The street in front of Lake's house was deserted.
Nancy had taken Sandra Lake's keys from an evidence locker at the police station. She turned the front door key in the lock, then took out a penlight. Nancy grasped the doorknob with her free hand, took a deep breath, and pushed it open. The alarm emitted a screeching sound.
She trained the penlight on the keyboard and punched in the code. The sound stopped. Nancy swung around and held her gun out. Nothing. She exhaled, switched off the penlight and straightened.
A quick tour of the ground floor confirmed Nancy's guess about the lights in the living room. After making certain no one was downstairs, Nancy edged up the stairs, her gun leading the way, The second floor was dark. The first room on the left was Lake's bedroom.
When she came level with the landing, she saw his door was closed.
Nancy approached the door slowly, walking carefully even though the carpet muffled her footfalls. She paused next to the door and walked through the shooting in her head. Ease open the door, switch on the light, then shoot into Lake until the gun was empty. She breathed in and exhaled as she opened the door, an inch at a time.
Her eyes adjusted to the dark. She could see the outline of the king-size bed that dominated the room.
Nancy cleared her mind of hate and all other feelings.
She removed herself from the action. She was not killing a person. She was shooting into an object. just like target practice. Nancy slipped into the room, hit the switch and aimed.
Part Six
Chapter Nineteen
"The bed was empty," Wayne Turner told Betsy. "Lake was gone. He started planning his disappearance the day after he murdered his wife and daughter. All but one of his bank accounts had been emptied the day after the murder and several of his real estate holdings had been sold.
His lawyer was handling the sale of his house. Carstairs said he didn't know where Lake was. No one could compel him to tell, anyway, because of the attorney-client privilege. We assumed that Carstairs had instructions to send the money he collected to accounts in Switzerland or the Caymans."
"Chief O'Malley called me immediately," Senator Colby said. "I was sick.
Signing Lake's pardon was the most difficult thing I've ever done, but I couldn't think of anything else to do. I couldn't let those women die.
When O'Malley told me Lake had disappeared — all I could think of was the innocent victims he might claim because of me."
"Why didn't you go public?" Betsy asked. "You could have let everyone know who Lake was and what he'd done."
"Only a few people knew Lake was the rose killer and we were sworn to silence by the terms of the pardon."
"Once the women were free, why didn't you say to hell with him and go public anyway?"
Colby looked into the fire. His voice sounded hollow when be answered.
"we discussed the possibility, but we were afraid.
Lake said he would take revenge by killing someone if we breached our agreement with him."
"Going public would have destroyed the senator's career," Wayne Turner added, "and none of us wanted that. Only a handful of people knew about the pardon or Lake's guilt. O'Malley, Gordon, Grimsbo, me, the U.S. attorney, the attorney general, Carstairs, Merrill and the senator. We never even told the mayor. We knew how courageous Ray had been to sign the pardon. We didn't want him to suffer for it. So we took a vow to protect Ray and we've kept it."
"And you just forgot about Lake?"
"We never forgot, Mrs. Tannenbaum," Colby told her. "I used contacts in the Albany Police and the FBI to hunt for Lake. Nancy Gordon dedicated her life to tracking him down. He was too clever for us."
"Now that you know about the pardon, what are you planning to do?"
Turner asked.
"I don't know."
"if the pardon, and these new murders, become public knowledge, Senator Colby cannot be confirmed.
He'd lose the support of the law-and-order conservatives on the judiciary Committee and the liberals will crucify him. This would be the answer to their prayers."
"I realize that."
"Going public can't help your client, either."
"Wayne," Colby said, "Mrs. Tannenbaum is going to have to make up her own mind about what to do with what she knows. We can't pressure her.
God knows, she's under enough pressure as it is.
But," Colby said, turning to Betsy, "I do have a question for you. I have the impression that you deduced the existence of the pardon."
"That's right. I asked myself how Lake could have walked away from Hunter's Point. A pardon was the only answer and only the governor of New York could issue a pardon. You could keep the existence of a pardon from the public, but the members of the task force would have to know about it and they're the ones who were rewarded. It was the only answer that made sense." Lake doesn't know you're here, does he?"
Betsy hesitated, then said, "No."
"And you haven't asked him to confirm your guess, have you?"
Betsy shook her head.
"Why?"
"Do you remember the conflicting emotions you felt when Lake asked you to pardon him? Imagine how I feel, Senator. I'm a very good attorney. I have the skills to free my client. He maintains his innocence, but my investigation turned up evidence that made me question his word.
Until today, I didn't know for certain if Martin was lying.
I didn't want to confront him until I knew the truth."
"Now that you know, what will you do?"
"I haven't worked that out yet. If it was any other case, I wouldn't care. I'd do my job and defend my client.
But this isn't any case. This is Betsy paused. What could she say that everyone in the room did not know firsthand.
"I don't envy you, Mrs. Tannenbaum," the senator said. "I really believe I had no choice. That is the only reason I've been able to live with what I did, even though I regret what I did every time I think of the pardon. You can walk away from Lake."
"Then I'd be walking away from my responsibilities, wouldn't I?"
"Responsibilities," Colby repeated. "Why do we take them on? Why do we burden ourselves with problems that tear us apart? Whenever I think of Lake I wish I hadn't gone into public life. Then I think of some of the good I've been able to do."
The senator paused. After a moment he stood up and held out his hand.
"It's been a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Tannenbaum. I mean that."
"Thank you for your candor, Senator.
"Wayne can drive you back to your hotel."
Wayne Turner followed Betsy out of the room. Colby sank back down into the armchair. He felt old and used up. He wanted to stay in front of the fire forever and forget the responsibilities which he had just spoken.
He thought about Betsy Tannenbaum's responsibility to her client and her responsibilities as a member of the human race. How would she live with herself if Lake was acquitted? He would haunt her for the rest of her life, the way Lake haunted him.
Colby wondered if the pardon would become public. if it did, he would be finished in public life. The President would withdraw his nomination and he would never be reelected. Strangely, he was not concerned. He had no control over Betsy Tannenbaum. His fate rested with the decisions she made. chapter Twenty.
"Dr. Simon Reardon?"
"Yes."
"My name is Reginald Stewart. I'm a private investigator. I work for Betsy Tannenbaum, an attorney in Portland, Oregon."
"I don't know anyone in Portland."
Dr. Reardon sounded annoyed. Stewart thought he detected a slight British accent.
"This is about Hunter's Point and your ex-wife, Dr. Reardon. That's where I'm calling from. I hope you'll give me a few minutes to explain."