Free Night Tide by Mike Sherer

—Sherer&

    55&
    !
    “It’s!a!tunnel,”!the!deputy!said.!“Tedesco’s!down!there!now!
    checking!it!out.”!
    !
    “How!long’s!he!been!gone?”!Roberts!said.!
    !
    The!deputy!glanced!at!his!watch.!“Close!to!ten!minutes.”!
    !
    “How’d!you!find!it?”!Roberts!asked.!
    !
    “A! corner! of! the! carpet! was! loose,! sir.! Looks! like! it’s!
    designed!to!flop!back!in!place!when!the!trap!door’s!closed,!but!
    it!wasn’t!quite!flush.”!
    !
    “Good!eye,!deputy,”!Lieutenant!White!said.!!
    !
    Silence! fell! over! the! assemblage! as! if! the! men! had! been!
    called!to!prayer.!The!seconds!ticked!by!glacially.!Minutes!later!
    the! hole! lightened! almost! imperceptibly,! slowly! turning! from!
    black!to!brown.!The!yellow!beam!from!a!flashlight!flickered!on!
    the!dirt!walls!below.!A!moment!later!a!man’s!head!popped!into!
    view.!He!blinked!a!few!times,!breathing!heavily!as!he!gazed!up!
    at! the! faces! sardined! into! the! space.! An! arm! reached! for! him!
    and! helped! him! out,! and! the! cops! made! room.! I! backed! up!
    quickly,! toes! barely! avoiding! the! tread! of! a! steel6toed! black!
    brogue.!!
    !
    “What’ve!you!got?”!White!said!as!Tedesco!stepped!into!the!
    circled!space!they’d!cleared!for!him.!
    !
    “Tunnel! leads! south,! sir.”! Tedesco! brushed! dirt! from! his!
    uniform.!“About!three!hundred!yards.!Comes!up!in!a!shed!big!
    enough! for! a! large! vehicle.! Dirt! track! leads! south! into! the!
    woods! from! there! then! turns! east.! I’m! guessing! it! probably!
    dumps!out!on!Banner!Road.”!
    !
    The! men! glanced! at! each! other,! as! if! waiting! for! a! cue.!
    White!looked!pointedly!at!Roberts.!
    !
    Roberts! didn’t! hesitate.! “Check! in! with! crime! scene,”! he!
    told! Tedesco.! “See! if! they! can! spare! someone.! Burke,! maybe.!
    Then!go!around!and!see!if!you!can!come!in!at!the!shed!from!the!
    east,! and! tape! off! the! scene.! We! may! be! able! to! get! tire! track!
    impressions! or! something! else! that! can! help! tell! us! what!
    Night&Tide —Sherer&

    56&
    happened.! Could! be! the! Jones! couple! managed! to! get! out! this!
    way.”!
    !
    “It’s! like! they! were! expecting! it,”! Lewandowski! muttered.!
    “What!the!hell!were!these!people!into?”!
    !
    I!wondered!the!same!thing.!
    !
    !
    Night&Tide —Sherer&

    57&
    !
    !
    Chapter&11&
    !
    !
    After!another!hour!of!questioning,!they!let!me!go!without!
    charging! me.! They! kept! Charlie’s! back6up! gun,! of! course,! and!
    admonished!me!not!to!stray!too!far!from!home.!
    !
    My!paper!route!took!more!than!an!hour!longer!than!usual!
    that!night.!I!couldn’t!get!the!shooting!out!of!my!head!and!ended!
    up!missing!several!stops.!I!retraced!large!portions!of!the!route!
    to! make! sure! the! right! people! got! the! right! papers,! the! scene!
    playing! like! an! endless! film! loop! in! my! imagination.! Several!
    times,! involuntary! tremors! left! me! quaking! so! badly! I! had! to!
    wrench!the!wheel!and!pull!over!until!they!subsided,!leaving!me!
    drained!and!short!of!breath.!!
    !
    Not! even! the! magnificent! sunrise! that! bloomed! on! the!

horizon! like! a! peach! blossom! opening! against! a! pale! blue! sky!
    seemed!to!hold!much!promise.!I!knew!I!wouldn’t!even!be!able!
    to!get!close!to!Charlie’s!room!for!all!the!cops,!so!I!drove!home!
    and!fell!asleep!in!my!clothes.!
    *!*!*!*!*!
    !
    Craig!Downing!was!just!leaving!when!I!went!to!see!Charlie!
    later! that! morning.! He! stopped! me! in! the! hall! with! a! somber!
    wave.!!
    !
    “Hey,!how’s!he!doing?”!I!said.!
    !
    Downing! shoved! his! hands! in! his! pockets.! “Good.! You!
    know,!under!the!circumstances.!He!got!lucky,!man.!Docs!pulled!
    a!bullet!out!of!his!scapula.!The!word!is!that!forensics!says!the!
    shooter! made! a! mistake.! Round! was! a! mil6spec! M6one6nine6
    three,!but!an!FMJ.”!!
    !
    I!held!up!a!hand.!“English,!Craig.”!
    !
    His!face!pinked.!“Sorry.!It!was!a!full!metal!jacket!bullet,!so!
    it! stayed! intact.! Did! much! less!