"Thanks for seeing me on such short notice," Stewart said, as soon as the secretary left him alone with the chief of security.
"Curiosity got the better of me," Grimsbo answered with an easy smile.
"I couldn't figure out what a private investigator from Portland, Oregon, would want with me." Grimsbo gestured toward his wet bar. "Can I get you a drink?"
"Bourbon, neat," Stewart said, as he looked out the window at a breathtaking view of the Hudson River.
Grimsbo's office was furnished with an eight-foot rosewood desk and rosewood credenza. Old English hunting scenes hung from the walls. The couch and chairs were black leather. It was a far cry from the stuffy, converted storage area he had shared with the task force members in Hunter's Point. Like his surroundings, Grimsbo had — also changed. He drove a Mercedes instead of a beat-up Chevy and he'd long since lost his taste for polyester. His conservative, gray pinstripe suits were custom-tailored to conceal what was left of a beer belly that had been dramatically reduced by dieting and exercise. He had also lost most of his hair, but he had gained in every other way. If old acquaintances thought he missed his days as a homicide detective, they were mistaken.
"So, what brings you from Portland, Oregon, to Albany?" Grimsbo asked as he handed Stewart his drink.
"I work for a lawyer named Betsy Tannenbaum.
She's representing a prominent businessman who's been charged with murder."
"So you told my secretary when you called. What's that have to do with me?"
"You used to work for the Hunter's Point Police Department, didn't you?"
"I haven't had anything to do with Hunter's Point P.D. for nine years."
"I'm interested in discussing a case you worked on ten years ago. The rose killer."
Grimsbo had been raising his glass to his lips, but he stopped abruptly.
"Why are you interested in the rose killer? He's ancient history."
Bear with me and I'll explain in a minute."
Grimsbo shook his head. "That's a hard case to forget.
"Tell me about it."
Grimsbo tilted his head back and closed his eyes, as if he was trying to picture the events. He sipped his scotch.
"We started getting reports of missing women. No signs of a struggle, nothing missing at the crime scenes, but there was always a rose and a note that said "Gone, But Not Forgotten' left on the women's pillows.
Then a mother and her six-year-old daughter were murdered.
The husband found the bodies. There was a rose and a note next to the woman.
"A neighbor had seen a florist truck at the house of one of the victims, or maybe it was near the house. it's been some time now, so I may not have my facts exactly right. Anyway, we figured out who the deliveryman was.
It was a guy named Henry Waters. He had a sex offender record. Then an anonymous caller said he was talking to Waters at a bar and Waters told him he had a woman in his basement. Sure enough, we found one of the missing women.
Grimsbo shook his head. "Man, that was a sight. You wouldn't believe what that bastard did to her. I wanted to kill him right there, and I would have, but fate took over and the son-of-a-bitch tried to escape.
Another cop shot him and that was that."
"Was Peter Lake the husband who found the two bodies? The mother and daughter?"
"Right. Lake."
"Are you satisfied that the deliveryman was the killer?"
"Definitely. Hell, they found some of the roses and a note. And, of course, there was the body. Yeah, we got the right man."
"There was a task force assigned to investigate the case, wasn't there?"
Grimsbo nodded.
"Was Nancy Gordon a member of the task force?"
"Sure."
"Mr. Grimsbo "Frank."
"Frank, my client is Peter Lake. He moved to Portland about eight years ago and changed his name to Martin Darius. He's a very successful developer. Very respected. About three months ago, women started disappearing in Portland. Roses and notes identical to those left in the Hunter's Point case were found on the pillows of the missing women.
About two weeks ago the bodies of the missing women and a man were found buried at a Construction site owned by Martin Darius. Nancy Gordon told our district attorney that Darius-Lake-killed them."
Grimsbo shook his head. "Nancy always had a bee in her bonnet about Lake."
"But 'you don't agree with her?"
"No. Like I said, Waters was the killer. I have no doubt about that.
Now, we did think Lake might be the killer for a while. There was circumstantial evidence pointing that way, and I even had bad feelings about the guy. But it was only circumstantial evidence and the case against Waters was solid."
"What about Lake leaving Hunter's Point?"
"Can't blame him. If my wife and kid were brutally murdered, I wouldn't want to be reminded of them every day. Leaving town, starting over-sounds like the smart thing to do."
"Did the other investigators agree that Lake was innocent?"
"Everyone but Nancy.",
"Was there any evidence that cleared Lake?"
"Like what?"
"Did he have an alibi for the time of any of the disappearances?"
"I can't recall anything like that. Of course, it's been some time. Why don't you check the file? I'm sure Hunter's Point still has it."
"The files are missing.
"How did that happen?"
"We don't know." Stewart paused. "What kind of a person is Gordon?"
Grimsbo sipped his scotch and swiveled toward the window. It was comfortable in Grimsbo's office, but there was a thin coating of snow on the ground outside the picture window and the leafless trees were swaying the attack of a chill wind.
"Nancy is a driven woman. That case got to all of us, but it 'affected her the most. It came right after she lost her fiance. Another cop.
Killed in the line of duty shortly before her wedding. Really tragic. I think that unbalanced her for a while. Then the women started disappearing and she submerged herself in the case.
"Now I'm not saying she isn't a fine detective. She is. But she lost her objectivity in that one case."
Stewart nodded and made some notes.
"How many women disappeared in Hunter's Point?"
"Four."
"And one was found in Waters's basement?"
"Right."
"What happened to the other women?" '-They were found in some old farmhouse out in the country, if I remember correctly. I wasn't involved with that. Got stuck back at the station writing reports."
"How were they found?"
"Pardon?"
"Wasn't Waters shot almost as soon as the body was found in the basement?"
Grimsbo nodded.
"So, who told you where the other women were?"
Grimsbo paused, thinking. Then he shook his head.
"You know, I honestly can't remember. It could have been his mother.
Waters was living with his mother. Or he might have written something down. I just don't recall."
"Did any of the survivors positively i.d. Waters as the killer?"
"They may have. Like I said, I didn't question any of them. They were pretty messed up, if I remember. Barely alive. Tortured. They went right to the hospital."
"Can you think of any reason why Nancy Gordon wouldn't tell our d.a. there were survivors?"
"She didn't?"
"I don't think so."
"Hell, I don't know. Why don't you ask her?"
"We can't. She's disappeared."