Faye Kellerman: Blindman’s Bluff

No one was surprised when Kaffey shook his head no. His heart rate jumped as he tried to speak.

“Four…”

The ICU nurse tossed the detectives a meaningful glance. “Just a few minutes.”

“Got it,” Decker said. “Did you say four, Mr. Kaffey?” When Gil nodded, he said, “Were there four people who attacked you?”

Kaffey shook his head. “For an…”

They waited. Nothing else came and Kaffey closed his eyes.

Decker said, “Do you mean the number four?”

Another shake. “For…in.”

Decker said, “Foreign? As in foreign-speaking?”

Kaffey’s heart rate quickened and his eyes opened slowly. He gave them a nod.

“The people who attacked you weren’t speaking English.”

Another nod.

“Do you know the language?” Marge asked him.

“No…dark…”

“Dark?” Marge repeated. “The room was dark?”

A shake of the head.

Marge tried again. “The men who attacked you were dark complexioned?”

Again the eyes opened. Another nod.

“Were they black?”

“No…dark…”

“Dark,” Decker said. “Dark like Hispanic or maybe Mideastern or Mediterranean?”

A nod.

“But you didn’t recognize the language they were speaking?”

No answer.

Marge asked him, “How many men do you remember?”

“May…be…three…four…” The eyes closed. “Tired.”

The nurse broke in. “He’s due for some pain medications. I need to call in the doctor.” She rang a bell. “You should probably go now.”

“You’re the boss.” Decker handed the nurse several cards. “When he’s a bit more awake, please call us. I know that his health is paramount, but the more information we have, the better our chances of solving the crime.”

“See…” Gil said.

Marge and Decker whipped their heads in Kaffey’s direction.

“See what?” Marge asked.

He shook his head. “See…yes.”

The detectives waited for more.

“Yes…see.”

Decker smoothed his mustache, his version of stroking a beard. He did it when he was thinking hard. “Do you mean sí like the Spanish word for yes?”

“One of them.” Labored breathing. “I heard him say sí.”

RINA TOOK HER roast beef sandwich from a plastic baggie. It was on an onion roll with lettuce, tomato, and pickles.

Joy eyed it enviously. “That looks good.”

“Want a bite?” Rina offered.

“No, I have my fast food. What would my system do without all that added sodium?”

The mall was an enclosed series of multiple fast-food outlets designed to appeal to the teeming mass of humanity that the city employed. Although ripe with the smell of cooking oil and meat, it was air-conditioned and on days where the mercury was hovering in the nineties, one could put up with a bit of stale grease.

They were a motley crew. Joy was a secretary for a metal recycling company. She was in her sixties, chunky with dyed red hair and rouged cheeks. Ally had just graduated from community college with a major in communications and was excited about her upcoming twenty-first birthday party.

Everyone on the jury was invited. Ally’s dark hair had a blond chip running down the middle like a skunk. Ryan was in his late thirties, married with three boys. He was a contractor and was happy to get off the job for a couple of days. He had been working on a big house and the clients were driving him crazy. Kate was the sole woman in a house of former air force men. Her two boys were now in their thirties and worked as pilots for FedEx. Her husband had put in thirty years with United Airlines.

“We went on a lot of great vacations,” Kate said.

“I bet,” Rina said. “We took an Alaskan cruise last year. It was heavenly.”

“Alaska’s beautiful,” Ryan said. “I try to go fishing every summer up there.”

“Salmon fishing?”

“You got it.”

Joy said, “Aren’t you worried about grizzly bears?”

“You go fishing when there’s lots of fish. When the grizzlies are busy eating fish, they don’t bother you.”

Joy said, “Did you see that awful documentary where the guy and his girlfriend got attacked and were eaten by a grizzly bear?”

“Ugh,” Ally said. “When was this?”

“Several years ago,” Rina said.

Ryan said, “They are wild animals. You’ve got to have respect.”

“Ugh!” Ally repeated.

“Probably not as yucky as today’s headlines,” Joy said. “Did you read about what happened at that huge mansion in the Valley?”

“Coyote Ranch,” Ryan said. “The Kaffeys. They’re major developers.”

“I was sick when I read that… It’s just horrible! Three people dead!”

Joy was just a font of distasteful news. And she delivered it with such glee. Rina didn’t bother to correct her on the body count. Keeping one’s mouth shut was always a good option.

“They must have had an elaborate alarm system,” Joy went on. “It had to be an inside job.”

Kate said, “I certainly wouldn’t want to be on that jury. I’d hang the bastards.” She turned to Rina.

“Where does your husband work?”

“In the West Valley.”

“Oh…okay.”

Joy’s eyes widened. “So it’s your husband’s district?”

“Yes.”

“Is he involved?”

“I think all of the West Valley is involved. The victims are high-profile people. It’s going to get a lot of attention.”

Joy leaned over. “What do you know about it?”

“The same as you do: what I’ve read in the morning papers.”

Ally smiled. “She’s going mute.”

Rina smiled back and took a bite of her sandwich. Then she changed the subject. “Does anyone know who that guy in the spectator seating is?”

“The guy with the shades and the Tom Cruise smile?” Kate said. “Who is he?”

“I don’t know, but he’s been in and out of the courtroom since the voir dire.”

“Maybe he’s a reporter,” Ally suggested.

Kate said, “I haven’t seen a notepad.”

“Lots of ’em use tape recorders. That’s what I did when I had to do interviews for journalism.”

Kate shrugged, “Maybe.”

“It’s a little weird,” Joy said. “He just sits and smiles at us. Is he trying to intimidate us or something?”

“I don’t know,” Rina said. “Every time I sneak a glance at him, he’s straightening his tie or wiping lint off his suit. He dresses nicely. He obviously cares about his appearance.”

Ryan said, “Tell you one thing. He isn’t involved with manual labor. Soft hands.”

“Maybe he’s like a private attorney,” Joy said. “The guy on trial can use someone better than that schlump he has.”

“Yeah, he is pretty schlumpy,” Ally said.

Kate said, “We probably shouldn’t be talking about the case.”

“We’re not talking about the case,” Joy said, “just the schlumpy attorney.”

“Still, Kate has a point,” Rina said. “So what’s the guess on who Mr. Smiles is?”

Shrugs all around.

“I just hope he’s not a stalker,” Ally said quietly.

“He’s a little out in the open to be a stalker,” Rina said.

Joy said, “I once had a stalker. Some guy at work. Wouldn’t leave me alone.”

Ally said, “What did you do?”

“I repeatedly told him to bug off. When he wouldn’t, I threw coffee in his face.” When the group stared at her, dumbfounded, Joy said, “It was lukewarm. But I made my point. He never bothered me again.”

“You’re tough,” Ryan said. “Tougher than my clients.”

Joy patted his hand with maternal affection. “I may be a grandma, but that still doesn’t mean you can mess with me.”

Ally said, “Did you bring up the stalker at the voir dire when they asked about experience with crime?”