Robert Browne: Trial Junkies

What a joke that had turned out to be.

And a sad, sorry, unfunny one at that.

Hutch rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, thinking that maybe he was a little drunk after all. He had nearly drifted to sleep when his cell phone bleeped and he jerked awake, fumbling to retrieve it from his pants pocket.

He squinted at the screen but didn't recognize the number. Putting the phone to his ear, he murmured a groggy hello, and was surprised to hear Gus's voice on the line. "You awake, kid? You sound like you're half asleep."

"I just crawled into bed," Hutch said.

"Rough day, I know, but you'd better crawl back out. You're gonna want to meet me as soon as possible."

Gus was a good old guy, but the last thing Hutch wanted was company right now. He could barely keep his eyes open. "Why?" he said wearily. "What's going on?"

"Just ran into a friend of ours out here in the River District."

"Friend of ours?"

"Come on, buddy boy-wake the hell up. I'm talking about Freddy Langer. He's standing outside that little waitress's apartment as we speak."

Hutch sat up, his heart starting to pound. "Where can I find you?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

Gus's car was a twenty year-old faded blue Volvo sedan parked in the darkness between two street lights on North Wood, just around the corner from West Fulton. Both streets were dotted with warehouses.

Hutch had told the cab driver to drop him off a block away, then gave Gus a call, letting him know he was in the vicinity. Gus told him where to look and Hutch had walked until he found the car. He checked to make sure it was occupied, then gave Gus a quick wave and opened the passenger door.

The interior light came on, briefly illuminating the old man's weathered face and a night vision scope clutched in his right hand. It looked a lot like the one Hutch had used in an indie action-thriller he'd done called With No Remorse .

Gus glanced over briefly as Hutch climbed in and closed the door, then handed him the scope and pointed past the intersection toward Fulton. "Check out the auto body shop. Coupla cars parked in the driveway in front of the roll-up. You'll see him standing there."

Hutch hefted the scope. "You just carry one of these around, do you?"

"Trunk of my car. Never know when it might come in handy."

Hutch raised it to his eye, seeing a glowing field of green, and just as promised, he was able to make out a shadowy figure at the edge of a pool of street light.

"Is one of the cars his?"

"Nope. He's on foot."

"So what's he up to?"

"You can't see it from this angle," Gus said, "but the little gal's apartment house is right across the street. He's been watching it for close to an hour now."

Hutch squinted and adjusted the lens. "You sure it's him?"

"Hell, yes. I followed him from the restaurant. He waited outside until she got off work, then walked her home."

"From a distance, I take it."

"Is there any other way for a guy like this?"

"I wouldn't know," Hutch said. "I'm not exactly an expert on creepazoid behavior."

"Trust me, I've seen quite a few of these perverts over the years. They're all pretty much the same."

Hutch kept the scope on Langer. "I'm surprised the waitress walked home alone. Ronnie warned her the guy might be stalking her."

"People make all kinds of compromises when they're trying to save a penny."

"He's gonna kill her, isn't he? Just like the other women. Ronnie was a bust, so he's moved on. That's why he wasn't in court today."

"Butcher her is more accurate. But not tonight. I'm guessing he's a slow burner. Takes his time watching them before he-"

Hutch's cell phone bleeped. Startled, he handed the scope back to Gus and fumbled for the phone.

It wasn't a call, but a text message coming in. He was about to dismiss it when he saw the name associated with it-Cynthia Coe. The receptionist from Jenny's law firm.

He checked the message:

Sorry this took so long. Here's the photo you wanted.

She was talking about the surveillance photo. The one of Langer sitting in the Treacher amp; Pine lobby-proof that he had been trying to get close to Jenny. Why she was sending it at this hour was anybody's guess, but Hutch wasn't about to quibble.

He touched the screen and the photo came into view, showing a somewhat murky image of a man with glasses sitting on one of the Treacher amp; Pine couches.

There was only one problem.

It wasn't Frederick Langer.

He looked similar, all right, but he was too big and thick to be the creep. And the glasses were different.

Damn.

Hutch frowned, disappointment sweeping through him as he pocketed the phone. If they couldn't show a connection between Langer and Jenny, what else did they have? How could they ever hope to prove that he'd slaughtered her?

"Looks like our boy's up to something," Gus said. "What the hell is he doing?"

He handed the scope to Hutch and Hutch put it to his eye, pointing it toward the auto body shop. Revulsion welled up inside him as he realized Langer was moving one of his hands in an all too familiar way.

"Oh, shit," he murmured. "This guy doesn't just watch."

"What's he up to?"

"Tenderizing the beef, as Andy would say."

Gus groaned. "Son, I could've gone the rest of my years without you sharing that particular tidbit of information."

"Hey, you asked." Hutch lowered the scope. "I think I'll let him do his business in private. Way he's going at it, it shouldn't take long."

"Christ on a cracker," Gus said.

They were silent, sitting there in the darkness as they waited for Langer to be done, Hutch thinking about all the time this guy had spent stalking Ronnie. A slow burner, as Gus had said. And if Langer had indeed changed up his modus operandi with her, that was a good thing. Otherwise Ronnie might not be alive today.

Then again Jenny would be, wouldn't she? She'd be in her apartment right now, maybe working on a case or getting ready for bed. Maybe even worrying about Hutch out there in Lala Land, wasting his life away.

Where were you, Ethan.

Why didn't you return my calls?

Hutch decided it was best not to think about these things. He had no desire to turn this into some kind of Sophie's choice moment between Jenny and Ronnie.

Thankfully, Gus broke the silence. "You heard anything about Veronica?"

"Nothing new."

"Way she's being railroaded, I don't blame her for taking off."

"Except we both know she'll be caught," Hutch said. "And when that happens…"

"Don't give up just yet, son. We still got a bonafide pervert to wrangle and that could change the whole rodeo." He gestured. "Speaking of which, you'd better check on him. See if he's done floggin' the dog."

Hutch nodded and raised the scope, pointing it toward the auto body shop.

His heart froze.

Langer wasn't there.

"Fuck," he said, adjusting the lens and panning the street. "The son of a bitch is gone."

"Are you kidding me? Give me that thing."

Hutch handed over the scope and Gus pressed it to his eye, panning and focusing, trying to get a bead on Langer. From the look on his face, he wasn't having any luck.

He lowered the scope. "We might have a very serious problem on our hands."

"Meaning what?"

"What if I'm wrong? What if this boy isn't a slow burner after all? That little move he just made could've been the beginning of something. Maybe his particular perversion is to relieve himself, then punish the girl for making him do it."

"Holy shit," Hutch said. His heart started thumping, going into overdrive.

"Holy shit, indeed," Gus murmured, then jerked his door open.