J. Robb - Survivor in Death

“You believe-”

“I know,” Eve corrected. She ordered the images of Knight andPreston on screen. “He did that. You trained him, but that's not on you. He twisted his training. But it's on you if you don't cooperate, if you don't assist this department, this investigation. If you hamper in any way our pursuit of Roger Kirkendall, then the next one he kills is on you.”

“Your evidence is far from conclusive at this stage of your investigation.”

“Let me give you some more. And since you look like a woman who does her job, not a lot of what I'm going to give you is news. He owns part of a successful business inQueens, but hasn't been seen by his partner in six years. Grant Swisher represented his wife in a custody suit- and won. Judge Moss, presiding, was assassinated, along with his fourteen-year-old son, in a car bomb two years ago. Karin Duberry, the case worker from Child Protection Services, was strangled in her apartment last year. I believe when I complete the investigation into the stabbing of the medical authority who testified for Mrs. Kirkendall, we will find that Kirkendall was also responsible for this death.”

“Circumstantial.”

“Bullshit, Major. Jilly Isenberry, former corporal in the U.S. Army, was until recently the roommate of Sade Tully, the paralegal in Swisher's office. Isenberry spent time in the Swisher home, was considered a friend. Isenberry arranged to meet Tully shortly after the Kirkendal) trial, with the happy coincidence of a nice apartment within walking distance of Swisher's office. She, like Kirkendall, seems to travel a good deal. And I'll bet my next month's salary against yours that Kirkendall and Isenberry not only knew each other, but served together.”

“One moment, Lieutenant.” The holo vanished.

“Checking it now, aren't you? Tight-assed bitch.” Eve caught herself, turned to Whitney. “I beg your pardon, Commander.”

“No need.”

“You've been busy,” Feeney said. “Good going, kid.”

“We're rolling. We don't really need the military details at this point, but I'm not going to let her stonewall us. I want them.”

“Holes in the ER doc's case,” Baxter put in. “If you're looking at them. Guy who went down for it claimed he found her that way, just decided to rob the body-and got himself busted with her wallet and persona] effects before he got off the lot. Her blood all over him. But they never found the murder weapon.”

“Anything in his statement? He claim to see anything?”

“He was juiced. Had a homemade stunner in his pocket. No evidence vie was stunned. Already had a sheet. He'd gone down for illegals, and for assault, and for robbery. Cops find him a hundred feet from a dead body, dead body's possessions and blood on him, they didn't look elsewhere.”

“I want copies of the case file, the ME's report, the whole shot.”

“Already done.”

The holo shimmered back on. “The records requested will be made available to you.”

“Add Isenberry's.”

“Along with former Corporal Isenberry's. These officers are no longer under military jurisdiction. If either or both are responsible for these deaths, I hope you get them.”

“Thank you, Major.” Whitney gave the holo a nod of acknowledgment. “My department and the city ofNew York appreciate your help in this matter.”

“Commander. Lieutenant.” The holo faded away.

Whitney settled at his desk again. “I'd like an update while we wait for the data.”

Eve ran through it for him, for the team.

“Patient isn't the word.” Baxter huffed out a breath. “Patient's a cat at a mouse hole. This guy's like a spider who'll work for years to spin a web from theBronx to the Bowery. Our retired USMC seemed clean. He was out of town the night of the Swisher murders. Golf tourney inPalm Springs. Transpo checked out, hotel, and he's got plenty of witnesses.”

“Ours was running night maneuver drills the night of.” McNab spread his hands. “He's got a whole platoon to back him up. Maybe they had solids because they needed to cover, but they seemed straight.”

“This is our man.” Again, Eve called on Whitney's computer, and brought Kirkendall's image on-screen. “Swisher helped cost him his wife and kids. And that wife, those kids, went missing directly after the trial.”

“He got them.”

“Maybe. Maybe. But then why spend years planning and executing the assassinations of those he blamed for the loss? Payback maybe, for the time and trouble, but if you got them back, or punished them, why plant a cohort with Swisher's paralegal? For six years.”

“Because they got away from him,”Peabody put in. “Whiffed. Vanished.”

“I'm thinking they did just that. She probably planned to go, no matter how the trial came out. So that's a pisser. She not only gets custody, she gets away, with his kids. He loses his control over them. So, plant somebody with Tully, and maybe she talks about where they went. Except she didn't know, she figures they're dead. Only thing left to do is take out the enemy. The people who went up against him, and won.”

“Data incoming.” Whitney checked his unit. He removed the images currently on-screen, replaced them with the new data.

“Eighteen years in,” Eve read. “Went in a fresh young kid. Why didn't he do his twenty? Yeah, yeah, there it is. Special Forces, covert ops. Grade-five rating.”

“That would be termination grade.” Baxter lifted a shoulder. “My grandfather does a lot of yapping about this stuff. Non-wartime termination level. Means you can off somebody outside of a declared situation. You can be ordered to assassinate targets.”

“Continue, Lieutenant. Split screen, Isenberry data.”

“They served together. Based in the same unit inBaghdad. He's listed as her sergeant during her covert training. Bet they were good pals. War buddies. Jilly and the good old Sarge. They both stepped out of uniform about the same time, too.”

“They both have a couple of conducts not becoming,” Feeney pointed out.

“Dallas,”Peabody interrupted. “There are no siblings listed under Kirkendall's data. No male cousins.”

“We'll need to study this further. I have to see what Yancy's got for us, and I've got a meet.” Eve checked her wrist unit. “Feeney, I've got the go-ahead from Tully for EDD to check all her communication equipment at home. Off chance Isenberry might have used it to contact someone involved in this. Also, I've requested an expert consultant, civilian, to work on other electronic traces.”

“If it's your usual ECC, no objections.”

“Baxter, Trueheart, Linnie Dyson's funeral is starting shortly. Attend as reps from the department and keep your eyes peeled.”

“Kid's burial.” Baxter shook his head. “We get the choice assignments.”

Nothing,” Yancy told her. “Nothing above a seventy-two percent match, so far. I've got another hour or two to run, but I've gone through IRCCA-so no criminal matchups.”

“We've got cooperation from the military. Request Whitney contact them re doing a search for a match with members of any of Kirkendall's units during his stint. Guys with the same training as his. Ah, start with the inactive and retired. These two don't have time to answer reveille.”

“Okay. But I've been thinking. Doing this sort of search gives you plenty of time to think, to speculate. Look at these guys again.”

He brought them up on a secondary screen. “These faces are close. Twin close.”

“We've agreed on that. Most likely brothers, but Kirkendall's got no bro. Hirelings maybe.” But she didn't like it. Where was the rush if you paid someone to do the job?

“Well, thinking twins, identical faces-but not identical heights. That's not a stretch, but what don't you see when you look at them?”