Дэвид Балдаччи - Redemption

Mars said, “But why would she frame her own father?”

“She was a drug addict. Out of her mind half the time. She could have been easily persuaded to do it.”

“But what would be the motive of somebody doing all that to kill Katz and Richards? And how does that tie into David Katz going over to Don Richards’s house? Wait, do you think those guys were into drugs too?”

“Not that we know—” Decker stopped. “But Richards’s son, Frankie, was. And we found out he was also dealing.”

“But again, what’s the connection?”

Decker closed his eyes and dialed up his cloud. After a few seconds he shook his head. “It’s not in the case file.”

“What’s not?”

“The name of Mitzi’s drug dealer.”

Natty was sitting sulkily behind his desk in the open room of the homicide department. Four other detectives were there working away, including Mary Lancaster.

A moment later Decker and Mars burst into the space. Decker glanced at Lancaster, who had a questioning look on her face, before marching over to stand in front of Natty.

“Karl Stevens,” he said.

“Who?”

“He was the dealer who’d sold some stuff to Frankie Richards.”

Lancaster had risen from her chair and approached. “We know that, but he had an alibi for the time of the murders. We checked that back then.”

“Not the point,” said Decker brusquely.

“So, what is the point?” snapped Natty.

“Did he also deal to Mitzi Hawkins?”

Lancaster and Natty exchanged a look. Natty said, “I don’t know. It’s been a long time. Does it matter?”

“It could.”

Natty sighed. “I can check. No guarantees that it’s in the records anywhere. And Karl Stevens sold to a lot of people.”

Mars said, “Where is he now?”

Lancaster answered. “I can tell you that. He’s at Travis Correctional Center. It’s a private prison now. Stevens is serving ten to twenty on a second-degree murder conviction. He killed a guy over a heroin transaction. He’s five years into his term. I was the one who busted him.”

Decker said, “Travis Correctional? Isn’t that where Meryl Hawkins ended up serving his time?”

Natty got on his computer and tapped some more keys. When he reached the page, his jaw fell. He looked up.

“You’re right.”

“Were they both in gen pop?” asked Decker, referring to the prison’s general population.

“I don’t know. But that’s usually the case. They don’t have the space to segregate prisoners. They’re way beyond capacity as it is.”

Lancaster said, “They could have interacted at the prison, then.” She looked at Decker. “What are you thinking?”

“If they did interact, Stevens could have told him something that led Hawkins to come back here asking us to prove his innocence. I wondered about the timing of all this. I mean, did Hawkins just learn something that made him believe we could prove his innocence? He wanted to meet with me. Maybe it was then that he was going to tell me what he knew.”

Lancaster said, “He must have learned it recently, otherwise why wouldn’t he have raised it while he was still in prison?”

“What could Stevens have told him?” asked Natty.

“For one thing, that he was Mitzi’s dealer,” replied Decker.

“So what?”

“That could mean a connection between Frankie Richards and Mitzi.”

“What kind of connection?” persisted Natty. “You’re not making sense.”

“Can you get us permission to visit Stevens?” asked Decker, ignoring the question. “Today?”

“I can try. But what could he possibly tell you?”

“I won’t know that until I ask him.” He paused. “You, um, you want to come along, Natty?”

The man didn’t answer right away. He glanced at Lancaster and then said in a low voice, “I’m... I’m actually taking my wife out to lunch today.”

Decker gazed at him for a few moments. “I think that’s a better use of your time. I’ll fill you in when we get back.” He pointed at the phone on Natty’s desk. “Make the call and tell them it’ll be two of us.”

“Make that three,” said Lancaster.

“Mary, you’re recused from—”

“Screw recusal, Amos. This doesn’t have to do with Meryl Hawkins’s murder where Earl is providing an alibi.”

Decker glanced at Natty, who shrugged. “I have no problem with that.”

Lancaster said, “Let’s go.” She walked out of the room without another word.

“Hey, Decker,” said Mars, grinning. “She just did a really good impression of you.”

It was a two-hour drive, and Mars dozed in the backseat. Decker had introduced Mars to Lancaster as they headed out.

Lancaster checked the backseat and then glanced at Decker. “At the football field?” she said quietly.

Decker kept his eyes on the road. “Yeah?”

“What you said made a lot of sense.”

Decker just kept staring at the road and the approaching storm.

“I talked to Earl this morning.”

Now Decker glanced at her, his expression prompting.

“I think we’re going to... give it another shot.”

“And his lady friend?” asked Decker.

“I don’t think it would be an untruth to say that I pushed him into that relationship. Don’t get me wrong. Nancy’s nice and Earl likes her. Hell, I like her.”

“But it’s not what Earl wants?”

“No. He made that clear this morning. What he wants...”

“Is you.”

Lancaster touched her wrinkled face and ran a hand down her stringy hair. “Can’t really understand why. I look like shit. Nancy, on the other hand, is a real babe.”

“Who’s being shallow now?”

Lancaster looked embarrassed and dropped her hands in her lap. “I have to say I was surprised that you thought enough about my situation to tell me what I needed to hear.”

“Meaning that I only look inward?”

“Meaning that I know those situations are very difficult for you with your special—”

“Maybe I’m growing out of it,” interrupted Decker.

Lancaster absently touched her temple. “What did it feel like, when your... when your brain changed?”

He glanced over to see Lancaster staring at him with such intensity that he instantly felt anxious in trying to answer her query. He could sense that she was counting on him to tell her it would be somehow okay, or at least not terrible.

“I didn’t have much time to make the transition, Mary. I woke up in a hospital and I was different. My mind was doing things it had never done before.”

“I, um, I guess you were scared.”

He glanced at her again to see the woman now staring at her hands.

“I won’t lie to you, Mary. It was unsettling . But I got professional help and I was able to adapt. I won’t tell you that it gets any easier. I will tell you that I was able to manage it. To live my life.”

“It will be a bit different for me, I imagine.”

“There’s no cure for what you and I have, though they are very different things. But every day they make progress. In five years, who’s to say they won’t have beat what you have?”

She nodded but her look of anxiety remained. “If I live that long.”

Decker reached over and gripped her shoulder.

She looked startled by this personal touch. It was not something that Amos Decker normally would ever do. She knew he didn’t like being touched by others.

“You have Earl and Sandy and me to help you through this, Mary.”

“You don’t live here anymore.”

“I’m here right now. And you know I’m going to keep coming back to Burlington.”

“Because of your family.”