I nodded and left the scene. I'd seen more than enough. It was possible that there was a fourth party involved in the operation now it would seem, or maybe there were still just three and Flint was the killer.
Rafferty hurried after Lisa. He was concerned for her. It wasn't like her to show up to a crime scene and not even ask a question. Something about the dead man bothered her on a deep level; in particular he thought it had something to do with the snake tattoo and not so much the man, because she had reacted the same way, as she was now at the cell crime scene. And then he had showed that sketch book to her.
He didn't know what that old hobo had been smoking to depict her and Flint together, especially the content that filled the back part of the sketch book. He'd thought it was a crazy joke until he'd seen her reaction. She'd spent last night with the suspect! The case was getting more complex by the minute, as was Lisa's private life.
Rafferty's eyes flickered upward and widened as he saw the small red dot appear on Lisa's back. He didn't hesitate, but rushed forward and shoved her as hard as he could. Moments later he felt the bullets that were meant for her tear savagely through him.
More than thirty cops reacted swiftly, as they located the open window and the shooter, who was readjusting his aim, still intent on taking Lisa out. Small arms fire peppered the wall and shattered glass all over the shooter. One bullet found its mark and smacked into the shooter.
He fell forward, slumped over the window sill, as his rifle plummeted four stories to harmlessly crash into the sidewalk below.
I pressed my hand over the wound to help staunch the bleeding. "Oh Rafferty, why did you do that? You have a wife and two kids!"
Rafferty coughed, but spoke up discernibly, even though it sounded like it hurt him to. "Yes I do, and they're the best thing God ever gave me in this life, by far! You haven't gotten to experience what it's like to have a mate's undying love for you or the instant love that you feel for your child the first time you hold them and every time after that!"
His bloody hand reached up and grasped the front of my shirt and pulled me closer as my tears fell onto his chest.
"You're going to experience what I have been so blessed to in my life. Tell my wife I love her and my kids tell them…"