watch out for an attack from the rear.
― Howard Tayler
When hunting down a serial killer the last thing you expect to consider is a rogue cop, or worse, a team of them. Clare's suggestion caught both Cyril and me by surprise. The reason Cyril was sitting there glowering was because he was in charge and took it personally.
I was shocked myself. Everybody in the detachment knew the devastation Sarah's death wrought in me and for one of my own to betray me was almost beyond imagining.
But the problem was―Cyril and I couldn't deny it. Her theory checked all the boxes.
So, if Clare was right, the enemy wasn't outside trying to guess our next move, he was sharing our table and listening to every conversation.
Clare broke the silence.
"Look, I know how upsetting this is to both of you, but I suspected this for a long time. The perp is only targeting members of this force. He seems to have inside information and then it dawned on me―he might be on the inside himself."
I patted Cyril's shoulder to console him. "Clare's right, much as I hate to admit it, it explains why I was in the crosshairs myself yesterday."
My words snapped Cyril out of his introspection. "You were targeted yesterday―Why am I finding this out just now?"
"It was late afternoon when It happened and it got dark fast. No shots were fired. I just saw the glint of a rifle barrel and hit the dirt fast. I think it was more a message than an attempt."
"It doesn't matter," Cyril thundered, "I've got two fine cops dead and now you've been threatened. From now on, you travel in pairs and let me know right away so I can send backup."
I looked at Clare and she telegraphed a back off message, so I just nodded and went silent. After a few moments Cyril sighed. "Where was it―nearby?"
"I stopped by the quarry on my way back from Toronto―there's no way he could have known because it was a spur of the moment decision on my part."
"He must have tailed you."
"Yeah, that's what I figured―wanted to see what I was up to and decided to send me a message of his own."
"We'll tape off the crime scene and get a forensics team out there. Where was he positioned?"
"He was up on the ridge. I can direct you to the very spot."
"Okay," he sighed, "let's get on it. Time’s wasting. On the bright side, there was no rain last night, so we might get lucky.”
Clare was silent all the way back out to the crime scene. I knew she was respecting my feelings and I was thankful for that.
Just as she suspected, Cyril had a drone in the air equipped with thermal imaging and kept us all back until the scene was declared clear.
I went up on the ridge with her and directed the team to the spot. I knew they wouldn’t find much, if anything, but even from where we stood I could see what the sniper saw—in other words, everything.
There was no way I’d be standing here today if he wanted me gone. And that told me a lot.
Later in the afternoon we sat in Timmies sipping coffee and mulling over what we had gleaned, which wasn’t much.
“I saw the shot he had from that ridge,” she whispered suddenly. “There’s no way he wanted you dead, at least, not then.”
I shrugged. “I can’t imagine what good I’d be to him staying on his tail.”
“It’s personal, isn’t it? You think it’s a woman.”
“Let’s put it this way—that might explain a lot. But here’s the thing, I’ve wracked my brain and can’t figure who the hell it could be. A female cop with mad skills like that would be hard to miss.”
She smiled mischievously, “On the plus side, it shows you have charm.”
“There’s a fine line between being charming and living a charmed life—mind you, right now, I’ll take the latter.”
She laughed and got to her feet. “C’mon Prince Charming, this beauty isn’t sleeping and may in fact be a witch.”
The thought was sobering...
A female officer who was jealous of my relationship with Sarah. Then it hit me—Clare might be next.
I'd keep that thought to myself for now, until I was certain we were even an item. And being shy about disclosing a possible romance between us told me I cared more about Clare than I cared to admit.