hear?â
âIâm all on it, sir.â
Hauck hung up. He yanked off his fleece pullover and bunched it like a pillow underneath Jessieâs head. âYou just sit tight, baby. Helpâll be here soon.â
She nodded hazily. âOkayâ¦â
He checked her again. Miraculously, he couldnât locate any direct wounds. Where the hell was all the blood coming from? Slowly, he felt his heart crawl back into his chest.
As a droplet of blood fell onto her sweatshirt.
Scared, Jessie looked up. âDaddy, youâre bleeding!â
Hauck felt for his neck, which was suddenly throbbing. A sticky red ooze came off in his hand. He felt his stomach turn.
âDaddy, youâre hurt!â Jessie said, lifting onto her elbows.
âDonât worry,â Hauck said. But suddenly he wasnât sure. âSunilâ¦â
The manager, who was now on the phone with his family, ran around the counter. âYes, Lieutenant?â
âGo and see if anyone needs medical assistance out thereâ¦Tell them ambulances should be here in a secondâ¦â
âYes, sir.â Sunil was about to run out, making a last broad sweep around the store. Suddenly he stopped. âMerciful Godâ¦,â he muttered, gazing over Hauckâs shoulder.
Hauck stood up, following the managerâs crestfallen gaze. âOh noâ¦â
Suddenly it became clear where all the blood on Jessie had originated from. The man in the green down vestâwho had smiled at them by the cooler and stepped up behind them in lineâ¦
He was on the floor, covered by toppled racks of magazines and candy, eyes like glass, his tortoiseshell frames thrown to the side.
In the center of his chest, dotting his brown Shetland sweater, were two dark red holes.
CHAPTER FOUR
I t took just minutesâfrantic minutesâfor Freddy Munoz and two other detectives from Hauckâs Violent Crimes Unit to make it to the scene.
A phalanx of local blue-and-whites had blocked off lower Putnam from Weaver all the way down to the car dealerships, lights flashing and sirens wailing like a war zone. An EMT van had already arrived from Greenwich Hospital and was tending to Jessie, as well as to a couple of the other bystanders.
A med tech kneeled over the guy in the green vest, confirming what Hauck already knew.
Freddy Munoz hopped out of his car, took in a long, disbelieving sweep of the shot-up storefront, the dozens of holes in its facade. âJesus, Lieutenant, are you alright?â
Freddy had been one of Hauckâs first hires on the Violent Crimes team when Hauck had taken the position heading up the staff in Greenwich. Hauck was fond of the young detective, grooming him, in the back of his mind, for his own job one day. Looking over the scene, Hauck suddenly realized just how close that promotion had almost come.
âYeah.â Hauck rubbed the gash on his neck. âIâm okay.â
âJessie?â Munoz pressed with concern. âI heard she was here.â
âSheâll be alright.â Hauck pointed toward the EMT van. âJust a little shockâ¦â As he looked at her there, reliving those initial moments, a queasiness rose back up in Hauckâs gut. âAt first I just saw her there, all covered in blood. Not movingâ¦â
Munoz squinted. â Whose blood, Lieutenant?â
Hauck turned his gaze back inside. âThe guy over thereâ¦We were heading out to the boat, stopped to pick up a few things. He was right behind us in line.â
Spotting the body through the open storefront, the detective issued a short, grim whistle of disgust. âOh, manâ¦Anyone else hit, LT?â
âNo.â Hauck placed a hand up to his neck.
âYou better get that checked out, okay? You get a chance to ID the vic?â
âNot yet. Iâve been with Jess.â
âWhere you ought to be, Lieutenant. You just let us handle it, okay? Go be with your daughter.