Connor and Dillon headed for Summerlin, where they parked in front of the library. It was a little late for checking out books, and neither Connor nor Dillon seemed like the reading type. But the parking lot of the library was full even though it should already be closed. An event was going on.
Connor and Dillon stayed in their car. Apparently, they weren’t going in.
Maria drove towards the back of the library, looking for a spot where she could park and watch Connor and Dillon without being seen. As she came around, she saw a black SUV with Patrick’s driver, Kenneth, leaning against it.
Connor and Dillon coming to a Patrick Miller event couldn’t be a coincidence.
She drove all the way around and parked in a spot where she could see the front of their car. She sat there, car off, watching.
Dillon and Connor were just sitting there, waiting.
But what were they waiting for?
Stakeouts, following suspects, waiting in general, this was always the part of the job that Maria hated the most. She liked movement, interrogations, action. Her father, though, had loved to sit there watching the world go by. He’d told her several times that she could learn a lot from just watching people, especially when they didn’t think you were watching. Maria thought she learned more from confrontation, verbal evasions, physical tics.
But that hadn’t been the case this time. She’d been shocked to find out that Pedro was involved so tightly with Les. At least she’d been suspicious of Connor and Dillon from the start, more or less. If she was really honest with herself, she didn’t have a clue what was going on.
She closed her eyes, breathed.
When she reopened her eyes, people were walking out of the entrance, and Patrick’s driver was opening the door to his SUV. Patrick came running out the back door, and he paused at the entrance, shared a smile with the driver and turned to his wife, who had come out of the door at a more reasonable speed. He helped her up into the SUV and then ran to the other side and got in. The SUV pulled out and started going around the circle.
Dillon and Connor pulled out and followed Patrick’s SUV.
Maria held out for as long as she could before pulling into the street after them. They were a good way up, but the streets around here were long without many turnoffs, and since it was late, there wasn’t much traffic. Mostly just people leaving the Patrick Miller event, and they all seemed to be returning to homes in the neighboring community, while Patrick’s SUV was taking Hillpointe Road towards Rampart Boulevard.
Maria pulled onto Hillpointe. This round had a winding bend and was lined by residential communities. At the bend, she saw the minivan turning right on Rampart Boulevard. The street was empty, no other cars, and Maria sped up to the traffic light. As she turned onto Rampart, she saw the minivan accelerating and moving into the left-hand lane. Patrick’s SUV was a little in front. No other cars around. This section of Rampart was a little deserted due to having a park on one side and the wall of a residential community on the other.
Maria put the binoculars to her eyes. The side door of the minivan slid open.
Patrick’s driver must have seen them approaching because he sped up. The SUV’s engine was more powerful, but the minivan was drafting like a race car and pulled even. The SUV swerved left and slammed into the minivan, knocking it off course.
Gunfire erupted, and a muzzle flash lit up the interior of the van.
Then the van hit the median and went up and over into the oncoming lanes. The van swerved wildly before hopping onto the far sidewalk and crashing against the iron fence lining the park. Patrick’s SUV accelerated away.
Maria turned onto. As she passed the minivan, she saw Connor and Dillon hopping over the fence and running off into the park. The van had been left there half on the sidewalk, half in the street, its front flush against iron rod fencing.
A Toyota Corolla slowed down as it approached the van and then went carefully around it before continuing on.
Maria tried to catch up to the SUV, but it was long gone, as were Connor and Dillon. She looked at her phone and pulled up the AirTag location. Pedro was downtown. Now was probably a good time to get some answers.