“Why?”
“Headgear disguises the true contours of a person’s head. Besides, if we’re forced to make a quick escape, we can ‘break our profiles’ by discarding them. Remember, we’re not used to the darkness. We’ll be the ones at a disadvantage.” He dug into the pocket again and took out a small, dull object which he fitted into his mouth.
“What the hell is that?” D’Agosta asked, pulling the hat onto his head.
“A false rubber palate for changing tongue position, thus modifying the harmonic resonances of the throat. We will be consorting with criminals, remember? I spent a fair amount of time last year at Riker’s Island, profiling murderers for Quantico. It’s possible that I’ll come in contact with some of them down here. If so, they must not recognize me, either by appearance or voice.” He waved his hand. “Of course, makeup alone isn’t enough. I must adapt my posture, way of walking, even mannerisms. Your job is easier: keep silent, blend in, follow my lead. We must not in any way stand out. Understood?”
D’Agosta nodded.
“With any luck, this Mephisto will be able to point us in the right direction. Perhaps we’ll return with evidence of the killings he described to the Post.That could provide additional forensics material we desperately need.” He paused. “Any leads on the Brambell murder?” he asked. He took a step forward, shining the penlight ahead.
“No,” said D’Agosta. “Waxie and the top brass think it was just another random killing. But I’m wondering if it didn’t have something to do with his work.”
Pendergast nodded. “An interesting theory.”
“Seems to me that these killings—or at least some of them—aren’t random at all. I mean, Brambell was on the verge of discovering who the second skeleton belonged to. Maybe somebody didn’t want that known.”
Pendergast nodded again. “I have to admit, Lieutenant, I was flabbergasted when I heard the second skeleton belonged to Kawakita. It opens up a vista of”—he paused—“complexity and ugliness. And it suggests that Dr. Frock, Dr. Green, and the others working on the case should be protected.”
D’Agosta scowled. “I went up to Horlocker’s office this morning with that in mind. He dismissed any kind of protection for Green or Frock. Said he suspected Kawakita must’ve been involved with Pamela Wisher somehow, just got caught in the wrong place and the wrong time. A random killing, like Brambell. All he cared was that we didn’t leak anything about it to the press, at least until Kawakita’s family is tracked down and alerted—assuming there’re any left to alert; I think somebody once said he was an orphan. Waxie was there, too, strutting and preening like an overstuffed rooster. He told me to do a better job of keeping this under wraps than I did with Wisher.”
“And?”
“I suggested he go put a poultice on it. Politely, of course. I’d been thinking it was best not to alarm Frock or Green. But after that meeting, I talked to them both, gave them some advice. They promised to be very careful, at least until their work is finished.”
“Have they discovered what caused the skeletal deformation in Kawakita?”
“Not yet.” D’Agosta nodded absently.
Pendergast turned toward him. “What is it?” he asked.
D’Agosta hesitated. “I suppose I’m a little worried about how Dr. Green is taking all this. I mean, it was my idea to tap her and Frock in the first place, but now I’m not so sure. Frock seems to be his usual ornery self, but Margo ...” He paused. “You know how she reacted to the Museum murders. Conditioning herself, running every day, packing a pistol.”
Pendergast nodded. “It’s not an uncommon type of post-traumatic stress reaction. People who emerge from terrifying situations sometimes look for ways to gain control, to limit their feelings of vulnerability. Actually, it’s a relatively healthy response to severe stress.” He smiled grimly. “And I can think of few more stressful situations than the one she and I found ourselves in, there in that darkened Museum corridor.”
“Yeah, but she’s overdoing it. And now, with all this shit happening… well, I’m not sure I made the right decision, calling her in like I did.”
“It was absolutely the right decision. We need her expertise. Especially now that we know Kawakita is dead. You’ll be investigating his last known whereabouts, I trust?”
D’Agosta nodded.
“You might consider asking Dr. Green to lend a hand with that.” Pendergast resumed his scrutiny of the tunnel, peering into the darkness with his sooty face. “Ah, well. Ready, Vincent?”
“I guess so. What if we meet hostiles?”
Pendergast smiled slightly. “Trading in local commerce tends to keep the natives peaceful.”
“Drugs?” D’Agosta asked in disbelief.
Pendergast nodded, opening his coat. In the gleam of the penlight, D’Agosta could make out several tiny pockets stitched into the filthy lining. “It appears that virtually everyone down here is or has been an addict of one kind or another.” His finger moved from one pocket to the next. “I have an entire pharmacopoeia here: crack cocaine, methylphenidate, Carbrital, Seconal, military-grade Blue 88s. They may well save our lives, Vincent. They saved mine on my first descent.”
Pendergast dug into one of the small pockets and pulled out a slender black capsule. “Biphetamine,” he said. “Known in the underground fraternity as a black beauty.”
He stared at the capsule for a moment. Then, with a quick movement, he popped it into his mouth.
“What the—?” D’Agosta began, but the FBI agent held his hand out for silence.
“It’s not enough for me to actthe part,” Pendergast whispered. “I have to bethe part. This Mephisto is undoubtedly a suspicious, paranoid individual. Scenting fraud is his stock in trade. Remember that.”
D’Agosta said nothing. They really had stepped outside society, outside the law, outside everything.
They passed into the side tunnel and moved along an abandoned rail line. Every few minutes, Pendergast would stop to consult some notes. Following the FBI agent deeper into darkness, D’Agosta was amazed at how quickly he lost his own orientation, his sense of time.
Suddenly Pendergast pointed toward a wavering reddish light, seemingly suspended in the darkness perhaps a hundred yards ahead of them. “There are people around that fire,” he whispered. “It’s probably a small ‘upstairs’ community, squatters living at the edge of Mephisto’s domain.” He stared speculatively at the glow for a few moments. Then he turned.
“Shall we retire to the drawing room?” he asked, and, without waiting for an answer, began moving toward the distant glow.
As they drew closer, D’Agosta made out a dozen or so figures, lounging on the ground or hunched atop milk crates, staring into the fire. A bubbling black coffeepot sat among the coals. Pendergast ambled into the firelight and squatted down beside the blaze. Nobody paid any attention. He reached into one of the many layers of his outfit and pulled out a pint bottle of English Lord De Luxe Tokay wine. D’Agosta watched as all eyes swiveled in the direction of the bottle.
Pendergast unscrewed the cap and took a long pull, sighing contentedly. “Anybody want a slug?” he asked, turning the bottle’s label toward the firelight so all could see. D’Agosta was momentarily taken aback: the FBI agent’s voice had changed utterly. It now sounded thick, drugged, with a distinct Flatbush accent. Pendergast’s pale skin, eyes, and hair looked alien and menacing in the flickering glare.
A hand reached out. “Yeah,” came a voice. A man on a milk crate took the bottle and placed it to his lips. There was a long sucking noise. When he handed it back to Pendergast, a quarter of the contents were gone. Pendergast passed the bottle to another, and it went around the circle, returning empty. There was a single grunt of thanks.
D’Agosta tried to maneuver into the plume of smoke, hoping to dilute the stench of unwashed human bodies, bad wine, and rancid urine.
“I’m looking for Mephisto,” Pendergast said after a moment.