Determinant by E. H. Reinhard Page B

of the guys from the Corvette walked toward her. Ray continued past. He made two consecutive right turns and slowed to look down the alley from the other direction. The man from the Corvette was hugging Callie. Ray sped up to make the light as it turned yellow.

Chapter 14
    Hank and I pulled my Corvette into the back alley behind Lefty’s bar. Someone had parked in my unmarked cruiser in the station’s parking structure. I wasn’t about to search the station for the owner and wasn’t going to take Hank’s pink hybrid. A couple squad cars were already on the scene, two out front and two at the rear entrance of the restaurant. Callie sat on the hood of her car. I got out and went to her. “You okay?”
    “Yeah, I guess.”
    I looked back over my shoulder. “Hank, you want to go see what’s up in there? I’ll be there in a second.”
    He went inside.
    Callie reached out for a hug.
    I took her in my arms. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
    “I’m fine, Carl. I’m sorry I unloaded all that on you this morning.”
    “Don’t worry about it. We’ll be fine.” I gave her a kiss on the forehead. “I need to go see what’s going on. We’ll talk before I leave.”
    “OK.” She dropped her arms to her sides.
    I headed next door and walked through the back. Officers Weston and Thomas from Patrol stood next to Hank—a pair of silver freezer doors stood open before them. The three stared inside the walk-in. I went to Hank’s side.
    “What the hell.” Hank rubbed at the back of his neck.
    I took in the scene. Two bodies lay at the back of the cooler. Frozen blood covered the entire rear of the room. Flesh clung to the wire metal shelves. A pool of frozen blood lay beneath the two men. I looked away.
    “Did anyone go in?” I asked.
    “I didn’t,” Hank said. “Weston and Thomas were first on the scene.”
    “Did you guys go in?” I asked.
    “No,” Weston said.
    I took a single step into the room and one step to the side—I didn’t want to disturb any evidence that may have been left within. I stretched my neck to get a better look at the two bodies. One lay face down. A four inch hole was present in the back of his head. An additional gunshot wound exited the middle left of his back. I looked to the other. He faced me. He was slumped into a five gallon pail in the corner. The two gunshot wounds were the same as the other victim—a shot in the forehead and a shot in the heart. I stepped from the room.
    “This was an execution. They were on their knees,” Hank said.
    “Geez,” Officer Thomas muttered under his breath.
    “Do we know who these guys are?” Hank asked.
    “I wrote the names down.” Officer Weston fumbled through his notes. “The owner, Maria Santonio, said the two men are Greg Hart and Bryan Benson. Greg Hart was a cook, Bryan Benson the dishwasher. He just started here last week.”
    “Which one is which?” I asked.
    “Benson is the larger of the two.”
    I wrote the names in my notepad.
    “Is anything missing?”
    “Not sure. The owner is walking around looking with Officer Henry now,” Weston said.
    “You guys take a look around and see if anything jumps out at you. See if this place has any kind of security. I need to make a call.”
    I went to the front of the restaurant’s kitchen and dialed the captain at his desk.
    “Bostok.”
    “Hey, it’s Kane.”
    “What’s the scene?”
    “An execution. Vics worked here. Shot in the cooler. They were on their knees, one in the head, and one in the chest on both.”
    The captain let out a puff of air into the mouthpiece of the phone. “Professional?”
    “Damn well doesn’t seem like a first timer.”
    “Is Forensics there yet?” Bostok asked.
    I glanced toward the back door. Rick leaned against the wall and talked with Hank. “Yeah, Rick is here. They must have just showed up. I’ll talk to you when I get back.”
    “Alright.”
    I hung up and walked back over. I glanced into the cooler. Pax stood inside. I continued