“This have something to do with why you’re so excited about the library these days?”
“Of course not,” she said.
He grunted.
After a long pause he said, “Well, somebody’s going to be excited when the word gets out.” To the patrolman who was first on the scene, he said, “Any idea how much we’ve got?”
“A lot,” the man said. “Enough that we can’t count the bags until we get the go-ahead to disturb the scene.”
Joe stared at the bags in silence until Serenity got tired of waiting and said, “Joe, you don’t really think—”
He turned away from her, to another patrolman waiting at the edge of the lobby with the two GenTech guys.
“Detective Hammer,” the patrolmen said, “you need to talk to these two. They say they were supposed to have a meeting in the men’s room to discuss a new drug.”
Joe gave them his cop stare. “You had a meeting scheduled in the men’s room to discuss drugs?”
One shook his head furiously, “Not those kind of drugs. Well, kind of, but no, those aren’t ours. What we’ve got is a new approach, something that will reduce prescription drug addiction tremendously.” His eyes got bright. “We’re fusing drug tuning with genetic testing. If someone has a legitimate need for a painkiller, we sequence their DNA for markers to tell us what combinations will be most effective, and least addictive, for that individual. We think we can reduce prescription drug addiction by at least 50 percent.”
“And get rich,” said the other guy.
“Lot of people try to get rich selling drugs,” Joe said. “Sure this pile isn’t yours?”
“Of course not. Coke is really a very poor painkiller. It doesn’t—”
Joe waved his free hand. “Good for you, Einstein. I still want to know who told you to go into the men’s room and stand under a mountain of coke to plan a new drug.”
The kid flopped a hand at Serenity without much enthusiasm. “She did.”
Joe didn’t take his eyes off the GenTech boys. “I want to talk to you two some more. Not that I don’t believe you, I just want to get things straight.” He made a micro-turn toward the patrolman. “Ardarius, I don’t want these two bouncing around in here. Take them out and let them sit in a couple of squad cars.”
Ardarius nodded. When the three of them were almost at the door, Joe said, “Separate cars.”
Then Joe turned and looked evenly at Serenity. She said, “You can’t seriously think that cocaine belongs to those two boy geniuses?”
“Pretty sure I know who owns this,” he said. “Used to own this. But I’m a cop. I gather facts, and I follow where the facts point, even if I don’t like it. So, I’ll talk to those two. And mostly I’ll talk to him.” He nodded toward to the gunman, still on the floor, but now with handcuffs on. “And you.”
Serenity said, “Chief’s letting you take this case? In your wife’s library? On top of the murder?”
“Of course he will.” Joe’s stare was still hard. “Besides, the chief likes you. He can’t believe the library’s involved. Said to do everything I could to help you keep the library open during this. So here’s what I’m going to do for you, Serenity. We need to search the ceilings. All of them. Need to bring drug-sniffing dogs in to see what else we find. We really should shut down the whole library. As a favor to you and the chief, I’ll just shut down this side, like I should have yesterday. I’ll get the guys who are checking the ceiling tiles to wear some kind of coverall, so they look like maintenance. We’ll keep the dogs as quiet as we can. And, we’ll get as much done as we can tonight after you’re closed.”
She put her hand on his arm. “Thanks, Joe. That means a lot.”
He took her hand away. “Then it’s time to trade with me. Tell me what you know about the drugs.”
“What is wrong with you? I don’t know anything about this. You think we’re giving away dime bags with books?”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re doing here anymore, Serenity. Every half hour, somebody comes up to me and says, ‘Joe, did you know the library’s expanded its tutoring? Offering basic medical advice and referral to clinics? Business startup support? Murder? Drugs?
“And I have to stand there like a dummy with a pasted-on smile and say, ‘No. I have no idea what my wife is doing now. I knew her a week ago. Don’t know the woman I sleep with now. Scratch that, the woman I didn’t even sleep with last night.’ So, no, don’t play the ‘you know me, Joe’ card. I’m going to follow the facts, Serenity.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Lawman. But I do not spend my days cramming drugs into the ceiling of my library.”
“Somebody does. Either under your nose, or—”
“For crying out loud. This bathroom is ten feet from the front door. People come in all the time to use it and never even come into the main area. And I don’t spend my days monitoring the men’s room.”
He pulled a notepad out of his jacket. “Reporting officer said that was exactly what you were doing when the drugs fell out.”
“No. No. No. Well, yes, but it wasn’t like that.”
He gave her his long, flat emotionless look. “But you were doing exactly what you said you weren’t doing. And the library’s got a lot of new money suddenly. And you’ve got something you don’t want to talk to me about.”
They stood there not speaking for a full minute.
Joe finally said, “Serenity, I’ve got to follow the facts to make sense of the things I see.”
She didn’t say anything.
He took a deep breath and stiffened his back. “I told you. There’s only one man in Maddington County with big money. One man with a taste for beautiful women. And only one man who could move this much dope through my city.”
fifty-seven
fools rush in
SERENITY AND JOE’S FIGHT had spilled out of the library and into the parking lot.
“Are you going to tell me again that I’ve got no reason to be suspicious?” he said.
She threw his hand off her arm. “Not what you’re suspicious of.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She turned her back on him and he had to raise his voice to be heard. “Suspicious of what? Murders in the library? Check. Money for nothing? Check. My wife’s eyes all alight with the smoke of some distant fire? Check. Now drugs. Drugs in the library. You know any other library with a drug problem?”
“It happens. One of the Birmingham libraries had a guy selling grass out of the men’s room a while back.”
“That’s more than a dime bag in there, Serenity. And what was all that crap you gave me about suspecting Bentley of murdering his own guy? Something to throw me off the trail?”
“No.” Well, yes.
She screamed, “You don’t understand.”
A saw whirred to a stop, followed by other equipment until the work site was deadly quiet and the men and the spectators were all watching them.
He yelled back, “Then talk to me.”
She was starting to cry and she didn’t want to. “I can’t.”
“Can’t. I think you’ve got the right word. You can’t, ’cause somebody’s got their hands around your throat or around your… I can’t even say it. And I’ve got to stop it.”
She wanted to say something but her words just came out as sobs. One of the workers said, “Leave our boss alone.” A couple of others picked up two-by-fours.
“You’ve got to either give me something to work with, Serenity,” Joes said, “or I’ve got to do this on my own.”
She sobbed as she looked at him.
He turned away. “Tell Steve he’s got the scene here. I’ve got to pick up something at the house.”