Дэвид Балдаччи - Redemption

“You think it’s that easy?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you try us?”

“I gotta think about it.”

Lancaster said, “What’s to think about? You help us, we help you.”

Stevens shook his head.

“Tell us this, did you talk to Hawkins?” asked Decker.

“I might have seen him around.”

“And might you have discussed the murders with him?”

“Why don’t you ask him?”

Lancaster said, “We would, but somebody killed him.”

Stevens turned pale and looked like he might be sick. “I gotta go.” He looked at the guards. “Hey, I’m done here.”

Decker said, “It doesn’t have to be this way, Karl.”

“Yeah, it does. Now leave me the hell alone.”

As he was being led away, Lancaster said to Decker, “I screwed up. I shouldn’t have told him what happened to Hawkins.”

“I don’t think it would have mattered, Mary, but we did get one lead.”

“What?”

“The tats on Stevens’s arms were very close to the tats I saw on the shooter who killed Sally Brimmer.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

When they got back to Burlington, Natty met them in the detectives’ room. “What the hell happened up there?”

“What do you mean?” asked Lancaster.

“They just found Karl Stevens with a shiv in his neck. He’s dead.”

Decker, Lancaster, and Mars were holding a powwow in the empty dining area of the Residence Inn as the rain beat down outside in the darkness.

“Well, that tells us your theory was right, Amos,” said Lancaster. “Stevens was involved in this somehow.”

“And by talking to us, he got the death penalty,” added Mars bitterly. “I know the guy was scum, but nobody deserves that crap.”

Decker sat there, his hands in his lap, his gaze centered on a spot on the ceiling. “The shooter who killed Sally Brimmer had the same tats. There’s apparently a connection between him and Stevens.”

“Are you really sure they’re the same?” asked Lancaster.

“I got a clear look at them in the alley, and at Stevens’s back at the prison. I think Stevens knew that, because when he caught me looking, he put his arms under the table so I couldn’t see the tats anymore.”

“Membership in the same gang,” said Lancaster. “That’s certainly possible.”

“They moved quickly,” said Decker. “He was dead within two hours of our meeting him.”

“How could they possibly have acted that quickly?” asked Lancaster. “Unless it was unrelated to our visit. Inmates do kill other inmates, all the time.”

“That would have to be the biggest coincidence in the world.”

“And you don’t believe in even small coincidences,” said Mars.

“And you saw how Stevens clammed up when he found out Meryl Hawkins had been murdered. He was afraid for his safety. He tried to shut it down, but it was too late.”

“With him gone, how do we get to the truth?” asked Lancaster. “Our leads keep dying. And, hell, we don’t even know how whoever killed the Richards family and David Katz got there or left.”

“No, I think we do know that,” said Decker.

He explained to her his theory on Katz being kidnapped and driven to the Richardses’ home in his car. And also about the light switch plate change-out and the DNA possibly coming from Mitzi. “I told Natty about it all too.”

“So that’s why you wanted to talk to Stevens,” said Lancaster.

Decker nodded. “I think Frankie Richards overheard the conversation between his father and Katz, and told Stevens about it when he saw him, or maybe he phoned him. The call came in on a holiday and both father and son were presumably home. Whatever Frankie told Stevens about that phone call, Stevens then told others. And they arranged things and the very next night they came and killed them all. That’s how they picked that night and also the location, since Richards was probably expecting Katz to come over anyway. That seems to be what the phone call between the two was about.”

Mars said, “And maybe they picked that night because they knew Susan Richards wouldn’t be home. It might be that she knew nothing about what they were planning to discuss.”

Lancaster said, “So we figure out what they were planning to discuss, this whole thing unravels.”

“They only had one known connection. The American Grill restaurant.”

“Which Rachel Katz still owns and operates,” said Mars. “And that’s puzzling, since she told me she’ll probably make more in a month at her nightclub than the American Grill does in six months.”

“And she’s got all these other projects going, so it’s a wonder she wants to keep the place,” said Decker.

Mars said, “She told me it was because it was her husband’s first deal. But the lady didn’t strike me as being all that nostalgic.”

“And she also told you she brings the local know-how and her partners bring the cash,” noted Decker.

“You think her money partners are involved in all this?” asked Lancaster.

“I don’t know. But if they are, they would have had to have been around thirteen years ago. It might be worthwhile digging into who they are.”

“Whoever it is, they must have some serious connections inside Travis Correctional,” commented Lancaster.

“How do you want to go about doing this with Rachel?” asked Decker. “They already know we’re snooping around from our meeting with Stevens. I don’t want to spook them even more.”

Mars said, “What about me?”

“What about you what?” asked Lancaster.

“Lady clearly likes me.”

“The lady also knows you work with us,” said Decker.

“She told me a lot last night. Maybe she’ll tell me some more.”

“I don’t like it,” said Lancaster.

“I don’t like it either,” said Decker. “But it might be our best shot. And at the same time, we can find out who her partners are. There has to be paperwork filed with all of her projects.”

“Okay, I’ll get rolling on that,” said Lancaster. She pointed her finger at Mars. “This is not fun and games. These people are killers.”

“Yeah,” said Mars. “Which is why we’re going after them.”

“You think you know a lot about killers?”

“Well, I was on death row all those years.”

Lancaster looked at Decker. “Will you tell him to be serious?”

“He is being serious, Mary.”

Lancaster whirled back around to stare suspiciously at Mars.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “Turns out I was innocent. Only cost me twenty years of my life and ruined any shot I had at playing in the NFL.”

“Damn,” said Lancaster. “That sucks.”

“Oh, it more than sucks, trust me.”

“How are you going to approach it with Katz?” asked Decker.

“Look, she probably thinks she can work on me and get details about the investigation. She tried doing that last night. I didn’t give her much, but I did give her a taste here and there. I can let her think she’s making inroads. And I’ll do the same with her.” He paused. “And there’s something off with her.”

“What do you mean?” asked Lancaster.

“I’m not sure. She’s attractive, she’s got money, education. But she feels like a loner to me. How come she never remarried? And why is she always so guarded about everything? When I asked about meeting her business partners, she didn’t look comfortable with that at all.”

“You could be right,” remarked Lancaster.

“And if we end up in a place where I can snoop around, I will.”

“Whoa, now you think you’re some kind of, what, spy?” said Lancaster.

“Well, my girlfriend is a spy.”