Ed Gorman: Cold Blue Midnight

Sievers laughed. 'I could promote one hell of a boxing match between you two.'

Mitch nodded. 'Yeah, I guess I do sound pretty childish.'

'Fitzsimmons is a spoiled, arrogant prick. But there are a lot worse people in this world, Mitch. There really are.'

Randy Dupree came back. He looked pale and shaken. He sat down and stared at the floor. Mitch felt sorry for him but he also felt sorry for the victim. She was already forgotten and depersonalized'victim'no name, just 'victim.' She'd had a long life ahead of her.

'I guess I'll go see that girl I was telling you about,' Mitch said quietly to Sievers.

'That Cini?'

'Yeah.'

'Well, you can spend a little more time on that case now.'

'Yeah.'

'But not full-time, Mitch. We're up to our elbows in work so I'm going to need you.'

'I understand.'

He nodded to Sievers, glanced at Dupree again, and left.

The call came just when Jill was putting her eighth cookie to her mouth.

She was thankful for the phone call. It gave her an excuse to put the cookie down.

'Hello.'

'Jill.'

Didn't recognize the voice.

'Jill, this is Doris.'

'Doris? Are you all right? You sound kind of'

'I just woke up. I was taking a nap.' Pause. 'I'm sorry but I won't be able to keep our lunch date tomorrow.'

Jill had been looking forward to seeing Doris again. She'd also suspected that Doris had been going to tell her something about Eric Brooks' murder.

'Did something happen, Doris?'

'No. But I was wondering if you could come out here tonight.'

'Out there? But'

'Don't worry about Mother. She's gone out to one of her board meetings and she won't be back till late. They've just bought a new company in Argentina.'

'I'd feel uncomfortable, Doris. Going out there, I mean.'

'It'd just be us, Jill. Just the two of us.'

'Well'

There was a pause. 'I need to talk to you about Eric Brooks, Jill.'

'Can't we talk now?'

'Not over the phone. Iwell, you know how paranoid Mother is. I guess I got that from her. I never discuss anything personal over the phone.'

Unthinkable, really. Driving out there. Entering into the shadows and gloom of Evelyn's prison.

But Doris really did seem to know something about Eric Brooks' death.

She spoke without thinking: 'It'll probably take me a little while to get there.'

'There's no hurry.'

'You're sure everything's all right?'

'Everything's fine, Jill. I just woke up, that's all. Sort of muzzy, I guess.'

'I guess I'll come out, then.'

'I'm looking forward to it. See you in awhile.'

Jill hung up slowly. The receiver hadn't been cradled for more than ten seconds, when its ring shattered the silence.

'Hello?'

'Need some company?' her friend Kate said.

'God, I'd love to see you. But I've got to go somewhere.'

'Ohwhere?'

'You're not going to believe this,' Jill said. 'Out to Evelyn's mansion.'

He had fed Doris coffee and nicotine pills and then dragged her into the shower and run cold water on her for ten minutes. He tried not to notice her naked body. He had always dreamed of sleeping with his sister someday but had never been able to bring himself to it.

He thought of Rick Corday, the other man Adam had accused him of being.

He wished he were Rick Corday now.

He put Doris on the phone and made her call Jill, whispering orders to her as she obviously looked for some way to warn Jill away from coming out here.

Every few moments, Doris would look up at the face of this total stranger and shake her head. How could this be her brother? Hadn't her brother died in the electric chair?

He took her downstairs to the den.

She screamed when she saw her mother's head on its side over by the fireplace.

He slapped her and made her help carry away the bodies of both her mother and the maid.

Then they sat down and waited for Jill to come.

It would be so sweet after all these years, he thought. So sweet to pay that bitch back for what she'd done to him. First Evelyn and now Jill. At last.

Winter wonderland. That's how Mitch saw all the snow now. Yesterday, before he'd found Cini, Mitch looked at the eight inches of white stuff as a curse, something Midwesterners had to endure because of impure thoughts or because of constantly (and secretly) abusing themselves.

But now, with the socialite case solved, and with Cinihe felt certainagreeing to cooperate and clear Jill… well, it was a winter wonderland.

Whistling, he walked down the street to Cini's apartment house. Pretty co-eds all apple-cheeked and bundled-up passed him in twos and threes, their perfume lovely and wan and sexy on the night air. They probably figured he was on his way to pick up his date, he was so happy and all.

He winked at a snowman and bowed to a snow angel.

He picked up a tiny tricycle from the middle of a walk and carried it up on the porch; and he took a big chunk of icy snow and set it back in place on the snow fort from which it had fallen.

And finally

He got a running start and slid down the snow-packed sidewalk the way he had when he was a kid.

Damn near falling on his ass.

And breaking a couple of bones.

But he kept right on whistling, right on passing pretty girls, right on dreaming of holding his own pretty girl later on tonight.

There was a Domino's Pizza truck parked in a NO PARKING zone several yards from Cini's.

Mitch went up the front steps just as the Domino's kid was coming down. The kid nodded. He was hurrying. This time of night was probably his optimum time of the evening.

The hallway was positively festive, several different kinds of music fighting each other for dominance, several different kinds of meals mixing into a not-unpleasant odor of heat and sweetness.

He went up to Cini's door and knocked.

Hard to tell if anybody was inside because of all the noise in the hallway.

He knocked again, louder.

The door opened behind him.

A kid with acne and a sarcastic grin was shrugging into a Navy P-coat as he pulled his apartment door closed behind him.

'You know Cini?'

'Sure,' the kid said.

'You see her this afternoon or this evening?'

'You her dad or something?'

'Or something,' Mitch said, showing him the badge.

'Wow,' the kid said. 'What's going on?'

'I'm just looking for Cini.'

'She in trouble?'

'Not at all.'

'I always thought of her as pretty uncool, actually, way too uncool to get into any kind of trouble.'

'Uncool in what way?'

'Well, you know, she never comes over to my place when I ask her.'

Yeah, Mitch thought, that makes her uncool all right.

The kid pulled a dark stocking cap down over his ears. 'Cops. Cool.'

Mitch did some more useless knocking.

During a lull in the various symphonies, he pressed his ear to the door. Heard nothing.

He touched his hand to the doorknob.

Gave it a turn.

Unlocked.

He thought of how cautious she'd been when he'd appeared here earlier. Very suspicious. Two big imposing chains to keep him on the far side of the door.

Now it was unlocked.

Not like Cini at all.

He turned the knob. Pushed open the door.

The smell was high and sweet and he identified it immediately. Not something you mistake once its put into your personal computer.

Somebody had fouled themselves at the point of dying.

He was afraid he knew who.

From his jacket, he took a pair of gloves.

Had to be very, very careful now.

He found a wall switch and flipped it on.

She was sprawled across the couch, facing him, arms flung wide. Her head was tilted far back. Her throat had been cut. The front of her was a mess. Dried blood everywhere.