Greg Iles - Turning Angel

She gives me a smile filled with regret. ”I’m not Kate, okay? The biggest risk isn’t that I’ll get killed. It’s that I’ll have to screw him.“

A wave of sickness rolls through my stomach. ”There’s something you need to know, Mia.“

”What?“

Quickly, I tell her about Ellen’s confession in my hospital room. She listens with wide eyes, and when I’m done, she bites her bottom lip and looks toward the river.

”You believed her?“ she asks finally.

”Yes.“

”I do, too. That’s exactly what Kate would do in that situation. I can just see it. She’d be so cruel to Ellen.“

”Then you see my point. It doesn’t make much sense to try to trap Marko if Ellen is the one who killed Kate.“

Mia shakes her head. ”I don’t believe she did. And you don’t either.“

”But you just said-“

”I believe Ellen choked her, yes. And if Kate had died from hitting her head, I might believe she’d killed her. But she didn’t, did she?“

”No,“ I concede, gratified to see that Mia has followed the exact logic I did. ”Strangulation.“

Mia nods with satisfaction. ”Marko was there. I mean, who else could it have been? You know?“

”Drew.“

”You never believed Drew killed her. Neither did I.“

”But he could have.“

Mia dismisses this with a wave of her small hand. ”You know he didn’t. Your gut tells you that. And my gut tells me Marko did. “

Mine tells me the same. But can I put Mia at risk again to try to prove that? As I ponder this question, the cell phone I borrowed from my father rings. My caller ID showsDON LOGAN as the caller.

”Hey, Don.“

”Penn, I’ve got some information you might be interested in.“

”I’m listening.“

”Remember we kept wondering why Sheriff Byrd was taking orders from Shad Johnson?“

”Yeah.“

”I finally found out. My source at the sheriff’s department told me. They’re celebrating like it’s New Year’s over there. There and the D.A.’s office. The sheriff told my source himself.“

”What did he say?“

”Shad Johnson told Billy Byrd that when he’s elected mayor, he’s going to abolish the Civil Service Commission. They do all the hiring and firing for the police and fire departments. I don’t know how Shad could do that, but Shad says that once the commission’s gone, he’s going to personally hire and fire every cop in town. And he’s offered Billy Byrd the job of chief.“

It takes me a few moments to absorb this. ”Why would Byrd put himself under Shad’s thumb like that?“

”Sheriff’s an elected position. Billy might never be elected again. But Shad is willing to give him the one token white position in his administration. I guess Billy figures, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ’em. I figure I’ve got about ninety days left in this job.“

”I’m sorry, Don.“

”Welcome to the real world, brother.“

I say nothing. An idea is taking shape in my mind, and it includes Chief Logan. ”Don, what if I told you we could overturn Drew’s conviction?“

”I’d ask you how.“

”What if I told you Marko Bakic killed Kate Townsend?“

”I’d ask what proof you have.“

”Proof exists. And you can help me get it. Are you up for that?“

”Are we talking about in my official capacity?“

”Quasi-official, you might say. It would be important after the fact that you’re the police chief.“

”I need more to go on than that.“

”Can you meet me at the City Cemetery?“

”Now?“

”Right now. And bring the smallest wire rig you’ve got with you.“

”What the hell are you up to, man?“

”Saving Drew’s ass and your job. Just get up here.“

Chief Logan breathes steadily into the phone. Right now he’s a man without a future. At length, he says one word.

”Okay.“

I’m sitting in the passenger seat of Don Logan’s Crown Victoria. Kelly and Mia are in the backseat. Kelly is checking out the wire rig Logan brought over from the police station. I introduced Kelly to Logan as a corporate security expert from Houston.

”This is old technology,“ Kelly says. ”We use transmitters a quarter this size now.“

”Do you have one with you?“ I ask the rearview mirror.

”Not on this trip.“

”I don’t know about this scheme,“ Logan says. ”I mean, I see the upside. But this girl’s life is at risk. Let me play devil’s advocate for a minute. Even if Marko tells the Reynolds girl to bring Mia to him, we have no idea where that might be. We’ll be trying to follow her in two cars. If she loses us, Mia’s on her own.“

”Tracking device,“ says Kelly. ”I did bring one of those in my bag of tricks. It’s a GPS model. We won’t lose their car.“

”Okay,“ says Logan. ”But even if we manage to stick with them, Marko will have all the advantages. He’ll know the layout and the terrain. The home-court advantage, I guess I’m saying. And look at Penn: he’s at half strength, if that. So, it’s basically you and me, Mr. Kelly. You look like you know what you’re doing, and I’m sure you do. But just the two of us?“

”We’ll be fine,“ Kelly says with self-assurance. ”Don’t sweat that part of it.“

”I’m just saying, if we do find out where Marko is, why don’t I just call in backup and raid the place?“

”Because then we’d have a hostage situation,“ Kelly says. ”We want Mia to walk in and out of this place under her own power.“

”Plus,“ I add, ”if we raided the place, Marko would just lawyer up, and we’d never get a thing out of him about Kate’s murder.“

Chief Logan nods dejectedly.

”The risk to me isn’t that great,“ Mia insists. ”If it was, I wouldn’t go, you know?“

”If Marko finds that wire,“ says Kelly, ”he won’t be happy. Don’t kid yourself about that.“

”I’ve thought about it. But he will know there are cops all around.“

”Hostage situation again,“ says Logan. ”What then?“

Kelly looks the chief in the eye. ”Then I take him out.“

Logan glances at me. I nod once.

”You feel that confident?“ Logan asks Kelly.

Kelly smiles. ”I’ve been there before, Chief. Many times.“

”That’s not the outcome we want,“ I tell Logan. ”We want a confession. But if Mia’s in real danger, Kelly will have no choice.“

Logan looks unconvinced. ”I’d feel better with a SWAT team, Penn.“

I glance at Kelly, and he gives me permission with a nod.

”Daniel was a Delta Force operator for eight years,“ I explain. ”He’s worth more than any SWAT team we have around here. He’s the only reason I’m willing to let Mia go in there-wherever ‘there’ is.“

Logan processes this slowly. ”I see. So basically, I’m here to make this all legal after the fact.“

”That’s right, Don.“

Logan looks at me. ”What are you here for?“

”For the unexpected,“ Kelly says.

The chief chuckles softly. ”I don’t know if we’re the Three Musketeers or the Three Stooges.“

”The winners write history,“ I murmur. ”We’ll know which we are after this is over.“

”Aw, hell,“ says Logan. ”We don’t even know if Marko will take the bait.“

”He’ll take it,“ says Mia.

”How do you know?“

She smiles in the gathering dusk. ”Wouldn’t you?“

Kelly laughs. ”She’s got you there.“

”She’s been in there awhile,“ says Chief Logan.

It’s full dark on Lindberg Street, the location of Alicia Reynolds’s parents’ house. Mia disappeared inside an hour ago, after calling Alicia and saying she had to talk to her about a matter of life and death. Logan, Kelly, and I have sat huddled in Logan’s Crown Vic all that time, trying not to let second thoughts sway our plan. Logan and I are in the front, Kelly in back. The Reynolds house is forty yards away.