Toilets

Satisfied with Phinox's response, and feeling he had some control again, Jason puts the truck back in gear to continue their route.

At Phinox's complaint about Trooper, Jason just scoffs. "I don't control who he likes and who he doesn't."

He glances in the rearview mirror to see his dog showing his teeth. He wasn't growling much, but it was obvious he wasn't happy. Jason throws a look at Phinox again. "Trooper's an awfully good judge of character," he muses. "Good tracker too. He can pick up the scent of scum a mile away."

Just letting the implication lie, Jason allows Trooper to threaten the passenger for another minute or two, but finally calls an end to it, proving he had ultimate control over the dog. A short two-toned whistle is all it takes. Trooper retreats and lies down in the seat once more.

It doesn't take long before the pickup is approaching the next town. Jason follows scribbled directions to a section of town that wasn't in the best of shape. Old cars and litter proved the income level of these few blocks.

Driving slowly, Jason finally spots the van he was looking for. "There she is." Parking a block away, Jason goes for his phone, dialing quickly. "Scott, you got that dirt I needed?"

"Yeah. John Reiker. He's got an outstanding warrant for multiple DUI instances."

"Perfect." Jason flips his phone shut again. "All else fails, this guy is under arrest for drunk driving charges he's been dodging." He retrieves his gun, checking the ammunition, then holstering it. "We go in, arrest him on those charges. Get him to TJY then interrogate him."


Ryder is quick to get on his feet at Nate's request. "I'd clean toilets if I thought it would help," he quips. "Let me do anything but sit here and fall asleep."

Following Nate to retrieve the files, they wind up at a table, sifting through the information. Ryder finds some of it irrelevant but interesting. "Katie was involved in a lot of cases, ay?"


Carson leans back against the warm bricks on the outside of the building. He'd seen Nate and Laura arrive, but had let them pass without a greeting. As far as he knew, they hadn't seen him from around the corner.

Folding his arms, he takes another puff on his cigarette before leaning his head back and closing his eyes. There were too many things to think about. Too much going on. Things had finally started to smooth out, now everything was hitting him at once. Why was God allowing all of this to happen? He didn't understand and he didn't know how to cope.