Robert Walker - Absolute Instinct

Dr. Waters came on the line for Darwin. Darwin introduced himself and asked about his brother's blood type. “Did you give him a blood test today at the prison? And what were the results?”

“I have a blood sample on file, one taken over a year ago. During his preliminary incarceration, while awaiting trial. I would have no need of taking blood from him in his cell today. You must've been misinformed.”

“And the blood type, Dr. Waters?”

“AB-negative.”

“Are you staring at the results as we speak?”

“Don't need to. I remember because you're not the only one interested.”

“What're you saying, Dr. Waters?”

“I got a call from Donald Gwingault, the warden, asking the very same question only a few hours ago. Said he and the governor wanted to know.”

“I see,” replied Darwin.

Waters continued, “As I understood it, the governor himself requested it, and I'd hoped Towne's test would have come out anything but AB-negative. He's a good man, Rob Towne, and God, for the life of me, I can't see this man falling so far into depravity as to open his wife up and rip her apart that way. Unless I am a complete idiot in judging character, but I have had over thirty years working in the penal system as well as my private practice.”

“Thank you, Doctor, for that. And you are sure there can be no mistake about the blood test?”

“None whatever. I am sorry.”

He hung up, saying to Jessica, “No point in going to Waters's clinic now.” Darwin appeared defeated, all his earlier enthusiasm drained.

“The prison doctor confirms a test was done and Robert was right about it being AB-neg?”

“Yeah, but the test was done long before today, so you were half right about Robert's not being completely honest with us. No wonder Robert's so discouraged. His own blood is accusing him now.”

“Bad luck, sheer bad luck.”

“It always followed him, and even now with him going nowhere, it still hangs over his head.”

“Keep your eyes on the road,” she said, and he got the double entendre.

“Will do.” Though he said it with little conviction.

“Look, we've gotta get to Fischer. Find a computer and contact him, have him call me. If I can put everything in proper light for him, I know he'll do all he can to save an innocent man from execution.”

“By now the governor knows the blood test went bad for Rob,” said Darwin as they sped down the interstate.

“Same blood type. So what?” she announced.

“So what?”

“It proves nothing! There are millions of people walking around this country with AB-negative.”

“So what the hell're we going to do now? The rabbit is dead.”

“We go after those DNA results more aggressively, and we get all the might of the FBI behind doing so.”

Jessica and Darwin had little difficulty finding a computer. They were everywhere these days, and so they located a computer cafe on the outskirts of Portland, wishing to stay close to the airport, the governor's mansion and the prison.

Jessica telephoned and roped Eriq Santiva in on their side, Eriq promising to pressure Cellmark. “As much as possible.” But the savvy Cuban also added, “But I gotta agree with you, Jess. Getting Fischer onto their heads at this Minnesota testing facility… that would far outweigh anything I can say or do to move them along.”

“There's gotta be a way.”

“I've already talked to Sharpe about this, Jess, and he-”

“Richard? When?”

“Less than an hour ago, maybe forty minutes. He called from a flight to Oregon out of San Francisco.”

“What was his request?”

“I sent men from our Minnesota field office to camp on them. He said a Millbrook detective wasn't enough of a presence.”

“And you complied with the request?”

“It's a favor to Richard. He seemed adamant, and I'm going to need him soon. Things may be popping with that China deal we've been brokering, and as always the State Department's first priority is to international cooperation among crime-fighting organizations worldwide.”

“So you want Richard back at Quantico for a briefing.”

“Very good, Jess. Go to the head of the-”

“Thanks, Eriq, for your help.”

“Tell me, Jess.”

“Yes?”

“You've met this guy Towne now. What do you think? What does your gut tell you about him?”

“Innocent, railroaded,” she shot back, “and sadly broken.”

“I gotta tell you I was shocked… well, truly surprised… to learn you'd taken up the cause of a death-row inmate. You of all people.”

“I had a good guide to this one, Eriq.”

“And this thing in Chicago? It certainly smacks of a connection. Is it connected?”

“Too soon to be absolutely certain, but yeah, we have people working on connecting the dots there.”

They said their good-byes and he wished her luck and foolishly reminded her that time was running out fast now.

Darwin's pained face met hers when she got off the line with Eriq. He looked stricken.

“What is it? Your brother? What?”

“Damn fools Petersaul and Cates.”

“What about them?”

“They gave all their findings to Hughes's office, and it was… was good stuff.”

“Christ, it won't be, not by time Hughes and his people have poked holes in it, and put their spin on it.”

“Damn fool Amanda!”

“What's with Petersaul?”

“Said she couldn't get hold of either of us or Sharpe. Called while we were without our phones in with Robert. Damn!”

“Why didn't she just leave a message?”

“She did on my voice mail. It's why I called her back but too late. She thought she was doing right.”

“No way she could know the governor's as big an ass as… as… as the governor's ass.”

Darwin laughed at this.

“I've got my plea in now to Fischer. All we can do now is pray that he puts on the needed pressure, and that Cellmark gets the DNA mapping done for the signature of the killer, and then we match it to Rob's, and we'll have the conclusive proof we need to free him.”

Jessica pressed send on the E-mail, a detailed needs list directed at her boss's boss.

“What if he doesn't get it?”

“The E-mail?”

“The E-mail, its contents, the reason for all of this?”

“We have to hope he does.”

“Hope is become a shredded, unraveling cord, Jess, or haven't you noticed? Damn that blood type. Why couldn't it have gone in our favor?” he asked.

“Because God is enjoying the drama a little too much, maybe? But wait a minute. Just hold on a minute.”

He stared at her, trying to fathom her thoughts. “What? What're we holding on for?”

“We need to… I mean what if… could it possibly work?”

Still confused, Darwin placed both hands on her shoulders and amid the cafe crowd gripped her strongly and said, “Spit it out.” “No… not here. In the car on the way to pick up Richard at the airport. I've got to think this through.”

He plunked down enough bills to cover the coffee and pastries they'd nibbled on along with the usage fee for the computer. “If you've got a new direction, I want to hear about it. Come on.”

They sat out on the airport taxi strip, having flashed their FBI badges out the windows of the rented LeSabre. Now they watched as the jumbo jet arriving from San Francisco, and carrying Richard Sharpe, touched down with a bark of burning tires, calmed, slowed and came to a stop to make a forty-five-degree turn for the terminal. Jessica anxiously awaited Richard as the jet lazily taxied toward the terminal.