Lethal Legacy

by Louise Hendricksen

  “Where do they live?”

  “Kamiah, Idaho.”

  Amy tried to remember the Idaho map she’d studied so closely the previous fall. “Where is that?”

  “Up in the shank of the Idaho boot. Just inside the Nez Perce Reservation. The closest town of any size is Orofino.”

  Orofino! Nathan was born and raised there. Amy gripped her purse in both hands. Surely this had to be a sign. “Do you speak the Nez Perce language?”

  Mary stiffened and swung to her feet. “Why do you want to know?”

  Amy met her defensive stare. “My twins are half Nez Perce. I want them to learn their father’s language and culture.”

  “What could I teach them that he can’t?”

  Amy’s lip started to tremble. She took a deep breath. “They won’t ever see him. We aren’t married.”

  “Oh … The counselor didn’t tell me that you,”

  “Does the fact that I’m not married bother you?”

  “No … it … uh, just kind of surprised me. You being a doctor and all.” She bent her head and stared at her scuffed loafers. “Back home people say such things only happen to us stupid Indians.”

  “People with small minds have to find some way to make themselves feel superior. You didn’t say whether or not you spoke the language.”

  “Yes.” She smiled shyly. “And I know the songs, the stories, and the dances.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Amy beamed at her. “Would you be interested in living with me and taking care of the twins?”

  “Are you close to the college? I don’t have a car.”

  “We may have to get you a bicycle. The apartment is on Endicott Street.”

  Mary laughed. “I can walk that easy. When will you want me?”

  “As soon as you can move in. I want to have a natural birth if I can, and I’ll need a labor coach. Are you working somewhere?”

  “I wash dishes from six to twelve out at Logger’s Roost.”

  “Jeez, Mary, that’s a tavern, and a rough one at that. How do you get there?”

  “I walk.”

  “In the rain? My God, it’s at least five miles each way. And there aren’t any streetlights.”

  “I’m a fast runner.”

  Amy shook her head. “It’s a dangerous part of town. Working for me, you won’t need that job. Quit, okay?”

  “I’d have to give them a few days’ notice.”

  “Okay, if you must.” Amy raked her fingers through her hair. “But at least let me take you to work and pick you up when you get through.”

  “I’ll be all right. Dr. Prescott. I’ve been walking in the dark all my life.”

  “Maybe so,” Amy said, scowling at her. “But a woman is unsafe on the streets at night, alone and unprotected.” She grasped the young woman by the shoulders. “You be careful. I’ve seen some terrible things.”

  29

  Amy parked her car in the private parking lot behind the Prescott Building. In this sensitive area, they’d taken a number of precautions. Photocell sensors turned on a sodium floodlight at dusk. A deadbolt secured the door that opened onto a short corridor; the door leading upstairs also had a deadbolt.

  She accepted the system as a necessary measure to protect them and the evidence on which they worked. Now, viewing it from Mary Little Bear’s point of view, she wondered if the young woman might not feel as if she were imprisoned.

  She hurried past several doors and worked the lab’s combination lock. Her father would probably be inside, and she was anxious to share the news she’d gotten at the doctor’s office with him.

  In the brightly lit autopsy room, B.J. stood at a counter putting away the sterilized knives, forceps, chisels, and electric saw blades he and Dr. Epps had used while performing Chea Le’s autopsy.

  “Hi,” he said. “You look excited. What’s up?”

  She regarded him with a rather belligerent set to her chin. If he didn’t react as a grandfather should this time, she wouldn’t share anything else regarding her pregnancy with him. “I had an ultrasound today.”

  “Everything all right?”

  “Yes. The doctor says the twins are boys.”

  “That’s grand, kitten. Just grand.” He gave her a hug. “Have you decided what you’re going to call them?”

  She noticed the forced joviality in his voice, but she smiled and patted his arm anyway. Neither one of them functioned very well when they were at odds with each other.

  “How do you like the sound of Joshua Berkley, after you?” B.J. grimaced as she knew he would. “And Jeremy Tate, after Nathan’s father?”

  “Joshua’s getting the worst of the deal. I hope he can tolerate Berkley better than I did.” He lay an electric motor on a shelf beside a mallet and a rongeur. “A woman by the name of Lian Choy called and left her number. It’s in the office.”

  “Good. I suggested she talk to the people in her apartment complex to find out if any of them saw Chea Le the day she moved.” Amy headed for the office.

  When she dialed Lian’s number, the woman answered so promptly Amy wondered if she’d been waiting right beside the phone. “This is Dr. Amy Prescott,” Amy said. “Did you lean anything about Chea Le?”

  “A little. Our manager assigns renters a specific parking space. The man who lives directly in front of Chea’s saw her leave two weeks ago. That’s the last time he saw her car.”

  “Was her car packed, do you know?”

  “No.”

  “What was she wearing?”

  Lian’s voice faltered and Amy heard her blow her nose. “A red b-blouse with a dark gray blazer and slacks.”

  Amy caught her breath. The same clothing she had on when she was killed. “What about the man someone observed on your floor?”

  “That woman says she saw him twice. He carried out several large garbage bags and dumped them in a blue pickup.”

  Victor Samphan? “Could she describe him?”

  “He was Asian and had a scar on his face.”

  Could there be a connection between him and Samphan? Amy’s pulse began to race. “I saw him in the lounge the night I talked to you.”

  “Yes, he comes in about once a week, but he couldn’t have had anything to do with Chea leaving.”

  “Why not?”

  “She hated him. Chinn made her go upstairs with him. The man beat her when she resisted him. She would never have gone anywhere with him.”

  “Lian, you realize you mustn’t discuss this with anyone, don’t you?”

  “I guess so. But she, she’s g-gone.”

  Liam sobbed brokenly and Amy felt her own eyes growing watery. “What’ll I do. Dr. Prescott?”

  “Don’t do anything. Chea’s fingerprints have been identified, so we’re positive it’s her. The news of her death will be showing up in the papers soon.”

  “What about the man with the scar?”

  “Don’t mention him. Not to anyone, Lian. You understand? These men have killed four times. They won’t hesitate to kill again.”

  B.J. came through the lab door as Amy hung up. “What did she say?”

  “Chea left two weeks ago wearing the same clothes she had on when she went into the river. A man with a scar on his face was seen putting some garbage bags into a blue pickup.”

  “Got any idea how this man with the scar fits into this?”

  She shook her head. “I have a vague feeling I’ve seen him before somewhere in Wheeler.”

  “Maybe,” He ran his hand over his beard and stared into space, “we could talk Sheriff Boyce into bringing in Victor Samphan for questioning?”

  “He might … for you. Want to try?”

  He grinned. “Let’s drive over there tomorrow and give it a shot. All he can do is say no.”

  “Good idea. I’ll go to my exercise class while you’re at the jail. I want to speak to Hue.” Amy lay her notebook beside the computer. “I’ll assemble our facts so the sheriff can’t say we’re just trying to get Cam off the hook.”

/>   B.J. leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “See you in the morning about nine. Don’t work too long.”

  Amy stayed at the computer until seven. The report had taken much longer than it should have because she’d kept glancing at the clock. Soon, it’d be time to call Nathan. Her heart beat faster at the thought.

  After printing copies of the report and stacking them on the desk, she took the elevator upstairs to her apartment. The growling of her stomach reminded her that she’d skipped lunch.

  She made a vegetable salad, put it in the refrigerator, and set the table. After she talked to Nathan, she’d grill half a chicken breast. With her nerves wound tight as springs, she couldn’t eat now.

  Wandering through the apartment, she absentmindedly picked up objects and set them down again. Inside her, Joshua and Jeremy responded to her nervousness by acting as if they’d taken up gymnastics. She yearned to share them with Nathan, let him hear their hearts beating, let him know these two were part of them.

  At eight o’clock sharp, she sat down on me couch, took a deep breath to calm herself, and dialed his number. The phone rang three times, then his answering machine clicked in. “I have to go out of town,” he said, his words running over each other. “My wife’s in the hospital.”

  Numb, Amy listened to the humming line until the receiver began to make beeping sounds. She dropped it into the cradle and tried to stand up. Her legs wouldn’t hold her.

  Although his message had sounded urgent, she couldn’t get past the fact that he’d left without giving any thought to her, or the danger he’d said she was in.

  Oh God. Oh God. She clasped her stomach and shook as if she’d taken a chill.

  His priority was Angela. And it always would be.

  30

  Amy sat beside her father in the van, staring at fir trees thrashing in the wind. The weather echoed her chaotic emotions. Nathan had told her she was in danger, then vanished. Now, she didn’t know where the threat might lie.

  B.J. glanced at her with an anxious expression. “You okay?”

  “Sure. Just feel a little groggy. I didn’t sleep well last night.” Actually, she couldn’t remember having slept at all.

  “Why didn’t you say something? I could have made this trip by myself.”

  “I needed to get out of the house.” She’d cried for hours but it hadn’t helped. For no reason, tears filmed her eyes. As she blinked them away, her nose started to run and she groped in the oversized pocket of her raincoat for a tissue. She discovered a small book instead.

  After locating a handkerchief and blowing her nose, she picked up the book she’d dropped in her lap. Where had it come from, she wondered. When she opened the cover and peered at an inscription that read. For Mai to keep always ,everything came back to her.

  The day she, her father, and Nathan went to the Nguyen house she’d found the paperback among the piles of ripped-up books and had put it in her pocket, intending to give it to Cam. She scanned the dog-eared child’s story and remembered Mai had once told her about her father writing a story and having it made into a book.

  “Whatcha got there?” B.J. asked.

  “A story Chantou Pran wrote for Mai. Listen.” She read about a little girl named Mai who was left all alone except for a miniature dragon with green eyes and fiery breath. He helped Mai escape from many perilous adventures with fearsome demons.

  One day the little dragon was mortally wounded. As he lay dying, he asked Mai to cut open his stomach. Reluctantly, she followed his instructions and drew out the emerald green of his eyes, the ruby red of his kind heart, and the white hot heat of his fiery breath.

  He asked her to care for his precious parts until the demons were vanquished. “When peace reigns over our land,” he said, “You must take these cherished objects to my father in the East.”

  “That’s a strange tale to tell a child,” B.J. said. “The dragon’s left there with his innards hanging out. I wouldn’t call that a happily-ever-after ending.”

  Amy pointed to the tattered pages. “Evidently, Mai liked the story. I’ll pass it on to Cam next time I see him.” She slipped the book into her pocket and turned to watch the passing scenery again.

  When they reached Wheeler, B.J. let Amy out at Fenwick’s Athletic Club and went on to the courthouse. In the club’s foyer, she met Kim.

  “Ah, Dr. Prescott,” he said, flashing a smile. “I’m most happy to see you. Are you joining our mothers today?”

  “Yes, I’ve been too busy to get to class lately.”

  “Most unfortunate. Much better, I think, if you be mother, not investigator.”

  She studied him, searching for evidence of a threat, and found his features as bland as before. “You may be right. Has Dr. Nguyen been in?”

  He wagged his head. “I think maybe he is regretting what he did.”

  She fixed her gaze on him. “What did he do?”

  “He said his girlfriend told his wife she was pregnant” His wife threatened to tell the hospital where he worked. That day he played handball like a madman. He hides it well, but I think he is a violent man.”

  Her eyes widened in alarm. The words, ‘his girlfriend told his wife she was pregnant’ echoing in her ears, she pressed her hand against her chest. Dear God, was that why Cam disappeared after Chea’s car was pulled out of the river? The thought staggered her.

  “Dr. Prescott, are you all right?” Kim peered at her. “I did not wish to upset you.”

  Thank you for telling me, Kim.” She wandered off to the aerobics room in a daze. Had she let her friendship with Cam blind her?

  She sat down on a mat and scanned the room for Hue. She nudged the woman in front of her. “Have you seen Hue Quoy?”

  “She not coming,” the woman said, and frowned. “Someone say she hurt.”

  A chill rippled up Amy’s spine. “What happened?”

  When the woman shrugged, Amy jumped to her feet and rushed out A public phone hung on the wall in the foyer, but she hurried outside. She didn’t want anyone overhearing her conversation.

  She walked two blocks before she found a phone where she could have a little privacy. She dialed Hue’s number and waited anxiously until Hue answered.

  “This is Amy. What happened? Are you all right?”

  “Oh, Amy. The other night, I was attacked in the grocery store parking lot.”

  “Were you hurt?”

  “A black eye, bruises on my face, and a sprained ankle is all. But I was scared, so scared, Amy. I thought he was going to kill me, or rape me, or both. Luckily I was able to get away from him.”

  “Thank God, Hue. Did you see his face?”

  “He had a hood over his head.”

  A hood! “Did he say anything to you?”

  “He speaks Cambodian. He said to stay away from you and keep my mouth shut or he’d kill me.”

  “I shouldn’t have gotten you involved. Any possibility it was Victor Samphan?”

  “No, this man was shorter and slimmer and he smelled peculiar.”

  “Like incense?”

  “Yes, yes, that’s it. Did you find out who the dead woman is?”

  “Her name’s Chea Le. Cam claimed he was with her the night Mai was murdered.”

  “Are you saying he killed this Chea Le?”

  “I don’t know. He hasn’t been seen since the day the body was found.”

  “He can’t have killed her, Amy. That’d mean he killed Mai too. No! I don’t believe it. He couldn’t have.”

  “I don’t want to believe it either, but I have to consider the possibility. Are either you or Raymond acquainted with an Asian man with a scar on the right side of his face?”

  “No, but I think I know who you mean. I saw such a man in the market the other day. He knocked down an old man who got in his way.”

  “Didn’t anybody do anything?”

  “Some men tried to grab him. He snarled at them, Amy. Just like a savage dog, then he did some karate moves and frightened them away.”
/>
  “What else can you tell me about him?”

  “Oh. One thing, he had a broken front tooth.”

  Amy’s grip tightened on the receiver. The man who’d spied on Mai from the woods. The man whose picture she had taken when he was crouched in the bushes outside Nguyen’s window. The man she’d seen somewhere else in Wheeler. Somewhere, she was almost positive, he shouldn’t have been.

  31

  Victor Samphan sat stiffly erect, his face expressionless. Elliott Osgood, Ivan Fenwick’s attorney, tilted his straight-backed chair against the wall and steepled his fingers over his abdomen.

  “I hope this pays off,” B.J. said in a low tone. From their vantage point in Sheriff Boyce’s office, Amy and her father could see and hear what went on in the adjoining interrogation room.

  “The sheriff has to get something out of him,” Amy whispered. “We’re at a dead standstill.”

  Sheriff Boyce stooped and flattened his palms on the small table in front of Samphan. “How long have you known Chea Le?”

  “I don’t”

  The sheriff paced the length of the eight-foot-by-eight-foot room and swung around to face the man. “Know anything about her car going into the river less than half a mile from your house?”

  “Don’t answer that, Mr. Samphan,” Elliott Osgood said.

  Samphan smirked and sat back in his chair.

  Sheriff Boyce thrust his face in close. “You killed her, then drove her car into the byway, didn’t you, Mr. Samphan?”

  “Now, Fred,” Osgood said.

  Samphan scowled at the attorney. “I didn’t know her and I didn’t kill her,” he said to Boyce.

  “You’re sure of that?” The sheriff leaned against the wall.

  “You’re damned right. Why the hell you accusing me? I ain’t the one who’s been screwin’ her.”

  “Ah, but you know who has, don’t you Victor?”

  “Sure. That double-dealing doctor.”

  Amy frowned as a smile of satisfaction spread over the sheriff’s face. “Look at him,” she said. “He’s still bent on pinning the whole works on Cam.”

  B.J. gestured for her to be silent.

  “And who else?” The sheriff asked, beginning to pace again.

  “How the hell should I know?”

  “How’d you know about the doctor? You been spying on him?”