Cold Case Troubleshooters

By Billy Dean

In the Marine Corps, Rick and his team of Raiders were lean and lethal assassins on a mission to find and eliminate Jihadist terrorists. When Rick's wife is murdered, and the case goes cold, he and his team leave the Corps to bring her killer to justice. Their success motivates them to help others who have lost a loved one to a killer who is still on the loose because the case has gone cold.

Case after case, they find the killer with courage, ingenuity and guns -- sometimes they have to shoot the killer they find. And sometimes the drama leads to romance. Several of Rick's team members are romantically involved with each other. After every case he watches them drive away knowing they are going home. Together. He yearns for that too but every affair he has with a woman ends with him feeling like he's been unfaithful to his late wife. Will Rick find a woman who will embrace his vigilante approach to justice?

You'll identify with the independent, self-determined nature of the male and female characters as they face the inner and outer conflict of cooperating with each other to bring cold-case killers to justice. You'll hold your breath when the story takes its darkest turns. You'll cheer when Rick and his team snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. And smile when Rick... well, this is just a preview of the coming attractions!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Billy Dean
• Release date: May 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224866823

Billy Dean

Billy Dean is a free-lance writer with degrees in English and Engineering. He has written articles for trade journals, been a newspaper columnist, performed poetry at open mic events, and had his essays, memoirs, poems, stories and how-to guides published with on-line magazines and e-book distributors.

Book preview

« Jessica »

Rick’s Wife

« 1 »

Rick was on the roof of a bombed out building in Afghanistan with Brad, his spotter. Rick had never missed a shot. So he had never needed a spotter or a backup sniper. Brad was there to measure wind speed and keep Rick apprised of things outside the narrow field of vision of Rick’s telescope. After Rick killed the Jihadist leaders, Brad and his gun would make it more likely they could get out of the building and find cover without themselves being killed.

The other members of Rick’s team were hunkered down across the street from a building a quarter of a mile away. They had followed a known Jihadist and his guards to the building. A few minutes later they saw the other Jihadist and his guards enter the building.

Rick’s handler, a major at field headquarters, had told him about the meeting between the two Jihadists. It might take ten minutes or ten hours. Didn’t matter. Rick and his team were sanctioned assassins. Lean and lethal men and women with the patience of Job. They’d wait until the terrorists came out of the building, then execute the plan.

Rick and his team weren’t fighting terrorists. They were hunting terrorists. This wasn’t a war where soldiers on both sides wore uniforms. Nor was it like a Hollywood movie where the good guys wore white and the bad guys wore black. Rick and his team were camouflaged predators hunting prey who wore everyday clothing. They were never sure who was friend or foe. So they assumed that everyone had a bomb concealed beneath their clothing. Boys, girls, men, women, goats with bells around their necks and dogs with packs on their backs were all suspects.

An hour later the guards came out with guns drawn and heads swiveling left and right, their eyes scanning the area up and down the street. Rick put the cross hairs of his telescope on the entrance and his finger on the trigger. He had installed a titanium safety plunger on his MK22 for a lighter, smoother trigger pull. Less friction. More accuracy. And the suppressor on the end of the barrel would make it less likely the terrorists could identify his position when he fired. Wouldn’t matter if they did. The other members of his team would shoot the guards before they could look in Rick’s direction.

The guards stepped away from the entrance to make way for their leaders. The two senior Jihadists stepped out and began walking toward their vehicle. Rick quickly put a round in each of their heads, then watched his team send all four guards to nirvana.

***

When they returned from their mission, Rick was called into the major’s tent. He had a frown on his face so Rick expected bad news but he wasn’t prepared to hear the news the major was about to deliver.

There’s no easy way to tell you this, Gunny. Your wife is dead. It wasn’t an accident. She was murdered.

Rick’s mouth dropped. Jessica. Murdered? How… when…

Don’t have the details, Nelson, but I was told the police suspect her killer is someone she prosecuted.

Rick took a deep breath, let it out with a long sigh and began shaking his head. Yeah, she’s… was… the assistant district attorney. Asked her a dozen times to switch sides but she was committed to taking bad guys down, not defending them. And she always countered with the argument that I was risking my life as a Marine Raider more than she was as a prosecutor.

I’m sorry, Nelson. Damn sorry. I’ll put Taylor in charge of your team. Go home and… well, give your wife the farewell she deserves.

Rick sighed and cocked his head. Taylor? He’s never led a team in the field, Sir. How about Gunnery Sergeant Doyle? He’s—

Doyle isn’t available and your team will get Taylor up to speed. A helicopter will take you to the Kabul airport where you can take a MATS flight home. Good luck Nelson. I hope you find peace. It’s one thing to lose a fellow Marine but a wife, well, that hits even closer to home.

Rick stood and thanked the major.

« 2 »

When the pastor asked Rick to say a few words on her behalf, he took his guitar to the mic and said, Thanks for coming to say goodbye to Jessica. I know we’re all going to miss her very much. But I don’t know what else to say, or what you’d like to say. So I brought my guitar and a few songs that might speak for all of us.

He began with REM’s Everybody Hurts then moved to Sting’s In Fields of Gold, James Taylor’s How Sweet it is to be Loved by You, and Celine Dion’s Because You Loved Me. When he was done, he shouldered his guitar and walked out of the church with tears in his eyes and an ache in his heart.

***

After the memorial service for his wife, Rick drove to the police department to speak with the detective in charge of her case. The desk sergeant asked Rick for his name, then motioned to an officer standing nearby. The officer patted Rick down, then led him into the room where the detectives had desks.

Tim, this is Rick Nelson. He’s here about the murder of his wife.

Tim stood and shook Rick’s hand. Sorry for your loss. I don’t have a suspect behind bars. Just a list of suspects she successfully prosecuted since becoming the assistant district attorney.

Tim pulled the list from a drawer in his desk and handed it to Rick.

Your wife successfully prosecuted hundreds of criminals but only 18 were paroled within a year after she was murdered. The black asterisks are those who were paroled more than a month before she was killed and the red asterisks are those who were paroled less than a month before she was killed.

Rick nodded. Hmm… 12 black and 6 red. More likely someone would seek revenge within a few weeks after being released from prison. Have you narrowed the six down any?

No. Two of the six disappeared within weeks of being paroled. We’ve got BOLOs out for those two. The other four had alibis for the morning your wife was shot. I personally interviewed people in the area where she was killed but nobody saw or heard anything. When are you scheduled to go back to your outfit?

Friday. Wish I had time to help you find her killer.

Wish I had time to narrow those suspects down to one before you leave. Give me a way to contact you.

Rick told the detective how to reach him, shook his hand and made his way out of the building and back to his rental. He opened the door and sat down. Jessica had been the rock in his life. An anchor in stormy seas. The sunshine of his life. Someone to come home to after he’d put the bad guys away. He wanted to find her killer, then take the law into his own hands. But he didn’t have the time or the resources. So Friday morning he took a MATS flight back to his team in Afghanistan.

***

« 3 »

Welcome back… to Hell, barked Brad.

Barbara walked over and put her arms around Rick’s neck. You look like a guy who could use a hug. She kissed him on the cheek, then turned to Greg. Not to worry lover boy. You’re still my number one.

Everyone laughed, then gathered around Rick. The women pecked his cheek and the men slapped his back. They were Marine Raiders bonded by three tours of life-threatening togetherness. In towns with home-made bombs buried in the streets and snipers hiding in the buildings. In mountains with terrorists behind every rock and tree. In deserts with danger lurking in the dunes. They had known each other since high school and had joined the Corps within weeks of each other with the same patriotic, flag-waving, gun ho spirit.

Rick glanced from face to face. "It is