Jacob shifted his weight. His arm was burning now, from whatever McGee had shot into him to counteract the curare.
Are you going to tell me who called you, or do we stand here all night while I guess?
Youd never guess.
James Barret?
Canters eyebrows shot up. Not bad, old friend. Care to tell me where that came from?
Romana found a watch.
Huh. Canter studied him. Well, thats cryptic. His sneer faded. How is Romana? I always liked her. Word is Critch has it in for her, too.
She stopped him from shooting me. Yeah, he has it in for her.
Im sorry to hear that.
Jacob regarded him steadily. The ache in his arm ran from shoulder to hand. The only thing worse was the throbbing in his head. How much did your caller offer?
Jacob regarded him steadily. The ache in his arm ran from shoulder to hand. The only thing worse was the throbbing in his head. How much did your caller offer?
Enough to get me what I needed. Canter tossed his cigarette into the blackened snow. Ive paid for what Ive done. Im stuck in Vice until I retire, and thats a best-case scenario. We all have our skeletons, but you and me more than others. At Jacobs level look, he grinned. Heard you and Romana have been tight lately. Maybe Ill see her tomorrow night, huh?
Jacob recognized a weakness when he saw one. Unless Critch gets to her first.
Canters mouth compressed. You hit low, Knight.
Critch is getting close.
I dont know about Critch. Theres no word on the street. We all know he wants to off you, but where hes holed up He spread his fingers. No clue. Have you talked to Hoag?
Talked to, worked out with, checked up on. Theres no sign of contact between them yet.
That Hoags a slick one, but hes not stupid, only angry about Belinda. Canters eyes sharpened. You think Barret offed her?
Its looking that way. Still Jacob shrugged. Appearances.
Canters shoulders slumped. He started to walk, but halted five steps away and sucked in a long breath. You never said a word, did you? You knew about my addiction-prescription and otherwise-but you didnt rat me out. I hated that you knew, hated that it worried me that you knew. Part of me wanted you to be guilty. The other partI dont know. But I like Romana. She called me sir, and she meant it. I cant help you with Critch, but words out about Romanas cousin going missing. You might want to look in Barrets direction for her.
With a nod, Jacob started off in the opposite direction. Canters hand clamping onto his bad arm brought his head up and swiftly around.
Lose the daggers, Knight. Theres one more thing you should know. You were only half-right before. It was a Barret who called me six years ago. But it wasnt James Barret.
Chapter Twelve
Romana? Patrick North, bundled up and ready to leave the hospital, did a frowning double-take in the entranceway. Why are you here?
Romana walked back and forth near the double doors, swinging her arms to warm them. Im waiting for OKeefe. He must have taken the polar route.
Maybe he was a taxi driver before he became a cop.
A laugh escaped. Why, Patrick, was that a joke? Im proud of you.
Wait until Ive had a few drinks tomorrow night. Ill be the life of the party. Except-Im worried about Fitz. She asked me to go with her. Theyre honoring Dr. Gorman.
I know.
Too bad he wont hear the accolades. Hell sleep through them like he slept through most of his later autopsies.
Must have been some trick. Asleep holding a scalpel.
It was a Pavlovs dog thing. Gorman saw a corpse and went through the motions. Eventually, we just started sitting him in the corner and carrying on by ourselves. It was our secret. I dont think he ever clued in.
A picture of Belindas silver watch appeared in Romanas head. May our secrets live on, she recalled.
Forever.
Please?
Its an inscription. On a watch. As a stream of exiting visitors swished through the doors, Romana halted. You said you overheard Belinda telling someone that Jacob wanted her dead. Do you have any idea who was on the other end of the phone?
I thought maybe a woman, but only because I figure women talk to women more than they talk to men.
Belinda talked to you, and youre a man.
Talked to, yes, but didnt confide in. Sure, shed tell me about men she knew who wanted her, but not usually their names. Shed say things like, this guy came on to me or this cops been after me to go out with him.
This cop? Intrigued now, Romana caught his lapel and eased him out of the doorway. Did she actually say, this cop?
Yes, a few times.
Did you get a sense of who this cop was?
I assumed she meant Knight.
Why would you assume that?
Because she knew him, and she let everyone know she knew him.
Romana wanted to get this absolutely straight. So sometimes shed say Jacob Knight, and other times shed say this cop. Is that right?
I guess so. I never thought about it possibly being two different people. He gave his head a perplexed shake. Are you saying that some other cop might have killed her? Because I heard her say Jacob Knight-and she used his name-wanted her dead.
Romanas mind raced. He wouldnt get her a restraining order.
He wouldnt-what? Perplexity became outright confusion. Okay, Im lost. Belinda asked Knight for a restraining order? Against who?
Answer died with her, Patrick.
Really lost now. How does Belinda asking Knight for a restraining order change what I heard her say on the phone? Or does it?
Jacob wouldnt give her what she wanted, so in her mind, maybe he wanted her to die.
Ah-h-h. Comprehension dawned. Because whoever she wanted to keep at bay had threatened her life. Knight knew that, but still wouldnt cooperate.
Its a wild theory, Romana acknowledged, but she let it build. So now we have this cop who might not be Jacob and a statement you overheard that could be construed in more than one way.
Patrick hunched his shoulders against the wind that gusted under the overhang. Im glad Im a doctor and not a cop. My head hurts just thinking about where youre going with this. Relief blossomed as he looked past her. Thank God, OKeefes here. You can bounce your wild theories off him. Let me know if you hear from Fitz.
OKeefe raised a hand to Patrick in parting. Sorry I took so long, Romana. Plumbing problem in my basement. Wheres Jacob? And what kind of a wild theory was Patrick talking about? Does it involve Critch?
Doesnt everything? She scraped her fingernail over his tie. You have a red stain, Detective.
Grinning, he buttoned his coat. I stopped for a chili dog. Three minutes at the drive-through. Come on, into my car.
Well discuss wild theories and how to get red sauce out of polyester.
Romana set a forestalling hand on his arm. Jacob went to meet someone, Mick. He left you a message about it. Its someone hes known for years with an expensive habit to support. He had that determined-cop gleam he gets in his eyes when he knows hes in for a challenge.
Poison darts werent enough, huh?
No, they just pissed him off. And scared the hell out of me. Dr. McGee says a direct hit could have killed him.
Or you.
Thats not the point, is it? The brakes failing felt like a warning, like he was playing with us. Hurting Jacobs neighbor, taking Fitz, thats torment. Tonight was an attack.
OKeefe unlocked the door of his serviceable Escort. Youre not exactly easing my mind here, Romana.
I know, and Im sorry. Im piecing it together, trying to get inside Critchs head, trying to see if he even has a plan.
Oh, Id say he has one. Could be its been modified a time or two, but ultimately hell know how he wants it to play out.
Not exactly easing my mind here, OKeefe.
He chuckled at the sarcasm. Lets do it this way. You tell me about your wild theory, and Ill tell you about Jacobs post-Academy days, with his veteran partner and an overeager rookie who now has an expensive habit to support. One homicide turned vice cop named Gary Canter.
MIDNIGHT CAME AND WENT. Belindas murderer came and went. Fitz shivered in the dark and the cold, but the fact that she was alive to shiver spelled hope to her.
Twice now shed cooked meals for her captor, but always with one hand shackled to the leg of a heavy table. Like a dog in the backyard, she had a long lead, but chained, could go no farther than the kitchen. And so far the key to the cuff on her wrist had eluded her.
But tomorrow was another day, and it would bring another chance. Her lucky third chance, she prayed.
Help me, Ro, she whispered out the tiny window in front of her. I swear Ill never steal again. Just help me make my Christmas miracle happen.
And with her cousins voice urging her on, she began to plot.
ROMANA WAS DOODLING A PICTURE of Warren Critchs face when the door to Denny Leechs apartment opened and a bandaged head with long white hair and a pink ball cap poked out.
Thought I heard something. She surveyed the lobby before drawing a baseball bat from behind her back. Im glad its you, dear.
Romana stayed where she was, on the upper step outside the elevator. Im waiting for Jacob. His captain told me he checked in at 1:00 a.m. and said he was going home for a while. Hows your head?
Too tough to crack, but I wish Id thought about ripping off that ski mask.
Romana doodled a mustache onto Critchs face. What did he say when he knocked on your door?
She snorted. Claimed he was a courier with a package from my daughter in Columbus. I checked my security monitor, but it was all wiggly lines and fuzz, so, stupid me, I opened the door and, whoops, he grabbed me.
Romana heard a sound at the entrance and glanced up. Jacob came in, pocketing his keys. He seemed more surprised to see the two women talking than he was by Romanas actual presence.
Suspicious of everyone and everything, this one. Denny beamed at him. But hes a cutie, and Id give my painting arm to be thirty again.
With a wink, she picked up her bat and disappeared back into her apartment.
You live in a building of night owls, Jacob. Romana doodled a dart with mistletoe leaves plunged into the center of Critchs forehead. Your upstairs neighbor invited me to join him for coffee and a hands-on demonstration of his spa tub. And the one on the mezzanine level has been in and out of his place twice with a suitcase. Hes either re-creating a scene from Rear Window or he takes very short business trips. Ive been here only forty minutes.