Point Blank

by Catherine Coulter

  Rob stopped laughing first. He looked down at the pile of baked beans on his plate.

  Well, impossible to ignore reality forever, Dix thought. He said easily, “Thanks for the visual, Ruth. When we go skating, no soft drinks allowed,” but the boys looked thoughtful.

  Rafe said, “I saw Uncle Tony scratch his armpit once, and when we were playing baseball, he was standing out in center field and he scratched—”

  Rob cut his brother off. “Not in front of Ruth.”

  “You’re right, Rob, too much information,” Ruth said, and saluted him with her glass of tea.

  Dix scooped another spoonful of green beans onto his son’s plate. “Eat and don’t smash them in front of your bottom teeth.”

  Rafe shot his father a wary look and said faster than Brewster could swing his tail, “I went to see Mr. Fulton, you know, see where we might stand with his hiring me, you know, when my report card comes out.”

  “This is a hardware store, right?” Ruth asked.

  Rafe nodded. “Mr. Fulton said only six days had passed and nothing was any different at his store, and when would I have proof that my grades are up in English and biology.”

  Brewster was trying to climb Ruth’s leg. She leaned down to pet his head and slipped him a bit of hot dog. But Brewster wasn’t hungry, he wanted attention. He rubbed the hot dog on her shoe until she had to lift her feet off the floor to avoid him. The boys laughed until she scooped Brewster up and hugged him against her chest. “What are you up to, smearing hot dog all over my shoe, making everybody laugh at me? I thought you were my hero.”

  “Some hero,” Rob said, piling more potato salad on his plate. “Brewster was so small when he was a puppy we were afraid we might roll over on him during the night and squash him.”

  Dix chuckled, one eye on Brewster. “He was hero enough to find Ruth. I’ve rolled over on Brewster myself and he’s survived. Now, Rafe, what did Mr. Fulton say about the job?”

  Rafe swallowed a mouthful of hot dog bun. “Mr. Fulton asked me to spell ‘valedictorian.’ That wasn’t fair, Dad.”

  “Did you even attempt it?” Ruth asked.

  “Yeah, I did. I missed the e in the middle. It wasn’t fair,” he repeated.

  His father said, “I gather Mr. Fulton didn’t hire you?”

  “He told me to bring him my next report card. Then he’d speak to you again.”

  “Stup Fulton is full of surprises,” Dix said to Ruth.

  “Ah, he asked me what you’re doing about all this violent stuff, Dad. I told him you and the three FBI agents are working real hard on it. He just harrumphed.” He looked down at his plate. This time his voice was as thin as the kitchen curtains. “And there’s the kids at school. They’re saying that you’re not as good as everyone says you are, that everyone in town’s getting murdered.”

  “Well,” Dix said, “you don’t look banged up so I guess you didn’t get into any fights.”

  “It was close,” Rafe muttered.

  “I understand. But you managed to walk away?”

  It was Rob who said, “Sure, Dad. Right.”

  Ruth had noticed the bruise on Rob’s knuckles. It couldn’t have been all that bad a fight if his knuckles weren’t skinned. She smiled brightly. “Hey, I saw a baseball and glove in the hallway. Who’s the Barry Bonds?”

  Rob said eagerly, “Me. Didn’t Dad tell you I’m going to be the starting pitcher on the high-school team?”

  “Sorry, Rob, I didn’t, but I sure intended to.” Not that Rob really cared whether he had, Dix thought as Rob rushed on. “The thing is, Ruth, I’m only a sophomore. Billy Caruthers started last year as a junior, and he’s totally pissed the coach picked me.”

  Dix gave his son a long look.

  Rob cleared his throat. “Ah, Dad, everyone says it. Okay, Billy Caruthers was being a jerk—”

  Dix said, “Rob, remember how your mom once washed out your mouth with soap? That real strong soap that could peel the skin right off your hands?”

  Rob stared down at his plate. “Yeah, I remember. It burned off all my nose hair.”

  “You got the soap twice, Rob,” Rafe said, poking his brother’s arm.

  “You should have, too,” Rob said, and lifted his fist toward his brother.

  Dix said, “Boys?” in a quiet voice, and they stopped dead in their tracks. “Good. Rob, finish it up now.”

  “Okay, he was so mad he looked like he was gonna burst.”

  Dix gave him a thumbs-up. “I’ll give that a pass.”

  Ruth raised her glass. “Here’s to the next Derek Lowe.”

  “Hear! Hear!” Dix drank down the rest of his tea. “You guys ready for some bread pudding?”

  Ruth perked up. “Bread pudding? When did you have time to make that, Dix?”

  Rafe snickered. “Nah, Dad didn’t make it, it was Ms. Denver, the physics teacher. She’s been after Dad since the beginning of the school year. She’s a really good cook, so Rob and I don’t mind except—”

  “That’s enough, Rafe.”

  Rafe subsided, slouching back in his chair.

  Rob said, “Dad, you are going to catch the killers, aren’t you?”

  Dix looked at his eldest son. “What do you think?”

  Rob didn’t hesitate. “I told the kids you’d have them in jail by Tuesday.”

  “Well, that’s a motivator,” Dix said, with a rueful glance at Ruth.

  Ruth leaned forward, her elbows on the table. “I agree with you, Rob. I’m thinking Tuesday is about right. But you and Rafe both know it’s not quite that easy.”

  “I’m thinking Monday, myself,” Dix said, and folded his arms over his chest.

  Ruth thought the boys would burst with pride at this macho display.

  Rob said, “Dude! Dad, we’re not kids. You can talk stuff over with us, really. Everyone at school is talking about Ms. Rafferty being killed in her bed, about how you found that student buried in Winkel’s Cave.” He paused for a moment and cleared his throat, but his voice was unsteady. “And about Mr. McGuffey. Oh man, that was really bad.”

  Dix’s own voice wasn’t all that steady, either. “Walt was a fine man. I really liked him.”

  Rafe said to Ruth, his voice still quavering, “Mom always liked Mr. McGuffey. Last Thanksgiving he said Dad’s turkey was as good as Mom’s, but he couldn’t do stuffing worth a damn. I told him you couldn’t find Mom’s recipe.”

  “I’ll give you one, Dix,” Ruth said, knowing they were skating on very thin ice. The boys seemed both hyper and scared, and trying not to show either. “Corn bread with water chestnuts and cranberries.”

  “I like water chestnuts,” Rafe said. “But I like lots of sausage in my dressing, too.”

  Ruth beamed when Rob said, “Maybe we can try it your way, too, Ruth.”

  DIX’S DOORBELL RANG not long after the boys went to bed.

  “You missed a great corn-on-the-cob gross-out,” Dix said by way of a greeting.

  “Let me get your coats,” Ruth said, peeling off Sherlock’s leather jacket. She paused, then took a step back. “What’s wrong, guys? What happened?”

  “Sorry,” Savich said shortly. “Lots on our minds, no excuse.”

  He and Sherlock followed Dix into the living room. Savich held up his hand when Ruth opened her mouth. “No, Ruth, Sean’s all right, we spoke to him earlier. He’s already decided he wants a Yorkshire terrier whose name is going to be Astro.”

  Sherlock was still acting a bit stiff, but she tried, giving Ruth and Dix big smiles. “Last summer we talked about putting down Astroturf in the backyard for a very miniature miniature golf course. I guess Sean fell in love with the word.”

  But it had nothing to do with Astroturf or anything else, Ruth thought, glancing at the two of them. She looked from one carefully expressionless face to the other, saw the strain in Dillon’s eyes, the red creeping up Sherlock’s cheeks, which meant she wanted to kick someone—Dillon?

  Dillon and Sherlock were the anchors of Ruth’s
professional life. She was immensely grateful to Dillon for bringing her into the Criminal Apprehension Unit eighteen months earlier. He was an intuitive, natural leader, tough as a rock, honorable to the core. Sherlock was funny and insightful, sharp and focused, and you could count on her no matter what. She had only one speed—full steam ahead. Ruth had never seen them like this before.

  Then the light dawned. She said slowly, “I don’t believe this, you guys have had a major argument, haven’t you. Even if I told everyone in the unit, they’d demand I take a lie detector test, which no one would believe because they know I can cheat lie detectors in my sleep.” She looked at the ceiling. “I’m ready to pass over, Lord, since I’ve now seen it all.” She wagged a finger at Sherlock. “What did you do, Sherlock, drive the sacred Porsche?”

  “Very funny, Ruth,” Sherlock said. “You know, every time I’ve driven that car I’ve gotten a speeding ticket.”

  “Nothing’s wrong,” Savich said, his voice too loud. “Now, if you don’t mind, we’ve got some serious stuff to talk about.”

  Sherlock nodded. “Here’s the deal. We have to take off early tomorrow for Quantico because—”

  “Before we go there,” Savich interrupted her, “we need to tell you what MAX found out about Moses Grace and Claudia. Her last name is Smollett, emphasis on the last syllable.”

  Ruth sat forward, serious as could be now. “That’s an English name, isn’t it?”

  Savich nodded. “Of all things, her mom was English. Her name was Pauline Smollett. She came to the United States when she was twenty-two. She was a high-school math teacher in Cleveland, and never married, at least in this country. From the police reports, she had a pretty colorful personal life, but she managed to keep it separate from her job. She raised a child, Claudia, out of wedlock by herself.”

  “What happened to her?” Ruth asked.

  “She was raped and murdered by a gang.”

  Dix leaned forward, hands on his knees. “Police reports? How did you find the connection, Savich?”

  “When I called, I told you we had more work to do,” Savich said matter-of-factly, then added, his voice dropping ten degrees, “and that meant following up some information Claudia gave Sherlock.”

  Dix said, “Don’t you mean—You actually spoke to Claudia, Sherlock?”

  Sherlock’s chin went right up, a fire burned in her eyes. “Yes, for quite a while. She called on Dillon’s cell while he was in the shower.” She looked at her husband, eyes narrowed, as if daring him to comment.

  “She did indeed,” Savich said smoothly. “After her mother’s death, Claudia ran away from home. We had enough details for MAX to pull up a half dozen open cases with a similar profile, and that’s how we found Pauline Smollett. It all fit.

  “Claudia has a juvenile record of her own, and we matched her ID photo with the picture of Annie Bender her mother Elsa gave us. Claudia looks just like her.”

  Sherlock continued. “Claudia Smollett was nine years old when she started shoplifting cigarettes and booze from the local 24/7. She got thrown out of school twice, once when she burned a boy with a cigarette, and again when she broke another kid’s arm. Then there was the usual juvenile rage, throwing a textbook at a teacher, cursing out another, threatening her mother. She was a wild kid who probably wouldn’t have made it even if her mother had lived.

  “She ran into Moses Grace moments after he murdered a homeless man. They got drunk on bourbon in a motel, and the rest is history. Claudia said the word ‘bourbon’ with a Southern accent, and it seemed to me she ran into him somewhere in the South.” She paused. “And Claudia isn’t eighteen. She turned sixteen three weeks ago.”

  Dix pushed his fingers through his hair. “She’s about Rob’s age.”

  Savich, fiddling with one of the sofa pillows, nodded. “She’s a child, a crazy, unrestrained child. It turns out my wife was right about the murdered homeless man. We found a report of a man beaten to death in an alley about eight months ago in Birmingham, Alabama. The police never found the assailant, but another homeless man said he saw an old buzzard in bloodied army fatigues, so my bucks are on Moses.”

  “Claudia told me Moses wears army fatigues and old black army boots, so it fits,” Sherlock said. “We notified the Birmingham police, gave them what we’ve got. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anything to give us in return.”

  “Did you trace the call, Dillon? Do you know where they are?” Ruth asked.

  Savich said, “It’s good news, bad news. Claudia called from a prepaid cell phone Moses purchased for cash at a Radio Shack this morning. He activated it from a pay phone in the parking lot. It’s anonymous that way since there’s no registered owner, but the signal was loud and clear. And since they were calling from a set location, we located them dead-on.”

  “Where?” Dix asked.

  Sherlock said, “At a Denny’s on Eighth Avenue and Pfeiffer Street in Milltown, Maryland. Even though the local cops got there in under five minutes, Moses and Claudia were gone. Evidently Moses had left Claudia alone with the cell phone. When he came back she was still talking to me. I heard his voice, could tell he was angry at her for using it. So that means he knew we could find him. He hit the road fast.” Sherlock sighed. “If only he’d spent a bit more time in the men’s room, we could have joined them for dinner.”

  “Please tell me where the good news is in all of this?” Ruth asked them.

  Sherlock said, “Good news is we’ve got great descriptions, down to Moses’s old black lace-up army boots, and Claudia wasn’t exactly undercover. She had on low-cut plumber jeans, a skimpy hot-pink top, and a fake fur jacket. They made quite an impression on their waitress, who said Claudia was pretty but she wore too much makeup, and that the old guy looked like he’d spent a hundred years staked out in the sun.

  “But the best information is from a waiter who was outside smoking a cigarette when Moses and Claudia left the restaurant. He was yelling at her, shaking the cell phone in her face before he shoved her into a van.

  “The waiter had Claudia in his sights until the van disappeared from view. She waved at him from the passenger-side window. He doesn’t remember much about the van—thinks it was a Ford, real dirty. He was focused on Claudia. We might get something more from him. I’d bet my next paycheck on it.”

  Savich said, “Our Denny’s waiter is all set up to have Dr. Hicks hypnotize him tomorrow morning at Quantico, and we need to be there. I’m not certain if we’ll be back tomorrow evening, depends on what shakes loose.

  “Moses isn’t stupid. He might have figured we could locate them even with a prepaid cell phone, as long as Claudia stayed on the line.”

  Sherlock picked it up. “And that would mean we’d speak to people at the restaurant who saw them. So they might lie low for a while. Still, every squad car in the area will have Claudia’s picture by morning.”

  Ruth clapped. “Dillon didn’t tell us what you’d managed to do when he called earlier. This is great, Sherlock. Keep it up and you’ll break the whole thing wide open.”

  Sherlock said to Ruth, “Claudia wanted to talk to Dillon, Ruth. She wants to have sex with him, actually. Dillon was upset because he thinks I’m too delicate to hear the dirt Claudia dishes out.”

  Two pairs of female eyes went to Savich.

  “There’s more to it than that, Ruth, and Sherlock knows it.”

  “Ah,” Dix said, sat back on the sofa, and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Ah, what?” Savich asked him, never looking away from his wife.

  “So maybe all of this boils down to the fact that you want to protect her.”

  Sherlock turned on him. “From a crazy child on a cell phone? Dillon has no right—”

  Dix spoke over her. “I’d probably feel the same way if Ruth were my wife. It’s simply the nature of the beast—both of you must know that by now. It’s just instinct.”

  Sherlock went on point, and Dix felt lucky Savich was sitting between them. “Women have the sa
me instinct, macho man.”

  Dix cleared his throat. “Well, I’m glad we cleared that up without bloodshed. Would everyone look at the time. Is it late, or what?”

  There was a sprinkling of laughter, most of it from Ruth, Dix thought, then a pound of silence.

  Ruth jumped in to tell them she and Dix had spent the rest of their afternoon with Gordon Holcombe. “We searched every space in his office, house, and studio, every record. He was cooperative, I’ll say that for him. We even spoke to three of his former lovers on the phone. They were fine, all of them elsewhere at the time of the murders.”

  Dix said, “I’m going to talk to Gordon again tomorrow.” He frowned down at his clasped hands. “I can’t get past the fact that two of the victims were his lovers. Maybe he’s told us all about the students, but Helen wasn’t a student, now was she?”

  CHAPTER 27

  QUANTICO

  FRIDAY MORNING

  AT TEN O’CLOCK Dr. Emmanuel Hicks walked into Savich’s small office in Quantico’s Jefferson Dormitory and sniffed. “Pepperoni.” He looked at the young black man slouched in a chair beside Savich. “From the Boardroom?”

  The young man nodded. “Double pepperoni, Doc.”

  “Ah, my favorite, sometimes even for breakfast. My name is Dr. Hicks and I’m harmless.” He shook the young man’s hand. “This will be very easy for you, Dewayne, no discomfort at all as I’m sure Agent Savich has told you. We’re simply going to help you remember all the details you’ve already got stored away on your hard drive.” Dr. Hicks tapped his head, to which Dewayne answered, “Cool.”

  Ten minutes later, Savich pulled his chair closer to Dewayne’s and laid his hand lightly on the young man’s forearm. “I’d like you to think now about the first time you saw the old man and the young girl in Denny’s yesterday, Dewayne. You have them in your sights?”