Phillip Margolin - Wild Justice

McCarthy could see that Amanda and Tony were emotionally drained and made arrangements to talk to them at the Justice Center. Amanda's father arrived soon after the police. Frank insisted that Amanda spend the night in her old room. He also offered to put up Tony for the night.

Amanda was in bed by three. For the first time since she was a little girl, she kept a light on. The horror of what she had seen and her guilt at suspecting Justine tormented her every time she shut her eyes. When she did drift into sleep she found herself in a pitch-black room. She tried to sit up, but her body was secured by leather restraints. As she struggled to get loose a door opened, admitting a bright, blinding light. When her eyes adjusted, Amanda saw that she was strapped to an operating table.

Who's there? she called, her heart beating faster.

A bare lightbulb dangled from the ceiling over Amanda's head. A face covered by a surgical mask suddenly moved between Amanda and the light. A cap covered the doctor's head. In one of his hands was a shiny scalpel, in the other a coffee mug.

I see our patient is awake, the surgeon said. Then the mug slipped from the doctor's fingers and fell in slow motion, spilling its contents. Blood, not coffee, flew through space. The mug smashed against the concrete floor and exploded into ceramic shards. Amanda lurched up in bed, her heart pounding. It took her half an hour to fall asleep again.

Amanda was up by seven-thirty, feeling ragged and bleary-eyed but unable to get back to sleep. Through the front windows she saw a crowd of reporters massing near the curb. Frank had taken the phone off the hook and asked McCarthy to send an officer to keep the mob off his lawn.

Tony was very subdued when he came downstairs. No one had much of an appetite. Frank had put up a pot of coffee, and the couple carried their mugs onto the back porch where the reporters could not see them. The shade trees in the backyard were denuded of leaves, and the gray weather had bleached the color out of the grass and hedges. It was cold and blustery, but it was not raining.

Couldn't sleep? Tony asked. Amanda shook her head.

Me either.

They were quiet for a moment.

Whenever I closed my eyes I saw myself shooting Cardoni. Tony shook his head as if to clear it of the image. I don't know why I feel bad. I mean, the guy was a monster and I stopped him. I should feel great, but I don' t.

Amanda laid a hand on his arm.

That's only natural, Tony. Cops who shoot criminals in the line of duty feel guilty even when they know they've done the right thing.

Tony stared straight ahead, nodding bravely.

He would have killed again. Amanda put her hand over his. Think of the lives you've saved.

Tony looked away.

Amanda grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look at her.

You're a hero, do you know that? Not everyone would have gone into Justine's house knowing that Cardoni might be inside.

Amanda, I

Amanda put her finger on his lips. She kissed him, then laid her head on Tony's chest.

Amanda, you don't still think that Justine killed all those people, do you?

No. I feel terrible for suspecting her.

Amanda remembered what Cardoni had done to Justine. She fought back tears. After a moment, she took a deep breath and pulled away from Tony.

We should get ready, she said, wiping her eyes. We have to go downtown and talk to Sean McCarthy.

McCarthy had instructed Frank to park under the Justice Center in the police garage so they could avoid the media. As soon as they arrived at the homicide bureau, Alex DeVore escorted Tony into one interrogation room and McCarthy escorted Amanda into another. McCarthy was kind and his questions were gentle. Three-quarters of an hour after he started, the detective told Amanda that he was done. As he opened the door for her, Mike Greene stepped into the room.

Can we have a minute? Greene asked.

Sure, I' m done. Thanks, Amanda, he said closing the door behind him.

Am I going to need an attorney? Amanda asked with a weary smile.

Yeah, I' d get the Dream Team on this, right away. He smiled. How you doin' ?

I' m okay.

You have no idea how horrible I felt when Sean told me what Cardoni did to Justine Castle.

Why should you feel responsible?

I' m the one who decided that we didn't have enough evidence to hold that lunatic.

Amanda's weary eyes softened. You didn't have a choice. You' d have been breaking the law if you' d done anything different.

The worst part is that we had enough evidence to arrest Cardoni. We just couldn't find the son of a bitch.

Mike told her about the cell phone bill that proved that Cardoni had phoned in the 911 and called Justine's house on the evening of Justine's arrest.

We were also following up on an idea Sean had four years ago but stopped pursuing after Cardoni disappeared. You know that Cardoni practiced at a hospital in Denver before he came to Portland?

Amanda nodded.

I just heard from the Colorado state police this morning. Two years ago they uncovered a killing ground similar to ours in a rural area about an hour outside of Denver. The bodies had been buried for some time. A Colorado lawyer, who has since been disbarred, purchased the property where the graves were found. He was contacted by an anonymous buyer through the mail and paid in cashier's checks.

Cardoni's MO.

Mike nodded.

I might have some extra ammo to use against Cardoni, Amanda said. You know that Bobby Vasquez is working for me, right?

Sean mentioned it.

He gave me gave me a preliminary list of serial murders that might have the same MO as Cardoni's killings. I'll get it to you in case he found something that your investigators missed.

Great, he answered distractedly. Listen, about Bobby ...

Have you gotten an update on his condition?

It's not good. The doctors don't know if he's going to make it.

Amanda's shoulders slumped. What about Cardoni?

Mike looked grim. The bastard's doing fine. That's the bad news. The good news is that he'll be fit for trial soon, so I'll be able to send him to death row. I trust you won't be representing him this time.

Amanda forced a smile and shook her head.

Am I done here? I' d love to get home and take a long, hot bath.

You're done, Mike said, holding her chair for her as she stood. Then he took her hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze.

If there's anything I can do, let me know, Greene said quietly with a warmth that surprised her. She looked at the DA quizzically, and he blushed.

I enjoy butting heads with you, he said, so take care of yourself.

Chapter 60

Even with Cardoni locked in the secure wing at St. Francis, Amanda was afraid to stay by herself. But she turned Tony down when he invited her to stay at his house. Amanda never ran from something that scared her, and she wasn't going to start now.

That night, alone in her apartment, Amanda watched an old movie until her eyes grew heavy, then went to bed around one. She dreamed again about the operating room, the masked surgeon and the coffee mug filled with blood. When the mug slipped from the surgeon's fingers, a wave of blood arced through the air. Amanda jerked up in bed when the mug shattered. It was the second time she' d had that dream, and both times she had woken feeling at loose ends.

No reporters were lurking outside the offices of Jaffe, Katz, Lehane and Brindisi when Amanda arrived at eight the next morning. She had been putting off work on her other cases while she concentrated on Justine Castle. Before she could get to them she had to put Justine's files in order. It was while she was performing this chore that Amanda spotted Bobby Vasquez's list of possible killing grounds. She remembered her promise to send it to Mike Greene. As she scanned the list her eye lit on the Ghost Lake, Oregon, entry. Something about Ghost Lake tickled her memory again, but she was interrupted before she could give it much thought.