James Patterson - 12th of Never

“I can’t stay here,” Fish finally said. “I’ll be killed.”

“I feel for you, I really do,” Parker said in a voice that conveyed that he really didn’t give a crap. “I would raise a real stink if I were you. Name your attackers. That’s what I would do.”

Fish didn’t rise to the bait.

“I’m ready to make a deal,” he said.

“Yeah? Listen, you dumb shit. I can’t promise anything anymore. You made me look like a moron too many times. The governor has had enough of your bull. He said, and I quote, ‘Don’t tell me anything about that psycho unless his last words were “I’m deeply sorry” and that he suffered before he croaked.’”

“The guards could’ve protected me. They didn’t, and I think they set me up,” Fish said.

“I’ve got a meeting in an hour,” said Ron Parker. “What do you want and what are you going to give up? Get real or drop dead. I no longer care which.”

“Move me to another prison. I’ll give you the names of four girls you know nothing about. I’ll tell you where they are.”

“That’s what you told me last time, Randy.”

“Last time I hadn’t been corn-holed with a broom.”

“Give me the names,” Parker said.

Fish squirmed. “Got a pen?”

Parker typed the names on his phone and said, “I’ll see what I can do.” He called for a guard, then turned before he left the room.

“Stay out of trouble,” Parker said to the serial killer. “Watch your ass.”

Chapter 82

THE NEW WOMEN’S jail was a few blocks away, on 7th Street. It was a model facility, but Yuki made sure that Lynnette Lagrande was held in a special unit in the grubby, outdated, and overcrowded facility on the seventh floor of the Hall of Justice.

Lynnette would be uncomfortable there and maybe terrified, which was all to the good. The first grade teacher with the diamond necklace and the sixty-thousand-dollar car needed a reality check, and Yuki planned to spell out to Lynnette exactly how much pain she was facing.

Yuki had a statement from Lieutenant Floyd Meserve in her briefcase. Meserve admitted that he had been in love with Lynnette Lagrande, but he hadn’t liked her at all. He said she was as mad as a box of snakes and he hated himself for ever getting involved with her. He said he was glad to help the DA and he wanted to just walk away from the whole deal with no charges against him.

In his sworn statement, Meserve said he had no proof but he had reason to believe that Lynnette Lagrande had arranged Jennifer Herman’s death.

Meserve said that Lynnette had talked with him about getting Jennifer out of the way. She had insisted that he do the hit and said she would make it worth his while. When he had refused, she had thrown a fit and stopped returning his calls. After Jennifer Herman’s body was found, she’d called Meserve and told him she had nothing to do with it, which Meserve had thought showed that she felt guilty.

Meserve had an alibi for the time of Jennifer Herman’s death. He said he was in Erie, Pennsylvania, staying with his brother, Morris, visiting their dying father every day. His story had checked out.

Meserve’s statement was all that Yuki had on Lynnette Lagrande, but she could make the most of it. Meserve was a cop. The probability was high that after Lynnette was arraigned, she would be held without bail while the DA’s office put together the murder case against her. Yuki hoped that this stark view of her future would shock Lynnette into telling the truth.

Yuki took the elevator from the DA’s offices on the eighth floor to the jail one floor below. She knew the security guard at the desk, Bubbleen Waters, and told her that she wanted to see Lynnette Lagrande. Then Yuki waited in the outer area for a half hour, returning e-mail, until her name was called.

Officer Waters escorted Yuki along a dark corridor to an interrogation room the size of a typical apartment bathroom. She sat at the table, opened her briefcase, and put away her phone in time for the door to open and Officer Waters to show Lynnette Lagrande into the room.

Lynnette looked wild. Her hair was flat, her nails were bitten off, and the residue of the eye makeup she’d been wearing two days ago ringed her eyes.

“Hi, Lynnette. Bubbleen,” Yuki said to the guard, “could you please remove Ms. Lagrande’s handcuffs?”

“I don’t advise it, Yuki. She’s taken a few pokes at people.” Yuki said, “Okay. I hear you. Lynnette, have a seat. How are you doing?”

“I’m just fine,” Lynnette said. “I’m rooming with three crack whores and a baby killer. I’m teaching them how to insult each other using proper grammar.”

The guard left the room and Lynnette Lagrande sat down. She said to Yuki, “Who do I have to blow to get out of here?”

Chapter 83

YUKI SAID, “A woman like you really shouldn’t be here, Lynnette. You need help and so do I. Tell me about Jennifer Herman’s murder. And I need to know where Lily Herman has been living for the last year.”

“You don’t ask for much, do you?”

“I’m asking you to tell me the truth.”

“If I know something and didn’t tell the police about it, does that make me an accessory?”

“Maybe, but you’ve got me in your corner. I’d be willing to help you if you help me.”

“Could you possibly be more vague?”

“Could you?”

“Okay, listen, Yuki. I had nothing to do with Jennifer’s death. Actually, I liked her.”

“I’m listening.”

Lynnette sighed. “I met Jennifer a couple of times when she came to school to talk about Lily. Lily was a mess. Withdrawn. Evasive. We never really got into it. Jennifer was reluctant to talk about her husband, and I didn’t want to talk about him, either. I liked him a lot.”

She shook her head, as if it hurt to remember.

“Talk about a colossal error in judgment. But anyway. Whatever Floyd Meserve tells you, I didn’t kill Jennifer. I’ve never killed anything or anybody.”

“Floyd will testify under oath that you set up the meeting with him and Keith.”

“I made the introduction , but for God’s sake, I knew Floyd was a cop! Keith was always talking about making Jennifer disappear. So I told Keith a story. That I knew this fixer. Blah, blah. And I’m saying to Keith, ‘Can you imagine?’ And Keith said, ‘Give me the guy’s name. Hook us up.’

“I told Floyd about Keith, and Floyd said, ‘I could play the part of a hit man. I know enough of them.’ I thought Floyd would lock Keith up and Jennifer would be fine. Get it? And then Jennifer could parent her daughter without Keith around terrorizing them.

“So I gave Floyd’s number to Keith and at the same time I told Keith I was done with him. He’s a scary man, Yuki. Even scarier when he’s frustrated. So like I said, I went up to my cottage to be alone. When I heard that Jennifer and Lily were missing, I thought Floyd actually took the job from Keith. Or if Floyd didn’t do it, maybe Keith did it himself. I was afraid for my own life .”

“And where was Lily at this time? Do you know?”

“Oh, I know where Lily was. That’s what I’m going to trade for getting these stupid charges against me dismissed.”

Yuki thought about what Lynnette had said. It sounded true, and it wasn’t even at odds, really, with Floyd Meserve’s statement.

“Hey,” Lynnette said. “I’m talking to you, you little gook bitch. I can help you nail Keith Herman. Have we got a deal?”

Chapter 84

YUKI SAID, “ WHAT did you say?”

Yuki had never been called a gook in her life. Her mother was Japanese but had been an American citizen for twenty-five years before her death. Her father had been Italian American, US Army, a veteran. Yuki was born in San Francisco.