“Because I’m getting some help from the outside. Last night, somebody tried to kill me, and Ski Mask pulled my fat from the fire.”
It was a little over-dramatic, but it made a nice point. It also stopped Murphy in his tracks. His whole demeanor changed. “What the hell happened? Why didn’t you report it?”
“Nothing to report. Somebody turned on the gas in my apartment after I went to bed, and Ski Mask dragged me out just in time. I spent the rest of the night sleeping it off on the landing-almost froze my butt off. But that was it. I have no better description of Ski Mask than what we’ve already got and I have no idea who tried to bump me off. Ski Mask might know, because he said they would keep at it, and that they would probably rig it to look like an accident.”
Brandt shook his head. “I doubt that. They have to assume you’ve reported the attempt. If you died accidentally now, we’d be suspicious anyhow, so they no longer have any real reason to be discreet.”
“That’s a big comfort. He also said the key to this thing was Harris; that they were trying to cover it up and that Ski Mask and we had flushed them out enough that they were getting desperate.”
Murphy slapped his hand on the table like a gavel. “Hold on here. You don’t actually swallow that, do you? Ski Mask saves boy wonder here from the bad guys in the nick of time so he can continue the investigation? Give me a break. How was Ski Mask in the right place at the right time? And if he was, why didn’t he tail the people who gassed your place and get his own answers? None of that makes sense. I think he gassed you and then saved your hide. That way, he looks good and we get more interested.”
Brandt gave up fiddling with his pipe and put it in his pocket. “That does make sense, Joe.” r hide. height="0em" width="1em" align="left"›I swallowed a surge of anger. They were right, and I’d been made a fool of again. “Maybe. The only thing I have against it is that I came pretty close to croaking. It was too fine a line for Ski Mask to rely on.”
Murphy let out a groan, as I might have in his place. “I think you’re being snookered. He doesn’t need you alive. If you had died last night, that really would have gotten us going and he could have played on that. Either way, it was a no-lose play for him.” He shook the page of computer printout Brandt had received in the mail. “And even though he talked about Harris and you found this fancy bug, it doesn’t mean he was positive we’d even thought about the Harris case. For all we know, his only source of information is the newspaper and the whole purpose of his theatrics was to get the name Harris front and center in our minds.”
That was a depressingly good point. I knew Ski Mask had used us to start the ball rolling, but I had flattered myself into thinking he needed me personally, and that I might have some control over him as a result. But Frank was right; as far as Ski Mask was concerned, any cop would do.
The revelation made me doubt everything I’d come up with so far. Maybe he was a disgruntled former juror, or the Huntington Arms manager, or someone hired by Mrs. Reitz’s daughter, or even a crony of Davis’s. The whole thing was as clear as mud, and I was beginning to feel I was drowning in it. I sure as hell wasn’t going to mention the private eye from Burlington now.
Curiously, it was Brandt who came to the rescue. “Of all our options, one does seem to stand out. If you took those blood samples or whatever down to the guy Hillstrom recommended and had them analyzed, that would at least give us something concrete to work with.” He looked directly at me. “Has anything else surfaced at this point? Anything about the Phillips shooting or the other stuff?”
“Nothing. Dead ends all around.”
“Frank?”
Murphy angrily shifted his weight in his chair. “This whole damn thing only started a couple of days ago. We’ve barely scratched the surface.”
“But we have interviewed everyone involved that we know of, right?”
“So far.”
“And we have eliminated the obvious? Insurance, revenge, robbery, jealousy, whatever.”
“It may be there. We just don’t see it yet.”
Brandt looked at the floor for a few seconds. “I agree with Frank about letting Harris out of the bag too soon. We would look like morons if you came back from testing Hillstrom’s samples with positive proof that we have the right man behind bars. Find out what you can as quickly as possible-and I’m talking a couple of days at most here-and then we’ll see where to go next.”
He slid off the filing cabinet and walked over to the door. “By the way, Frank, don’t feel like a sitting duck here. Technically, I headed the Harris investigation. I was given all the facts and had all the optio ns. If there has been a screw-up, nobody’s going after you. I can promise you that.”
Murphy nodded and watc {ddeou. hed him go. He waited a few seconds until we both heard the hallway door close, and then he let out a snort. “He can’t promise anything if they fire him first.”
I stood up. “I wouldn’t worry, Frank.”
He gave me a deadpan look. “It’s not your problem, is it?”
12
I left Frank Brooding and called up Dr. Hillstrom from my office. She said she would have all samples and slides on their way within the next few hours via state police courier. She also said she would call Bob Kees and tell him to expect me some time tomorrow. I mentioned that the chief had given me only a couple of days and she burst out laughing. The best she could do, she said, was to pass that along and hope Kees had an abundance of Christmas spirit left over.
I was almost out the door when the phone rang. “Joe?” It was Gail.
“Hi. What’s up?”
“I just saw Katz’s screaming headlines. I was wondering how you were doing.”
“I’m okay. He didn’t do too much damage. It would have gotten out anyway and he missed the jury connection. I would guess he’s just talking to his buddies and sewing that together with what we release anyhow. His real trick is the hysterical undertone-you know, stuff like, ‘police don’t deny’ and ‘informed sources speculate’ and ‘there are possible connections.’ ”
“Speaking of hysteria, have you heard from the town fathers?”
I hesitated. Her tone was suspiciously neutral. “Am I hearing from them now?”
She chuckled, which was a relief. It was a little early to start getting heat from the politicians, at least at my level. “You might. I wanted to let you know they’re getting pretty worked up-they feel they’re being left in the dark on purpose. Some of us got together a half hour ago, and I had the distinct impression that if I’d mentioned the words ‘Kimberly Harris,’ it would have been like dropping a match into a swimming pool full of gasoline. It gave me quite a sense of power.”
“Yeah, over my job. Try to control yourself, okay?”
“Seriously, Joe, Mrs. Morse especially is really on the warpath. She wants Brandt called before a special session, and Cutts and Pearly are starting to think about it. If Katz does make the jury connection, that’ll be the match. How are things going?”
“We’re digging. It’ll all hinge on getting some more forensic stuff out of Connecticut. There’s an expert down there that might help us out, but it’ll take a few days.”
She was quiet for a few moments. “God, I hate these things. I wish they’d leave you alone- we would leave you alone, I should say. I really feel like telling them off sometimes, and I’d do it if you and I weren’t… well, you know. It kind of ties my hands; I can’t be too partial.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Her voice was suddenly stronger. uddenlyWell, hell. I’m probably just being too sensitive anyway. Mrs. Morse is always stirring them up; now’s no different. She’s not going to get them to do anything for a few days at least, unless your friend in the mask pops up again. Then you will be in trouble, or at least Brandt will be.”