The Aftermath

61

When Baker arrives at the scene she finds ten police cruisers, one ambulance and Kemp's black Hummer in the parking lot. Once out of her car she immediately asks about the other ambulance and is informed by a uniform that it had already left with the girl.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Drug overdose I think."

"No cutting?"

"Not that I saw."

Baker sighs with relief and walks into the rubble scene, knowing that she could handle anything in there now. The image of Angie being cut up was nearly too much to bare driving over.

She readjusted her hip holster and walked in to the hole that Tom made with his rented Mustang. She spots the car, as she enters. Briefly she wonders if this is going to be covered by the insurance. She doubts it, as she turns and finds Tom Blake, handcuffed and sitting on the floor next to a supporting pillar, and Jim Stewart cuffed and strapped to a gurney, with a gunshot wound in his chest and his shoulder.

He motions as to say something when she comes near, but she holds up her hand, "I really don't want to hear anything you have to say." Then to the medics, "Get him out of here. You and you," she points at two uniforms, "go with them, makes sure this man arrives at the hospital."

She walks up to Kemp, "Unlock him. He's not going anywhere, are you Tom, not with your girl in the hospital."

He shakes his head slowly, "No."

The uniform standing next to Tom leans down and helps him to his feet, then unlocks the cuffs. Tom rubs his wrists a little and looks around. "You want to hear anything out of me?"

Baker smiles a little bit, "Tell me the story, don't leave anything out, or do you want your lawyer first?"

"Will you take me downtown if I want my lawyer?"

"You bet."

"Fine, I'll tell you now. First let me call my wife and tell her that Angie is safe for now."

Baker nods, knowing that his wife had to be going out of her mind.

The uniform hands Tom his cell phone back. Tom speed dials the number and talks to his wife for several minutes. It is easy to hear her bawling on the other side of the connection. When he describes the overdose and the danger Angie is still in, her voice is harder to hear, but she is serious once again. After several more minutes, and Tom explaining that he had to talk to the police now, she let him hang up.

"Thank you." Tom said to Baker.

"Thank me by telling me the story from the top."

Tom told her everything. About the phone call from his wife, and then from Kemp. Then racing down here. About crashing through the wall, and about shooting Jim Stewart.

"You admit to shooting him?"

"Yes."

"Why did you shoot him?"

"He had a large gun pointed at me."

"You saw the gun."

"Yes, and my daughter."

"Was he threatening you or your daughter."

"Both."

"How both?"

"Angie was dying from an overdose of a opium based drug."

"You could tell this from where you were?"

"Yes, and also he told me."

"He told you she was dying?"

"He told me that she was already dead, that the drug was sure to kill her."

"Then what did you do?"

"I shot him."

"How many times?"

"Twice. But I fired three times."

She grilled him several more times, taking notes and recording. "I expect you not to leave town until we find out if the DA wants to charge you. It sounds like self-defense to me, but I'm not the DA or a judge. You can go to the hospital now Mr. Blake. I hope your daughter will be ok."

Tom nodded and walked toward Kemp who was waiting patiently for the outcome of the interrogation.

Once they left, the crime scene techs moved into the warehouse and began with marking areas, and photographing areas. Measuring, sweeping and extracting would come later. She watched them for a time, and then checked out the car. There was very little damage to the Mustang's front end. In fact it was simply dusty, with a few minor scratches. The keys were still in it, and she asked around to find out if anyone turned it off. A uniform said that he did, "Didn't want to asphyxiate in here," he told her. She nodded and continued her observation. What would Roads look for?"

She looked over the gurney frame and the wooden back board that Angie was strapped to. She asked about a block of wood that kind of looked like a large 2x4, and one of the techs told her it was a body block, "Goes under the body at the base of the spine during an autopsy. It presses the chest out."

She wrote that down, and looked around. There didn't appear to be anything else to learn here, so she packed it in and walked back to her car.

"Think I'll pay my respects to little Angie as well."