Ally's Revenge (Part 1 complete, Part 2 in progress)

Chapter 16

"Call him again."

"OK..." I pull out my phone but pause. "What am I going to say? Did you kill the men from the market this morning?"

"Put it on speaker phone so I can hear him. Ask him to meet you there and see what he says. If he says he will, then it probably wasn't him. No one in their right mind would return to their murder scene and agree to talk about it."

I place the call and put it on speaker phone, listening to the phone ring four times. Half way through the fifth ring, he answered. "Ally, I just got your message. I'm on my way back to your house to talk to your friend."

"Actually I'm walking out the door right now. Can you meet me back at the Market?"

"Of course, I'll be there in a few minutes, I'm at my apartment, right up the street from there."

"Alright, if I'm not there yet, just sit tight, I'm on the way but you may get there before me."

"Ok, and Ally... I'm really sorry about this afternoon. Please believe me when I say I only had your safety in mind."

I didn't know what to say to that and I couldn't read the look in Erik's eyes. "I'm on my way, I'll see you in a few minutes."

I hang up and Erik simply shakes his head. "Let's go. I don't want him to see all the cops and take off before we get there."

The ride to the market was made in silence. I could see the wheels turning in Erik's detective mind. We arrive to find half the street blocked, the two southbound lanes closed and all traffic was rerouted around the block. Erik pulls up to an officer that was flagging traffic and shows his badge to gain entry into the roped off parking lot.

As we get closer, I see a group of people surrounding the familiar green Jeep. "That's it. That was the Jeep that was following us."

We park next to a Jacksonville Sherriff's Office CSI van but Erik doesn't get out.

"I'll need you to come over and identify that those are indeed the men that were following you. When your friend gets here, let me do all the talking, please. Introduce us and then let me handle the rest. OK?"

"Yeah, sure," I say but think What would I say? 'Did you do this, too?' or 'Have you really killed four people today?'

We get out Erik's city issued black SUV and begin to walk over to the Jeep. About half way there though I see Damien standing off to the side of the road by the news crews that had gathered, trying their best to get the money shot. "That's him, over there by the camera man, black shirt, blond hair," I say to Erik.

Erik looks over to where I mentioned and turns back to me, an unreadable expression on his handsome face. "The man right there next to the black man from FOX news?"

"Yes, that's Damien. What is it? Erik?"

"His name is not Damien, I went to school with him. That's Michael McGinnis. We were in grade school and high school together."

"He introduced himself to me as Damien McGinnis."

Erik motions for one of the uniformed officers to come over and he tells him to escort Damien over to us. I can feel the tension in the air, so thick you could cut it. Damien walks over to us, his face as unreadable as Erik's.

"Damien, this is my friend..."

Damien reaches for Erik hand but cuts me off before I could finish. "Erik Nickels. Yes, it's been a long time, hasn't it Erik."

"Indeed. So is it Michael, or Damien now?"

"I haven't been Michael since I left high school and joined the Marines. It's good to see you, I see you have done very well for yourself, Detective."

"Yes, Homicide Detective actually. Which is why Ally called you. She told me about what happened at her house earlier today. We went to find the body but there was no trace. Is that your doing?"

Damien stays completely composed, hardly even blinking. "I did what was necessary to protect Ally. Which last time I checked, self-defense is not against the law. As for the rest, I cannot confirm that I actually created a body for you to find. The man, or woman, may have simply been scared off. I can imagine that they were not prepared for return fire."

"Do you recognize this vehicle?" Erik gestures towards the green Jeep.

"Yes, that appears to be the same vehicle that was following us earlier today."

"Did you kill the men inside?"

"No."

"You do realize as soon as we view the video evidence, we will know what happened."

"Well, I would hate to keep you from your job. May I speak to Ms. Daniels alone for a moment?" Damien asks with the calm confidence of a great white shark that has his sights on a baby seal.

"I need for Ally to come identify that the victims are indeed the men she saw this morning, but after that, it is up to Ally."

Damien then turns to me, "I will be in my truck, parked beside the museum. When you get done, please come talk to me."

"Sure, you can give me a ride home. As thorough as he is, I'm sure Erik will be here all night."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Detective Nickels surveys the bloody scene from a distance before approaching. The CSI unit has placed little marker tabs all over the scene, but the one he focus's on is the one for the gun. The shooter had left it at the scene.

There are motorcycle tire marks that come from the north end of the lot. The shooter drove directly up beside the Jeep and opened fire. The men inside are all slumped over at various angles, the man in the front passenger seat still holds his cell phone.

Detective Nickels remains in the background, contemplating and trying to build an event timeline. After the photographers had done their part, he walks up to the Jeep for a second time. Ally had confirmed that one of the men was one that had followed her this morning, but she could not be certain about the driver and the passenger since she says they never got out of the Jeep.

With a large evidence bag in hand, Detective Nickels picks up the MAC-10 and inspects it for any indication of who it may belong to. It had already been dusted for prints, along with the bullets and clip, but all were clean. The CSI team leader, an older gentleman with four months left before he retires, had stated that in thirty-six years he had never seen a scene like this. There was evidence left everywhere, but it was all clean. Even when the manager of the bank across the street came and let them inside to inspect the bank's surveillance videos, they were again disappointed to find the video feed had malfunctioned and nothing was recorded.