To Know A Man

Part 10

"What do you have?" Cassy asked as she leaned forward over the desk.

"David Fausie." Tom handed the journal to her.

Cassy read the entry in Harry's handwriting, "David Fausie's sentencing was this morning. Saul was there. He is a destroyed man. He has nothing. Dot is dead, taken away from him by his own son's hands. I watched David's face as the judge read the sentence. It was filled with rage, fury and hatred. At one point, he made eye contact with me and I instantly knew to whom the anger was directed." Cassy stopped reading, "You think David decided to take revenge on Harry?"

Tom nodded, "He lost everything. He was the new head of Saul Fausie's empire. Now he's sharing a cell with a new boyfriend at the Palm Beach County Hilton. I'd say that's a motive."

"But why go after you?" Cassy shook her head, not convinced.

"Who says the attack in the parking lot was for me? Craig could have been the target. Craig did prosecute his case."

"So you think that Fausie hired a hit man to take out Harry and Craig. It was just a coincidence that you were next to the targets in both shootings? That seems a little too convenient if you ask me."

Tom took the journal from her. "It gives us a place to start. We don't have anything else to go on at the moment."

"Not us, Partner. Vic and Ellen. We're not assigned to this case, if you remember."

"You yourself hinted that it was a long shot. Let's go talk to Saul and get a feel for just how vindictive his son was feeling." Tom stood and made his way to the door.

"We're not going anywhere until you get your vest on and we find Guerrero and Jackson."

"Until 'we' get our vests," her partner corrected, slipping an arm around her shoulder, escorting her out the door.

"Fine, 'our' vests." Cassy pulled away from the man and grabbed her purse from her desk. Tom was slipping on his jacket when the door to the squad room opened. He put Harry's journal in the pocket.

As if having read their minds, Guerrero and Jackson entered. "Going somewhere?" Jackson asked, with a hint of suspicion.

"We were just coming to find you." Cassy said as she dug into her purse for her keys. "We have to go visit an acquaintance of the Captain's."

The two officers gave disapproving looks to each other, "We are supposed to be protecting you two from sniper attacks. Running around town visiting old friends of the Captain doesn't sound like a real smart thing for you to be doing."

Before either Tom or Cassy could respond, the phone rang. Tom picked it up quickly, "Ryan."

A quiet voice responded, "I. . .I need to speak to someone about. . .about the shooting of that policeman last night."

Tom motioned for Cassy's attention. Cassy saw the serious look in her partner's eyes and pushed her way closer to the phone, but could not get close enough to hear the words on the other end of the line.

"This is Sgt. Ryan. May I help you."

"Is the policeman dead?" the unknown voice asked.

"Who is this?"

"I. . .I didn't think. . .but he was so angry at him," the words stumbled over one another, then there was silence.

"Who is this?" Tom repeated.

"I'm scared. If he hurt the policeman. . .he'll hurt me."

"Who hurt the Captain? Who's going to hurt you?"

"Oh God. I think he's here. I didn't think he knew where I was. I've got to go!" The phone disconnected before Tom could respond.

Tom hung up the receiver and pushed the button on his caller ID. Picking up the phone he dialed numbers quickly, "This is Sgt. Ryan. I need an address for 555-7293." Cassy gave him a questioning look, but Tom shook his head, motioning for her to wait. He picked up a pad of paper and scribbled down the information being given over the phone. "Thanks."

He slammed down the phone, "Come on. We have to go." Cassy followed her partner out the door, the two dumbfounded officers behind them.

As they ran down the hallway, Cassy shouted out, "Vest!"

Tom stopped running, turned and gave her a frustrated look, "No time."

Cassy grabbed the man's arms roughly, "Thomas, you aren't stepping one foot out of this building unless you have a vest on. I don't know what's going on, but anything that has you this worked up could be a setup." Cassy's forceful tone seemed to get Tom's attention.

He pressed his lips together, nodded quickly and made a turn into the locker room. Cassy followed and entered the women's facility.

Within minutes, both Tom and Cassy had returned to the hallway, finding Guerrero and Jackson waiting for them. "Did you forget about us?" Guerrero raised an eyebrow at the detectives.

Tom shrugged, "Sorry about that. We have a lead."

Jackson followed the detectives and his partner out the door, shouting from behind, "I thought this wasn't your case."

"It is now," Tom shouted back as he approached the front door of the building. With his hand on the handle, he paused for a moment, suddenly remembering what happened the last time he set foot in the parking lot.

Cassy brought her hand to his arm, "You okay?"

Tom nodded, "Yeah. Let's go." He pushed his way through the door. He couldn't help but look up at the buildings which surrounded the precinct. He hadn't any indication that the first two attacks were going to occur, why did he think he would be able to predict a third. Taking a deep breath, he made his way to the Crown Victoria parked near the entrance. There were still officers mulling about the parking lot, cleaning up after the earlier shooting. The activity provided him with some comfort.

Tom climbed behind the wheel, while the other three piled into the car. "So where are we going, Sergeant?" Jackson asked.

"The caller was a woman. Said that she knew who shot the Captain. She was afraid. Implied that the shooter was after her now." Tom pulled out of the parking space and made his way out of the parking lot.

"Where are we going?" Cassy repeated the unanswered question.

"The Sunset Palms Motor Lodge. That's where she was calling from."

"Room number?"

"No." Tom shook his head. "We'll have to hope the desk clerk can help us. Maybe we'll get lucky." Tom paused for a moment while he made a right turn. "She was scared, Cassy. Really scared."

Within minutes, the blue sedan had pulled into the driveway of the Sunset Palms. The four police officers entered the lobby and approached the desk clerk.

"May I help you," the weaselish-looking man said from behind the counter.

Tom flashed his badge. "We're looking for a woman, probably checked in by herself recently."

A thin eyebrow raised on the balding man's head, "You wanna narrow that down a bit?"

"She probably has stayed in her room most of the time; ordering room service for all her meals.

The man looked defensively at the cop, "We don't offer room service."

Tom's voice raised slightly in frustration, "Well then she's getting delivery. Either way, she isn't leaving the hotel. Does that match anyone?"

The clerk shrugged, "I don't pry into the business of my guests."

Tom leaned forward over the counter, "Look, Pal. This could be a matter of life or death. You either play it straight with me or I start going room to room looking for her."

The man raised his hands defensively, "All right, all right. Calm down." He turned to his index file and flipped through the cards. Room 152 on the end. This gal checked in three days ago. Name's Sara Cleveland. Said she wanted a room with lots of privacy. She paid me in cash for a week in advance. Haven't seen her since. Just seen fast food delivery coming to the place every now and then.

Tom held out his hand, "Key?" It was phrased as a question but the sound was more of a demand.

The clerk started to protest then gave in. He quickly handed over the key to the detective.

The four officers left the lobby and ran to the opposite end of the motel. Stopping at Room 152 on the end, they gathered around the door. Tom stood in front, prepared to knock, but Jackson pushed him out of the way, whispering, "Sorry Sergeant. We're the bodyguards, remember. We go in first. This could be a trap."

Tom opened his mouth to argue, but Cassy grabbed his arm and shook her head 'no.' Guerrero held out her hand to tall detective. Defeated, Tom handed the key to her.

"Sara Cleveland? This is the Police. Open up." Jackson's shouted announcement was met with silence.

Jackson pulled his gun and nodded to Guerrero who stood on the opposite side of the doorway. She pulled hers out and saw Tom and Cassy doing the same. Slipping the key into the lock, Guerrero unlocked the door and reached down for the handle. Turning the knob slowly, the door unlatched and she pushed it open, making sure that she was completely hidden by the wall.

The door creaked slightly. The drapes had been pulled, making the room dark. Anyone entering through the doorway would be a perfect target. Taking a deep breath, Guerrero crouched down and entered the room on one knee, gun aimed.

Jackson followed her motion. Tom heard the young officer take a quick inhalation of breath. "We're too late," the officer whispered.

Tom and Cassy followed the uniformed officers into the room and immediately knew that Jackson's assessment was correct.

The body of a dark-haired woman was sprawled across the bed, motionless, a pillow lying near her head. Her eyes and mouth were open wide, frozen in terror.

As the uniformed officers searched the room, Tom gently placed his fingers on her neck, although he knew that he would find no heartbeat. "She's still warm. She had to be the caller."

Cassy's eyes skimmed the room. A suitcase was on the floor, clothes thrown about the room. A chair in the corner was overturned. There had obviously been a struggle. The blond detective approached her partner's side. "This wasn't a professional hit." Tom nodded in agreement. Cassy continued, "Then you realize that this means David Fausie was probably not behind the shootings."

"I know. It also means we still don't have a clue who wanted Harry dead."

"Or you." Cassy whispered.

End Part 10