THE OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH DOCTOR
cleared Carly to return to work Tuesday night. Then she and Nick stopped by the station to check with Harris on the status of the investigation into Duncan Potter.
“Just got ballistics back,” Harris said. “The gun we recovered in Potter’s boat was the gun used in the double-homicide gangster shooting. Judge issued a no-bail warrant for him.”
“What’s his connection to Correa?”
“If Carter is Correa, other than the foundation, we haven’t found one yet.”
“We still can’t even find him,” Romo said.
“He follows me around,” Carly said. “Maybe Tuesday night he’ll show up.”
“We can hope.”
•••
When Nick pulled into the driveway after the visit to occupational health, Carly didn’t miss the plain car parked up the block.
“We have watchers?”
“Yep. You’re the target of a fugitive. You’ll have shadows until it’s safe.”
Carly started to say something but stopped. She didn’t like the idea of babysitters, but she wasn’t going to argue with Nick about it. It was not a battle worth having. She and Nick had planned a quiet evening at home together, and she didn’t want to inject any drama.
Later that night, after Nick was sound asleep, Carly struggled to follow suit. The knowledge that she was the target of a cold-blooded killer would not let her mind shut off. If she were the person Correa wanted to kill, why shoot three gang members and try to start a gang war?
Did he think she’d get killed in the cross fire?
Or was this all about discrediting her for the Burke trial?
She wanted to get up and pace, but she didn’t want to disturb Nick. He was a light sleeper. They’d learned earlier that Harris and Romo wanted to interview Burke about Correa and his visits but had been shut down by Burke’s lawyers. All she could do was speculate on the plans Correa and Burke had hatched. And fight the fear that threatened when she thought about all the death and destruction the missing explosives could cause if their plan involved an attempt to use it.
Carly closed her eyes and prayed they’d find Correa and stop him before anyone else was hurt or killed. She’d finally dropped off to sleep when the phone jerked her awake. Groaning, she rolled over and grabbed it, feeling Nick shift and knowing he was awake now as well.
It was Alex.
“This better be good.”
“It is. Can you and Nick meet me at Harbor House?”
“When? Tomorrow?”
“Right now.”
Carly sat up and looked at Nick, who was rubbing his eyes. “Alex, it’s after midnight. I just got to sleep. What’s so important it can’t wait?”
“Trust me, please. I came by your house and saw the agents out front. Please, Carly. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
Carly sighed and glanced at Nick again, who was frowning. “All right. We’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.” She ended the call.
“Where are we going to be in fifteen minutes?”
“Alex wants to talk to us at Harbor House. I figure this is an important thing to share with my husband.”
“Lack of sleep? Thank you very much.” He swung a pillow at her before she could get out of the way.
She was laughing as she climbed out of bed and got dressed.
Nick sent a text to the agents at the house asking them to stay there, that he and Carly would be right back.
“He wouldn’t say why he wanted to see us?”
“No,” Carly said with a yawn. “He was being very cryptic.”
Ten minutes later, they pulled into the Harbor House lot. They’d both brought off-duty weapons with them. Nick had his 9mm in a belt holster and Carly had her .380 in her backpack.
Carly scanned her side of the lot and knew Nick did likewise on his side. But the parking lot was mostly empty except for Alex’s car.
When they went inside the restaurant, it took a minute to find Alex. He was seated way in the back, in the emptiest section of the place. And he wasn’t alone.
Carly looked at Nick, who shrugged. Together they walked back to where Alex sat, stopping short when his companion turned.
Seated with Alex was Duncan Potter.
“WHAT’S GOING ON?”
Carly asked. She knew Nick’s hand was on his gun. But Potter didn’t look dangerous; rather, he looked exhausted and terrified. Where his brother had been buff, built like a fireplug, Duncan was thin as a rail with almost-delicate features.
Alex stood and held his hands up. “Hey, calm down,” he said in a hushed voice. “Please—you should listen to what he has to say.”
Carly turned to Nick, who nodded but didn’t relax. He moved between her and Potter.
“You’re wanted for murder, Mr. Potter,” Nick said as they sat—Alex and Potter on one side of the booth, he and Carly on the other. “The evidence points to you shooting three people execution style.”
“I didn’t kill anyone. I can’t prove it, but I’m not a killer.” Potter rubbed his face with both hands and stayed silent as the waitress came with two cups for Nick and Carly and a fresh carafe of coffee.
“He showed up on my doorstep . . . kind of like someone else I know,” Alex said. “And what he told me was compelling.”
“Two people are dead, one is in a coma, and the gun that was used was found on your boat. If you have an explanation for that, let’s hear it,” Nick said.
Potter looked at Carly, deer in the headlights. “The gun? On my boat?” He uttered an oath and tensed as if to rise. Something like a whimper escaped, much like air escaping from a tire, and he deflated back into the booth. Carly nodded for him to continue.
“I didn’t shoot those gang members. I was there taking photos afterward; that’s all.” His bloodshot eyes pleaded. “All I wanted was justice. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. I know you killed my brother, and I never believed that it was anything but murder. That’s why I’ve been following you. I figured I’d catch you doing something wrong.”
“Duncan, I’m sorry your brother is dead. But I didn’t have a choice.”
He dropped his head and sobbed. “I don’t know what to think anymore. People who I thought were my friends have done horrible things.” He faced Carly. “I miss Derek. He always knew what to do, what to say. I don’t.”
“Just tell them what you told me,” Alex said.
Potter wiped his face with a napkin and continued. “Ginny believed me. She said I was on the right track. When she introduced me to her boyfriend and he believed me too, I got more confident. They said they’d help me prove you murdered Derek, help me get the evidence that would get you fired or put in jail. They introduced me to Michael Carter. He hated you more than I did. He scared me a little, but because he was certain you were a corrupt cop, I trusted him.”
“You know he’s not really Michael Carter?” Carly asked.
Duncan looked at Alex, then back to Carly. “I was afraid he wasn’t who he said he was. He’s the one who shot those gangsters. I think Jarvis and Dean helped him.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I talked to Ginny and we pieced it together. Like I said, Carter was more obsessed with you than I was. He insisted you had ruined his life and that his best friend was in jail because you lied on a report. He kept saying he wanted you to suffer.”
Carly folded her arms and sat back, biting off a sharp remark as Potter continued.
“And he was focused on the new marina dedication, said that if we didn’t get you before, we’d get you then in a big way. Until the dedication, he wanted you distracted.”
“You think he shot three people to distract me?”
“Ginny thinks that was what happened. She put together a couple conversations she’d heard Dean and Carter having. They talked about how small the police department in Las Playas was, that if they had a big problem to deal with, they’d
be tied up in knots. He was glad Oceans First was here but then nervous about them being evicted too soon.”
“Too soon?” Nick asked. “Too soon for what?”
Potter shook his head, his gaze returning to Carly. “Remember when you stopped the car? The one with all the guns?”
Carly nodded.
“Ginny said that when Carter heard about that, he screamed and yelled at Dean. They almost had a fistfight over it. She didn’t understand at the time why Carter blamed Dean for that, but in hindsight she figured Carter gave the guns to Dean to give to the gangbanger. But you finding them wasn’t supposed to happen. I told her that didn’t make any sense unless Carter wanted to start a gang war. And then Ginny said she thought that’s exactly what Carter was doing, only she thinks he was going to blame everything on Dean and that people would believe him because Dean was on parole.”
“What did he have planned for the dedication that he needed the police distracted by a lot of bloodshed?” Nick asked.
“I don’t know. He never confided in me. But he’d been planning something for a while. He bought a catering company just to be sure he’d be there for the dedication.”
Carly started to say something, but Nick raised a hand.
“What was the relationship between Michael Carter and Dean Barton? Why would Barton simply deliver guns to gang members because Carter wanted him to?”
“They were friends—good friends at first, I thought.
As much as Carter hated Officer Edwards, Dean hated his brother, Ned. From what I heard, Dean was going to help Carter get even with Officer Edwards, and Carter was going to help Dean get even with Ned.”
“Get even with him? Was Carter responsible for the bomb in the coffee shop?”
“I don’t know. I know he was angry when he read about it, but . . .”
“He could have been angry that it didn’t explode.”
“I guess.”
“What about the foundation that you’re trustee for? That makes it look as though you’re involved with Carter more than you’re admitting. Carter is using money you signed over to him. He bought a catering company. He probably gave money to Barton.”
“The foundation . . .” Potter frowned. “He asked me to be the trustee, said it was just to avoid some problems he was having with the IRS. I agreed. I was never after money. When he needed me to send money somewhere, I did it. He’d been helping Sailor for months, giving him money. When Sailor defaulted on the loans, Carter needed me to write a check for the catering company.”
“Why did you disappear, and why are you here now?” Nick asked. Carly heard the impatience in Nick’s voice. Potter was a wanted man and he needed to be arrested.
“It’s because of what happened to Dean. That night, I was driving around, waiting to hear Officer Edwards get a call. I lucked out. I saw her park at the Bluestone.” He looked away
from Nick. “I got out and decided to follow you.” He held Carly’s gaze briefly. “I felt a little peevish and locked the gate behind you to mess with you.” He looked away. “I knew there was another way out of that yard. Anyway, I followed you to see what you were doing.”
“I never heard you, never had an inkling I was being followed.”
He shook his head. “You were concentrating so hard. It surprised me when you started down toward the construction yard. Carter always organized meetings either there or on the old marina dock, so I know my way around and where the open places in the fence are.”
“Did Carter live on a boat in the old marina?”
Duncan nodded. “Jarvis hooked him up with a slip. I watched you go down to the fence and find our way in.”
“Wait,” Nick interrupted. “Why did Carter want to meet where everyone was trespassing?”
“He told me that people couldn’t be trusted, that everyone had an angle to work. If we met in secret and kept our plans to ourselves, we’d accomplish our goals. Carter kept going on about his friend in jail, the one who was framed, so we were all kindred spirits fighting for justice. And Dean liked meeting in dark, hidden places. He said it was because he’d been in jail so long.”
“I was the main focus of your meetings?” Carly asked, feeling completely creeped out.
“Mostly we planned how to catch you breaking the law.”
“How were you going to do that?”
He sniffled and ran a hand under his nose. “Set up things like Dean confronting you at the coffee shop.”
“That was a setup?”
“Yeah, but you surprised them by not drawing your gun. Carter was certain that you’d draw your gun, and I was supposed to photograph the scene, get the shot of you pointing a gun at an unarmed man. But then he got mad at Dean for taking a swing at you and provoking you.”
Carly frowned. “Dean was there for my benefit, not his brother’s?”
“No, Dean wanted to tweak his brother as well; you were just the first project. Dean and Carter had a pact, like I said.”
She sat back. “From what you’re saying, Carter flaunted the law. Why did you trust anything he said?”
“He supported me. He kept assuring me we’d catch you doing something. I’m sorry, but that was what I wanted more than anything. I believed Carter until I saw him shoot Dean.”
DISHES CLATTERED
in the restaurant’s kitchen as Carly processed what Potter had said.
“You saw Carter shoot Dean?”
Potter nodded. “I followed you. You found the hole in the fence, and I was going to stop you right then; but you saw Dean, and he ran. I’m guessing he went into the restaurant to make certain you didn’t head toward Walt’s. Besides, he spent a lot of time in every part of the construction site after dark. He really knew his way around. I think Carter paid the security officers to look the other way.”
“What was at Walt’s that he wouldn’t want me to see?” She remembered Dean’s belongings and the clean spot in the empty restaurant that indicated something had been stored there.
“Carter kept some personal items there. Dean and Jarvis kept them safe. Dean stayed there when he wasn’t with Ginny. He said he needed space from time to time.”
Carly shot Nick a glance. Potter was confirming what Alex had discovered about the boat; Jarvis was involved up to his eyeballs. Nick gave an almost-imperceptible shake of his head. Duncan Potter was either the most naive of people or a consummate actor.
Potter continued with his story. “I was going to follow you in, but all of a sudden Carter was there. He must have come from Walt’s. He ran in right behind you, but he didn’t see me. I stood outside the door, heard you calling Dean. The next thing I knew, you were falling.”
He paused and drank some coffee. “I couldn’t believe what I saw next. Carter stepped out from under the balcony and picked up your gun—you had dropped it—at the same time Dean came running down the stairs. Carter was furious. He wanted to know what Dean thought he was doing. Dean cursed him, said they got lucky and could finish things right now. But Carter was as mad as I’ve ever seen him, saying this wasn’t the way he wanted it to go down. He didn’t want your death to be quick and neat. He wanted you to suffer. Dean told him that he wasn’t his boss, and all of a sudden Carter was pointing your gun at Dean.”
“Dean wasn’t armed?”
Potter shook his head. “He wasn’t scared either. He called Carter a stupid punk. Carter said Dean had always been a moron and that he’d ruined all his plans, but finally he’d
made himself useful at the end. Then he fired. He killed Dean.”
“What did you do?”
“I was shocked. I jumped. Carter must have heard me. Maybe he thought it was your backup coming. I heard him curse; then he put the gun in your hand and fired it again, making your hand squeeze the trigger. That’s when I saw the flashlights of more officers. I hid and assumed Carter did the same thing.”
“He never saw you?”
“No, but he knew I was there. Maybe Jarvis saw me run back to my boat—I don’t know, but I was scared and wondering what to tell Ginny when Carter showed up at my boat. He had a gun, and he started to harangue me about spying on him and wanted to know what I’d seen. There was murder in his eyes and I freaked. I was certain he was going to kill me. I jumped overboard and swam away. He called after me, telling me I was dead and if I went to the cops, I’d be sorry and wish I was dead.”
He gulped more coffee. “I swam to the jetty, then made my way to my car soaking wet and just drove. I got on the freeway and drove north, didn’t stop until I needed gas. I’ve been living out of my car ever since. When my brain cleared, I turned around. I’d read in the papers about what was happening here and knew I needed to tell Ginny what I’d seen. She didn’t believe me at first, but after Dean’s van was parked in your driveway with a bomb, she called my cell phone and said she believed me. I tried to talk her out of it. . . .”
“Talk her out of what?”
“Going to Carter. She was going to confront him. She loved Dean and believed in him like I believed in Derek. When she accepted that I’d truly seen Carter kill him, she was so angry. I tried to tell her we needed to go to the police, but she wouldn’t listen, and then she told me I was wanted, that Carter had framed me and I’d be arrested. That was yesterday, and I haven’t seen her since. I’m afraid he’s done something to her.”