“Would you care to explain yourself?” he said.
It sounded like an invitation, a chance for Alex to tell his side of the story, but Alex recognized it for the trap it was. If he admitted to anything, it would be used at the roasting everyone was here to watch.
“I’m sure you got a report from Ms. Kincaid and the FBI about my part in stopping the attack on the city last year,” he said.
Alex caught Captain Rooney’s flinch out of the corner of his eye, but he kept his gaze on Montgomery. The Chief gave no outward sign that Alex had scored a point, but Alex detected a slight shift in his posture. He leaned away slightly. That probably meant that Alex was on the right track.
“As for Mrs. Banes,” Alex said, looking at her. She had been watching him, but when he looked up, her blue eyes darted away. “I haven’t been talking to any reporters about her or this case.”
Her eyes darted up to meet his. They looked soft and grateful, then they darted away again. Montgomery opened his mouth to retort.
“And,” Alex cut him off. “There wouldn’t be anything for that hack to print if it wasn’t for my work. I made the connection between the victims. I found out who the ghost was likely to be after, and that reporter didn’t print any of that stuff until after I gave it to you.”
“That doesn’t prove anything,” Rooney growled.
“No,” Alex agreed. “It doesn’t, but if I wanted my name in the paper, I’d be down at the Sun right now telling them who the ghost really is and why he’s killing, instead of up here having my integrity impugned.”
Rooney looked like he might explode, but Montgomery’s expression hadn’t shifted one bit. He paused for a long moment, letting the silence in the room stretch out. Alex knew better than to speak now. He’d said his piece and baited the hook, the next person to speak would likely be the loser.
Montgomery smiled, and Alex realized that the Chief knew this game. Worse, he knew how to play.
“Lieutenant,” he said to Detweiler. “Do you have any detectives working for you who would stoop to talking to the press?”
Detweiler was grinning like a child who suddenly found himself in an unattended candy shop. Alex didn’t want to tell Chief Montgomery how to run his department, but Detweiler was giving away the game.
“Wait,” Mayor Banes said before the Lieutenant could speak. “You know who the ghost is?”
Alex nodded, looking the Mayor right in the eye.
“And I can prove that your wife is just an innocent bystander in all of this. The ghost isn’t after her at all.”
Nancy Banes gasped as if she’d suddenly been allowed to put down a heavy load and the Mayor put his arm protectively around her shoulders.
“I don’t think—” Rooney began.
“No one’s asking you to think, Patrick,” Mayor Banes said. “I for one want to hear what Mr. Lockerby has to say.”
Montgomery raised an eyebrow, then gave an almost imperceptible nod, acknowledging the point, but most definitely not the game.
“I guess you’d better tell us what you think you know, Mr. Lockerby,” he said, returning to his seat behind the desk.
Alex took out his notebook and tore out a page, dropping it onto Montgomery’s desk.
“The ghost is a man named Duane King,” he explained as Montgomery picked up the paper. “He’s killing people who were once owners of a company called North Shore Development. Seth Kowalski and ten of his employees at the Suffolk County Assessor’s office formed the company so they could buy up land cheap, then sell it to rich people looking to build summer homes in the Hamptons.”
“Why do you think he’s the ghost?” Montgomery asked.
“Because,” Alex said. “King’s wife had tuberculosis, and treatments for that are expensive. He sold his house to get the money to pay an alchemist in Florida, but his wife died anyway. Kowalski and the people involved in North Shore undervalued his property so they could buy it at a tax sale auction cheap. They cheated King out of tens of thousands of dollars, money that would have saved his wife.”
“Mr. Kowalski did that?” a fragile voice interjected. Nancy Banes looked directly at Alex but she didn’t look away this time.
“I was his secretary for a year when I got out of school,” she said. “I was never part of any land company.”
“I know,” Alex said. He leaned over Montgomery’s desk and pointed to a number written on the paper. “This is the file number for their articles of incorporation, and Lieutenant Detweiler can check it.”
“We believe you,” Montgomery said, though Alex suspected that was only for the Mayor’s benefit. Detweiler would be double-checking everything Alex said; he might be an ass, but he wasn’t stupid.
“What makes you think the ghost is actually Duane King?” Montgomery asked again. “If Kowalski and his friends cheated him, it’s a cinch they cheated others.”
“This is about King’s wife,” Alex explained. “Think about the murders. Two stab wounds to the chest, one through each lung. The victims would drown as their lungs filled up with their own blood.”
“The same way his wife would have died from tuberculosis,” Detweiler said.
“Very good, Lieutenant,” Alex said.
Rooney cleared his throat and all eyes turned to him.
“If King thought these people were responsible for his wife’s death, why did he wait so long to take revenge?”
“That’s a very good question,” Chief Montgomery said, turning to Alex.
Alex allowed himself to smile. Montgomery blanched a little when he saw it, but to his credit, he kept his poker face in place. He knew Alex was about to win their game.
“He was in prison for twenty of those years,” Alex said. He turned to Detweiler. “Ask me why?”
The Lieutenant sighed but played along.
“Why?”
“Because he murdered the doctor who had been treating his wife,” Alex explained. “She sold him a phony cure.”
Chief Montgomery raised his eyebrows, then nodded again, conceding the game.
“Where is Mr. King now?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Alex admitted. “But I imagine the Florida prison system knows. They wouldn’t tell me, of course, but they’ll be happy to tell you.”
Montgomery looked over his shoulder at the Mayor and something unspoken passed between them.
“You’ll keep this information to yourself for the moment,” the Chief said to Alex.
“Unless you want me to leak it to the Sun,” he said. The Mayor’s face turned dark and angry, so Alex rushed on. “I’m sure they’d love to hear that Mrs. Banes is no longer a potential target.”
Montgomery laughed at that.
“I’ll see to that myself,” he said. “As for you, this information of yours had better pan out.”
“I know,” Alex said, putting up a hand to stop the Chief. “Or you’ll bury me in a hole and throw away the shovel.”
“Something like that,” his voice was as smooth and calm as it had been the whole time, but Alex detected a slight note of irritation. He’d misjudged Alex. Bringing the Mayor here had been a bit of theater. Chief Montgomery intended for the Mayor to see him lay the blame for his department’s inadequacies at Alex’s feet. By not letting them set the narrative, Alex had turned the Mayor’s presence to his own advantage.
He wasn’t sure if Chief Montgomery was impressed or angry, but either way he wouldn’t be forgetting about it. The next time Alex was in this office, he’d need a much bigger trump card if he had any hope of coming out without handcuffs.
“Well,” Montgomery said, rising. “His honor and I have things to get back to.” He handed the paper from Alex’s notebook to Detweiler. “Run this down and double the guard on the remaining five members of North Shore Development. The ghost may try again, and I want him caught this time.”