Brad Meltzer - Dead Even

“C’mon, there he goes!” Guff said. “I see him on the next block! Let’s get him!”

The officer didn’t move. “Listen, I agree the rules are stupid, but the Jersey cops raise hell if you break them. The last guy in my squad who crossed state lines without authorization was assigned to Port Authority for three months. Said the bus fumes were worse than the urine stink.”

“C’mon,” Sara said. “We’re not doing anything crazy. We just want to find this guy and bring him back to the station.”

“Do whatever you want. But unless you have the right paperwork, you’re not doing it in this car.”

“Fine,” Sara said. She opened the door to the car. “Then let’s get a cab. We’ll go down there and pick him up ourselves.”

“No,” Guff said. “You can’t.”

“Why? This is bureaucratic bullshit.”

“Maybe, but that’s the way it goes. If we try to pick Elliott up without the proper authorization, we jeopardize the case and everything we find.”

“But-”

“Sara, you know how it works. Don’t let your heart get in front of your head. Break the rules and the judge will exclude your evidence.”

“Take the ten minutes and call in the paperwork,” the officer added. “They can fax it to the Hoboken police, and it’ll be ready by the time we reach the Lincoln Tunnel.”

“Are you sure?” Sara asked hesitatingly.

“Of course I’m sure,” the officer said. “How long can a few sheets of paper possibly take?”

A half hour later, the police car was waiting in traffic at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. “I can’t believe this,” Sara said, banging the dashboard. “I knew we shouldn’t have called it in.”

“Relax,” the officer said. “Better we take the time now, instead of rushing in and regretting it later.”

“What amazes me is that the entire criminal community isn’t onto this trick,” Guff said. “If I were going to break the law in this city, the first thing I’d do is move to New Jersey. No one can touch you there.”

“I’m sure they know all about it,” the officer said, trying to lighten the mood. “But who wants to live in Jersey?” When no one responded to the joke, the officer added, “C’mon, that was funny.”

“Don’t push it,” Sara said. “Now’s not the time.”

“Who is it?” Elliott asked through the intercom.

“It’s Rafferty. Buzz us in.” The buzzer sounded and they made their way up the stairs.

As Elliott opened his door a crack, he saw Rafferty and Kozlow. “What’re you so happy about?” Elliott asked. Kozlow kicked the door open, revealing Claire.

“Well, would you look at that,” Elliott said. “They were lying to us.”

“Actually, they were playing us against each other,” Rafferty said, entering the apartment. “The only thing I can’t figure out is how they knew to come after you.”

“Why don’t you ask him.” Following Elliott’s gesture, Rafferty, Kozlow, and Claire turned toward the other room. Conrad’s body was still on the floor.

“Oh, God!” Claire shouted.

“Are you nuts?” Kozlow said. “You know what that’s going to do to us?”

“I know exactly what it’s going to do,” Elliott said. “It’s going to be my out.”

With gritted teeth, Rafferty slowly turned around. “You son of a bitch.”

“Is there a problem?” Elliott asked innocently.

“You knew all along, didn’t you? You knew she was alive, and you knew what they were doing.”

“I don’t-”

“Don’t play stupid, Elliott. Your lies are catching up with you. You’ve been threatening Sara since the beginning. That’s how she knew you were involved, that’s how she knew to come after you, and that’s why she wouldn’t take the dismiss and seal. You were supposed to stay away, and instead, you stuck your greedy nose back in.”

Elliott backed his way into the kitchen, trying to get Rafferty to follow him. If he was going to make it look real, he needed everyone to be in place. “Oscar, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You lying piece of shit!” Rafferty yelled. “You think I’m a moron?” He shoved Elliott in the chest, sending him crashing into the kitchen table. “You think I’m blind? I know exactly what you’re doing. You’re trying to grab the money for yourself.”

Just a little closer, Elliott thought. Near the window. Get the angles right. “I swear, I’d never-”

“ Stop your lying! ” Rafferty screamed, his voice booming through the tiny apartment. “I asked you one small favor: Find me someone to give the shot. That was your job. And what do you do? You turn on me! On me ! I practically raised you, and that’s how you repay me?”

Suddenly, Elliott stopped where he was. “You didn’t raise me!” he shouted.

“Oh, I didn’t? Who gave your mother money when Arnold fired her? Who sent her money every year until you were sixteen? Who-”

“You didn’t give a shit about her – you were just afraid!” Advancing from the window, he stood face-to-face with Rafferty. “Until the day she died, you were worried she’d bring him up on charges. That she’d get vengeful and wreck his pathetic marriage. Or worse, that she’d get smart and sue your precious company. Rape accusations can be a real ugly mess, can’t they?”

“Your mother wasn’t raped,” Rafferty insisted.

“Yes, she was!” Elliott yelled as a vein on his forehead flushed red. “He punched her so hard, he broke her jaw! I still have the medical records to prove it! And when he found out she was pregnant, he threw her in the street!” Noticing Claire’s reaction, Elliott asked, “You didn’t know that, did you? You knew he was ruthless, but you didn’t know he was a monster. If you did, maybe you would’ve killed him sooner.”

“That’s enough!” Rafferty interrupted. “Leave her out of it!”

“Why? She’s just as responsible as you are. In fact, she’s more responsible. If she hadn’t been so afraid of giving Arnold the shot, we never would’ve had to hire Kozlow. And if we hadn’t hired him-”

“Hey, asshole…” Kozlow interrupted.

“Stay out of this,” Rafferty growled. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, he turned back to Elliott. “We hired Kozlow because we wanted alibis – even you know that’s true.”

“That’s true, but my mother’s story’s a lie?”

“Elliott, your mother was a degenerate who begged for it every day. I gave her money out of pity, not guilt. And if she told you she was raped, it was only because she was embarrassed by the truth.”

“You’re a liar!”

“No. I’m not,” Rafferty said. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his coat. “And if you want to join us in reality, you should start believing that and stop living in your mother’s fantasies.”

Enraged, Elliott reached for his gun. “You motherfu-”

Three shots rang out. Two hit Elliott in the chest, one went through the kitchen window on his right. Elliott fell to the floor and his blood inched across the linoleum. Ignoring his victim, Rafferty looked down at the hole he had just blown through the pocket of his own overcoat.

“No!” Claire screamed. She staggered backward until she hit the refrigerator.

“Oh, man, why’d you have to do that?” Kozlow asked Rafferty, throwing his hands in the air.

“Is he dead?” Rafferty asked, watching the blood seep across more of the kitchen floor.

“Of course he’s dead – you shot him in the chest.” Kozlow leaned over Elliott’s body to be sure. “What’re you doing, man? Are you even thinking?”

Standing behind Kozlow, Rafferty explained, “I’m doing what I should’ve done the moment this started.” Rafferty pointed his gun at Kozlow.