Sandra Robbins - Fugitive at Large

He pulled his cell phone out and checked for text messages again, but nothing had come in. Not from Jessica, and not from Jamie. He’d been calling and texting his brother all night, to no avail. Still, he typed out another message asking Jamie to call and hit Send. He could only hope his brother would respond.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts and he jumped to his feet. “I’ll get it.”

Mac looked up, a surprised expression on his face. “Okay.”

Ryan pulled the door open and smiled in relief at the sight of Jessica standing in the hallway. “I was beginning to worry. It’s after ten. I thought something might have happened.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. Adam called this morning, and we talked longer than I thought. I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Late for what?” Mac’s voice behind him startled Ryan, and he glanced around at his partner. Before Ryan could say anything, Mac pushed past him and grabbed Jessica in a bear hug. “Jessica! It’s good to see you. What are you doing here?”

She returned Mac’s hug and smiled. “Didn’t Ryan tell you? I’m supposed to look at mug shots today.”

Mac swung his gaze around to Ryan and grinned. “Oh, and I thought the first lady was coming.”

A puzzled look flashed across Jessica’s face. “What do you mean?”

Mac shook his head, grabbed Jessica’s arm and pulled her into the office. “It’s nothing. Ryan’s been cleaning all morning. I thought we had important company coming.” He grinned down at her and chucked her under the chin. “Of course, if I’d known you were the one he expected, I would have been right in there helping get ready. It’s always good to see you.”

She sat down in the chair by Ryan’s desk and let her gaze drift around the room. “This is the first time I’ve been back since I transferred out. Everything looks the same, though.”

Mac patted his stomach and grinned. “Well, it’s not all the same. Some of us have put on weight.” He glanced at Ryan. “And some of us can eat anything they want and never gain an ounce.”

Ryan joined in the laughter. Then he grew more serious and sat down on the edge of his desk. “I told Mac about the robbery yesterday.”

Mac nodded. “Yeah, but you didn’t give me the details. What happened, Jessica?”

Ryan watched her face as she told his partner about the incident in the convenience store. As she spoke, concern for his brother grew. Why hadn’t Jamie called back?

After she’d finished, Mac pursed his lips and didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he exhaled. “I think you’re probably right about it being a setup to kill Jamie. The question, though, is why.” He turned to Ryan. “Does he go there often?”

Ryan nodded. “It’s near his campus, and he’s told me he goes by there every afternoon to get a cup of coffee before he goes to work at the computer store. Jamie is a creature of habit, so it wouldn’t be hard for someone to track him. He doesn’t deviate from his routine very often.”

“Except now,” Jessica said. “He’s deviated quite a bit by suddenly disappearing and not letting anyone know where he is.”

Ryan rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re right about that. I still haven’t heard from him. I intend to let him have it when he comes home.”

Before either Jessica or Mac could speak, a knock sounded at the door. Ryan opened it to find one of the department clerks holding a manila envelope in her hand.

“The lab sent these reports over to you. It’s from that robbery at the convenience store yesterday.”

“Good. Thank you for bringing it to us.”

He brought the envelope back to his desk and opened it. He pulled out several sheets of paper. Mac stepped up beside him, and Ryan held the reports so that Mac could read along with him.

After he read the first few lines, Ryan had to take a deep breath to slow his accelerated heartbeat. He glanced at Mac, who frowned in concentration as he scrutinized the lab’s findings. Ryan directed his attention back to the report and didn’t look up again until he’d read the final word.

For a moment neither of them spoke. Then Mac gave a soft whistle. “I never expected that.”

“Me neither,” Ryan said.

Jessica, who’d been silent while they were reading, rose from her chair. “I know I’m not a police officer anymore, but I’d really like to know what the lab discovered. Can you tell me?”

Ryan and Mac exchanged glances before Ryan nodded. “I think this may involve you as much as anybody else.”

She cocked her head to one side and stared at him. “How do you figure that?”

He looked down at the report again. “The lab found a fingerprint on the gun, and they’ve identified it as belonging to a man named Lee Tucker. He’s been arrested before, and his fingerprints as well as his DNA are in the system. In fact, there’s an arrest warrant out on him right now for attempted murder. He was arrested but skipped bail.”

Jessica’s eyebrows arched. “Skipped bail, huh? I wonder why we haven’t found out about him at the Knight Agency.”

Ryan handed her one of the pages from the envelope. “They sent a picture of his mug shot along with the report. He seems to fit the description you gave of the robber, but we need you to make a positive identification. Is this the man you shot at the convenience store yesterday?”

Jessica took the picture in her hand and studied it for a moment before she handed it back to him. “Yes, this is the same man. I’m sure of it.”

Ryan slipped the photo back into the stack of papers. “Then you met Lee Tucker in the flesh at that store.”

“But I don’t understand. You made it sound like I was involved in some other way than being able to identify this guy. What did you mean?”

“There was some blood on the gun.”

She nodded. “From the wound where I shot him.”

“Yes. Just a small spot, but it was enough to get a DNA sample. It was also a match to Tucker. So we have his fingerprint and his DNA on the weapon he used to try to kill Jamie.”

“I still don’t see—”

“There’s more,” Ryan said. “Remember the case we were working together when I asked for a transfer to another partner?”

“Yes. Cal and Susan Harvey were investigative reporters who were found murdered in their midtown Memphis home. They’d been working on a story about the drug trade in the South.”

“And there was a bandana with gang symbols on it found in their home,” Ryan finished for her. “And an anonymous tip informed the police that the bandana belonged to Tommie Oakes, a gang member who went by the name of Cruiser. We found the murder weapon in his closet.”

Jessica nodded as she no doubt recalled the case that had caused such a rift between the two of them. She took a deep breath. “Although his DNA was on the bandana, he had an alibi that the police and the DA ignored. They argued that the DNA on the gun probably belonged to another gang member who wasn’t in the system. Your new partner at the time couldn’t wait to close the case, and he kept on until the DA had Oakes arrested and charged. He was convicted and is now serving a life sentence in prison.”

“That’s right.”

“So why are we rehashing this now?” Jessica said through gritted teeth.

“Because the DNA found on the gun that killed the Harveys has been in the system ever since. The lab sent the DNA from the convenience-store robbery to the database, and it matched the results from the Harvey case.”

Jessica’s eyes grew wide. “So if the DNA from yesterday’s robbery is Lee Tucker’s, then he must have been the person who shot the Harveys.” She shook her head. “But the evidence from the Harvey case has been in the system for four years. Why didn’t it show a hit on Lee Tucker before now?”