Sandra Brown - Ricochet

“We’re all working overtime. I’ll get him.” DeeDee wheeled about and went to summon Gerard.

“Can I get you some coffee? Water?” Duncan wasn’t being hospitable. He extended the offer merely to postpone hearing whatever it was the judge was about to tell them regarding the manila envelope lying on his desk. It looked ordinary enough, but he had a bad feeling about it. If it contained anything hopeful, the judge wouldn’t be acting like the end of the world was nigh.

“Judge Laird?” Gerard squeezed into the room and shook hands with him. “Detective Bowen said you wanted to see us.”

Nodding, the judge reached for the envelope. The metal clasp remained closed, but the seam at the top had been slit open. “This morning, in an attempt to get my mind off Elise, I decided to attack the mail that had piled up since her…disappearance.

“I found this. I don’t know when it was delivered, but it’s postmarked the day of…the day Meyer Napoli died and Elise disappeared.” He glanced around at his raptly attentive audience. “I think this will explain…Well, you’ll see.”

And with that, he slid the contents of the envelope onto Duncan ’s desk. There were about a dozen eight-by-ten black-and-white photographs. The grainy quality of some indicated that the pictures had been taken through a telephoto lens. Elise and Robert Savich were together in each of them, obviously unaware that they were being photographed.

“As you can see, the venues are different.” Cato Laird spoke haltingly, his voice fractured by apparent pain and dismay. “So is their clothing. That indicates several meetings over a period of time, wouldn’t you think?”

The detectives were studying the photographs, handling them carefully to avoid smudging any fingerprints that might be on them. Duncan hadn’t touched them, but he picked up the business card that had been sent with them in the envelope. It was engraved with Meyer Napoli’s name, business address, and several numbers where he could be contacted, exactly like the card they’d found at the scene of his murder.

Gerard said, “ Napoli was blackmailing your wife.”

The judge sighed heavily. “So it would appear. And since he sent these to me, I suppose he intended to blackmail me also.”

“You didn’t know Mrs. Laird was acquainted with Robert Savich?”

DeeDee’s question sparked his imperious nature. “Of course not.”

In every shot, the two were fully clothed. All but a few of the photos had been taken outdoors, although the close-up framing made it impossible to determine the location. The pair didn’t appear to be intimate, merely comfortable with each other and engrossed in whatever it was they were discussing. There was nothing lewd, or even compromising, about the photographs, except that a superior court judge’s wife was in the company of a notorious criminal. That in itself was explosive.

“If I were to guess…”

“Please, Judge,” Gerard said, encouraging him to continue when he faltered.

“If I were to guess, I think perhaps Napoli stumbled across this…this…acquaintanceship when he was following Elise for me. When he saw her with Savich, her visits with Coleman Greer became of secondary importance.” He glanced at the photographs, then quickly away. “ Napoli would have realized that these photos could be far more damaging to both of us. He was trying to cash in on his bonanza.”

“Trotter was his messenger boy,” DeeDee said.

The judge winced. “I suppose. Whether accidentally or intentionally-naturally I prefer to believe the former-Elise foiled that plan.”

“Between the time you heard the shots fired and when you reached the study, did she have time to hide a set of these photographs?”

He gave a small nod. “She could have stashed them somewhere, intending to retrieve them later. In fact, I’ve caught her in the study several times recently, startling her when I came in. Guilty reactions, I realize now.” He dwelled on that for a moment, then said, “She probably destroyed the set of photos Trotter delivered. But Napoli, being Napoli, would have had a backup set. This set.”

“The night of the bridge incident, Napoli told her that he had mailed these pictures to you,” Gerard surmised.

“I suppose she became enraged and…”

“And used your missing twenty-two to kill him,” DeeDee said, finishing for him.

The judge covered his face with both hands and began to weep.

“Is there someone you’d like us to call?” Gerard asked quietly.

He shook his head, but he didn’t lower his hands from his face, and he didn’t speak.

Gerard indicated the door and the detectives shuffled out. “I think he deserves a few minutes of privacy,” the captain said to his subordinates once they were outside Duncan ’s office.

“He’s got some heavy shit to absorb,” Worley said. “ Napoli ’s one thing, but Savich? Jeez. But how does he factor in?”

Duncan had no answer for him, but he’d been trying to stave off a most disturbing thought. Was it even remotely possible that Savich had sent Elise to him? He recalled the smug manner in which Savich had taunted him about his evident interest in her. Had she been Savich’s secret weapon, the one Duncan had feared he wouldn’t see coming? The one that would destroy him?

Breaking into his thoughts, Gerard said, “I’ll clear it with the chief first, but I think it’s time we had another go-around with Gordie Ballew.” He asked DeeDee to call Gordie’s pro bono lawyer and make the arrangements. “We want to talk to him as soon as possible,” Gerard told her as she moved away to make the call. “Tonight. Make sure he understands that.”

“Got it.”

“Looks like for once the little weasel is telling the truth,” Worley remarked. “Who’d have thunk it possible?”

Judge Laird emerged from Duncan ’s office, his eyes red-rimmed and watery. “I feel I should inform Chief Taylor of this myself. Will you come along with me, Bill?”

“Certainly.”

“I would appreciate that.”

“It’s going to get ugly for you, Judge, once all this gets out,” Gerard said.

“I’m aware of that. However, the only thing the photographs really prove is that Elise and Savich are speaking acquaintances. They’re doing nothing criminal in them. They’re not sexual. And perhaps I’m wrong about the timing of them. For all we know, they could have been taken years ago, before she even met me.”

Gerard glanced at Duncan, effectively assigning him the job of dispelling that myth. “Actually, Judge, someone has come forward. He claims to have seen Mrs. Laird with Savich at the club where she used to work. This meeting took place only days before she disappeared.”

The judge took a staggering step backward. “What? That recently?”

“So he says.”

“Who is this individual?”

“A guy presently in jail on an assault charge,” Duncan replied.

“How long have you had this information? Why wasn’t I told?”

Gerard jumped in. “This man is a repeat offender with a long record. Chief Taylor figured he was only after the award, maybe a reduced sentence. He asked that we not bother you with his story until we had corroboration.”

“However,” Duncan said, “he’s been questioned at length and swears he’s telling the truth. If he is…” He paused to swallow the bile that filled the back of his throat. “If he is, then it’s possible Savich was somehow connected to your wife’s disappearance.”

“This man in jail…what’s his name?” the judge asked excitedly, showing more animation and hopefulness than he had in recent days.

“Gordie Ballew.”

“If he’s acquainted with Savich, maybe he knows more than he’s telling. Maybe he knows where Elise is.”