"Maybe for this creep, they'll make an exception," suggested J. T.
He stared long and hard at J. T. but only replied, "Maybe.. maybe somebody will…" The innuendo resounded clearly enough.
J. T. said nothing in reply.
"We're afraid-no, we're sure that this fiend will kill again, Mr. Lorentian. We need your help."
He turned to look at Jessica, some of the old man's fire churning in the sad eyes now. "My help? You want my help?" He laughed. "Government people wanting my help. And they send you, of all people. The way I hear it, this bastard was pandering to you, Coran, when he killed my little girl, that he gets his rocks off by insulting you with this phone-in murder. Some are saying you chased this pervert here, cornered him here, and this is the result, my little girl is dead."
"No, no, sir, there's no truth to that."
He ignored her. "Maybe I ought to hold you responsible for this, Dr. Coran."
The gloves had come off, and the tranquility in the old gangster's voice was more chilling than any temper tantrum.
J. T. shot to his feet and firmly said, "Just a minute, sir. None of this is Dr. Coran's fault. She didn't drive this man to his madness. She didn't create his fixation. The storm was out there and moving toward your daughter independent of Jessica."
Jessica stood beside J. T. now, placing a hand on his arm, the gesture telling him she preferred to fight her own battles. She now stepped closer to Lorentian. "We knew nothing of this killer before yesterday, before his first contact, and I don't know why he chose to contact me, Mr. Lorentian. Again, I say, we need your help, sir, before the… before he strikes again." She then turned on J. T., holding up a hand to him, saying, "It's okay, J. T. Mr. Lorentian has every right to be upset. We're all upset."
"I don't see how I can help you, so if you please… leave an old man to his grief."
"Sir," J. T. interjected, his hand up like a schoolboy, "we're all shaken and upset by the events that have-"
"Upset… you're upset. My world has crumbled, and you're upset."
"Maybe another time," J. T. suggested.
"We need to know where your daughter was staying, with whom she spent her last hours, sir," Jessica pleaded. "We have a killer to track."
"If I'd known where she was, I'd have dragged her home. I didn't have no idea then, and I don't have no idea now."
''You checked with all her friends?''
"Yeah, of course." He began pacing again, his body language telling Jessica that he meant to hide something.
"And they were all honest with you?"
"As far as I was able to tell, yeah."
"And you had no reason to doubt any of them?"
He hesitated. He stepped about the room more. He paced back toward the drapes, stared out again, and finally, he again approached the doctors. He wrapped his arms about himself like the king of Siam in The King and I while Jessica continued to read his body language and patiently awaited his reply.
He finally admitted, "She was being closely watched."
"Really?" Jessica was legitimately surprised. "You had her in your sights? The whole time?"
"Obviously not… not entirely, anyway. I… knew where she was… for the first two nights… of her disappearance." Talking about this was difficult for him, as if his stomach were tossing dry tennis balls into his throat, as if all the guilt and remorse were lodged in his chest and vocal chords. ''She somehow… found out I knew… got angry… at Sharon and… and sneaked off from her as well."
"Sharon?"
"Sharon Pierson. Her… one of her best friends."
''Who was on your payroll?''
His eyebrow arched upward and darted toward Jessica, an indication he was impressed. "Sharon owed the casino. It was her way.. of paying me back."
"This Sharon calls you up with the deal the moment Chris shows up at her place?''
"No, it was my suggestion… should my little girl appear. I got the distinct impression she might've been hiding out at Sharon's. Chris"-saying her name aloud was painful for him as well-"she'd run off before. I thought I'd give her time to… to cool down, you know? Figured she'd be back soon enough, but by the third day… and with Sharon swearing she hadn't seen Chris, I dropped a dime to a friend on the force to locate her."
"Did this friend file a Missing Persons report?"
"We don't work that way, no."
"But there was a report made out on her," countered J. T.
Jessica suggested, "Her friend Sharon? When you called Sharon, she had thought Chris had returned home, and she told you so, right? And Sharon made the official call to the police? Is that how it happened?"
"Close enough…" He nodded and fell into a seat, looking like a deflated balloon. "Like Shakespeare, huh?"
"Sir?" asked J. T.
'' The Comedy of Errors.''
More like the tragedy of King Lear, Jessica thought but did not say.
Lorentian went on, "I thought I had it covered, where she was staying, and I was right. But she slipped out on Sharon, 'cause she knew Sharon owed me and would keep me apprised. We figure she heard Sharon talking to me on the phone. Money… she hated it and she loved it, sweet kid… sweet Chris." He was overcome with grief, the tears freely raining now.
''Do you have any idea why the killer would have written a message about your daughter's being a… a traitor, sir?" she now asked.
"A traitor?"
"Any sort of traitor, to any sort of… cause?"
"A rebel, maybe, but a traitor?" He sadly shook his head. "No… no. She was a bit"-he paused, swallowed hard-"she was a bit rebellious, feisty… gone back to the hippie lifestyle, the way she dressed, the damned tattoos, the religious icons she wore, all that, but that's natural in the young, isn't it? Traitor? No… no.. the word has nothing to do with my Chris."
"Any former boyfriends who might've categorized her as such?" suggested J. T.
"No, nothing like that going on. I woulda known. She hadn't an enemy in the world."
"How about you?"
The lion roared, "I was her father, not her enemy!"
"I meant, sir, anyone have reason to call you a traitor?"
"None," Frank Lorentian said with a cold eye and a coy laugh, his tone implying that he had more enemies than he could count on fingers and toes.
"Can you or your secretary provide us with a list of Chris's friends, their phone numbers and addresses?"
"See Virginia downstairs. She'll arrange it." Then he turned his glassy stare on Jessica. ''One thing, lady: If you don't catch this SOB, and if you don't destroy him, I'll be even more upset with you than I already am. One thing you can count on… a sure thing, as they say here in Vegas. Now get outta here, both of you."
The naked threat wore not so much as a veil.
Again, Jessica told the man how extremely sorry they were for his loss, but this prompted only a deeper and more dangerous silence. It was a silence that told them the interview was over. The two medical people left Frank Lorentian standing once again at the covered windows, peeking out on a world he had helped to create, a world he no longer felt at ease in, a world that had so altered him with the horrible murder of his child that Jessica wondered if he would ever fully be a part of this world again.
SIX
Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Outside, in the hallway, Jessica leaned against a wall and said to John Thorpe, "God, I never get used to this part of the job."
J. T. nodded. ''Always tough dealing with the family, any family… but this guy seems a bit loopy, and dangerous."
"The man was just apprised of the situation through Lester's office, has had to ID the body of his only child… I feel for him."
"He could be a real danger to us and the investigation, Jess."