"All we know is that the semen was not a match for Michalik," Rachman interjected. "And once again, am I the only one here who recalls that the victim's sexual history is not relevant?"
"Well, first of all, the shield laws are not absolute," Marlene said. "What is relevant is that the blood type of the person whose semen was left in the panties is a match for Ted Vanders. We're still waiting on DNA testing to be sure, but if I was a betting woman, I'd mortgage the house to get to Vegas with this one."
Marlene explained how she'd obtained a blood sample from Ted Vanders-leaving out that she knew the combatants in the hallway. "It was just a couple of bums brawling in the hall and Ted stuck his nose in there and got it punched," she said.
"Your sample was illegally obtained. It would never stand up in court," Schmellmann said. "You didn't have a warrant and I'm sure Mr. Vanders did not consent."
Marlene shrugged. "It was my handkerchief. I can do anything I want with it, including having it tested."
Rachman's eyes narrowed. "You set that up. You were ready with your little handkerchief. The judge will see that and throw out your 'evidence,' and you'll be lucky he doesn't throw the book at you, too."
"You want to bet?" Marlene replied. "You want to bet that I can't get a judge to order a blood test on Vanders even if my 'evidence' isn't admissible? And you want to bet that I can't make that worm Ted squirm on the witness stand until he cracks and tells the jury how he entered a conspiracy with that woman"-Marlene pointed a finger at Ryder-"to frame Alexis Michalik for sexual assault. When I'm done with him, it will be your 'victim' who'll be hauled off in handcuffs."
Marlene took her eyes off Ryder and looked over at her husband so she didn't see the danger until it was too late. With a shriek, Sarah Ryder pulled a pair of scissors from her purse and launched herself over the table at Marlene. "You fucking bitch," she screamed. "You ruined my fucking plan."
Marlene would have been too late to avoid the attack. But Kipman saw Ryder coming and turned in front of Marlene to shield her, presenting his back to the assault. He took the scissors in his shoulder. The three-Marlene, Kipman, and Ryder-then tumbled to the ground as Karp, Rachman, and Schmellmann looked on in shock.
The two women sprang to their feet while Kipman lay gasping on the ground with the scissors protruding from his back. The confrontation didn't last much longer. Marlene, who'd been schooled in the "sweet science" by older brothers since childhood, tagged Ryder with two quick, hard left jabs, which rocked her head back, and then turned out the lights with a right cross. Ryder went to the ground like a sack of rice.
Just as suddenly, Karp shouted to Fulton to cuff Ryder and ran over to Kipman. Fulton ran over and picked the still-groggy woman off the floor, placed her hands behind her back, and put on a pair of bracelets.
Kipman was lying on his side, bleeding through his shirt. The bloody scissors were off to one side.
When Harry's eyes met Karp's, Kipman said with righteous indignation, "So much for the shield law."
After Kipman was hauled off by the paramedics, Marlene said, "Well, except for poor Harry, I'm glad we had this little meeting. What can I tell my client?"
"I guess you can tell him that he will not be charged," Karp said.
Marlene popped up out of her chair like a kid being released for summer vacation. She walked over and kissed Karp. "I'll see you at home. I'm going to go call the Michaliks and tell them the good news, then suggest a good civil attorney to bring a lawsuit against the university…oh, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a good case against the city for Ms. Rachman's behavior."
"Gee, thanks," Karp said. "We're closing shop at noon today, so I'll see you in about an hour?"
When Marlene scooted out the door, Rachman stood and quietly swept her papers into a pile and stuffed them into her briefcase without looking at Karp. She started to move toward the door.
"Detective Richardson, do you have your handcuffs with you?" Karp asked.
"Sure do."
"Then would you kindly place Ms. Rachman under arrest."
Rachman blinked at him several times, and then her face flushed angrily. "You can't arrest me," she said. "What for? All that stuff about the janitor is crap. He's a drunk. And who cares if she had sex with someone? Besides, how was I to know that Ryder had a screw loose. I was just doing my job."
Karp held up a hand. "You disgraced this office. You've forgotten what your job is. At the very least, you'll be indicted for obstruction of justice, false imprisonment, and withholding evidence in a criminal case. Your zealotry cost a man his job, his reputation, enormous embarrassment and pain, and very nearly his freedom. I will also personally see to it that you are disbarred. You are going to swing for this one, Rachman, big time."
He looked at the detective. "Now do me a favor, Scott, and get her out of my sight."
An hour later, he walked up the stairs to the loft, hoping that the federal agents were wrong and that he could just spend a nice, quiet, safe New Year's Eve with his family. He knew that wasn't going to happen when he walked in the door and saw Jojola lying on the couch, Ned and Lucy tending to him, while Tran stood next to Marlene, who was holding a sobbing Giancarlo.
"What now?" he asked.
Marlene looked up at him with fear and rage in her eyes. "Terrorists have Zak and they're planning on blowing up Times Square tonight."
28
Karp and Marlene squared off in the middle of the living room. Tran and two of his men stood by the door as if ready to flee, while Jojola lay on the couch. Ned sat in one of the easy chairs with Lucy on his lap, her head nestled against his chest. Giancarlo had been given a mild sedative by Dr. Le and was napping.
"I've got to call Jaxon," Karp said.
"No, please, let us do this," Marlene pleaded. "Our son's life is at stake."
"And if we don't stop these guys, thousands-no, make that tens of thousands-of other people could die," Karp said.
"You heard John, they're ready to blow it now if they have to," Marlene said. "Our only chance is to convince Grale to help. The Mole People are the only ones who know the sewers and tunnels well enough to get us close. But you get a bunch of feds crashing around down there-I don't care how good they are-and the Mole People will disappear. I'm betting there's a lot of them who don't want to be found by the police. And as soon as the terrorists get wind that there's something wrong, they'll light the whole place up."
"We can shut down Times Square and try to get everybody out of there," Karp argued.
"What makes you think that the terrorists aren't watching for that?" Marlene asked. "There's already a few hundred thousand people wandering around in Times Square-half of them drunk. If I'm a terrorist, I have someone watching the crowd; if the cops suddenly start moving people out, I take it as a sign that they're on to me, and I get however many I can by lighting the fuse before all the chickens have flown the coop."
Karp knew that what she was saying made sense in that twisted Ciampi way. Why else was he even entertaining the idea of not picking up the telephone and calling Jaxon? He was trying not to let his fears for his son enter into the equation, but between Marlene's arguments and the image of Zak in the hands of terrorists, he felt his resolve weakening. "So what makes you think you'd be any more successful?" he asked in a last-ditch attempt to stick to his guns.
Marlene felt the opening and went for it. "We'll go in as just a small group. Me, John, Tran, and some of Tran's men. The key will be contacting Grale and getting him to help."
"Wait a second. I also heard John say that Grale's gone off the deep end…or maybe I should say the deeper end," Karp said. "At best, he sees this as the forces of good-him and the Mole People-versus the forces of evil in some climactic underground battle that they either win or Times Square gets nuked. At worst, he imagines this as some biblical milestone along the road to Armageddon…'the moment we've all been waiting for, folks.' He might even try to prevent you from interfering with the will of God."