Pamela Clare - Deadly Intent

Deadly Intent

An I-TEAM Novel

Published by Pamela Clare, 2018

Cover Design by Carrie Divine/Seductive Designs

Image: Perfect Lazybones/ Shutterstock

Image: MRBIG_PHOTOGRAPHY/ iStockphoto

T hank you to Michelle White, Benjamin Alexander, Jackie Turner, Pat Egan Fordyce, and Shell Ryan for their unfailing support. Thanks to Shell, too, for the very handy list of Joaquin facts she wrote years ago. It was incredibly helpful. Where would I be without you guys ?

Special thanks to Sarah Whitenight, for sharing her expertise from her years serving in the US Army; and to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for answering my questions relating to ballistics and DNA analysis .

Additional thanks to Esmeralda Mijangos, Roxana Marmolejo, and Monica Flores-Rojo for lending me their expertise on Mexican Spanish so that Joaquin could have an authentic Mexican-American voice .

A hug and many thanks to author Jessica Scott, a real-life Army captain and badass, for her friendship and support and for helping to inspire this story .

More hugs and thanks to author Kaylea Cross for her friendship, support, and help in brainstorming Joaquin and Mias story .

Thanks to all of you who love the I-Team characters so much and keep this series alive. Im so very grateful .

J oaquin Ramirez parked behind a squad car, its lights flashing red, blue, and white in the twilight. He checked the Glock 27 he carried concealed in a pocket holster. It was loaded, a round in the chamber. After what had happened at the holiday party last month, he would never leave home unarmed again. Satisfied, he holstered the firearm, grabbed his camera bag, and climbed out of his truck, icy wind hitting him in the face .

A possible homicide .

Thats all hed been told. It was his weekend on call, and so far, hed shot a protest at the State Capitol, a minor house fire, and a hit-and-run bicycle accident just off the 16th Street Mall. Hed thought his Pulitzer would free him from this kind of shit and enable him to focus on more significant assignments, but the Denver Independent was a small paper with only four photographers, one of whom covered sports exclusively .

Maybe it was time for him to leave, get out of Denver, and go to work for a more prominent publication, like the New York Times or National Geographic. He could travel, see the world through the lens of his camera, put his skills to the test. There would never be a better time than now. He was young, no woman in his life, no kids, not even a pet .

Then why are you still here, working this same job ?

Matt Harker, a reporter on the papers I-Team and Joaquins best friend, had asked him that question last night. Joaquin had given him the answer he always gave himself. The people he lovedhis friends and his familylived here .

He hurried down the street, pulling out his camera as he went, snapping the wide-angle lens and flash into place. Just ahead, gawkers stood outside the barricade tape, their curiosity drawing them outside in sub-zero January temps .

A woman stepped out of the crowd and waved to him, huddled in a heavy parka. Hey, Joaquin !

Hey, Cate, whats going on ?

Catherine Warner was the newestand at twenty-five the youngestmember of the newspapers elite I-Team, or Investigative Team. She had replaced Laura Nilsson on the cops and courts beat. She might look like a kid with blond hair and freckles, but shed landed on her feet with an expos about a couple of sheriffs deputies dealing drugs out of the evidence room .

She brought Joaquin up to speed. A guy heard shouting and then gunshots coming from downstairs. He went down to check on his neighbora guy named Andrew Meyerand found the door open. He walked in

What an idiot .

Yeah, well, the idiot found bullet holes in the shower stall along with shell casings. Thats when he called the cops .

Hes lucky he wasnt shot, too. No body ?

Nope.

What are the cops saying ?

Not a word .

Did anyone else hear shots? Discharging a firearm in a small apartment would make one hell of a racketunless the shooter had a suppressor .

Cate nodded. A couple of neighbors heard gunfire, too, but they didnt call it in. This isnt the kind of neighborhood where people are on good terms with the police .

Any chance this guy accidentally shot himself and rushed off to the ER? Joaquin had a decade of experience on Cate and was doing his best to mentor her, to help her curb her impulsiveness and mature as a reporter .

Cate shook her head. I overheard one of the detectives say there was no John Doe or Andrew Meyer in any Denver-metro ERs. Also, the guys vehicle is still here, parked in its space .

She pointed toward an old, brown Toyota Camry .

Bullet holes, but no body. Thats loco. Joaquin took in the scene, assessing the possibilities. It was his job to tell this story in a single imagenot easy when it was dark and all he had to work with were bystanders, police tape, and squad cars .

A man he recognized as Detective Wu stepped out of the apartment .

Detective Wu, can I ask you a few questions? Cate hurried off to do her job, leaving Joaquin to do his .

He walked out into the street, looking for an angle that captured the scene with its tension and unknownsthe apartment with its open door, the barricade tape, bystanders, and at least a portion of a police cruiser. He adjusted the cameras ISO to 1600, snapped a few shots, then checked to see how theyd turned out .

The exposure was okay, but the image felt static. A man might have lost his life here tonight. Neighbors, friends, and family were surely desperate and afraid for him. Joaquin could do better .

He shifted a few feet to his left, reworking the composition in his mind, then dropped to one knee and raised the camera again .

Someone stepped in front of his lens .

Do you know whats going on? a woman asked .

He lowered the camera and found himself looking up into a pair of big, angry blue eyes set in a strikingly beautiful facehigh cheekbones, a little, upturned nose, a full mouth. Im with the Denver Independ

Did something happen to Andy? Red hair ruffled in the wind .

Joaquin got to his feet. You know the guy who lives in that apartment ?

Please answer my question .

Her abruptness surprised Joaquin, but he could see the fear in her eyes. It wasnt the first time someone had given him shit while hed been on the job. People hated the mediauntil the moment they needed something .