Thank God, since the force isnt rolling in money and Im going to be stretching the budget to the limit to bring in the overtime on this. I can already see it coming! Larue turned to Danni. Thanks to Quinn, he added.
But you have to admit its worth it. Because Im usually a step ahead, and you know I do my damnedest to get answers, Quinn finished for him.
Larue was silent for a minute, then sighed again.
Danni was surprised. Shed never imagined that Quinn was actually accepted by the police forcea force hed left.
All right, Larue said briskly. So you figure this bustwhich Mrs. Simon believes killed her husbandis missing? That someone broke into the house as she was killing herself and stole it?
I dont know if the thief broke in before or after she killed herself, but whoever stole it might have been ready to kill for it, anyway, Quinn told Larue.
Danni spoke up. No one needed to kill her for the bust. She wanted it out of the house. She wouldve given it to anyone who asked.
Both of them looked at heras if theyd forgotten she was there.
Yes, she wanted it gone, Quinn agreed. But the person who stole it might not have known she was desperate to get rid of it. Thats irrelevant. We were too late, the bust is gone and therell be more deaths over it.
Youve lost me, Quinn, Larue said. He didnt wait for a response, continuing with, What about the housekeeper? He glanced down at the notes on his iPhone. Roberta Hyson. She didnt see or hear anyone in the house.
This is a big house, Quinn reminded him. And Im not sure about her eyesight or her hearing.
Nice...I hope people are kind to you when youre old one day.
Im not being insulting. The woman is elderlyand she isnt in this room, so she cant be insulted.
It was crazy. Crazy. Dannis head was pounding. She stood; the men had forgotten her again, anyway.
If theres nothing else you need from me, Im going home, she said. Her voice sounded distant and a little shaky.
Once again, they both gave her their attention.
Of course, Ms. Cafferty. If we need you, we know where to find you, Larue said.
Youre leaving? Just like thatafter this? Quinn frowned.
Just like that, she told him, nodding gravely.
She thought shed made her escape when she walked out the front door, moved down the steps and past the two uniformed officers standing guard at the entry like carved sentinels.
But shed barely reached the street when she heard him behind her. And she wasnt surprised when he grabbed her arm.
She spun around, seething. Let go of me, Mr. Quinn...Michael, whatever.
He did, staring at her. She hated the fact that she felt compelled to stare back.
Its Quinn. Just Quinn. He paused. I guess Angus didnt talk to you. Either that, or youre an ice-cold functioning psychopath who couldnt care less about the lives of others.
My father had tremendous patience for people with mental problems. However, I dont. So leave me alone, or Ill shout for that friend of yours whos still in the house.
He shook his head, disgusted. With her. That seemed doubly galling.
And yet she still felt guilty. Gladys Simon was dead.
But what could she have done? Shed never seen the woman before that day!
To her horror, she blurted out, It wasnt my fault!
She thought hed lash out at her and insist that it certainly had been her fault.
No, it was mine, he said, and she realized he was inwardly kicking himself. For some reason, he seemed to believe that if shed understood the situation, she might have magically saved the day. It was my fault. I realize now that Angus never really said anything to you and neither did Billie. There are things you need to understand...but right now, we have to get that bust back.
We? she said horrified. Look, you dont even know that Gladys didnt stash it in the house somewhere. Maybe it wasnt stolen. Like Larue said, you make everything more complicated.
As if Quinn had somehow hired him to play a part, Detective Larue appeared on the front porch.
Quinn! he called.
Yeah?
We need some help. You were right. The housekeeper didnt hear a thingbut a window was taken out on the ground level, garage side. The glass was cut out, eased to the ground by some kind of suction device.
Quinn nodded slowly.
Still doesnt mean the bust is gone. Where did she keep it? Larue asked.
I dont know. Ive never been here until today. But Im pretty sure it was kept in the house. When Hank Simon bought it, he was convinced hed made the buy of the century.
The denor the salon, Danni heard herself volunteer. Quinn turned to face her. She said something in the store about trying to throw it away, trying to bury it, but it kept showing up back in... Im not sure of the exact word she used, but someplace like an office, den, salon.
Weve checked out Hank Simons office, Larue said.
Theres a library, but its not in there, Quinn said. I looked when we got here and were trying to find Gladys.
Larue motioned to one of the uniformed officers standing by. As soon as the M.E. retrieves the body and the forensic units finished, I want a more extensive search of the house. Go through closets, bathroomseverywhere.
The officer cleared his throat. What does the bust look like? he asked. The house is filled with antiques and bric-a-brac.
Its carved marble. Head, neck and shoulders. Curly hair, classic features. Its been described as portraying the face of an angelor a demon. Some say the eyes are demonic, that they seem to be watching you. It was sculpted with a mantle over the shoulders and at a certain angle the mantle can appear to be angel wings, Quinn told him. It looks like it belongs in a dé Medici tomb.
A dé Medici tomb? Would that be a tomb in one of the St. Louis cemeteries, Lafayette up in the Garden District or out in Metairie? the officer asked.
There are no dé Medici tombs around here. No, what Im saying is that it looks Romanlike something youd see in a Renaissance church or tomb, Quinn said.
The officer made a slightly derisive sound. He quieted as Quinn scowled at him. Sorry, Detective Quinn.
Im not on the force anymore. Im just Quinn. Im simply telling you how its been described, Quinn added.
Head, neck and shouldersit didnt get up and walk out, then, Larue said sardonically.
No, I dont think its supposed to be able to walk, Quinn said with equal sarcasm.
Danni wanted to go home. She wanted the day to rewind; she wished shed never metand failedGladys Simon, and that Michael Quinn had never darkened her door.
You going to help in the search? Quinn asked her.
No!
But the way he looked at her...
What was she going to do? Go home and wallow in guilt?
Not fair! She really had no idea what was going on.
She didnt want to agree. She opened her mouth to say no.
What came out was, Sure. You dont think youre going to find it, though, do you?
Nope, he said. But what the hellwe cant be certain its missing until we do a thorough search.
She didnt want to agree. She opened her mouth to say no.
What came out was, Sure. You dont think youre going to find it, though, do you?
Nope, he said. But what the hellwe cant be certain its missing until we do a thorough search.
What about...Gladys? I dont know how to investigate. Ill leave fingerprints all over. The crime scene people wont want us messing things up.
He grinned and reached into his pocket, producing a wad of balled-up plastic. It proved to be several pairs of gloves. Not to mention the fact that our fingerprints are already all over the place because we were trying to find her.
She snatched gloves from him and put them on. As they returned to the house, Larue said to Quinn, Im assuming you have some idea of where to look for this bust or statue or whatever if its not here?
No, not really, Quinn replied. But Ill try to get a lead on it.
And if not?
If not... He paused for a minute. His eyes slipped over Danni but she wasnt sure he was really seeing her.
If not? Larue asked.
If not, Im afraid well be following a trail of bodies....
Chapter Three
THERE WAS REALLY no hurry to search for the statue; Quinn knew it was gone.
Just as he knew Gladys Simon had hanged herself.
So there was no reason to interrupt the work of the crime scene unit and the M.E., Ron Hubert, who came to examine the body of the deceased.
Dr. Hubert arrived as they walked back toward the house, the crime scene unit directly behind him.
Quinn was afraid hed lose Danni while they waited for the forensic team to finish. When Larue called him up to the attic to speak with the M.E., he pulled her along with him. She was reluctant, but she felt the same sense of guilt over Gladyss death as he did, so she followed him.
Hubert was on his knees by the body. Hubert, who was a good man and a good forensic pathologist, had been there through the worst of the citys tragedies, dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the summer of storms and violence that flared in the wake of it. People were bitter, drug lords ignored the police, and the force was at its most vulnerable. Somehow, through the tragedy and carnage hed seen, Hubert had never lost his empathy for the living or the dead. Hed lived in New Orleans since childhood but his family came from Minnesota, and he had the pale blond hair and pale blue eyes that indicated a Nordic background. He was sixty-plus years of age now, deceptively thinand still strong. Quinn had seen him easily maneuver bodies that were five times his own size.
See how the rope is tied? Hubert asked as Quinn entered the room and knelt beside him. He pointed to the rope. Its quite awkwardly tiedan inexperienced hand. The way its situated tells me that she tied the rope herself, hoisted it over the support beam there and used that crate to stand on. Theres not a mark on her to say she struggled with anyone. Ill see if there are any hairs, fibers, what have you, on the body, of course, but my preliminary exam suggests she did this to herself. He looked at Quinn. Dont that beat all? A thief breaks inbut she kills herself. However, unless I can prove that beyond a doubt, hell probably go up for murder as well as breaking and entering and theft.
Can you prove it beyond a doubt? Quinn asked him.
I can certainly testify to the likelihood. Poor woman. The loss of her husband was obviously too much for her. Im sorry to see her like this. The Simon family contributed to many charities. They doled out help right and left after the storms.
Quinn nodded.
He wished Gladys had talked to himand he wished hed reached her in time. He damned well wished Hank Simon had never thought owning the bust would be such a remarkable coup.
But where was the damned thing now?
And how uncanny that a thief had come to steal itjust as Gladys had given in to the darkness....
The Simons had been generous, compassionate people.
He turned to Danni. She was standing exactly where hed left her, almost as if shed been frozen there.
By the way, Dr. Hubert, this is Danni Cafferty. Shes Anguss daughter.
Hubert glanced at Danni. How do you do, young lady? I suppose that question seems inappropriate at the moment. You cant be doing very well. He paused. I knew your father. He was a fine man.
She smiled fleetingly. Thank you. Yes, he was.
Call me if theres anything, please, Quinn said.
You know I will, Hubert assured him.
Danni had responded to Dr. Hubert in smooth, well-modulated tones, still not moving.
Quinn touched her arm gently, afraid shed wrench it away from him. Her eyes met his instead, blue and steady and crystalline.
Well talk with a friend of mine on the crime scene unit, he said.
She didnt react, but when his touch signaled that she should turn so they could leave the attic, she spun around and preceded him down to the second level.
He found Grace Leon there. She was the head of her unit, a no-nonsense woman with short-cropped graying hair and a slim figure.
I heard you were on this, she said.
Sure am. What can you tell me?
There was a break-in. As you may have heard, the glass was cut, and then removed with a suction device. We followed a faint trail of dust particles from the lower level to the studyand I do mean faint. I have something that might be a viable footprint from the first stair. Ill let you know what we get, but well need some tech to pump it up first.
Did heor shemake it to the attic?
No, I dont think so. The trail ends in the study. Odd, huh? The old lady hanged herself while she was being robbed. Thats how it appears, anyway. Grace looked past him to Danni and then arched a brow at Quinn.
Danni Cafferty, Grace Leon. Grace, Danni, Quinn said.
Cafferty? Grace asked. As in Angus?
Quinn nodded.
Grace lifted a gloved hand, then dropped it. Nice to meet you, she said.
Thanks. You, too.
Youre free to look around. Just keep the gloves on, Grace advised. Were packing up now.
Why dont we do a final check, Quinn said to Danni. He realized hed been waiting for her to bolt. She wasnt going to.
All right. Ill take the downstairs, she told him. And the lower level. You can have the second floor and the attic.
He was surprised again; she seemed all business, as though she knew what she was doing and what she was looking for. She abruptly moved into the parlor.
Quinn found exactly what hed expectednothing.
The thief hadnt bothered with the silver or any of Gladys Simons jewelry. Hed removed the statue and apparantly nothing else. While Quinn paused in the study, observing the marvels her husband had collecteda Tiffany lamp, two Fabergé eggs, an Egyptian scepter, a medieval sword and shield, plus walls covered with fine arthe heard someone announcing the arrival of the ambulance that would transport Gladyss body to the morgue.
Dr. Hubert left with the body, saying goodbye to Quinn in the upper hallway with a quick salute.
As Quinn came down the stairs, the crime scene unit moved on out, leaving a few uniforms behind, as well as Larue. Larue was in the foyer with Bertie, who was seated on the love seat that flanked the staircase.