‘We won’t know anything for sure until we find those audiotapes and whatever else Kendra Sheppard had.’
‘And Mr Ezekiel didn’t give you any indication as to where this evidence might be?’
‘No. For all I know these… this group of dead Federal agents might already have it.’
‘We’ll have to go on the assumption that they don’t. I don’t know if Mr Warner told you, but he found a listening device mounted underneath your dash, right below the steering column. It’s the same model as the one he recovered from my office. He also found a GPS tracking unit. Are you coming back to work this afternoon?’
‘I’m heading back to the lab.’
‘Good. Mr Warner is going to sweep your office and the lab.’
‘I don’t see how these people could gain access.’
‘Most likely, they couldn’t. But I can’t dismiss the possibility that these men have inside help. We have to limit our circle of trust.’
Sullivan had plenty of your people on his payroll… I’m sure they’re still out there.
‘I agree,’ Darby said.
‘Now I have two matters to discuss with you. The first involves Michelle Baxter. She’s disappeared.’
Darby closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
‘After I left the hospital, I sent a detective to go speak with her,’ Chadzynski said. ‘The door was unlocked. No sign of a struggle, although the detective told me it was impossible to tell, given the apartment’s state of disarray. The detective didn’t find a handbag, suitcase or any other sort of luggage, so it’s possible the Baxter woman decided to leave town.’
‘Does this detective have a name?’
‘It’s someone from Anti-Corruption.’
Chadzynski didn’t elaborate.
‘Please don’t take it personally, Darby. It’s not a matter of trust, it’s protocol. I have to safeguard their identities. Any information I receive will be forwarded to you through me or Mr Warner.’
‘I understand.’
‘What do you know about Detective Pine?’
‘I know he used to be my father’s partner. Then Artie passed the detective’s exam and went to Boston to work homicide.’
‘His territory was South Boston. Two officers from Anti-Corruption have just started sorting through Pine’s old police reports, but suffice to say that a good majority of the homicides Pine investigated have at least one thread that leads back to Frank Sullivan. Before that, Detective Pine was involved with TPF during the forced busing –’
‘Excuse me for interrupting, Commissioner, but what’s TPF?’
‘Tactical Patrol Force. The unit no longer exists. It was disbanded during the late seventies after repeated complaints of officers using excessive force. You’re probably much too young to remember this, but back in ’65 Massachusetts passed the Elimination of Racial Imbalance Law. The Boston school committee, comprised mostly of white Irish Catholics, had successfully blocked the law through a decade of litigation. Then, in ’74, a Federal court judge ordered the desegregation of Boston’s public schools. We had riots all over the city – President Ford delivered a TV speech urging Boston to cooperate.’
Darby knew about the riots – had read about them during a high school history class.
‘During the first few weeks of school, the TPF was asked to protect buses delivering African-Americans to Boston schools,’ Chadzynski said. ‘Crowds of white Irish men and women threw bricks, rocks, you name it, through bus windows, at the students and TPF officers. Add to that the number of African-American groups there protesting. Needless to say, tensions were high and several officers were a bit too liberal with their nightsticks. Arthur Pine allegedly kicked an African-American man to death. I say allegedly only because the witness who came forward claiming to have seen Pine do this suddenly disappeared.’
Ezekiel said Big Red had put him in a hotel. Alone.
He said he had someone watching the hotel – someone he trusted.
Had her father trusted Artie?
‘I’m not saying Pine is involved with what’s happening now,’ Chadzynski said, ‘but, given what I’ve uncovered, I want Anti-Corruption to take a closer look at him. Until he’s been properly vetted, I don’t want you feeding him any information about these cases.’
‘And when Artie calls me, what do you want me to tell him?’
‘Tell him the truth. Tell him Lieutenant Warner has taken over the investigation. If Detective Pine has any questions, he’s to contact Mr Warner. He’s the lead on this now. You’re to funnel all information through him. When are you planning on speaking with Mr Cooper?’
‘As soon as I get back to the lab.’ Darby felt a cold place in her stomach. ‘Do I need to bring Lieutenant Warner with me?’
‘No. I’ll have him question Mr Cooper at a later point here in my office. You’re to call me after you’ve spoken with him, then file a report and give it to Mr Warner.’
‘Understood.’
Chadzynski hung up. Darby handed the phone back to Warner. He slipped it inside his pocket without taking his eyes off the road. He didn’t speak, just kept driving. She could see the tall buildings of downtown Boston looming in the distance. She stared at them and for some reason was reminded of a quote from one of her father’s favourite baseball players, the great pitcher Satchel Paige: ‘Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.’
50
Jamie walked down the garage steps lugging her suitcase, a battered black monstrosity she had purchased shortly before her honeymoon. It had travelled with her to St Lucia and then later, throughout the States with Dan and the kids. She hoisted it into the back of the minivan and stared at it for some moments.
I’m really doing this, she thought. I’m just going to jump in my car with the kids and drive west until we find San Diego.
She had been fine at the bank. When she gave the teller the signed form to close her savings and chequing accounts, she had expected a moment of panic. Instead, she’d had a burst of clarity. The teller came back with an envelope holding a little over five grand in cash, and when she held it, she knew leaving was the only way she could protect her kids now. To do it right, she’d need to create new identities for them. She knew how to do it. Carter was too young to understand, but Michael would. First, she would have a long talk with him about Ben Masters. Not now. Later, once they got settled. She walked out of the back smiling at the thought of a fresh start, a brand-new slate for all of them.
That feeling changed when she went to the liquor store in Wellesley Hills.
The young-looking guy who worked behind the counter – tall and lanky with thick black hair and smooth tanned skin – had gone out of his way to find some larger boxes. He insisted on bringing them out to the car.
‘Are you Jamie Russo?’ he asked.
She stared at him, wondering how he had recognized her.
He blushed. ‘You sort of look like her. That’s why I was asking.’
She nodded. ‘I’m… ah… ah… Jamie.’
‘I sort of knew your husband. Dan would come in every other week or so and buy a bottle of Johnnie Walker. We’d talk about the Sox or whatever for a bit. Your husband was a real good guy, and I… I’m sorry about what happened to him and… everything else.’
Dan bought a bottle of booze once a week, she thought numbly as she drove home. How long had you been doing that, Dan? I never saw you drinking during the week – then again, how could I, since you were spending all of your time in the basement. What were you doing down there? Why were you drinking so much? And how come I never saw a single empty Johnnie Walker bottle in the recycling bin? Did you hide them in the rubbish?