New York

Thunder rolled in, Dragging Brian Fuller from the depths of a stupor he'd work for on weeks. A jackhammer pounded in his skull and he reached up, expecting to find his head split in two. His fingers closed around something warm and soft, His brain? No a breast. He moved his hand. A second one. Oh that's right they usually come in pairs.

The thunder intensified. "Brian. Goddamn it open the door."

He cracked his eye lids to and sunlight bleached his eyes.He twisted from it the breast rolling over with a soft moan.

"Brian I'm about to have the hotel staff unlock this door. Fair warning."

"Stop yelling" he muttered lumbering to his feet. He found a pair of jeans at the foot of the bed and got into them bracing a shoulder against the wall.

"Go ahead unlock the door"the voice in the hall way was saying. Phil? Dammit The thunder had stopped though the pain still ricocheted around in his head like a round from an m16. Somewhere out side a female voice took off in quick fire Spanish Rick cut her off "I'm a police officer lady. just unlock the damn door."

"Hold On Brian said. but his voice was still a croak. He fumbled with the lock and pulled the door open,a maid gawked at him.

"Whoa man you look like hell."Phil said pressing a twenty in the maids hand. he watched her walk away than he walked in to Brian suite,"I've been calling you.:Heard you quit the sentry. you been back in the states for months."

"Time flies."

Phil picked up a empty whiskey bottle went to the floor and hooked a lacy thong between two fingers he sat both on the table,littered with Chinese carryout boxes peeking into one he sniffed "sweet and sour chicken" he said "with whiskey"?

"The beverage that goes with anything."

Phil nudged a second bottle with his toe. it rolled over a ripped foil packet on the floor he glanced at the bedroom door shaking his head so fractionally Brian thought he might imagined it,"I want you to come to panama with me. you have been wallowing in pity long enough

"Ive been wallowing in Jack and Jill and they are still waiting for me in the bedroom."

"Jack Daniels and Jill who? Phil said "Do you even know her last name?

"Didn't ask." said Brian dropping into a chair. His brain ached and that shouldn't have happened He shouldn't even have a brain anymore. At least that is what they taught the boys in high school too much drinking to much screwing and your mind goes blank your soul goes numb you become a empty shell of a man who can't feel.

Promises, Promises

"Don't you wanna know why I'm here"? Phil asked

"I know why you think I'm less likely to eat my gun in front of your wife and kids than i am here,

a minute passed "are you?

Brian closed his eyes but the pictures came anyway video footage of his brother visiting a refugee camp running running until the ground exploded and Billy went flying through the air. He blinked to kill the images "eating my gun would be too easy,"

"It wasn't your job to stop the attack,Brian The sentry is a security organization.:

"Right and i provided security for the bastard who blew up the refugee camp, and nearly killed my brother."

Phil grimaced" Where's Billy now?

"In Switzerland healing. getting good at phrases like Mae culpa and fuck off"

"I thought you held a copyright to these Phil muttered, getting three tablets from his roll of tums, "Fly to Seattle with me I am looking into a murder case that's interesting.

Brian looked at him as if he were an alien "murder case s haven't interested me in nine years."

"a woman was killed near Seattle three nights ago."

"Not interested"

"Hikers found her body early this morning,"

"Not interested."

"She is a dancer 26 had a little girl in preschool."

Brian closed his eyes.

"The murderer could be the same-

"I don't care" Brian ground out the words his jaw so tight that for a second he wondered if he could his own molars. He reached for the nearest bottle but Phil got there first and kicked it across the room.

the last bit in the bottle splattered all over the wall.

"well look at what you done." Brian yelled coming to his feet. "And that was the last bott-

Phil sprang in 2 seconds Brian was against the wall. "It looks like Anthony Russel you stupid self serving son of a bitch."Phil said.his finger's digging into Brian's arm. "This murder could've been done by Anthony Russell"

Brian's lungs shut down seconds passed before he got the working again. and when he did he broke free of Phil with  shove "Go to hell"he said but to strides later he spun around Anthony Russell is dead.I shot him.

"After he jumped a bailiff and took off from his own arraignment, I remember.A vain pulsed in Phil's forehead It was never a for sure thing though was it?that he killed that college girl.?

"What? What do you mean? Brian advanced. Anthony Russel abducted Gloria Michael's after a party he stabbed her almost dead than shot her in the Head for good measure, and when he escaped from custody i killed the bastard.So whatever the Seattle woman looks like there was no way she was killed by Anthony Russel.

"You didn't Find Gloria's body where he said you would."

A thread of doubt began to fray not for the first time."That Fucker confessed.

"In exchange for the D A lessening three other charges.

the pounding in Brian's head began picking up.Anthony Russel's reason for confessing weren't something anyone had examined closely They had a confession thats all that mattered. "Why are you pulling Anthony Russel on me?

"The report in Seattle woman rang some bells"

"what bells"

Phil read them off on his fingers."woman disappears with her car. car was dumped wiped clean. body found days later in wooded area  and some knife work done on it. thirty 8 caliber hollow point to finish her off piece of candy wrapper on seen . he paused Reese's cup.

The ancient doubt began to dig roots That did sound like Gloria even down to the tiny piece of candy that had been left in the car by her killer. Brian swallowed "Raped?"

"Can'tt be for sure yet but- he paused and ran a hand over his face. it looks that way,

Brian paced trying to talk himself out of it but the possibilities rose in his mind the possibility that Anthony Russel had lied about Gloria in order to strike a deal with the DA. The possibility that a jury might have sprung on him,had he gone to trial,the possibility that Brian had turned his back on his family to to catch a murderer He had caught the wrong man.

and the right man had murdered a Seattle woman last night,.

"Brian you knew Gloria Michael's case better than anyone come take a look please we can take the next plane to Seattle if we hurry,

"Why is a police officer in panama city police looking at a murder three thousand miles away?"

"Seattle pd asked me to check on someone The dead woman's cell phone was used to call a woman in my precinct the night of the murder.

"Who"?

"Sarra Jane"

Brian combed his memory for the people connected with Anthony Russel but he couldn't come up with any one by that name.but that was no surprise because Anthony wasn't involved in this "you talk to sarra?"

"No one home. I put a car on her street to wait then the Gloria michaels bells started ringing, and I decided to come look at it."

Brian blew out a curse Hell no he didn't want to look at it For nine years, he hadn't concerned his elf with such things right from wrong good and evil.Fuck it that was is motto now and its a far cry from the words inscribed on the Federal shield he once carried. he braced his arm against the wall and tipped his forehead into it "if you are right he finally said I killed an innocent man."

"Innocent?" Anthony Russel was shooting at you.He left a bailiff paralyzed for life.

"He was in prison because i put him there for the murder of Gloria.:

Phil stepped closer"He was a murderer with a rap sheet as long as your dick the only reason it matters weather you were wrong about him doing Gloria is the chance that her real killer hit Seattle last night. you get that?"

I get it Brian thought, but somehow afraid to breath. If he did it might infuse new life into his veins might make him care about something again. He'd sworn that off nine years ago.

But even as the warnings trolled through his mind his hand slid into his pocket, a battered piece of ribbon and plastic squeezing into his palm. He held it tight closing his eyes against the worst possibility's of all.

If he had been wrong about Anthony Russel than Mackenzie had died for nothing.

That thought almost buckled him to his knees, that and the thud of something like that landing on his conscience. The body of the Seattle dancer.

He pulled his hand from his pocket leaving the ribbon in its hideaway, He took a deep breath and looked at door number 1 knowing he wouldn't choose it, and that Jill something was going to wake up there alone. A better man man might have felt guilty about that the kind of man that had room on his conscience for such things.But Brian didn't too many corpses for that.