Gypsy's Sin [Wind Riders MC]

Chapter Fifteen

Gypsy slowed the 450 thumper down as he came up on the clearing he and Derrick used long ago as staging area. He knew it was the place because of the yellow police tape all over the area.

Then he saw her sitting against her deputy car, on the other side of the street. She was looking at him with searching eyes. She hadn't changed much in four years either.

She motioned with her hand to come to her. Gypsy thought about running for it but decided that just sounded like a lot of energy wasted. So he got of the bike, turned off the motor and took off his dirt-helmet.

She was walking toward him by the time he had the helmet on the seat.

"I think I know you," she said.

"Nope, you don't," he lied.

"I'm not often wrong with that," she told him.

"Well, probably wrong this time, at least a little," he told her.

"His body was found in there. Near the middle of the clearing. Do you want to take a look?" she asked.

"If that would be alright," Gypsy said.

"CSI is done, and so is everyone else, so you can't hurt anything," she offered. "He was involved in a robbery about four years ago," she added.

Gypsy went under the tape and began to scan the area with practiced eyes. "I think I might have read something about that," Gypsy offered. "Looks like his car came in, circled and parked there. He gets out, waits about fifteen minutes. He's nervous. Then he's shot here, and falls flat, his head hitting here. The attacker takes something from him. A box maybe. It was sitting here, but was gone before the cops show up."

"After that, another car comes in — oh." He stops looking at the tire tracks of the second car.

"How can you tell all that?" she asked.

"Tire tracks and foot prints, obviously. One and a half cigarettes. Chain smoked. He didn't smoke unless he was really nervous or seriously up on meth. Which he was probably both. The box print is there, but I don't see one of those marker prints, so it was gone before you guys showed up, or you would have marked it for photos."

Gypsy looked around again, "What I don't get, is how he is shot in the back of the head, when he's looking at the entrance to the clearing."

"This, truck," he offered, "pulls in here, and stops. So, that has him facing Derrick when he gets out of the cab. The man arriving in the truck is going to kill him. He knows that already. So, why wait? No witnesses out here, no house close enough to tell were the gun shot came from. He doesn't put Derrick on his knees to execute him, so... it doesn't make any sense."

"Derrick had a partner four years ago," she told him.

"Yeah, kind of a stupid guy. I remember him well," Gypsy told her.

"What's he like now?" she asked.

"Older, wiser, slowing down, choosing friends more carefully. You might like him, but would probably not want to, since you're a cop and all."

"He's still a criminal?"

"Well, yes and no, but from your point of view, right now? Yes. He did a lot of diplomacy work though, spent a lot of time on the road. You could have liked him then without feeling all weird about it."

She was quite for a moment and then ask softly, "He ever tell you, why he didn't take the shot?"

Gypsy turned and looked her in the eye, "Yes, because he's not a murderer. And that would have been murder. You have two kids, probably a single mom, at least statistics suggest it is likely. So, really, how could he take the shot?"