She had a piece to prepare.
Wednesday, February 25,
10:30 p.m.
„Who is Leah Broderick? Please.“
He looked down at Hillman with contempt. The man was arrogant and powerful when he sat high above the courtroom. But now, when threatened, Hillman became a quivering mass of nothing. He wished Leah could be here to see him now.
He’d transferred Hillman from his van to his basement with relative ease. Hillman had resisted lying down on the table, though, and a little persuasion in the form of a blow to his head had been necessary. Hillman regained consciousness and spent the next hour fruitlessly pulling at his bonds. Then the begging had begun. It was rewarding to see such arrogance reduced.
He took out his gun and ignoring Hillman’s pleas for mercy, methodically put a bullet in the judge’s left knee. Hillman’s scream was high and shrill, his body writhing. Hillman began to sob and again he wished Leah could be here.
„Just a precaution, Judge Hillman. I can’t have you running away.“ The right knee exploded with the same force as the left and Hillman screamed again. He bent to inspect his work. Blood flowed, so he packed both knees with gauze. „I don’t want you to bleed to death, Judge. Not just yet anyway. I’ll check on you later. For now, I have a special treat.“ He walked over to the stereo and hit the play button. „I’ve taken the liberty of recording the transcript of a certain trial. Listen closely. Then you’ll know what you’ve done.“
Then he went upstairs to lie down on his bed, more exhausted than he should be. He had time for a few hours of sleep, then he had to get back to the hunt.
Wednesday, February 25,
11:40 p.m.
„How’s Kristen?“ Mia asked by way of greeting.
„She’s fine.“ Way better than fine, Abe thought. „She’s waiting at our desks.“
Mia’s eyes went sly. „Hope I didn’t disturb anything. You know, calling so late.“
Abe shook his head, willing his face not to break into a self-satisfied grin and not entirely succeeding. „Not really. I was dozing.“ Next to Kristen, in her bed. His hand cupping her bare breast, her butt tucked snugly against his groin. Life was good.
Mia tucked her tongue in her cheek. „On Kristen’s sofa.“
„Absolutely,“ he lied and saw her swallow her grin. He pointed to the window that looked into the interview room. „Who we got?“
„Craig Dunning. Driver and bodyguard to the Honorable Edmund Hillman.“
„Who is missing.“
Mia nodded. „Yep.“ She pushed the door open and sat down next to the thirty-something man who nervously twisted his chauffeur cap in his hands like a Frisbee. „This is my partner, Mr. Dunning.“
Abe extended his hand. „Detective Reagan.“
Dunning’s hand was damp, but his grip was punishing. „I’ve seen you on TV.“
„The life of celebrity,“ Abe said dryly. „So you last saw Judge Hillman when?“
„About five o’clock.“
„And you were where?“ Abe asked.
Dunning shifted uncomfortably. „In the parking lot of the limo company.“
Mia rolled her eyes. „Come on, Dunning, it’s late. Let’s have the story.“
Dunning glared, but complied. „Every Wednesday I pick up Judge Hillman at court and drive him to the limo yard. We… We switch cars. He takes my car and I sit with the limo until he returns. Tonight he never came back.“
Mia gestured impatiently. „And he goes where?“
Dunning hesitated. „To meet his girlfriend.“
Abe shook his head. „First Alden and now Hillman. Don’t any of those guys sleep with their own wives? Okay, Mr. Dunning, let’s have the details. What time does Judge Hillman normally return? And where does he meet this woman, and what is her name?“
„Her name is Rosemary Quincy, and they meet at a hotel in Rosemont. He’s normally back by six-thirty, seven at the latest.“
Mia ran her tongue over her teeth, clearly biting back what probably would have been a fitting assessment of Hillman’s staying power. „So how long did you wait?“
Again Dunning shifted. „Until nine-thirty. Then I went home. But at ten-thirty Rosemary called. She was leaving the hotel and saw his car – my car, that is – still in the lot. She said he’d left hours before, and she was scared, what with all the killings.“
„Why didn’t she call us herself?“ Mia asked.
Dunning shrugged. „She was hoping to keep her name out of it.“
„That’s not likely,“ Abe said. „What about Mrs. Hillman? Does she know?“
Dunning licked his lips nervously. „About which? The affair or his being missing?“
„Both,“ Mia said.
„I don’t think she knows about Rosemary. Hillman would be broke if she did. And about his being missing, yeah, she knew. She called me herself, about eight. I…“
„You told her that he was somewhere else,“ Mia finished, annoyed.
„Yeah. Look, I came here of my own free will. Can I leave now?“
Abe handed him a notepad and a pencil. „First write down Rosemary’s name and number, your car description, license plate number. Then you can go.“ He gestured to Mia and together they left the room. Shutting the door behind them, Abe looked at Dunning through the window. „Hillman could be fine.“
„Mrs. Hillman could have done him in for having an affair,“ Mia said.
„But you don’t think so.“
„No more than you do.“ Mia scrubbed her cheeks with her palms. „Damn, I’m tired of this. I guess it’s back to Kristen’s list.“
Thursday, February 26,
8:00 A.M.
Their faces were grim, Kristen thought, looking around the table. They had a right to be. They were missing a judge. The press was in an uproar, the legal community even louder.
Spinnelli pressed his thumbs to his temples. „Please tell me you found something around the car.“
„Nothing.“ Even Jack was discouraged. „Not one thing.“
„And nobody saw anything,“ Abe added.
Kristen cleared her throat. „I know you all are tired of my lists, but here’s another one. All the sexual assault cases I prosecuted in front of Hillman. I’ve already talked to a number of the former complainants. Most are still bitter. None reported trauma in the last three months.“
„Any names we’ve seen before?“ Mia asked.
„One. Katie Abrams.“
„The five-year-old who ‘came on’ to her mother’s boyfriend,“ Spinnelli said bitterly.
Familiar anger simmered at the memory of Katie Abrams and the gross miscarriage of justice. „Yes, that’s the case.“ Kristen looked over at Todd Murphy who’d joined them again. „But Murphy checked out Katie’s family after Arthur Monroe was killed. The mother’s in prison for possession and Katie’s been in foster care. I talked with her social worker who said she saw Katie two weeks ago. It’s a good foster family and Katie’s relatively happy.“
„The foster parents?“ Spinnelli asked. „Anything there?“
„Solid alibis, Marc,“ Murphy said quietly.
„Dammit,“ Spinnelli gritted. „What next? Miles?“
„It depends.“ Westphalen held up his hand when Spinnelli looked angry. „It depends on whether he picked Hillman at random or if Hillman’s been his target all along. He hasn’t hit anyone since he missed Carson on Monday night. Maybe he was shaken up. Maybe he’s ready to tell us what his revenge is really all about.“
„If Hillman’s the next random target, we got nothing more than we had yesterday,“ Abe said. „If Hillman’s his revenge, is he done?“
„I have to believe there is a pattern,“ Kristen insisted. „He’s so regimented. Everything’s always done the same way. And the focus is always on the victim.“