That's not what I heard."

Russ ignored the remark. "Knox, I want you to head over to the Christies'. Check in with the social worker and see if you can get anything useful from the sister or the kids. Kevin-" His youngest officer straightened, his expression bright and eager. Good God, it was no wonder the Christies' dogs went after him. The boy was a human Irish setter. "You're on patrol."

Kevin's face dimmed. Knox frowned.

Russ sighed. "What?"

"No offense, Chief, but are you sending me to talk with the kids because I'm a woman?"

"I'm sending you because I think you're the best officer for the job. Just like I'm putting Kevin on patrol because Lyle and I are beat up and sleep-deprived and not much good to anyone right now. Look." He gathered them both in with his voice, focusing their attention. "This case has been one horror after another. It's been long hours and frustration and leads going nowhere. And you two have performed admirably through it all. I'm proud of you both. I'm proud to serve with you. And I know whatever I need you to do, you're going to do it. Competently and professionally." He drained his mug and set it down. "Now let's go do what we gotta do."