“What are we talking about exactly?”
“Exactly? Time will tell. But generally, I think we’re looking at a whole bunch of people moving too fast for their own good.”
“Like Murphy?”
“Like Murphy, like Kunkle, like Dunn, like me and you, for that matter. Frank wanted a clean getaway into retirement; I suspect Kunkle wanted a fast and quick promotion, or at least a little recognition; Dunn liked the tidiness of the initial evidence and made a pointed effort not to dig any deeper; and the rest of us played along, pleased as punch we weren’t hitting any snag. Only Ski Mask wasn’t satisfied.” isfe a poi
“Do we know why he wasn’t yet?”
“No, but I think either Kimberly or Davis will tell us, and my money’s on her. What I’d like to do is to isolate those long weekends and then compare them with local airline, car rental and travel agencies to see if we can come up with a match. I’m sure it’ll only give up phony names, if that, but I’m hoping for at least a pattern. I also want to get the DEA to run a list on all prednisone prescriptions issued in this area during the two-month period just prior to Kimberly’s death.”
“That’ll take forever.”
“Do you have any contacts with them? Mine are all regional men. It would take them just as long.”
He shook his head. “There’s too much coming and going over there. The FBI’s like IBM. DEA’s more like a game show-lots of turnover. I can circulate it around, though. One of the other guys might have a contact.”
“Okay. If we come up empty by tomorrow afternoon, I’ll just put it through normal channels. We’ll also need a pile of evidentiary warrants. If I get you a list of all the agencies I want canvassed and the specific dates of those long weekends, could you do that tonight?”
He checked his watch. “I don’t see why not. It’ll be easier getting a judge at night than during the day, and as far as I know, everyone’s in town. How soon can you get it to me?”
“An hour, maybe an hour and a half?”
He nodded. “What about the Davis angle?”
“I think it’s a long shot, but it’s still possible Ski Mask’s motivation is merely to get Davis off the hook. Now that the Harris case can see the light of day again, I want to assign someone full-time to look into Davis’s past. He was in the Army; that bug I found in my place was military ordnance. There may be a connection.”
“Sounds better than a long shot.”
“I don’t think so. This is more complicated than that. Ski Mask has got something bigger on his mind and so have the people who killed Frank. My nose tells me Davis was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that was near Kimberly Harris-or whatever her name was.”
“Okay. You get me the list; I’ll get the warrants.”
I noticed a light on in Kunkle’s office. I knocked and stuck my head in. He was sitting at his desk with his hands flat on the tabletop, as if in a trance. He looked up at me, startled. “What?”
“Just wondered if you came back.”
“Bed check?”
“No. We were supposed to meet.”
“I forgot.”
“It doesn’t matter. Are you all right?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Pure and simple concern. Not that you’d consider me a candidate, but there are bused people you can talk to if you’re feeling all boxed up inside.”
He gave me a sour smile. “Write me off as a wacko.”
I shook my head. “Willy, I already think you’re a wacko. I’m just worried you’re going to end up killing yourself-or someone else.”
“Thanks. Same to you.” I closed the door and went back to my office. I had almost finished my list for Brandt when the phone rang. It was Danvers.
“Her real name-or at least the one we’ve got for her-is Pamela Stark. She was arrested in Boston for soliciting.” He gave me the file reference number. “Does that do anything for you?”
“It opens a whole new can of worms.”
“Sorry.”
“No, I’m grateful. Right now, a can of worms is exactly what I need. By the way, do you know anybody over at DEA-preferably in records?”
“Why?”
“I think the guy who killed Pamela Stark sported a drug-induced hunchback.”
There was a stunned silence at the other end. I heard him chuckle. “I thought Murphy was bad. You’ll do anything for a favor, won’t you?”
“It’s true.”
“I’m sure it is. You couldn’t pull that one out of your hat. As it turns out, I’m pretty good friends with one of the old-timers in that department. But I want something in return.”
“What?”
“When this whole thing is over, send me a copy of the final report, will you? It’s got all the makings of a classic.”
I said I would and gave him the information I wanted checked by the DEA. I had just hung up the phone when it rang.
“Hi, Joe.” Gail’s voice sounded cautiously neutral.
“Hi.”
“Long time no see.”
“Yeah, it feels that way.”
“You want to come over?”
“It’ll probably be late, if at all.”
“What’s up?”
“Martha’s back in town. I thought I might go over for a visit.”
“That’s nice. I think she’d like that. She really missed you at the ceremony. The offer still stands, though-it doesn’t matter what time. The door’ll be unlocked.”
“Sounds good.”
“I was wondering,” she added after a pause. “Well, I guess it’s kind of stupid…”
“Go ahead.”
“How were things at your mother’sourt="?”
“All right. Cleared my head a little.”
“About us?”
I looked at the phone in surprise. “Us? No. I guess I mostly sorted out losing Frank. That kind of stuff.”
“Oh. Of course.”
“What about us?”
“Nothing. Things have been a little weird lately, you have to admit.”
Her laugh was like a misplaced punctuation mark. “You almost died twice that I know of. Did anyone shoot at you today?”
“Not so far.”
She sighed. “I missed not seeing you when you got back.”
“Oh yeah. Sorry. I wanted to bring Tony up to date.”
“I thought you were going to call me to bring you back.” Her tone had a false heartiness to it, as if she were just clearing up some procedural details.
“Leo lent me one of his cars.”
“That was nice. Which one?”
“Cadillac.”
“Good Lord… I’ve missed you, Joe.”
“I’ll try to get over tonight. I just don’t know how things’ll go.”
“Well, I didn’t mean just for that. It would be nice, but I mean… Well, with all this stuff going on, I’ve been kind of worried, you know? I’d really hate to lose you.”
“I think you’re safe there.”
“Sure…” I could feel her struggling on the other end. I knew it wouldn’t take much from me to help her out, but I kept silent. “Well, I’ll let you go. I know you must be busy. Give Martha my best.”
The line went dead, and I carefully replaced the receiver in its cradle. So much for that.
Aside from Frank and Ellen, Gail was the one person for whom I’d developed a love. Being with her, sometimes just watching her from a distance, crumpled something up inside me. Now she was the only one left.
I stared at the phone, knowing that calling her back and seeing her tonight would be a hell of lot more important than holding Martha’s hand. It would be the breach in the pretty picket fence we’d constructed between us, the fence that allowed us to do everything but permanently share the same backyard. A large part of me ached to do just that-to simply admit what I so often felt-and that was especially true right now, with Frank’s death clinging to my shoulders.
And that was the catch-th e excuse. I was too vulnerable right now, like other times when I’d shied away from trusting myself, and Gail, to make more than we had of our separate lives.
I pushed the phone to the corner of the desk and returned to my list of names.
Martha silently gathered me into a hug once she saw who was at the door. We stood there for quite a while, between the warmth of the house and the cold outdoors, before I finally felt I could risk letting go. The television was on in the den-Frank’s old lair.