"Let's start there."

At the bank of escalators three police officers stood in front of a line of police crime-scene tape to keep anyone from going down.

"Who's in charge?" Muriel asked the first one who looked her way.

"Captain Hallman, but he's too busy to come up right now."

"I don't want him to come up, I want to go down." Muriel pointed at the escalator that someone had turned off, the steps frozen in position.

"They're still working the scene, so that's not going to happen."

"Either you call him and get me cleared or I'll call his boss and get the same thing, your choice."

"Let her down," a man screamed from the floor beneath them.

"Alone."

Muriel took the steps two at a time and stopped in front of Paul Hallman. He was two years from retirement, and to Muriel, he always appeared tired. "That your guy in there?" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

"Rick worked for my cousin, Cain Casey, and he was here picking up a bag for a family member. When you're finished with your investigation, call my office so we can arrange to pick him up and take him to the funeral home."

Hallman scratched his head,then tried to order his thinning hair with his fingers. "That's mighty agreeable of you, Muriel. All the years I've known you, I pegged you for someone whose nails we need to shove bamboo under while we drip water on your forehead to get you to admit to your name. I do believe that's the most I've ever heard you say at one time."

"I'm feeling generous, considering the situation, but that's not why I'm here. Our family will take care of Rick later. I'm here for Mr.

Romano."

"Who?"

She laughed at the way he crinkled his brow. "Don't start playing dumb now, Paul. You're too old for that. Lou Romano is in your custody, if I had to guess. Unless you have reason to hold him, I want him released to me."

"Lou's last name is Romano?" Hallman laughed and led her to the security office. "I sure as h.e.l.l didn't know that. Never heardhim called anything but Lou."

"Why is he still here?"

"The guys told me he was the one who found your boy, and he volunteered to give a statement." Hallman opened the door, and the same security guard that had put Lou in the chair still sat across from him. Lou was still cuffed. "Why in the h.e.l.l didn't you take those off, you idiot?" The guard came close to falling backward when Hallman screamed at him.

"You okay, Lou?" Muriel asked.

"Just great."Lou rubbed his wrists and stood up. "Am I free to go?"

"Did you give a statement?" Hallman asked.

"That's going to have to wait. I need to go to the hospital and have my hands checked out from being cuffed so tight for so long."

Paul nodded. "I'll cut you some slack, but I want you in my office no later than tomorrow."

"I'll have him there," Muriel said.

They had started to leave when Hallman's gruff voice stopped them. "You didn't see anything, did you, Lou?"

"Just my friend with a bullet hole in his forehead."

"Let's say I believe you for now," Hallman said slowly. "Don't go doing anything crazy, okay?"

"Crazy isn't our style," Muriel said as she wrapped her hand around Lou's bicep to keep him quiet.

"I'll see you around, then." Paul stuck his hand out and offered it to Muriel first, then Lou.

"Let me know if you find anything that points to who did this,"

Muriel said. "Cain's putting up a ten-thousand-dollar reward for information. That should help with the investigation."

"I'll pa.s.s that along, and you remember to do the same. If you find something, phone me."

Muriel just stared at him before smiling. "I'm sure you'll be my first call."

"You're full of s.h.i.t, Muriel, but I like you anyway."

She bowed her head slightly and just as quickly quit smiling. The cops had their job to do, and they had theirs. Whoever had killed Rick would face endless court dates or only one quick date with death. It depended on who won the footraceHallman or them.

Chapter Thirty-Five.

"You know what this might mean, don't you?" Cain asked Remi.

She was staring at the spot where Rick had been standing just that morning. After asking Merrick earlier she knew he was twenty-six years old. At that age she'd never thought about death much, until it became such a frequent visitor.

"The start of a war?If it is, it'd be nice to know who we're fighting."

"We're fighting the future, Remi, and for once I don't know if we can win this fight no matter how hard we go at it." Cain exhaled and shook her head to force herself to look away.

"You want to give up before we even start?"

"I'm tired, that's all. I've changed because I wanted peace. I wanted to enjoy my family and my wife without some a.s.shole constantly taking shots at me."

Remi placed her mug in the sink and leaned against the counter. "I can't see you retired and knitting booties somewhere."

"But I can see her feeding cows somewhere for about a week,"

Ross said, interrupting them. "After that, all your energy would drive you mad."

"Are you wondering deep down if perhaps Carol was right? Your daughter could've picked safer," Cain said.

"My daughter picked with her heart. Your life isn't always perfect, but unlike what that guy Kyle told me, the fight seems to always come to you without you looking for it. This would be the time to get up, brushyourself off, and kick the s.h.i.t out of someone."

"You know..." Cain did something she'd never done to Ross. She walked over and hugged him. "You asked me once if you were anything like my father." She'd never been this close to him, and while he wasn't a large man, he felt strong and solid. "If he'd been here, that's exactly what he would've said." The kitchen door opened and Lou walked in, his shirt still stained with Rick's blood.

"You look like a man who could use a drink," she told him.

"Later on I'd love one, but right now I want to talk to you."

Lou followed her out to the yard and stood in the center, well away from the trees. "Any ideawho did this?" she asked.

"I dropped him off and went to pick up our stuff." He coughed and had to stop, and Cain suspected it had nothing to do with the weather.

"We can do this later," Cain offered when he pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes.

"It was a f.u.c.king bag," he yelled. "We could've sent anyone in there...I could've gone."

"You knowwhat-ifs don't accomplish anything. What we need now is to honor Rick's life by taking care of his family and finding the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds who did this before the cops do."

"While I was sitting in that f.u.c.king room with my hands on my a.s.s, I tried to remember anything that would get us closer to the shooter.

I saw this group of guys leaving when I went in to check on Rick. I could swear one of them was wearing Rick's clothes, and when I found him he was in his underwear. His shoes and cell phone were shoved in the can."

"Did you get a look at their faces?"

"They were staring at those ads the airport puts up so I didn't think anything of it then, but later I thought that was weird."

"No faces, okay, anything else?"

"It was their hair that gives me an idea where we need to start looking."

Cain glanced at Lou's face and saw that his eyes had watered.

"What about it?"

"Black, thick, slicked back, and one of them had a ponytail."

"Tall or short?"Cain asked the questions the police were probably trying to squeeze out of whoever was within a ninety-mile radius of the airport.

"Short sticks in my head. They remind me of those guys we saw always hanging close to Juan and his uncle."

"Rick was with us the night we went to the Steak Knife, wasn't he?" Cain felt like someone had given her a shot of adrenaline.

"I had him tag along so he'd get used to being around you guys. If we eventually put him with Hannah, I wanted him to get used to the family's routine."

"Good work, Lou. You're right. We know where to look first." She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed briefly. "If I'm right, Rick was at the wrong place at the wrong time for all the right reasons. It sounds like these guys panicked, so I'm sure Rick never saw it coming when they got him in the bathroom."

"What about his family?"

"I'll take care of that myself. Rick was loyal and needs to be repaid, if not to him then to his mother."

"Take Mook with you," Lou said. "He's another good kid, and she's his great-aunt. I'm sure it'll make her feel better to have some family around."

Cain nodded and led him back inside. "Clean up and I'll call you if we're going out, but don't worry. That won't be for awhile yet."

"Don't start without me."

"More importantly, I don't plan to finish without you."

From the sunroom, Emma watched Cain and Lou talk, and she could tell Lou's face was wet with tears. She was trying not to give in to her own grief again, since it wouldn't help Cain take care of things. When Cain had told her about Rick, she'd cried for the loss but had selfishly given thanks it hadn't been Cain or one of her children. If she burned in h.e.l.l for that, then so be it.

"This doesn't happen often,does it?" Dallas asked her.

"Not really, but it doesn't make it any easier when it does. Could you excuse me for a minute?" She stood next to the window until Cain noticed her. She knew that once Cain started to strike back, they wouldn't have much time alone.

When Cain's eyes finally found her, she smiled and waved her out.

As Emma hurried to where Cain was standing, she stopped and put her arms around Lou and kissed his forehead when he bent down to return the kindness. "I know you're not going to listen to me, but you need to lie down for a while. This wasn't your fault, Lou."

"It might take a bit for that to sink in, and I couldn't sleep now unless someone cold-c.o.c.ked me."

"I'm in no position to tell you what to do, but can I ask you for a favor?" When he straightened up and she dropped her head back to still see his face, she had to shield her eyes from the brightness.

"You know you can."

"Lie down for at least an hour. When Cain decides to move, she'll want you with her, and I want you at your best. You won't be protecting only her, but my heart as well. That's a really corny thing to say, but it's true."

"You're a tough opponent, Emma." Lou hugged her again and headed to the pool house. After Katlin had moved out, the guys used it as a sort of bunkhouse when they kept long hours and needed to get some sleep.

"Undermining my authority, la.s.s?" Cain asked, but from the relaxed set of her eyes Emma could tell she was kidding. "I'm glad he listens to one of us."

"I just told him the truth. He does go out everyday with my heart in his care." She leaned against Cain and put her arms around her hips.

"One thing I've learned about you big ruthless types is that most of you are closet romantics who can't fight it no matter how hard you try." Cain laughed and scratched Emma's back. "Did Lou give you any clues?"

"I needed a point to start from, and I think he provided that.

Sounds like three or four guys waiting for something else jumped Rick and killed him. From Lou's sketchy descriptions they sounded Hispanic."

"Rodolfo's guys?"

"I can't answer that right now, but give me some time and maybe I can narrow it down."

"Before I lose you to the people waiting inside, remember that I love you, and I'm here to take care of you."

"I love you too, and even though I'm working, I want to see you."