Riker felt an odd affinity for St. John, who walked about in a portable atmosphere of tranquillity, affecting everyone in his sphere – except Mallory.
Of course. St. John shared this trait with her late foster father. Did Mallory see it, too?
„Louisa’s death was an accident,“ said St. John. „It wasn’t – “
„You mean the magic-bullet trick?“ Mallory shifted her position to one side of Nick Prado. And now she had a clear bead on Futura again. „The gun trick adapted for the crossbow? No, an arrow didn’t kill Louisa.“
Futura was slightly off balance, not cocking his head in his habitual startled-bird fashion, but leaning his whole body to one side, and even St. John had been caught off guard. But not Prado, whose smile never wavered.
Mallory skirted around Prado to get to Futura. „Did Louisa know she was going to be shot for real? Did she know Malakhai was using a loaded crossbow?“
Futura took this as a physical jolt. His head moved somewhere between a wobble and a shake of denial. „If she knew, she was a wonderful actress.“ He looked up at St. John. „Remember her face, Emile? She was stunned.“
Riker decided this might be a bad time to remind Mallory that she had been forbidden to conduct interviews. A loud squeal of electronic feedback called his attention up to the smaller stage on top of the platform.
Oliver Tree’s attorney was standing behind the microphone on the auctioneer’s podium. „May I have your attention?“ The bald head was shining with reflections from a bank of overhead lights. Though he must weigh three hundred pounds, no one would call him a fat man; money had cured that glaring flaw. An expanse of dark suit material elegantly draped his wide girth with the genius lines of Armani. „We’ll end the intermission in a few minutes. If you would all take your seats?“
Mallory walked to the foot of the platform staircase and held up her gold shield. „First I want a look at the room inside this box. Are you the executor? Atkins?“
„Ye-e-es.“ Only a man with a Park Avenue address could put that many syllables into a three-letter word. And by his attitude, it was clear that she should address him as Mr. Atkins. The attorney walked down the short flight of stairs on tiny mincing patent-leather feet so incongruous with his mass. Waving her identification away with one white hand of glittering jewels, he made a point of not meeting her eyes. He addressed the air above her head: „I know who you are. You’re the balloon shooter. I’ve already spoken with the other detective – Riker, was it?“
The lawyer’s tone was clear – Riker should substitute the word riffraff for his own name.
Atkins wagged one finger at Mallory in the gesture of admonishing a child. „No one but the buyer may inspect the platform’s interior room.“
„This is police business,“ said Mallory – substitute the words, You prick.
„Do you have a warrant? No? I didn’t think so.“ The lawyer turned around, and in the manner of a large dark ship leaving the harbor, he grandly sailed across the stage.
She called after him, „Atkins? This platform ties into a homicide.“
And now she had everyone’s attention. Thirty heads were turning in her direction.
The attorney was smiling when he turned around. „But no warrant?“ He sailed back across the stage and docked in front of her, this time deigning to look into her eyes. „However, I’m sure your little comment did raise the bidding considerably. You want to make a scene? Go ahead. Rant and rave about murder, and I might cut you in for a small percentage.“
„Sounds like a bribe to me, Counselor.“
Atkins snorted and covered his mouth with one hand. His fingers sparkled with the large gemstones of four rings. „You’ll have to do better than that, Detective.“ His tone implied that this was obscene wealth and power speaking, so she would have to do a lot better.
Mallory pointed at the crossbows. „Do you have a license to sell firearms?“ She smiled. „No? Then I’ll have to stop the auction.“
The attorney only raised one eyebrow. „Don’t even repeat that threat. Oliver Tree had a special permit signed by the mayor. Executor’s privilege extends that license to the disposal of his effects.“
Riker thought that had the sound of a lawyer’s bluff, but Mallory, a consummate card shark, showed no signs of calling him on it. She seemed distracted by the table display of prop weapons. „I’ve seen the permit, Atkins. I know it doesn’t cover the sale of guns.“
„These are all harmless props, and you know it.“
„Maybe not. I know Oliver Tree’s nephew had access to this collection. One of these guns could be a murder weapon. If you can’t produce the license – “
„Oliver Tree was killed by arrows. Odd that I should have to point out this simple fact to a police officer.“
„Wrong investigation, Atkins.“ Her voice was so low, Riker had to crane his neck to hear the words. „I have a dead drug dealer in the East Village.“
What? Well, actually, that was a safe lie. There was always a dead dealer somewhere downtown. But now that the Dominican drug gangs had completely finished murdering the American gangs, she would be lucky to get a fresh corpse.
„The nephew is also your client, Atkins. I know you bailed the kid out on his last drug arrest.“ Now she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. „When a cop wants to see your gun seller’s license, you don’t get to argue the point. Are there any other simple laws I can explain to you – before I shut down this auction?“
Riker smiled. He knew the big money in this room was returning to Hollywood on the morning plane. Atkins’s cut would be smaller if the auction was delayed. Mallory had scored a blow to the lawyer’s wallet, the equivalent of a groin shot on a human being.
„Let’s read the tags, shall we?“ The attorney lifted a revolver from the table, brandishing it in a careless manner. Apparently, he had never handled a gun before – or perhaps he had, for he was pointing the muzzle at Mallory’s face as he checked the tag. „All harmless props. See here?“ He held up the tag. „This one only fires smoke. Not the least bit deadly.“
„He’s right, Mallory.“ Nick Prado was looking over the attorney’s shoulder. „Lots of smoke and bang, but no bullets. That one won’t even hold ammunition. The mechanism runs through the barrel and – “
His words ended abruptly when he met Mallory’s eyes. In that moment, they formed an odd alliance. Taking his cue from her, Prado stepped back and bestowed an evil grin on the attorney.
Mallory looked down at another revolver on the table, bending low to examine it closely. It was tagged as a starter’s pistol. „This one looks real to me, but I’m only a cop. What do I know? I think I’ll just stop the auction until I get a decision from the DA’s office. It shouldn’t take more than a few days.“ As an afterthought, she said, „Or I could have a look inside the platform.“
„I’m not buying it, Detective.“ The lawyer had lost his patronizing smile. „Look around you. I have a room full of magicians, experts. They can tell you these guns are props. Look at the damn tags.“ Now a hint of menace came stealing into the man’s voice as he lowered his volume. „But you were right about Oliver’s nephew. The boy is my client.“ He advanced on her, perhaps believing that she would retreat. She did not. And now he was in the awkward position of stepping back a pace and yielding ground to Mallory.
He sighed and gave her a long and pitying look. „Considering what you did to Richard – hurtling him to the pavement with utter disregard for his person.“ He sighed. „Well, I think the boy might sue for false arrest and police brutality. When the district attorney finds out how easily that lawsuit could’ve been avoided, you’ll lose your job, won’t you, Detective?“
The crowd of bidders gathered close around them in the spirit of spectators at a street fight.
„Sounds like a threat,“ said Mallory. „And in front of witnesses, too.“
„Oh, run along, Detective – before you become a laughingstock again. Go shoot another balloon.“ The lawyer turned
to the crowd for their support, but he met with disapproval on every face. Apparently, they liked Mallory best, perhaps in the false assumption that she was the underdog in this exchange.
„There’s a faster way to check out the guns.“ She picked up a revolver from one table and reached for a deck of cards from another display.
Riker stood behind Atkins’s back, shaking his head and mouthing the word no. She turned away from him. He moved quickly around the attorney and reached out to her.
Too late.
She threw the deck high in the air and fired the gun into the falling shower of playing cards. The shot banged out in an explosion.
The attorney’s face was pale. His abstract world of lawbooks and contracts was far removed from the extreme violence of gunshots.
Mallory leaned down and picked up a card from the floor. She turned to the lawyer and looked at him through the round hole in its center. „Real bullets.“
And at this vulnerable moment, when the lawyer was still slack-jawed with shock – no, call it horror – she barked the order. „Get me the damn paperwork on this gun! I want to see your license! I want – “
Her voice was drowned out by loud applause and whistles from the gallery of bidders. They cheered her as the clear winner. But Riker noticed the lawyer was rallying and staring at Mallory with solid hatred.
„Maybe we can forgive paperwork on both sides?“ The attorney smiled somewhat insincerely. „Feel free to look around inside the platform. Just get it over with.“ He walked back through the crowd of onlookers. „Gentlemen, ladies, if you’ll just take your seats and wait a few more minutes.“
Most of the gathering retreated to the theater seats in the front row. Charles Butler remained on the stage close to Mallory, and his voice had an unfamiliar icy quality. „May I see that gun for a moment?“ Not waiting for her to surrender the weapon, Charles took it away from her – winning new respect from Riker.
She was about to protest when Riker pulled her off to one side of the stage, and he did not handle her gently. „Mallory, are you nuts?“ He held her by one arm, gripping it tight enough to leave bruises; he was that angry. „How could you fire a gun in a place like this? That bullet could’ve ricocheted off a – “
„Are you going to rat me out to Lieutenant Coffey?“
„What? Listen to me! You can’t – “
„I can’t be trusted with guns?“ She shook his hand off with a jerk of her arm. „Go on – report back to Coffey. Tell him all about my little card trick – and then he’ll fire me. That’s what you want, isn’t it? You figure it’s better I lose my job than get killed for a psycho cop.“ She poked a long red fingernail into his chest and put some force behind it. „Right?“
He turned his face upward and stared at the workman on the catwalk high above them. Oh, sweet Jesus. The man in coveralls had been directly in the path of her bullet. Riker came all undone as Mallory looked up at the man and smiled. This innocent bystander had not been planned on, but she clearly regarded him as an unexpected bonus.
Riker raked one hand through his graying hair. He wanted a drink so badly. „If it was only the balloon. But first you pulled that stupid stunt with the rat, and now – “
„I never waste a bullet, Riker.“
„Don’t lie – not to me. Four cops saw you shoot that rat off the candy machine.“
„Riker, if I’m such a sick puppy, how come it’s so easy for me to read all you nice, normal people? You think I’m a gun-happy nutcase? Fine. Go to Coffey. Go now. Run!“ She stood back and regarded him as if he were a stranger, and not a man who had watched her grow up. „Don’t you get it, Riker? You’re the one I can’t trust. How do you like that feeling? I’m your partner, and I can’t trust you.“
„I don’t deserve that.“
„You’re not working this case with me. You’re only around to watch me. And I know why. Good housekeeping? Isn’t that what you call it when a nutcase cop goes down? I’ll just have to hope I’m never in a bad spot where I need you for backup.“
She stalked away from him, heading for the platform, but Charles Butler blocked her path. He was holding out his hand. Finally, reluctantly, she crossed his palm with the mutilated playing card.
Charles held up the gun he had taken from Mallory. „It really is a prop, Riker. Lots of noise, but no bullets.“
„She put a hole in the – “
„Not a bullet hole.“ Charles looked down at the mutilated playing card in his hand. „This one was made by a shaft of metal. Stainless steel, to be precise. Let’s narrow it down further, shall we?“ He held the card closer to his eyes as if divining more information from it, saying dryly, „Obviously a barbecue skewer from the kitchen drawer of Rabbi Kaplan.“ He flipped the card over. „And this pattern on the back? It doesn’t match the cards on the floor.“
Charles turned on Mallory and pointed an accusing finger at the cashmere showing through her open trench coat. „You were wearing that blazer the night of the poker game. That’s how you just happened to have a card in your pocket – a card with a bole in it. You palmed it during the game.“
Mallory was not the least bit contrite. „Well, the spook was cheating, wasn’t she? Just open the platform and check it out, okay, Charles?“
„But to palm a card? Mallory, I’m shocked.“
And so was Riker. He stood with both hands jammed into his pockets so his partner would not see them balling into fists.
Charles lightly touched the wood at the center of the platform wall, and the compartment door opened. He looked inside and quickly pulled back from the stench.
A human arm extended slowly and hit the floor of the stage with a soft thud of dead white flesh on wood. A sleeve was rolled to the elbow. And now the upper torso unfolded and tumbled out the door. There was an arrow in the ruffled breast of a formal dress shirt, but no blood at the wound site. This might have been a staged illusion – if not for the very real hole in the chest. Riker had never seen the crossbow shooter without his top hat. The carrot-red hair was wild with a boy’s cowlicks. The white face was contorted and conflicted between pain and the astonishment of dying.
The gallery of bidders was stealing back to the stage, all but tiptoeing toward the platform.
„That’s Richard – Oliver’s nephew,“ said Nick Prado. His face was composed, and his voice was calm.
Riker decided that Prado must be familiar with the smell of dead bodies, standing his ground while the rest of the civilians were visibly shaken and driven backward by nausea. The corpse had emptied its bowels in the postmortem relaxation of muscles. The containment of the odor spoke well for the seal on the platform door.
Franny Futura had retreated to the edge of the stage. His formerly ruddy cheeks had lost all their color. Emile St. John showed no emotion whatever, and Riker wondered what it would take to unhinge that man.
Mallory knelt down beside the corpse and touched it. The limp body moved easily under her probing hand. The rigidity of rigor mortis had run its course and passed off.
„Couple of days dead.“ She wore a faint smile when she looked up at Riker. „And now I’ve got a real live game.“
Tack Coffey looked down at the paperwork on his desk, a police report on the death of Crossbow Man, a.k.a. Richard Tree. „So when do we get the medical examiner’s report?“
„First thing tomorrow,“ said Riker. „Dr. Slope’s doing it himself. And she got Heller to do the forensic workup on the platform. Looks like the kid had a good instinct.“
Coffey pushed Riker’s report to one side of his desk. „Slope’s doing a full autopsy?“
„Yeah, all the trimmings,“ said Riker. „Mallory got real lucky with that arrow sticking out of the body. It’s enough to impound the platform. And now she has an open homicide case. Damn good police work.“
„I never had any problem with her work,“ said Coffey. „It’s her state of mind that worries me. Are you keeping an eye on her?“
Riker shook his head. „No, I
don’t do midget duty anymore. She’s a grown-up now.“
„She’s dangerous.“
„Is she?“ Riker lit a cigarette, despite the absence of an ashtray. „Maybe you’re just buying into your own lecture, Lieutenant. Incidentally, that didn’t scare her one bit. But it was a good try.“
„It scared you, Riker. You know what she is.“
„Yeah, she’s my partner, and she’s good. You never saw that much talent in a cop – except maybe her old man. But, you know something? I think she’s gonna be better than Markowitz in his prime. Well, you took your best shot, and it didn’t work.“ He stood up and buttoned his coat. „Fun’s over, Lieutenant. Give me Mallory’s revolver. I’ll see that she gets it. Now that the kid’s back on the job – “
„She has enough guns to play with. She can make do with her.38. I’m keeping the cannon for a while.“ He smiled. „Tell her I’m waiting on a recovered bullet from the dead balloon puppy, so we can match – “
„Bullshit,“ said Riker. „Nobody’s looking for that bullet. You got no call to keep her gun. You ivant her to think you don’t trust her?“
Coffey was incredulous. „I never trusted her. That’s news to Mallory? And the balloon isn’t a dead issue. There’s more fallout.“ He flicked a remote control at the small television in the corner of the office. The VCR played a repeat performance of Officer Henderson falling off his rearing horse as the giant balloon descended from the sky. „This tape is Henderson’s evidence in a lawsuit against the city.“
„Lawsuit? The idiot fell off his horse. Who knew he was such a lousy rider?“
„He’s claiming the horse wouldn’t have dumped him if Mallory hadn’t created a dangerous, life-threatening situation. It’s a ten-million-dollar lawsuit, Riker. And it all hangs on whether or not Henderson can prove she shot the big puppy.“
„Well, screw the job. I’m gonna get me a horse and a lawyer,“ said Riker.
„It gets worse. Henderson claims the city knowingly hired a dangerous psychopath. Now his terminology is a little off – but real close.“ Coffey rewound the tape and played it again. „I do like watching that little bastard fall on his ass. He broke his tailbone.“
Shell Game Page 18