"So you bullshitted me? Gotta say, I don't care for that. I'm real big on trust issues. Being a shrink, you should know."
"If you saw this other man, describe him."
"I told you, I couldn't see much with the lights so low. Fuck, you looked right at his face before he decked your ass. You flashed him with that penlight doodad."
"It's a good story, Justin."
"You're the one who's spreading lies, saying I attacked you, grabbed your girl."
"Stop it, just stop it. I won't let you play with my head. There was no other man. You knocked me out, and you stole my wallet so you could find Meg"
"I copped the wallet because I wanted cash."
"You went to my home, you took her"
"Doc, I'm a free man again. I got higher priorities than snatching the fruit of your womb."
"Please give amp;" Her voice faded.
"What's that? I can't hardly hear you."
"I said, please give her back."
"Can't give what I don't have. Hey, that ain't no club I'm hearing. Those are arcade noises."
"You used to hang out in video arcades. I took a chance you might be at one now."
"Did you, now? Smart thinking, Doc." He eased away from the pay phone, stretching the cord taut. "Tell you what. You and me, we put our heads togetherwe can solve this thing."
"What are you talking about?"
He peered out of the alcove, then smiled as he spotted what he was looking for. "You gotta have some idea who your enemies are. One of ' em is Mr. Cool. Hell, I bet you got somebody in mind already. Ex-boyfriend? Another patient?"
She hesitated. "I'm not going to talk about this."
He'd heard her pause after he said the word patient. "Sure, makes sense," he said. "You work with psychos all day long. Only a matter of time till one of 'em goes postal on you. Come on now, give it up. You got one patient in particular who'd be willing to engage in serious violence? Snuff a Deputy Dawg, decommission our favorite shrink?"
"There's someone who might have a motive amp;"
"Motive's one thing. He got the cojones to do it?"
"He's killed before."
"Now we're getting somewhere. See, you and me make a great team. But I need details. It's the only way I can help you."
"Why would you want to help me?"
"That's a good question, Doc. No good reason, I guess."
"You're playing with me. More mind games."
"Scout's honor, I'm not."
"I still think you're the one I'm after."
"No, you don't. You're starting to figure out that things are more complicated. I'm not the bad guy here, not this time. Think about it. If I'd wanted your scalp, I could've gone brutal on you right in your office." He smiled. "Or for that matter, I could ice you right where you're standingnext to the Quake video game."
Gray chuckled as, yards across the main floor of the arcade, Robin Cameron's head jerked up in sudden fear.
"Yeah, Doc, that's right." He raised his voice in a singsong falsetto. "I amp; can amp; see amp; you."
Chapter Forty-one
Wolper caught up with Brand a few yards outside the arcade. He grabbed the sergeant by the shoulder and spun him around.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Wolper shouted. "Why'd you cut and run when we saw you?"
"Guess I wasn't in the mood for company."
Wolper flung Brand backward onto the hood of somebody's Chevy. Brand put up an instinctive effort at resistance. Wolper slammed him down harder, denting the hood.
On the sidewalk a few people stopped to stare. Wolper threw open his jacket, revealing his 9mm. "Police business," he snapped.
That scattered the onlookers. Nobody wanted to get mixed up in any police action.
When he was satisfied that his audience was gone, Wolper opened the folds of Brand's windbreaker and withdrew the man's gun from its armpit holster.
"This your off-duty piece?" he asked.
"You know it is."
Wolper glanced at the gun in the ambient glow of street lamps and neon signs. Standard Berettathe registration number had not been filed off or erased with acid. The piece was street legal and traceable.
"Stand up," he ordered.
"Come on, Roy, what the fuck is this?"
"Just stand up, God damn it."
Brand dismounted the hood of the Chevy with whatever dignity he could summon. Wolper turned him around to face the side of the car.
"Spread 'em."
"You're patting me down, for Christ's sake?"
Without answering, Wolper shoved Brand up against the car and proceeded to do a body search.
There was no other weapon. Brand would have had to strap it to his leg in an ankle holster or tuck it into his belt, or conceal it in one of the windbreaker's pockets, possibly a secret pocket sewn into the lining. Nothing was there.
"You're clean," Wolper said finally, giving the Beretta back to Brand.
"I'm a good little boy," Brand mumbled as he reholstered the gun.
Wolper looked him over with a wary, skeptical eye. "I don't know about that, Al. I really don't. Now I'll tell you what. You and myself are going to have a talk, and when we're done, we're going inside so you can explain yourself to Robin Cameron."
"I've got nothing to say to her," Brand muttered with the stubborn, sullen frown of a disgruntled child.
"You'll have plenty to say to her and to me. As far as you're concerned, the doctor is in." Wolper leaned close, watching Brand's eyes and trying to catch any scent of alcohol on his breath. "Whatever you're up to, Al, I don't like it. We're already dealing with one pain-in-the-ass SOB who likes to play games. We don't need another one. You get what I'm saying?"
Brand faced Wolper's gaze for a long moment without blinking. "No games," he said in a beaten voice. "I get it."
"I hope you do," Wolper told him. "For your sake, I hope you do."
Chapter Forty-two
"You told me," Robin said slowly, "you weren't dumb enough to come back to Hollywood."
Gray's voice crackled over the line. "Guess I'm dumber than I thought. Didn't come in here to play no games, though. Had to take the lizard for a walk."
"Lizard?"
"Use the head, is what I'm saying. Caught them arcade noises on the phone and tumbled to where you were. Eye-balled you straight off. What are the odds we'd both show up at the same place? It's fuckin' kismet. We're meant to be a team."
She looked around her, trying to spot him. He could be anywhere in the shifting, shadowy crowd. Could be sneaking up to kill her from behind amp;
"Doc, you're way too antsy. If I was in for some silence 'n' violence, wouldn't I have executed the game plan by now?"
She took a breath. "You have to turn yourself in."
"Not gonna happen."
"I'm here with a police officer."
"You're alone. I'm looking right at you."
"He left for a second, but he'll be back. He could return at any time"
"Chill, Doc. Not that I don't enjoy hearing you pant into the telephone, but you're getting your dainties in a twist for no good reason. I got no hard-on for doing you harm. That's what I been trying to tell you. Hell, I'm on your side."
"How do you figure that?"
"I don't like being framed. And that's what went down today. Some asshole set me up. Hey, I'm willing to do the time for the crime, but it's gotta be my crime, not some other Joe's. I feel proprietary about my reputation."
There was a pause. "Justin, I want you to tell me again that you don't have my daughter."
"Doc, I sung that song already."