Tess Gerritsen - Last to Die

“I’m wondering if we had it wrong,” said Frost. “I don’t think the boy was the target in New Hampshire.”

Jane glanced at her partner, who was squinting ahead, as though trying to peer through fog. “You’re thinking it was the boy’s uncle. Brian Temple.”

“Both men are about to reveal something earth shattering. Neil gets taken out. Brian panics, flees with his wife and nephew to New Hampshire. The bad guys come after him.”

“Trouble is, we don’t know who the bad guys are.”

“You heard Bartusek. Finding ET would shake up the world. It would make people question everything they learned in Sunday school.”

“So, what, we’ve got some albino assassin monk killing NASA scientists?” She laughed. “I think that was a movie.”

“Consider what religious zealots already do to defend their beliefs. Those climate scientists at MIT, they’re always getting threats. This is gonna really bring out the crazies. If it ever gets announced.” He frowned. “Interesting that NASA hasn’t.”

“Sounds like the proof isn’t there yet.”

“Is that really true, or is this too hot for them—for anyone—to handle?”

Extraterrestrial life . She spun that possibility in her head, trying to see it from every angle, imagine every repercussion. A motive for assassination? The murders of the Yablonskis and the Temples were definitely the work of professionals who knew their way around Semtex. “There’s a problem with this theory,” she said. “It doesn’t explain Claire Ward’s family. He was a diplomat, working for the State Department. What’s his connection with NASA?”

“Maybe they’re unrelated cases. We’re just linking them because both kids ended up at Evensong.”

She gave a sigh. “Now you sound like Crowe. Different kids, different cases. Just a coincidence they ended up in the same school.”

“Although it is interesting …”

“What?”

He pointed to a road sign for the turnoff to Washington. “Didn’t Erskine Ward also work in DC for a while?”

“And Rome. And London.”

“At least we’ve got a geographic connection between the Wards and the Yablonskis. They lived within the same fifty-mile radius.”

“But not Teddy Clock’s family. Nicholas Clock’s job was in Rhode Island.”

“Yeah.” Frost shrugged. “So maybe we’re trying to connect things that have no connection, and we’re just making it all too complicated.”

She spotted the address they were searching for and turned into the parking lot. It was yet another strip mall, indistinguishable from thousands of others across the country. Was there some universal strip mall design they taught you in architecture school, photocopied blueprints passed around to every builder in America? She pulled into a parking spot and eyed the usual mix of businesses. A drugstore, a dress shop for big sizes, a dollar store, and a Chinese buffet. That was the one constant you could always count on, the Chinese buffet. “I don’t see it,” said Frost.

“Must be at the far end.” She pushed open her door. “Let’s stretch our legs and walk.”

“You sure this is the right address?”

“I confirmed it with the manager this morning. She’s expecting us.” Her cell phone rang, and she recognized the Maryland number of the detective who had investigated the Yablonski case. “Rizzoli,” she answered.

“It’s Detective Parris. Did you make it to Baltimore?” he asked.

“We’re here now. Can you still meet us tonight?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m on the road right now, but I should be back in town by dinnertime. How about we meet at the LongHorn Steakhouse around seven thirty? It’s on Snowden River Parkway. By then, I’ll be ready for some red meat. I’d rather not meet at my residence.”

“I understand. I don’t like to mix business and family, either.”

“No, it’s more than that. It’s this case.”

“What about it?”

“We’ll talk about it later. Did you bring your partner?”

“Detective Frost is right here with me.”

“Good. It always helps to have someone watch your back.”

She hung up and looked at Frost. “That was a weird call.”

“What hasn’t been weird about this case?” He eyed the strip mall, with its unexciting array of shops. “From NASA to this place.” He sighed. “Let’s do it.”

Leidecker Hospital Supplies was located at the far end of the mall, behind a storefront window displaying two wheelchairs and a quad cane. Stepping inside, Jane expected to find a showroom filled with medical equipment. Instead they found an office with five desks, beige carpet, and two potted palms. At one of the desks, a middle-aged woman with shellacked blond hair was talking on the phone. She spotted the visitors and said, “I’ll call you back later about that order, Mr. Wiggins.” Hanging up, she smiled at her visitors. “May I help you?”

“Ms. Mickey? Detectives Rizzoli and Frost,” said Jane. “We spoke earlier.”

The woman rose to greet them, revealing a slim figure in a well-cut gray pantsuit. “Please, call me Carole. I really hope I can help you. It still haunts me, you know. Every time I look over there, at her desk, I think about her.”

Jane glanced around at the unoccupied desks. “Are Olivia’s other colleagues around? We’d like to talk to them, as well.”

“I’m afraid everyone else is out of town right now, on sales calls. But I knew Olivia longer than anyone here, so I should be able to answer your questions. Please, sit down.”

As they all settled into chairs, Frost said: “I’m guessing you’ve been asked these questions before.”

“Yes, a detective was here several times. I’ve forgotten his name.”

“Parris?”

“That’s him. A week after the accident, he called here, asking …” She paused. “But I guess we know now it wasn’t an accident.”

“No, ma’am.”

“He asked me if Olivia had any enemies. Any old boyfriends. Or any new boyfriends.”

“And did you know of any?” Jane asked.

Carole Mickey gave a vigorous shake of her head, but not a hair moved in her perfect blond helmet. “Olivia wasn’t that kind of person.”

“Lots of regular people have affairs, Ms. Mickey.”

“Well, she wasn’t just a regular person. She was the most reliable sales rep we had. If she said she’d be in London on Wednesday, she’d be in London on Wednesday. Our clients always knew they could rely on her.”

“And these clients,” said Frost, “These are hospitals? Medical offices?”

“Both. We sell to institutions around the world.”

“Where are your products? I don’t see much on display here.”

Carole reached into a drawer and pulled out a heavy catalog, which she thumped onto the desk in front of them. “This is just our satellite sales office. The catalog shows our extensive range of products. They’re shipped out of warehouses in Oakland, Atlanta, Frankfurt, Singapore. Plus a few other locations.”

Jane flipped through the catalog and saw hospital beds and wheelchairs, commodes and gurneys. A glossy compilation of everything she hoped she’d never need. “Mrs. Yablonski was on the road a lot?”

“All of our sales reps are. And this office is home base, where I try to keep everything under control.”

“You don’t go out on the road yourself?”

“Someone has to hold down the fort.” Carole looked around the room with its beige carpet and fake palm trees. “But sometimes it sure does get claustrophobic in here. I should spiff things up, shouldn’t I? Maybe put in some travel posters. It would be nice to stare at a tropical beach for a change.”

Frost said, “Do your reps make their sales calls solo, or do they travel with associates?”