Credo's Bandidos, page 27
George and Steve had their wives and children come up on stage with them as they received the award. Both of them had earned many awards in the past, but each one had told me privately that helping bring the Coward to justice was one of the greatest achievements of their lives. Their self-imposed shame over the fact that he had been one of their closest friends had almost cast a pall over the celebration, but Kate had a long talk with them, and I think they’d come to realize there was no way they could have known or prevented any of the killings.
Mitch, Garlan, and Rick each received a medal of exceptional service for the innumerable hours they’d devoted to catching the Coward over the last several months. Understaffed, they’d worked tirelessly, putting in eighty-hour weeks to apprehend the killer who’d eluded so many police departments and arson investigation units around the world.
Later that day, Kate called a special briefing to fill in everyone involved in the case on what we’d discovered during Eddie’s interview, and during the search warrants we’d carried out at various California and Arizona locations. “Several of you have asked me to clear up a few of the loose ends of the case. So, I’m just going to go down the list and give you what information I have. First, did he have a reason for targeting Knox Cailleach? Before we knew who the Coward was, Mitch did some checking at the prison and found out that Knox had had around 15 to 20 visitors over the years. Mitch was in the process of going through that list when we discovered Eddie was the Coward. He cross-referenced the list of visitors and discovered that Eddie had indeed visited Knox while he was in prison.”
Kate took a bite of the chocolate croissant she was holding and washed it down with a sip of her coffee. “Eddie, who as you know confessed to everything, said that he’d gone to visit Knox while he was in prison during one of the times Eddie had come to stay with Steve. Knox apparently told him to go stuff himself and told him that if he had any balls, he’d have his own trophies to brag about. That pissed Eddie off, so on one of his subsequent visits, after Knox had gotten out of prison, he murdered and burned him.”
She popped the rest of the croissant into her mouth. “Two. Yes, we did find the entrenching tool in a shed behind Steve’s house. If you remember, Eddie usually stays with Steve whenever he’s in town. It had Eddie’s fingerprints all over it as well as Babe’s and Mrs. Holloway’s. It also had some of Eddie’s DNA from when Babe whacked him over the head with it.”
A rousing chorus of cheers went up among the detectives for Babe’s act of heroism.
Kate held up her hand for silence, “Okay, okay, we’re all glad he got his head bashed in. Let’s keep going so we can get this over with and head home early. Three. Why did both Babe and Alex say the suspect limped when Eddie doesn’t actually have a limp? It turns out that the black streak Babe saw running down the side of Eddie’s pants when he ran out of Mrs. Holloway’s house was the accelerant, just like Mitch guessed.” She looked over at Mitch, and Garlan gave him a congratulatory slap on the back.
Kate continued, “The chemicals burned him rather badly on the side of the leg and must have hurt like a mother whenever he ran. And finally, why did he take the eyeballs? When he was a little boy, he fell in love with one of his grandfather’s puppies. To punish him for something he’d done wrong, the grandfather put out the puppy’s eyes. So, Eddie said he was keeping the eyes so none of his victims would have to go through what that puppy went through because of something he did.” She shook her head. “Doc Hampton said in his twisted mind, that explanation made perfect sense. I guess insanity comes in all shapes and sizes.”
She flipped her notebook closed. “All right, does anyone else have any questions?”
George put up his hand about shoulder height, “Yeah, I do. I know you found the eyeballs in some kind of case he carried around, but I never heard exactly how many were in there.”
Kate nodded, “Well, there were six sets of eyeballs in that particular case. Four were from the recent cases here in Tucson. Two were from a husband and wife Eddie had murdered in a small town in Colorado. However, we found a second case down in the basement of his home in California, which held close to twenty more pairs of eyeballs. For the time being, we’re keeping that out of the media, so do not tell your family or friends or anyone else that piece of information. Understood?”
Everyone nodded their understanding.
When no one else had any questions, Kate crossed her arms and tapped her pen on her bicep. “Every one of you did an excellent job on this case. We worked as a team should, and I couldn’t be prouder of every one of you. She caught and held everyone’s gaze, and when her gaze settled on me, she smiled slightly and nodded, which made my heart soar.
Casey clapped me on the back as we walked back to our desks. “What time is dinner tonight?”
Casey and Terri were joining Megan and me up on my roof for pizza and Chinese beneath the stars. “Well, it needs to be dark, so how does 8 o’clock sound? You bringing the Mike’s?”
“Absolutely, and Megan called and asked us to pick up the Chinese because she’s gonna be late helping George show his wife and kids the new tricks she’s taught his dog.”
Casey grabbed her keys and waved on her way out.
I watched the door quietly click shut behind her. I sat down at my desk and began cleaning up all the paperwork I’d left scattered about. Kate had given everyone the afternoon off, and I was the last one left in the office. I found the plaque I’d been given buried beneath a couple of case files. I picked it up and stared at it a moment. I’d never gotten an award before and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.
To my surprise, Kate came out of the lieutenant’s office. I thought she’d gone home, but apparently, she’d been in speaking with him. She came over, took the award out of my hands, and propped it up so that it was displayed prominently on my desktop. “There. That’s to remind you that the department really does value you for your skills as a detective.” She smiled when I scoffed at her words. “You may be a pain in the ass, Alex, but you’re my pain in the ass, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She looked at me and raised her eyebrows. “And if you ever repeat that to anyone, I’ll deny it until the day I die.” I grinned as she turned and walked out of the office.
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Did you love Credo's Bandidos? Then you should read The Spirit Child by Alison Naomi Holt!
Discover a world of adventure, heartache, and courage in the Anacafrian kingdom. Duchess Aurelia "Bree" Makenna, beloved cousin to the king and third in line for the throne, is a hero to knights and foot soldiers alike. But a year ago, she lost her wife to the plague and now finds herself struggling with the depths of despair.
When Bree stumbles on a trader selling an orphan he trapped in the woods, she makes a monumental decision to buy the child, unleashing a chain of events that will change her life and the kingdom forever.
With Becca and Nashotah, lesbian lovers and warriors who help Bree and the orphan, Katie, trust each other's strengths and understand their weaknesses, and with Animal Spirit Guides who entertain with snatches of wit and wisdom, this epic fantasy full of lady knights who lead warriors into battle is sure to captivate readers from the start.
With stakes higher than ever before, will Bree be able to find the courage within herself to face down her fears and save the kingdom?
This fantasy series has won the Lesfic Bard Award two times running. This first book in the series is where your journey begins.
Read more at Alison Naomi Holt’s site.
Also by Alison Naomi Holt
Alex Wolfe Mysteries
Credo's Legacy
Credo's Fire
Credo's Bones
Credo's Betrayal
Credo's Honor
Credo's Bandidos
Credo's Run
The Alex Wolfe Mysteries Books 1-4
The Alex Wolfe Box Set Books 1-3
Code One Club Sapphic Roomance
Whiskey-Colored Eyes
Merigor
Mage of Merigor
The Daughters of Elyon
Elyon's Blades
Elyon's Ghost
Elyon's Vengeance
Elyon's Regret
The Seven Realms of Ar'rothi
The Spirit Child
Duchess Rising
Duchess Rampant
Spyder's Web
Spyder's Kiss
Aidrafiri: Aevala's Own
Bardic Tales From Ar'rothi
Standalone
The Inheritance
Watch for more at Alison Naomi Holt’s site.
About the Author
“Words are such uncertain things; they so often sound well but mean the opposite of what one thinks they do.” ― Agatha Christie, Partners in Crime
Alison, who grew up listening to her mother reading her the most wonderful books full of adventure, heroes, ducks, and dogs, promotes reading wherever she goes and believes literacy is the key to changing the world for the better.
In her writing, she follows Heinlein’s Rules, the first rule being You Must Write. To that end, she writes in several genres simply because she enjoys the great variety of characters and settings her over-active fantasy life creates.
There’s nothing better for her than when a character looks over their shoulder, crooks a finger for her to follow, and heads off on an adventure. From medieval castles to a horse farm in Virginia to the police beat in Tucson, Arizona, her characters live exciting lives, and she’s happy enough to follow them around and report on what she sees.
Alison's previous life as a cop gave her a bizarre sense of humor, a realistic look at life, and an insatiable desire to live life to the fullest. She loves all horses & hounds and some humans…
To find out more, go to her website at www.alisonholtbooks.com.
Read more at Alison Naomi Holt’s site.
Alison Naomi Holt, Credo's Bandidos
