He could go back to the van for a time, listen to the radio — any moment now he should be able to hear the reports of the death of Detective Frank Harriman of the Las Piernas Police Department. He looked at his watch and released a breath he did not even realize he had been holding. He had time.
He had a little moment of mistrust in himself. Had he done everything properly? Did he follow Wendell Leroy Wallace’s instructions as he should have?
Of course he had! Was anyone more conscientious than he was? No. The device would go off at the appointed hour. There was nothing to worry about. The great day was here. Kerr, that most unjust of judges, would be gone, as would his monument to his own ego!
Although he was eager to hear about the results of his work at Harriman’s home, he wasn’t sure he could pull himself away from looking at the new courthouse annex. After all, Harriman was undoubtedly already dead. Haycroft could stay here and watch the destruction of the courthouse — see the grand results for himself — all the while knowing that Kerr would be entombed in its rubble.
He debated over this for some time, but decided he would make one last trip to the van now, so that he could satisfy his curiosity about the outcry that would be attached to Harriman’s death. If he waited much longer to do so, he might not ever hear about Harriman, because that rather minor news item would be bumped right off the air by the courthouse debacle.
He must hurry. The first of the little events he had planned for the courthouse was not far away.
47
Friday, July 14, 10:50 A.M.
Las Piernas County Courthouse
“Ms. Kelly and Mr. Lefebvre,” the guard said, smiling at Seth as they passed through the metal detectors. She handed Irene’s purse back to her as it came through the X-ray machine, then gave them each a visitor’s tag. “If you’ll have a seat right over there, Judge Kerr’s clerk will be down in just a moment to escort you up to his office.”
“Thank you,” Seth said.
As they took their seats, Irene thought Seth seemed restless.
“Would you like me to call Jack?” she asked. “You don’t have to be here with me, you know.”
“No, I have to see the judge.”
She raised her brows. “You do?”
“Yes. About a please bargain.”
“A please bargain?” she asked in a strained voice.
“You know, you ask, ‘Pretty please, Judge, will you let me go?’ and you do something nice for him, and it’s a bargain.”
She looked away for just a moment, then said, “Do you think maybe you mean a plea bargain?”
He shrugged.
“Is this about your mom?”
“Yes. I don’t want her to go to jail.”
Irene put an arm around his shoulders. “You know, Seth, she may not be in any trouble at all. And she has a good lawyer — he’s a friend of mine. He’s kept me out of jail a couple of times.”
His eyes widened. “You were arrested?”
“No, thanks to my lawyer. Your mom isn’t under arrest, either. But this is one of those times when you just have to let other people help her.”
He thought about this for a moment, then said, “May I please call her?”
It was not the first time today that he had checked on Elena, and Irene saw this as a sign that he had been more frightened by recent events than he was letting on. “Sure.” She handed him her phone.
He turned it on, pressed the redial button, but it beeped twice without making the call.
“It’s not working,” he said, then read the screen. “It says ‘No Signal.’”
“We’ll try again when we’re outside. Sometimes my phone doesn’t work so well inside buildings.”
Maggie Koopman, the judge’s clerk, arrived and took them up in the new elevator, fawning over Seth in much the same way he had been fawned over all morning but talking to him as if he were a not-too-bright two-year-old. The irritation Irene felt over this distracted her from the mild claustrophobia she felt in any elevator. But when Maggie stepped out of the elevator ahead of them to lead the way, she was allowed some comic relief — Seth turned to her, rolled his eyes, and pantomimed “gag me.” She wondered what Maggie would say if she told her that only Tory Randolph had previously earned this rating.
“Irene, welcome!” Judge Kerr said as they entered the office. “The rest of my staff is already downstairs, but Maggie here stayed behind so that I could take a few minutes to show you around before the ceremonies.” He offered a hand to Seth. “And you must be Seth Lefebvre. I’m Judge Kerr, and I’m glad you were able to come to the party today.”
Like Maggie, Judge Kerr was all smiles, but he seemed to have a better sense of the dignity due a boy of nine. If Kerr wasn’t thrilled about having a kid hanging around at a time like this, he was too smart to show it. He undoubtedly wanted her to write a flattering article about the building and the ceremony — and himself — and probably would have let her bring just about anything short of a wild boar along with her if she had asked.
Seth had immediately gone to the big window. Irene quickly joined him there — she needed to counteract the effects of the elevator. Seth began asking Kerr about the arrangements for the ceremony and the new building. She hoped that the impish streak she had noticed in Seth would not resurface over the next few minutes. They were doing fine until Seth — perhaps building up to his “please bargain” — decided to pay Kerr a compliment.
“That’s a nice dress you have on,” he said.
To her relief, Kerr laughed and thanked him.
Maggie knocked softly on the open door. “Excuse me, Judge Kerr, but the telephones just went dead! Shall I go downstairs to see what the problem is?”
“Of all the confounded nuisances!” the judge said. “Yes, thank you, Maggie.”
“Perhaps we should all go downstairs,” Irene said. “We can always get the tour later.”
“Oh, no,” Maggie said. “You two just got here. Relax — I’ll be right back.”
48
Friday, July 14, 11:00 A.M.
Las Piernas County Courthouse
“You are certain we will be able to reach his offices from this building?” Dane asked.
“Yes, sir. The older building and the new one are connected by a stairwell.”
“And why did you choose this route?”
“Because we have influence over persons in this building, sir. We haven’t yet made arrangements with anyone in the new annex.”
“Perhaps we should have anticipated that need?” Dane suggested.
“I urged Derrick to do so, sir.”
Dane smiled to himself but said nothing.
In that silence, they heard the first sound, a muffled bang.
“Gunfire?” Dane asked.
“No, sir, at least I don’t think so. It didn’t quite have that sound.”
“Do you have your weapons handy?”
“Yes, sir. That’s another reason why we must take the stairs.”
“Because our friends who are guards don’t work near the damned elevators. Yes, I understand. Lead on, Myles.”
49
Friday, July 14, 11:00 A.M.
Paul Haycroft’s Residence
Frank looked through the opening made by the ax. Except for the mess caused by the removal of the vent, the room before him was clean and orderly. File cabinets lined one wall. A workbench was along another. There was nothing on it.
He put on gloves, then stepped inside. Pete came up the ladder after him.
“So far, nothing downstairs — place hardly looks lived in,” Pete said. “To the point of being strange. And two other things — mirrors in every room, and it smells weird — like bathroom spray.” He stepped through the opening in the attic wall. “Will you look at this? I kept thinking all that spray meant there was a body rotting up here for sure. And it’s nothing but an office. All I smell now is a lawsuit.”