Fugitive at Large

“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?”

Ryan shrugged. “The lab people don’t know. The important thing is that it does now. Tucker had to be at the Harveys’ home the night they were killed.”

“So Oakes might not have been the killer.”

He nodded. “Maybe not. The real killer could be—”

“Lee Tucker.” Her expression changed instantly. Alarm took over her features as she no doubt realized the danger that he had come to understand moments ago. “The police have to stop Tucker before he follows through and kills Jamie, too.”

“I know,” Ryan said. He tried to keep his anxiety reined in.

“But Lee Tucker could be anywhere,” Jessica said. “How would you decide where to start looking?”

Ryan held up one of the papers from the report. “I think we start with the car that you saw leave the scene after the shooting yesterday. The license plate is registered to the reelection campaign of Hayden Mitchum.”

Jessica’s eyes grew wide. “The US senator?”

Ryan nodded. “Yes. When we called his reelection headquarters this morning, they said they hadn’t realized it was missing. It’s one of the cars that the senator’s aide uses when he’s in town, but he is in Washington right now with Senator Mitchum.”

The phone on Mac’s desk rang at that moment, and Mac answered. “Detective Barnes.”

Ryan waited until Mac hung up before he said anything else. “Do we need to answer a call?”

Mac shook his head. “No. That was the captain. He needs me to bring him up to speed on the investigation into Gerald Price’s murder.”

“I read about that,” Jessica said. “He’s the man whose body was found in a riverfront parking lot. The newspaper report said the police believe he was killed in a carjacking.”

“That’s right.” Mac turned to Ryan. “I can go over everything with the captain. You stay here and talk to Jessica.” He reached over and patted her on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you. I hope you’ll come back to visit soon.”

She smiled. “Maybe I will, Mac. Take care of yourself out there.”

He nodded and walked from the room. Ryan waited until Mac had closed the door behind him before he spoke.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath. “Jessica, yesterday I thought I was going to a store to make sure my brother was okay. Since then, what was thought to be a robbery has snowballed into something that appears to be much deeper. And somehow it has ties to the murders we investigated four years ago.”

“I know,” she murmured as if she was lost in thought.

He sat down on the edge of his desk again and faced Jessica, who took the opposite chair. “What is Lee Tucker’s connection to the murders of two reporters four years ago and to what appeared to be a random robbery yesterday? And why was the getaway car stolen from a US senator’s parking lot? It doesn’t make sense.”

She nodded in agreement, then added, “If it really was stolen.”

“That’s a possibility. The senator’s office could have been lying about that.” He stood up, paced to the far side of the office and came back to sit in front of her. “And why did my brother suddenly disappear?”

“And why did I receive a threatening telephone call?”

Now it was his turn to be startled. “When did that happen?”