Michael Baden - Skeleton justice

The stench, the noise, the rage-it all reminded Sam of a tour he'd once taken of a maximum-security prison in Texas. There, too, the inmates had hurled themselves against the bars, angered beyond reason by the sight of a free man.

Sam looked at these canine prisoners and knew there wasn't much he could do other than call the ASPCA and hope the dogs could be tended to humanely. He gripped the young man's shoulder. "Come on, Pauly-we need to call for some help. You can't keep taking care of these dogs on your own. It's not safe."

Pauly looked uncertain. "Freak said he'd pay me five dollars. If I don't do my job, I won't get paid."

Sam pulled a ten from his wallet. "You did a good job, Pauly. Let's get out of here."

Pauly's eyes lighted up. "Maybe you're right. It sure does stink in here."

Just then, a breeze blew through, stirring the fumes from the uncleaned cages. Sam coughed as he moved toward the gate, then stopped. The powerful smell of dog waste permeated the air, but under that was another smell, much worse, just as distinctive.

"Wait for me outside, Pauly." Sam gave the kid a gentle shove, then crossed the yard to a garden shed in the corner. Covering his face with a handkerchief, he quickly yanked open the door.

What had once been a thin man, wearing a baseball cap with a ponytail extending out the back of the hat, slid out. Sam thought he saw a ghost-his ghost. Instead what he was looking at was the real killer of Boo Havrek.

The dogs began to howl.

The door opened once more and the Costellos returned. Between them, they pushed a large cage on wheels.

They stood aside. Travis screamed.

"He's a little cranky. He hasn't eaten," Elena said.

Manny looked into the eyes of an abused, angry, and restless pit bull. It stared back, its small gray eyes as flat and emotionless as a shark's. Hard to believe that this creature was from the same species as Mycroft. Now Manny understood the plan. She and Travis would be left alone and unprotected to be tortured by this animal while people watched on the Web cam, powerless to help them.

"Wait!" Manny screamed. "You can't leave us here with that, that… We've never done anything to hurt you. I would have helped you with your cause if you had just come to me and asked."

"I'm sorry that you and Travis have to suffer," Dr. Costello said. He looked sad. The nervousness had returned. "So often, the innocent do."

Manny sensed his weakness. Elena was ferocious, but Manny felt she could prevail with Dr. Costello. "We can still work this out," Manny pleaded. "I'll help you file a lawsuit against the government."

"The time for that is long past." Elena waved her hand while groaning in disgust. "To get what, lip service-skeleton justice? This is the only way. The right way."

Elena stepped up to the cage and checked what appeared to be a timer attached to the door. The white-and-brown dog lunged at her hand, but she didn't react. "He's not that big. Freak said he wasn't a great fighter. He won't kill Manny and Travis, just as the dogs they used on our parents didn't kill them. These two can survive the bites. This was our plan. To show the world the torture our parents suffered."

Dr. Costello nodded. Manny couldn't be sure if he was agreeing or convincing himself.

"This is wrong," Manny said, trying one last time to convince him. "This isn't justice; it's pure cruelty. It's not what your parents would want to avenge them."

"You can't know that." Elena's voice, low and steady now, chilled Manny more than her screaming had. "You don't know our parents. We never knew them. They're nothing more than decaying flesh and bones to us. But we have vowed to keep their souls alive for them, for us, and for all others like us. You preach justice. Can you guarantee you could get us true justice, Ms. Manfreda?"

Manny averted her eyes. She had no answer.

"We will do this. The others want to forget about the Dirty War, pretend it never happened. We will finally make the world see."

"The Costellos' apartment and the veterinary office are both empty," Pasquarelli reported by phone. "No one's seen them since yesterday afternoon. We're watching all three airports and the train stations."

Jake nodded without much interest. He knew the Costellos wouldn't try to escape before they carried out their final plan, whatever it was. Finding them mattered to him only if it led to finding Manny… alive. "Any information they left behind to indicate where they're holding Manny and Travis?"

"Our computer guys are searching the office computer, but so far it seems to be strictly business. At home, it looks like they used a laptop, which they must've taken with them. There was some ash residue in the kitchen sink, and the smoke alarm was disconnected-they probably burned some papers before they left."

Meticulous. He hadn't expected anything less. Elena Costello's purchase of the Nixon coffee mug using her own name was the only mistake they'd made so far. Any forensic psychiatrist would say it was her way of getting caught-purposely. So that the world would know of her accomplishments, and she would be glorified. The twenty-first-century version of Jack the Ripper. But implicating Travis instead of Paco in the bombing was a more mundane blunder. But they'd made that error work to their advantage, milked it for even more publicity. As his mentor used to say, the hallmark of a professional lay not in never taking a misstep, but in knowing how to recover from it. Jake knew he couldn't count on the Costellos to trip themselves; he would have to trap them.

As soon as he hung up with Vito, the phone rang again. The caller ID indicated it was Sam, who was obviously reporting in from Paterson.

"Hi-what've you got?" Jake said.

"I found Freak."

"Already? Fantastic!"

"Not so fantastic for him. He's dead," Sam said.

Jake's grip on the phone tightened. The Costellos were tying up every loose end, eliminating every person who might intentionally or unintentionally disrupt their plan. Manny seemed to be part of their plan. But when they were done with her, what then? "What happened to him?"

"Shot through the back of the head, apparently while he was getting food for his dogs out of this shed. There's blood and brain matter everywhere."

"Where are you? What's all that noise?"

Jake listened as his brother described the house in Paterson and the condition of the dogs. "The local police are here. We're waiting for Animal Control and the morgue meat wagon to arrive," Sam said.

"Don't let them move the body," Jake said, already out of his chair. "I want to see it in situ."

"But the Passaic County ME will be handling this case," Sam said.

"I don't care who has jurisdiction. Just don't let them move the body until I get there." As Jake swiveled his chair to leave, the phone rang again. Caller ID blocked-a Pederson trademark. Damn it-he had to take this call.

Elena knelt at Manny's feet and started untying her legs. A surge of hope energized Manny. If they were to be moved, she might have an opportunity to escape. Then Manny realized what was really going on and the hope fizzled out. Elena wanted them to be able to run from the dog-it would make for a better show.

Manny watched Elena work and considered her options. She could wait until Elena was untying Travis, then kick her hard in the head. If she could knock Elena unconscious, she might stand a chance of reasoning with Dr. Costello. It was a long shot, but-

A sensation of being watched made Manny look up. Dr. Costello had his gun trained on her. Amazing how that small black object drained the strength from her legs.

With Travis's feet untied, Elena pulled out a cell phone and dialed. "Dr. Rosen? Are you sitting in front of your computer?"

Manny could feel her heart rate kick up a notch. To hear Jake's name spoken, to know he was on the other end of that phone. "Jake!" she screamed.