Robert Walker - Darkest Instinct

Judy shook her head. “All that Tammy told us was that his name was Patric, spelled without the K,” she repeated, dropping her eyes. “What about the boat name having a T in it?” Jessica pursued.

“ No, I told you, we didn’t pay any attention to the name, and I couldn’t make it out when I decided maybe I should, you know, pay attention.”

Jessica squeezed her hand. “You’ve got to stop blaming yourself for this awful thing he did, Judy… Judy…”Donna LeMonte stared intently upon the scene, and when Jessica looked up into her clear green eyes Donna realized that the pupil-Jessica-had now become the teacher, the healer. Her words were exactly those spoken by Donna to her many years ago, when Jessica had first come to Donna seeking absolution in the death of Otto Boutine, a wonderful man who’d died because Jessica had made a fatal mistake in judgment while tracking down Mad Matthew Matisak. Boutine, Jessica’s first true love, had given his life to preserve hers.

“ It’s not my fault, huh?” asked Judy, pulling away and going for the door. “Tell that to Tammy’s parents, her sister and brother. And while you’re at it, tell them it wasn’t Cynthia’s fault, either. Go ahead! Tell them!”

“ Judy… Judy!” Jessica started to go after the young woman, but Donna stopped her. “Give her time, Jess.”

Officer Conway quickly handed over the sketch to a female assistant, telling her to run it through the usual process and to get copies out to every precinct. He then pushed past them, in search of Judy, saying, “I’ll see that Miss Templar gets home all right.”

“ We’ll need to keep those copies in-house for now,” Santiva told the assistant. “Send them out to the precincts, like your boss said, but with a word of caution. Nothing on this goes to the press as yet. We have a deal with the Herald, remember?”

“ Yes, sir.” She was off and running.

“ Ahhhh, I know I’m kinda new here and all,” said Donna LeMonte, “but am I to understand that you’re going to willfully withhold information vital to the safety of every woman in this city, because you’ve struck a deal with the local press? Excuse me, but-”

“ We don’t release anything to the press on a case without a powwow, Dr. LeMonte, and you… well, you’re not involved in policy, so I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it tonight.”

“ And you’re part of this policy-making, Jessica?” she asked, turning to her friend with an accusing eye.

“ We’ve had to make certain concessions to the Herald. It has to do with the fact that the killer has been sending them exclusives, like I’ve told you, Donna.”

“ Well, just how long do you intend to withhold information like this from the public so that you can play games with this madman?”

“ As I said, that is none of your concern,” replied Santiva.

She glowered at him. “None of my concern. I beg to differ, Agent Santiva.”

“ Look, you’re on retainer; we’re paying your bill, and I understand that you’re intending on a weeklong stay, to catch some sun and surf. Why don’t you get at it?”

“ That young lady who just left here is likely going to need months, if not years, of psychiatric support, and I’ve got to sift the countryside here for someone capable of helping her. I won’t be able to long distance. In the meantime, she thinks she just possibly helped to save another Tammy or maybe even herself from harm by this fiend you’re after. Now what in hell do I tell her?” Santiva’s Cuban ire was up. “You don’t tell her a thing.”. “We’ll release the sketch to the public when we as a team feel that it is right to do so,” interjected Jessica, trying to mediate between her boss and her best friend while wondering how things had blown up so quickly.

“ And not before,” Santiva added.

“ Donna,” Jessica tried to soothe her friend, “it’s policy.”

“ Fine nonsense to hide behind: policy. Jess, I never thought you’d stoop to this.”

Donna stormed out, leaving Jessica feeling drained and deflated. She and Eriq exchanged a shaky glance and then she asked, “Why not release the sketch now, immediately? Give it to the Herald and everybody else.”

“ You know’s well as I do: It could send our man fleeing into oblivion faster than a freak wave.”

“ Yeah, I know that.”

“ It happened in Hawaii when you got close to Ko wona, didn’t it? You know that the consequences can be devastating.”

I also know that maybe, just maybe, if we’d gotten Kowona’s picture out twenty-four hours before we did, a young woman I saw tied to a wall and mutilated with swords from head to toe might be alive today.”

“ There’s no room for argument on this one, Jess. This one’s my call, and I say law enforcement and need-to- know only until we know more about this Patric Allain. We’re armed now with a name and a full description. We’re getting close; let’s don’t blow it now out of some notion about serving the public good when we know that the public doesn’t heed a damn thing we say in the first place.”

“ How long?”

“ Whatever it takes.”

“ How long do we withhold this from the Herald then?”

He bit back on his lower lip. “I don’t know.”

“ We made a deal with Merrick.”

“ I want to take this carefully and by the book.”

“ There are no books to go by here, only one’s instincts, and mine tell me that-”

“ I want to get a sculptor in here to do a 3-D bust from the sketch before we go anywhere else with it. Then, maybe we take it to the next level.”

She slowly repeated, “We had a deal with Merrick.”

“ There’re others to consider in this besides Merrick and Judy Templar and Dr. LeMonte, Jess.”

Jessica relented, backing away. “Oh, I see… others.” Her tone mocked him.

He pursued. “Don’t give me that, Jess. You knew going in that this was as politically red hot as coals from hell; that every bloody politician and hack in this city is trying to make hay one way or another with these killings. The mayor and the city council are concerned about-”

“- about the downturn in revenues from a distrustful tourist population, I’m sure. As if all these money matters matter!”

“ We don’t work in a fucking vacuum, Doctor. We never did, and you of all people should know that. Wasn’t it that way when you were head of pathology at Washington Memorial?”

She clenched her teeth and fists and turned away from him. She thought of the political ramifications of the case in New Orleans the year before, of the dirty politics in Hawaii that had gotten an innocent young man killed, of Chicago and New York, L.A. and D.C., where politics also ruled, holding sway over the lives of individuals who couldn’t fathom what hit them until it was too late.

“ Nothing’s changed on that front, Jessica. It never will.”

“ You told Donna that releasing the police sketch of the killer would be a team decision. Well, I’m part of this team, and I say we release it immediately to the Herald for tonight’s late edition, and soon after to the rest of the media.”

“ Sorry, but this half of the team disagrees with you, and I’ve got a little more experience in dealing with personalities like this Patric guy than you do, so I’ll ask you to bow to my judgment in this instance.”

“ But, Eriq-”

“ No more discussion, Jess. For now, we leave it alone. We forward what we have only to law enforcement officials with the disclaimer that it’s not to be released to the press. Meantime, I’ll take what we have to the mayor’s office, and from there it’ll be filtered through the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee.”

Her stare forced a cold, steel lance through his chest now. “You’re going to withhold this even from other law enforcement agencies until you get the nod from the governor, aren’t you?”