They listened patiently while he outlined what he had learned as well as his theories. They had questions, but he could see that as each minute passed, they became more convinced. If he had given them the same information the day before, they would have accused him of going to wild lengths to clear Lefebvre’s name. But the events of the night before had changed everything.
At one point the Wheeze came by, and Frank asked her who had told her Larson wanted to speak to him the previous day.
“Paul Haycroft,” she said. “I’m sorry, I guess Dr. Larson had gone home by the time I gave you the message.”
“Haycroft must have put his son’s picture on Larson’s desk,” Frank said when she had left. “And then he made sure I went into Larson’s office when Larson wasn’t there. I walked into a staged scene.”
“Must have also made sure Larson went home sick,” Reed said.
“Mary did mention something about mocha lattes—”
“Oldest trick in the book,” Vince said. “Wonder if Haycroft bought any chocolate-flavored laxatives somewhere yesterday?”
“Why did he leave the photo?” Pete asked. “That was a big risk on his part.”
“Yes, but maybe not much of one. How likely was it that I would know whose child that was? He wanted me to walk away with a particular set of ideas about his boss.” Frank shook his head. “And I fell for it. I have to admit, the photo was the part of that whole scene that ultimately convinced me.”
“You didn’t have time to ask a lot about it, right?”
“I was in there late in the day,” Frank agreed.
“It’s like what you said about Lefebvre,” Vince said. “Haycroft did the same thing to you — he put pressure on you. You can be damned sure he knew what was safe for him to do and what wasn’t. You’re married to a reporter who’s lived here most of her life, so he probably figured you’d ask her if she remembered the story. He knew what was in the newspaper about his boy. If it was your kid, you would have had that article memorized, too.”
“The toxicologist almost blew it for him,” Reed said. “He had to be the one to tell you the story that went with that photo.”
“But if I had asked you, Vince—”
“He knew what the situation was in here — everybody in the department knows you’ve been getting the silent treatment.”
“Haycroft only needed to throw you off his scent for a few hours,” Pete said grimly.
“Right,” Reed said. “Just so he could have time to rig a couple of bombs and put them in your car. As of this morning, you weren’t supposed to be a problem.”
They again fell silent, looking at Frank in a way that made him say, “Cremation. And don’t let Pete give the eulogy — nobody wants to sit in a pew that long.”
“That’s not even funny,” Pete said. “You’ve come too damned close to being cremated already. That fire at Rosario’s place…” He shook his head.
“Pete’s right,” Reed said. “Think of what Haycroft knows about crime and killing people.”
“And here we were, being such fucking assholes—”
“I’m not ready to walk through the exit door yet,” Frank said, but he wondered what Haycroft’s next plan of attack might be. Once Haycroft realized that Frank was still alive, would he give up — leave the area? Or would he make some other attempt?
“So you think Randolph might have been on to something oddball going on in the lab?” Pete asked.
“Yes. I think that’s why it was important that he not be allowed to hold that meeting with the chief and the other commissioners. Until I talked to Vince about Haycroft’s boy, I thought the problem had been with Larson. Now I think Trent Randolph was probably going to ask Larson to get rid of Haycroft.”
“Or to charge him with a felony,” Vince said.
“Let’s talk to Larson,” Pete said.
Frank looked at his watch. “I’ve got to get over to Hale’s office. And I want to talk to Irene — since I don’t know what Haycroft might try next.”
“I’ll call downstairs and see if we can get a unit out to watch your place,” Vince said. “Between the car bombs and that business with Dane last night, no one should question it.”
“What are your plans for the day?” Frank asked, trying to keep his voice casual.
“What’s wrong?” Irene said. “Has something else happened?”
He briefly told her about Haycroft. “You remember what he looks like?”
“I think so. Brown hair, medium build?”
“Yes. Keep an eye out for him, but stay the hell away from him.”
“Sure. Okay to tell Seth and Elena about this?”
“Yes, absolutely — now tell me your plans.”
“Seth is coming to work with me this morning — he’s excited about seeing the newspaper. Elena has an appointment with her attorney.”
“She can afford one?”
Irene hesitated, then said, “None of our business, is it?”
“You talked Brennan into helping her out.” Brennan was one of Las Piernas’s top attorneys. Irene — who had needed his help more than once — was a personal favorite of his.
“She’s going to do some investigative work for him to repay him.”
He felt his anger toward Elena return, but decided that he had bigger worries for the moment. “So you’ll be in the office all day?”
“No — later on we’ll be going over to the dedication of the new wing of the courthouse. Judge Kerr is going to give us front-row seats and a personal tour. But don’t worry — there won’t be more law enforcement types in any one place than the courthouse today.”
“That’s true,” he said. “But take the cell phone with you today — all right? I’d just feel better.”
When he went back to the others, he found them huddled in intense discussion.
“Mind if I take a casual stroll down to the lab to try to get some hint about where the bereaved Mr. Haycroft might be?” Pete asked him. “I’d feel better about riding in your car if we could keep an eye on him.”
“Yeah,” Vince said. “I’ll go with you — I want to ask Mary Michaels about how Haycroft has been spending his time lately — see if he was out of the lab when those fires were started.”
“I think I’ll have a long talk with Flynn down in the property room,” Reed said. “Maybe we can let that guy who works with Tom Cassidy—”
“Hank Freeman,” Frank said.
“The computer geek?” Pete said.
“The computer expert,” Reed corrected, and Pete shrugged.
“I’ve already got him looking at Seth Randolph’s computer,” Frank said.
“I thought maybe he should take a look at Flynn’s machine, too — see if there’s any reason Haycroft knows who checks out the evidence from the Randolph case.”
“If all that’s okay with you, Frank?” Vince asked uneasily. “It’s your case.”
“I think I’ll talk to the chief about changing that,” Frank said.
“You want off the case?” Pete asked.
“No. I want to stop working solo.”
45
Friday, July 14, 9:25 A.M.
Paul Haycroft ’s Residence
The plan was in motion. Everyone knew their role, their place in the activity that centered on Paul Haycroft’s home. Convincing Chief Hale that a killer worked in his lab hadn’t been easy, but once convinced, Hale had the zeal of a convert. He offered personnel and resources — and made sure that the search warrant, faxed over while they were setting up the operation, was worded so that they were given plenty of latitude.
The entire block was cordoned off and evacuated. There were patrol cars everywhere — as well as vehicles belonging to the bomb squad, the SWAT team, and a medical emergency team. The SWAT team, dressed in full tactical gear, carrying Heckler & Koch assault rifles, had taken up their initial positions. This was their part of the show — and as calm as most of them appeared, Frank knew their adrenaline was pumping.