Brian Freeman - The Cold Nowhere

‘Fong Dao,’ Maggie said.

‘That’s right. We thought he did it alone, but obviously we were wrong.’

‘How did Fong die?’ Serena asked.

‘He was involved in a prison fight three years ago,’ Stride said. ‘He got his head bashed in. Obviously, he can’t tell us anything, but we know what we’re looking for now. We need a connection between Fong and Marty Gamble, or someone close to Marty.’

‘There was a girlfriend,’ Maggie said. ‘Fong was dating a black girl. Twenty years old back then. Name’s Djemilah Jordan.’

‘Is she still in Duluth?’ Stride asked.

‘No, I looked her up. She did a stretch in Shakopee for cheque fraud a couple years ago. After release, she stayed in the Cities.’ Maggie waved a piece of paper in the air. ‘I have her address and job info. I’m going to drive down and talk to her.’

‘Okay.’

‘I thought I’d check out the place where Vincent Roslak got stabbed, too. Roslak and Cat were sleeping together. Chances are, he saw the ring around her neck. Maybe this little worm figured out the connection before everybody else did and got sliced and diced for his trouble.’

Stride frowned. ‘Fair enough. Just get back here tonight. Nobody’s going to bed until we tie Marty Gamble to Fong Dao.’

‘Got it. See you later.’

Maggie pushed herself out of the chair. She nodded at Serena, who nodded back, but neither one of them said a word. Maggie limped as she left the office.

When they were alone, Stride said, ‘Is it going to be a problem? You two?’

‘Not for me,’ Serena replied. ‘How about for you?’

‘I have to work with her. That’s all.’

‘Ditto.’

Stride knew better than to push her further. ‘I’ve got Guppo pulling the archives on Fong Dao,’ he said. ‘Credit card receipts, phone records, employment history, arrest records, everything. Before we knock on any more doors, I’d like to know what we missed.’

‘I’ll get coffee,’ Serena said. She stood up, but then she turned back and leaned across Stride’s desk. ‘You know, Jonny, this discovery about the ring changes a lot of things. Not just the burglary. Have you thought about that?’

Stride nodded. ‘Michaela and Marty.’

‘It’s an awfully big coincidence, them winding up dead so soon after the home invasion.’

He saw the bodies in his head again. Marty, the burnt wound in his temple, the gun near his hand. Michaela, floating amid her spilled blood. ‘If someone else was in the house that night, they knew what they were doing,’ he said. ‘They didn’t leave any evidence behind.’

‘Maybe not physical evidence, but we have a witness,’ Serena reminded him. ‘Cat.’

‘Cat doesn’t remember anything,’ he said.

‘Or she doesn’t want to remember. The question is, can we unlock what’s in her head?’

‘Roslak tried. It didn’t tell us much.’

‘Maybe Cat needs to revisit the scene of the crime,’ she suggested.

Serena turned around. As she did, she nearly ran into Kyle Kinnick, who stood in Stride’s doorway, listening to them, his hands on his scrawny hips. She towered over the short, floppy-eared police chief, who wore a slightly baggy brown suit. He gave her a coffee-stained smile.

‘Serena Dial,’ K-2 announced in his quavering voice. ‘It’s good to see you around these parts again.’

‘Good to see you, too, sir.’

‘Oh, I’m not a sir to you, just to him.’ He nodded at Stride. ‘I need a couple minutes alone with this man, if you don’t mind.’

‘Of course,’ Serena said. She gave Stride a quick wink, then disappeared.

K-2 pulled Stride’s door shut behind him. The chief didn’t sit down; instead, he wandered around the office, tapping on the unpacked boxes on the floor with his brown shoes and staring out the window. Eventually, he leaned on the window ledge, and Stride swung around in his chair to face him.

‘I like Serena,’ K-2 said. ‘She’s better than you deserve.’

‘I won’t argue with you.’

The chief scratched his nose. ‘Pretty and smart. Like Cindy. Don’t mess it up, okay?’

Stride said nothing. He waited.

‘I got my balls squeezed again today,’ the chief went on. ‘Feels like deja vu to me, Jon. Does it feel like that to you?’

‘Yes, it does.’

‘Seems to me I asked you to give me a heads up before you start messing with Lenny Keck. And guess who just called me and suggested in pretty strong terms that I think about firing your ass?’

‘You do what you have to do, Chief,’ Stride said.

K-2 dug in his ear and studied the results. ‘Oh, hell, Jon, I’m not going to fire you, but neither one of us needs the City Council on our backs. They can make our lives miserable. I don’t need to tell you that. I’m not exactly going to glide to re-election if the Council turns against me.’

‘I realize that.’

‘You’re dredging up painful times for Lenny. I thought you of all people would be sensitive to that. Do you and your lady friend really need to rush into his house like storm troopers and start grilling him about the night that he lost his wife? For God’s sake, Jon, the man’s not a suspect in anything, is he? He was the victim back then.’

‘I’m not so sure anymore,’ Stride said.

K-2 whistled through his teeth. ‘I’m telling you, regardless of what you think about his business dealings or his politics, Lenny’s a good man. I’ve known him for years.’

‘I know you have.’

‘So I’m asking you a favor. Cut him some slack.’

‘I can’t do that,’ Stride said.

‘Do you want me to make it an order instead?’

‘It won’t make any difference. I’m going to follow this wherever it takes me.’

‘Look, Lenny likes you, and he likes me, but that’s not going to make a damn bit of difference if he feels threatened,’ the chief reminded him. ‘We are talking about one of the richest, most powerful men in the state. You do not pick a fight with that kind of man, particularly when you don’t have squat to back it up. You need more than your gut. You need evidence.’

Stride shook his head. ‘This isn’t just about my gut. Lenny knew we hadn’t recovered everything from the burglary. He knew that his wife’s ring was still missing, and I’ll bet that wasn’t the only thing. A lot more cash probably walked out of his house, too. He didn’t tell us. He kept it a secret. He let us think this started and ended with Fong Dao.’

‘You sure about that?’

‘Pretty damn sure. People died because of something he’s hiding.’

‘If this blows up in your face, I can’t help you.’

‘Do you want my resignation?’ Stride asked. ‘Because otherwise, I’m going to keep pushing.’

‘I want your common sense. You still have some of that, right?’

Stride smiled and got out of his chair. He eased against the wall next to K-2 and thought about the early years, when they were both young. He remembered him in the Northland clubhouse, scowling in mock dismay as he paid off a golf bet to Cindy. He remembered K-2’s embarrassed grin every time Cindy kissed him under the mistletoe at the department Christmas party. He remembered the chief’s arm around his shoulder at Cindy’s funeral.

‘We go back a long way, Chief,’ Stride said. ‘I’ve earned your trust.’

‘Yes, you have, and I’ve earned yours, Jon. Don’t forget that.’

‘I know. You’ve stuck out your neck for me more times than I can count. Sometimes when I didn’t deserve it.’

K-2 chuckled. ‘So now you want me to stick my neck out again, is that what you’re saying?’

‘That’s what I’m saying.’

The chief rubbed his smoothly shaven chin and shook his head. ‘Exactly what is it you want me to do, other than commit political suicide?’