Winter's cell phone rang.
“It's Manseur,” Winter said.
“I think Captain Suggs has made the connection,” Manseur told him. “He just called me and told me to report to his office. He sounded pissed. Doesn't mean he knows anything.”
“How you going to play it?”
“Seat of my pants. I just wanted to tell you that the BOLO on Faith Ann has her classified as armed and dangerous. If she's spotted, instructions are to call Suggs and not to attempt to apprehend her.”
“We're going to try and get a look inside the Porter house,” Winter said.
“You can try to, but I don't know where Tinnerino and Doyle are or what they're up to. What are you going to do if they catch you?”
“I'll play it by the seat of my pants,” Winter said. “By the way, just so you know, I picked up another man.”
“That right?”
“Yeah, an FBI agent. He's a card I can play if need be.”
“That's good,” Manseur said. “By the way, the M.E. got partial prints from the Rover body. I'll go over the report with you later. After I talk to Suggs, I'm going to run them and see what I get. The body was burned, and unless the prints hit I'm not sure it'll help you. I wish I could do more. And the M.E. told me Kimberly and Amber's killer used a silencer, which as far as I know wasn't found with the weapon.”
“I think we're going to do doing some pot stirring.”
“You have my number. Keep me apprised. I'll do the same.”
“Thanks,” Winter said.
“Good luck,” Manseur said.
“Okay, fellows, we'll take two cars. I should call the chief deputy here in New Orleans and get some radios. Chet Long is an old friend of Hank's. I'm sure he'll be happy to assist.”
“Not a good idea,” Adams objected. “Fewer people we involve, the better. I've got the electronics end covered. I just need to stop by my room and collect some encrypted radios.”
Winter scribbled an address and handed it to Nicky. “You and Adams go do that, then meet me at the Porter residence.”
Winter called Chet Long before he had driven a block. The year before, Chet had supplied Winter and Hank with encrypted radios, long guns, and a Blackhawk helicopter to ferry an assault team comprised of U.S. deputy marshals. He wanted to check in with his and Hank's friend and alert him that he was in town. Out of habit, Winter checked his mirror for tails but didn't see anybody following him. Adams hadn't mentioned any partners, the norm for field agents, but that didn't mean he didn't have backup.
When Winter asked for Chet Long, he was informed by the receptionist that Chief Deputy Long was out of the country. She asked if he wanted to speak to anyone else and he declined, asking that she tell Chet he called.
45
When Manseur arrived at Captain Suggs's door, the chief detective was talking on his telephone. He motioned for Manseur to sit down while he finished his conversation. Manseur caught sight of what looked to be a phone log with some of the names highlighted in yellow, and he knew how Suggs had made the connection between the two cases.
Trying not to eavesdrop on what sounded like a personal conversation, Manseur let his eyes wander to the only framed picture on his boss's desk. It was a portrait of Suggs's German shepherd, Heinzie, who was a dreadful, constantly molting animal with severe gastric problems and the charm of a piranha.
Suggs dropped the phone into its cradle and turned his cold eyes on Manseur.
“Nothing on the Porter girl yet?” Manseur asked.
Suggs didn't answer the question. Manseur noticed that the tops of his chief's ears were turning crimson. “So, how's the Trammel case coming? I'm getting calls from all over on it. You haven't requested help.”
“Haven't needed any yet. It's still preliminary.”
“You look at the Trammels' room at the guesthouse?”
“Nothing there. I sealed it for the time being.”
“Did Trammel make any calls from the guesthouse?”
“No sir.”
“He have a cell phone?”
“His took a bath in a pothole. Hers was there, but the last number she called was U.S. Air. The techs are supposed to try and retrieve the stored numbers from the chip, if they can. They're backed up.”
“I see. What did the Rover yield?”
“They just started going over it. But anything useful was burned up. Body's been autopsied.”
“And?”
“Burned up too. Not much to go on. No I.D. Some dental work. Head crushed in, neck broken manually afterward. Homicide. Looks like a professional job.”
“That's your take now?”
“Like I said earlier, there were at least two vehicles, so at least two people involved. Maybe our stiff's the driver, maybe the partner. It looks like it could be a professional hit and the killer covered his tracks. Or something else. Hard to tell with what I have to work with.”
“Motive?”
“None that's obvious yet. Trammel was a U.S. marshal. Who knows?”
“You notify next of kin?”
“Not yet. His friend said he thought Mrs. Trammel had a sister living here and that the Trammels were going to see her today. I hoped to get that this morning from the marshals office, but it's Saturday. I asked the clerk at the guesthouse to call me if anyone inquired about them. If they were supposed to see the sister today, she'll call their guesthouse. The staff at the guesthouse will forward any inquiries to me,” Manseur said.
“Well, we withheld the Trammels' names until notification,” he continued. “The friend, that P.I., called a pal of the Trammels' in North Carolina who is supposed to come in today and handle things until we locate Mrs. Trammel's sister. I haven't spoken to him yet. He's supposed to call when he gets in.”
“Are you saying that you're at an impasse?” Suggs asked.
“At the moment all I can do is wait for everything to come in. I don't see anything breaking before Monday. Bond will be back, and we can hit it hard,” Manseur answered.
Manseur had held Suggs's stare since the conversation started. He noticed beads of sweat had gathered over his chief's upper lip-a sign that he was nervous. Manseur tried to imagine how his superior was going to play this. Suggs didn't know Manseur knew that the cases were linked, because Manseur didn't have the Porters' telephone records which established their link to the Trammels. He didn't believe that Suggs could afford to inform him of the connection yet. He knew Suggs had no solid reason to take the Trammel case away from him, unless he exposed that link and could justify taking the case on some pretext, as opposed to having Manseur, Tin Man, and Doyle working as a team. Down deep, Manseur was enjoying Suggs's discomfort. He wondered how Winter Massey's appearance would affect his comfort level.
“Have you considered the possibility of old enemies? Perhaps this might be connected to that mess last year Trammel was involved in.”
“What thing is that?” Manseur asked, feigning confusion.
“The shootout between the marshals and the FBI, with Manelli? You might consider revenge. Maybe some gangster spotted him?”
Manseur managed a look of surprise. “The Sam Manelli thing? You mean that's the same Trammel? It never occurred to me, and the P.I. didn't mention it.” He touched his palm to his forehead.
“You didn't know it was the same Trammel?”
“No. It could explain some things. Like you just said-it's a motive.”
“An obvious motive,” Suggs agreed.
“Mob revenge. A mob angle,” Manseur said. “There was another marshal who was wounded. What was his name?”
Suggs seemed to be leading Manseur close to the Porter case. Maybe he was trying to trap Manseur, believing that his detective must have already made the Trammel/Massey connection, and possibly even knew what the Porter/Trammel connection was.
“Massey,” Suggs said, “guy has a reputation for attracting violence. He killed three men in Tampa, years ago…”
“Who were trying to free a drug lord in the federal courthouse.”