Tom Wallace - Gnosis

Still, they now had a focus point-Rocky Stone-and that’s better than nothing.

Yet-

“I don’t know, Milt,” Dantzler finally said. “There are a lot of dots that need to be connected. I wish I were as positive as you are.”

“You’re a negative prick, and always have been. You and Dan were a lot alike that way, damn prophets of doom, the both of you.” Milt chuckled softly. “Not at all like me, Mr. Positive.”

“Yeah, you’re a real sunbeam of joy, Milt.”

“Think about it, Ace. This could turn out to be the ray of sunshine we need in order to solve this sucker. Certain elements do fit. Rocky Stone is a convicted felon, he’s violent and…”

“You’re jumping ahead of yourself, aren’t you? We don’t even know if he’s out of jail. For all we know, he could still be locked up. Or if he is out, he could be living a thousand miles from here. Hell, he might even be dead. No, Milt, I’ll keep my excitement in check until more facts are known.”

“His name fits, too,” Milt added, undaunted by Dantzler’s skepticism. “Think about it. From what you told us after reading the Bible. You said the name Stone was one we should be looking for. Well, you got it.”

“Yeah, that part I like,” Dantzler admitted. “But for it to work, if we’re going by what Eli told us, then we’ve somehow got to link Rocky Stone to the obituary page. If we can’t do that, then it’s just a weird coincidence.”

“This is no coincidence.”

“Once we do make the connection-if we can -then we’re still only halfway home. Our next step would be to link Stone to those two kids who were killed in ’eighty-two. Again, if we can’t make the connection, this whole thing falls apart faster than a cracked egg.”

“Thanks, Ace.”

“For what?”

“Taking away all my sunshine.”

“Welcome to the dark side, Milt.”

Back at the station, Dantzler spent a few minutes briefing Captain Bird on what he learned from talking with Johnny Richards and Barbara Tanner. Bird was skeptical but intrigued. He remembered Rocky Stone as an up-and-coming boxer, but had only a vague recollection of his criminal activities. When told that Stone spent a long stretch in prison for armed robbery, Bird shrugged, went back to filling out forms, and mumbled something about not being surprised that a former pugilist ended up in legal trouble.

After leaving Bird’s office, Dantzler joined Milt, Eric, and Scott in the War Room. Milt had already brought the two younger detectives up to speed before Dantzler walked in. Scott was excited about the news, Eric wasn’t.

“We’re heading up a blind alley on this one,” Eric said. He was standing by the coffee pot, holding an empty cup. “I’ve been through those obituary notices five times and there is no one named Stone anywhere to be found. If this Stone guy killed Rogers and Fraley, then we’re looking for two shooters, not one.”

“There is only a single shooter,” Dantzler said. “I don’t like Stone as a candidate for the two most recent murders or the first two.”

Milt said, “Stone kills those young kids for who knows what reason. Maybe it was a drug thing, maybe it was something else, maybe they just pissed him off. But he kills them and gets away with it. Fast forward a few years and he gets pinched for the armed robbery thing, goes away for almost twenty years. That’s plenty of time to build up a lot of hatred and resentment toward the attorney who couldn’t save your ass. He gets out, thinks about it a little bit, maybe adds a little booze to boost his hate level, decides it’s time to settle old accounts. He kills Rogers. Fraley, the poor temp, overhears his name, or maybe she knew he was coming in, so Stone has to take care of her too. What’s so difficult to believe about that?”

“Milt, if I had ten dollars for every maybe in that speech, I’d buy myself a steak dinner tonight at Malone’s,” Eric said. “It will take some serious evidence before I’m convinced Stone killed those two guys twenty-nine years ago. And I doubt we’ll find it.”

“Know what’s missing from your scenario, Milt?” Dantzler said. “Eli Whitehouse. How does Rocky Stone fit in with Eli? Why would Eli go to prison for a nobody like Stone? Give up his freedom, his family, his congregation? It makes no sense.”

“Like you said from the start, Eli did it because he’s afraid. Not for himself, but for his family. Rocky Stone is, as we all know, a scary dude.”

“But why did Stone kill those two kids?”

“Hell, Jack, I don’t know. That’s what we’ve got to find out. We need to make the connection.”

“There is no connection, Milt,” Eric said.

Milt ripped a piece of paper from a legal pad and stood. “Let me call Stone’s parole officer, see if I can come up with an address. That will at least answer the question regarding his whereabouts.”

“Why didn’t the guy use his cell phone?” Scott asked, after Milt left the room.

“A dinosaur like Milt never thinks cell phone first,” Eric said.

“Can’t imagine thinking otherwise,” Scott said, shaking his head.

Ten minutes later, Milt came back into the room, waving the paper like a flag. “Stone lives on Alexandria. Let’s go pay him a visit, Ace.”

“We’re all going,” Dantzler said. “Everybody wears a vest. Stone is obviously a force to be reckoned with, so we’re taking no chances.”

“I’ve never worn a vest,” Scott said.

“Get used to it, Rookie,” Milt said. “You’re not writing parking tickets anymore.”

“What else did Stone’s PO tell you?” Dantzler said to Milt as they turned onto Alexandria Drive. They were in Dantzler’s Forester, followed by Eric and Scott in an unmarked police cruiser. “Anything I need to know before we talk to him?”

“Stone is unemployed-surprise, surprise-drives a red Ford pick-up, has three ex-wives, a couple of grown kids he never sees, and has been good about meeting with his parole officer. He belongs to a once-a-week prison support group but rarely attends. He’s come up clean on all his drug and alcohol tests. According to the PO, Stone has been minding his manners and staying out of trouble.”

“Sounds like a real prince,” Dantzler said, adding, “how does he get by financially? He has to have income from somewhere.”

“He lives with a woman named Consuela Lopez. She has her own business-cleans houses, office buildings, condos… that sort of thing. Has three full-time employees and a legion of part-timers. Her financial records indicate she makes pretty good money, more than two-hundred K per year, which is sufficient enough to support Stone and her two kids. Stone may be an ex-con and a brain-dead former boxer, but he’s no dummy. He was smart enough to reel in a fish with money.”

“Nice setup. Wouldn’t mind landing a deal like that myself.”

“Bring it up with Dunn,” Milt said. “She’ll support you.”

“Right. And I’ll win Wimbledon this year.”

“How’s that working out for you guys, anyway? Everything cool?”

“Jury’s still out.”

“Is Rich the problem?”

“One of them.”

“Tell you what, Ace. I wouldn’t worry too much about what Rich thinks. If things do work out between you and Dunn, Rich will have to accept it and deal with it. In the final analysis, it’s really none of his business.”

“I doubt he would agree with you.”

“What’s he going to do? He’s not going to fire you, the best homicide investigator the department has ever had. And Dunn’s a rising star. He’s doesn’t want to lose her. I say go for it and let the chips fall where they may.”