Dave nodded. “So that explains the baby seat in the back.”
“Baby seat?” Rick asked, startled.
“Yeah,” David answered absently as he tapped his pencil against his nose, thinking. “Something’s missing. Did the report say anything else?”
“No. But Mr. Brogan came to the police station to sign some papers. I got a chance to talk to him. He said he was planning on meeting his wife and daughter for a late lunch, and that they’d been out doing errands, so he was watching the boy.”
Alex watched David, who seemed intent on a spot in the middle of the table. “What’s wrong, Dave?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, Alex. But something’s missing.” He sighed. “It’ll probably come to me later. Anyway, what else do you have, Ken?”
“Not much. Nothing on the car. But I did request a background check on Mr. Brogan. I met him at the garage when he came in to sign some documents on the car. Something didn’t sit right, so I called Research back in Washington to ask them to look at the guy.”
“You think maybe the stolen car was a ruse?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Maybe I was just on edge, and there won’t be anything. Then again, …”
“Yeah. Have Research copy me anything they find, okay?”
“Done. Now, tell us about the autopsies.”
Alex nodded. “Dave, you want to go first?”
David tossed his pencil on the table and reached for his soda. “Sure, not that there’s anything to tell. The driver of the car was approximately thirty years of age, with blond hair. Eye color, unknown. The lower half of his body was mostly ash, and height could not be determined.” He took a drink. “Oh, yeah. Death was caused by fire.”
Everyone was silent as David took another drink from his glass. They remained quiet, waiting.
Finally Alex couldn’t stand it. “And?”
“And what? That’s it. Two hours watching them pry charred bones out of charred flesh, and that’s the only thing they could really tell me. The coroner stood there pointing out the way the fire destroyed this but only half destroyed that. He was fascinated. I was nauseous.”
“So, basically, the only thing we have to help us identify the driver of the car is the label from his coat.”
“Right. And the blond hair. Don’t forget the blond hair.”
Alex looked around at her team. Ken was smiling into his coffee cup, and Rick wore a half-smile. David just looked exasperated.
“Okay. I know you guys are tired. So am I. There’s just a little more, then David and I will take a cab to the airport, and you can both get some sleep.”
“I thought I was —”
“No, Rick. I want you to head home. Everyone’s on their last legs, and you’ve had the least sleep. Let’s get the rest of this briefing out of the way, and I’ll let you go home.”
All three men nodded, then waited for Alex to organize her notes.
“Okay. First off, have any of you thought any more about why someone would blow the car up?”
Nobody answered.
“Well, I think I might have it. Maybe it was to cover up the fact that our killer was not Perry Watson.”
“Wait a minute. We’ve seen the registry number.”
“Yeah, and I thought they found the badge?”
“We do, and they did.” She handed out some sheets of paper. “Take a look at the estimated height of the body, and the recorded height for Mr. Watson. They don’t match. Watson was over six foot, our shooter was between five-six and five-nine. Plus, Mr. Watson’s hair is recorded as black. We all saw the black hair on the shooter in the video. But tests on what was left of his hair revealed it was dyed. Real color was brown.”
“Damn.” David threw his pencil on to the table, watching as it rolled toward his partner. Alex reached up and pushed it back towards David.
“That’s not all. And I guarantee this is gonna throw Cliff into all kinds of fits.”
David groaned. “Not again, Alex.”
“Sorry, Dave.” Alex flipped a page in her notebook. “There was some flesh left on the inside of the upper arm. A cursory examination showed a strange mark on the burnt skin. To the naked eye it was just a spot that was a little darker than the surrounding area. Ultraviolet lights showed it was the remains of a tattoo. They took pictures, and when the official report is released, you’ll all get copies of the picture.”
“What’s so important about a tattoo, Alex?”
Alex heard Rick ask the question, but it was David she made eye contact with as she answered. “The tattoo was that of double lightning bolts. Symbol of the SS in Nazi Germany.”
David snapped his pencil in half.
*******************************************************
David sipped his coffee while glancing at his watch. They would board their plane in ten minutes or so, then it would be only another two hours and he’d be home with Miri. He had to smile at himself. He hated leaving her alone, but she always made the welcome home worth it.
He watched his partner, who was still reading reports and making notes. David knew Alex would go back to that empty apartment, and probably think nothing of being all alone. Hell, there was a time he wouldn’t have thought twice about it, either. But now, with Miri waiting for him, he could almost feel sorry for his younger partner.
“Stop it, David. You know I’ll be fine.”
“What? I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to. I can tell by that look on your face. No, Alex is not lonely, and no, you and Miri do not have to set her up with some nice lesbian from Miri’s women’s group. I like living alone.”
“That’s because it’s all you know. If you had someone, you —”
Alex glared up at him. “I had someone, David. It didn’t work. I’m fine. And I’d appreciate it if you would stop with this pity-the-single-person stuff.”
David sighed. “I just worry about you, Alex. Since you and Sarah broke up, I hate thinking of you all alone.”
“I’m not all alone.”
“That cat? Please. A person needs more than a pet to —”
“David.”
He stopped.
“David, I know you worry, but I’m fine. You know that.”
“Have you at least tried to go out?”
“Why should I? If it’s not you and Miri setting me up, it’s Sarah inviting me over to introduce me to other single women. Personally, I think it’s a conspiracy.”
“Conspiracy?”
“Yeah. Everyone in my life is conspiring to find me a mate. I can just see it: you and Miri and Sarah all huddled over a table, examining files on prospective dates for me, then trying to come up with ways to slip them into my life. I tell you, I’m starting to feel like the prize in some kind of spy game.”
David stared at her for a moment, then dropped his eyes to the floor. When he glanced back up, she was grinning at him. He had to grin back.
“We love you, Alex.”
“And I love you guys, Dave. But if you don’t stop, I’m going to have to kill you.”
David took a seat beside her. “Tell you what. Promise to come to dinner next Sunday, and I’ll even tell Miri not to invite anybody else. No tricks, no hype, no introductions. Just you, and us.”
“Sounds like a plan, partner.”
The obnoxious loudspeaker voice announced their flight, and Alex closed the folder she’d been working on. As she reached for her briefcase, David asked quietly, “You think this has something to do with white supremacy, Alex?”
Alex placed the file inside her case, closed it, and then stood. “I hope not, Dave. Word from higher up was that they think it’s a radical group, but not necessarily anything affiliated to Nazi’s or Klan. I hope they’re right.”
“And if they’re not?”
Alex was silent for a moment. “Then I don’t think Dabir will be the last one to die. And that scares the hell out of me.”
The two looked at each other, then grabbed their coats and headed for their flight.