Free Ripped in Red by Cynthia Hickey Page A

Watched as she put in more than one hundred percent effort in catching criminals. Beautiful, yes, but smart, and…his.
    With one last adoring glance at her, he turned and headed down the alley toward his car. The pipe bomb was only the beginning. He needed to supervise the next follower’s orders. He rubbed his hands together. It was going to be wonderful!
    “Hey, mister! You can’t park there.” A man in a white apron exited the back door of the bakery. “Employees only. Can’t you read?”
    Keeping his face averted, Draco tossed the man a flippant wave and sped from the alley. Now, he’d have to drive his second favorite car. The baker was bound to have gotten the make and model of the car. Not the license plate, though. He grinned. That he kept too dirty to read.

9
    “S tay.” Cassidy commanded Rosie to remain in the car and shut the door, leaving the window open against the warm morning, then turned to survey the hectic scene.
    Flames billowed from the storefront and ate at the roof. Glass littered the sidewalk like confetti. “Was anyone injured or killed?”
    One of the first responders, an EMT she had yet to meet, answered, “No. Just an explosion.”
    “Any witnesses?”
    “That baker over there came running over a minute ago. He’s waiting to talk to someone.”
    She nodded and headed for the man in a white apron. “Sir, I’m Detective Monroe. Do you have information for us?”
    He glanced toward the alley. “I’m not sure it’s related, but right after the explosion, I saw a man in a dark Mercedes speeding out of the alley. I called to him to stop, but he kept going. Customers are not allowed in the alley.”
    “License plate?”
    “Too dirty to see.” The man frowned. “That was the strange part. The rest of the car, and the man, were immaculate.”
    “Rosie!” Cassidy motioned for the dog and Colin to join her. “Thank you, sir. You’ve been very helpful.”
    Rosie bounded from the car window and sprinted to Cassidy’s side a second before Colin joined her. The three of them headed into the alley as Cassidy explained what the witness saw.
    The alley was empty of all but a few cars, none of them a Mercedes. Not that Cassidy expected to see the perpetrator still hanging around. While Colin studied the tire tracks, she began the arduous task of knocking on business doors.
    She hit pay dirt on door number three. An elderly lady who smelled of chocolate answered.
    “I saw a rusty pickup truck pull away from across the street seconds before the explosion,” she explained. “It had two men inside. I think they were men.”
    “Why didn’t you report this when the authorities showed up?” Cassidy’s pencil poised over her notepad.
    “I didn’t know if there would be more explosions. I’m a simple candy store owner, not a vigilante. Finding these people is your job.”
    “Yes, ma’am, and we’re doing our best but we can always use the help of the community.”
    “That’s not what my tax dollars pay for.” She slammed the door.
    Cassidy shook her head. Two vehicles, one luxury, one not, were seen fleeing the scene. Which one, or both, were involved?
    She scanned up and down the alley. “Do you think it’s The Dragon?” How she hated that name.
    “No clue. He didn’t leave us much to go on, if it is.” Colin straightened and snapped a picture of the tire tracks. “Let’s head back to the station. I still need to look through the morning’s paper, and you can get started on the old issues.”
    She nodded and glanced in the direction the Mercedes had gone. A sheet of paper danced on a slight breeze. Following her instinct, she darted for it, chasing the paper until it stopped against a cement wall. She lifted it by the corner. Printed on it were the words:
     
    Detective Monroe:
    Are you enjoying our little game? Can you prove yourself worthy to be my assailant? We have more in common than you know.
     
    Draco
     
    “It was him.” She said, hurrying back to Colin and