by LS Sygnet
Our antipasto plate arrived, but before we could start nibbling, a breathless Charlie Haverston ran through the dining room to our table.
"Charlie, sit down. Join us," Maya offered.
"Can't do it. Dr. Eriksson, we need to talk. Now."
"What's wrong?" I stared up at him.
"We need to talk in private. It's important."
I looked at Maya and shrugged. "Do you mind?"
She started to rise.
"No, Dr. Eriksson. What I have to say cannot be said in a room full of strangers."
Chapter 13
"What did you learn?"
Charlie's fingers pinched into my upper arm. He half dragged me through the lobby toward the elevators. Inside, he pressed the button for the eighth floor, but stopped the elevator before it could reach the destination.
"You're starting to worry me, Charlie. What's happening?"
"Two things." He reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a small listening device. "It's been disabled, but one of the guys who processed your room this morning said they found three of these planted in your room. Someone is very interested in what you have to say, Dr. Eriksson."
"No surprise there. Is this why you refused to speak in front of Dr. Winslow?"
"It wasn't her specifically, ma'am. I didn't want anybody to hear what I'm about to tell you."
"And I appreciate the diligence. What did you discover today?"
"First off, Johnny Orion is lying about something. We talked to a shit load of neighbors who told us Orion has been hanging around the Foster house for the past three months. They spoke to the head of the neighborhood watch who in turn had a conversation with Orion."
"Back up," I said. "When you say hanging around do you mean visiting or providing surveillance?"
"Surveillance. The neighbor across the street seemed to be the one leading the charge. She's a real nosy type, if you know what I mean." He reached inside his jacket again and procured a small notebook. "This is from the past month. It details dates, times and what Orion was doing while he was at Gwen Foster's home."
I took the notebook and thumbed through the first few pages. "Arrived at seven twelve. Gwen five minutes ahead of him. Sitting in car in front of house. Car still there in morning until Gwen left for work. Man did not leave car." The other entries didn't vary greatly.
"What did Orion tell the head of the neighborhood watch?"
"He was keeping an eye on Gwen, like a body guard."
"Interesting," I murmured. I thought of the guard Orion had posted outside my room and wondered which of my early morning visitors had planted the listening devices. "Do you mind if I keep this, Charlie?" I opened my palm to reveal the bug.
"Forsythe has the other two at the crime lab. They already tested that one for prints. He's using the others to try to figure out where the signal is being transmitted."
"A device this size is most certainly short range. I imagine that the listener would have to be yards away, possibly a few stories below, to hear me. I'd like to have my room swept again," I said, "and it's probably a pretty good idea if I start looking for a more secure place to stay in the meantime."
"Chief Weber says you might be here for awhile," Haverston said. "We appreciate that you advocated to keep us on the investigation, Dr. Eriksson, but –"
"No buts, Charlie. I know this puts you in an awkward position with Chief Lowe. If he has questions about the investigation, you should direct him to me or Chief Weber."
"That's not what I meant. Chief Lowe just about popped his buttons when he told us we'd be continuing on this case. He's not upset about it at all. It's Rogers and Daltry that got us concerned."
In that second, I wondered what Dad would think about a city like Darkwater Bay. Would he, like I was quickly learning, see that the good guys are necessary to balance an equation? "What did Rogers and Daltry do?"
"They reminded me that when we fail to close this case, emphasis on our inevitable failure, that a whole ton of shit is gonna come down on all of us. I couldn't help thinking about what happened to Johnny Orion, ma'am. I'm not rich like Orion. I don't have other options available."
I clasped his hand. "Charlie, you are going to solve this murder. I will do everything in my power to make sure we're looking in the right direction, but you will find the killer. My conversation with Dr. Winslow today revealed some information about Ms. Foster that is probably important. She has little doubt that the person who killed Brighton Bennett also killed Gwen Foster."
He blew out a long sigh. "I could've told you all doubt was erased from our perspective too, Dr. Eriksson."
"What did you learn?"
"Gwen Foster was born Gwen Bennett. Brighton was her cousin."
Even though the elevator was stationary, I felt the bottom drop. "I reviewed the file Myre and Orion submitted in the Bennett case this morning. It looked like they had a solid case against Salvatore Masconi."
"If you want to know the truth about that case, you're going to need a different file," Haverston's voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "You'll want the internal investigation regarding evidence tampering, Dr. Eriksson. Bradley Hanson has that file, but I doubt he'll let you even take a peek without a direct order from Chief Weber."
"What about Foster's next of kin?"
"Her father died ten years ago. She has one living relative, another cousin, Vincent Bennett who was living with her."
"Was?"
"Before she died. He's eighteen years old."
"So where is he? Although he could hardly be a person of interest since Maya is comfortable that the evidence demonstrates a likelihood that both Bennett women were dismembered by the same person. Vincent Bennett would've been what, three years old when his other cousin died?"
"He's out of town on business, according to the neighbor."
"Where out of town?"
"Southern California."
"That's an impressive location for a teenager on business. What does he do, Charlie?"
"He took a job after graduation working for one of the local fishing companies. It looks like Ms. Foster got the job for him. He's working for her former employer, who I understand was at Central Division a couple of hours ago filing a missing person's report on Gwen."
"Damn."
"Ma'am, they both worked for Danny Datello."
Double damn. The plot just thickened, and I had a deep suspicion that the detectives tailing me were as I first expected, hired by some arm of Sully Marcos' organization.
"Are you familiar with Mr. Datello?"
"Yes." Best left at that. My confrontation with Datello was no longer going to happen on my terms unfortunately. Not if I really cared about solving the murder of Gwen Foster. I was a little surprised to realize how much it had begun to matter to me.
Must've been something in the fog.
"What do you want us to do?"
Focus snapped back on a rather stricken Charlie Haverston. "Find Vincent Bennett. Get him back to Darkwater Bay. I need to talk to him, not only about Gwen's relationships and any enemies she might've had, but also that notebook the nosy neighbor kept. Surely he has an idea why his cousin would retain the services of a bodyguard."
"What about Datello?"
"I'll talk to him first thing in the morning," I said. In the meantime, Johnny Orion owed me a serious conversation. Was he on Datello's payroll too? Had Gwen hired him? Clearly, she had been in mortal danger. Did she know who had threatened her? Why not let Danny Datello take care of the problem for her? It didn't quite link to Darkwater Bay gumshoes tailing me in D.C. There had to be a link.
What I needed was a history lesson.
"Do me a favor, Haverston. Keep all of this quiet for now. I'll give a status report to Chief Weber, but for the time being, the less people who know about our progress, the better. I'm concerned with how quickly information filters to sources who have no right to know it in this city."
"I agree."
"Were you out here when the Bennett c
ase unfolded, Charlie?"
His cheeks flushed. "I was in middle school, ma'am."
"Call me the instant you pinpoint where Mr. Bennett is." I pulled out a blank white card with my new local cell number handwritten onto it and pressed it into his palm. "I don't care if its in the middle of the night. And you should try to get some rest. Take shifts for rest with Taylor, Andrews and Thieg."
"What are you gonna do? Where will you spend the night tonight?"
"It's safe here for the time being. There's a private guard outside my door. However, I'd still like another sweep for electronic monitoring devices before I settle in for the night."
"I'll have Forsythe send someone over right away."
"Pick up Datello at eight in the morning and bring him to central. I'll talk to him there," I said.
Haverston pushed the button for the lobby and restarted the elevator. "I hope this goes well. I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little bit nervous, what with Datello's connection to the Bennett case years ago."
"Yeah. I doubt it's a coincidence that his employees keep finding their way to the center of this mess. The universe's sense of humor isn't quite that ironic."
Then again, nobody would ever believe my real relationship to Danny Datello. At least, I hoped they wouldn't believe it.
The elevator doors slid open, and again, a sense of impending doom slammed through me when my eyes met those of Mark Seleeby and David Levine not more than fifty feet away. "Keep me posted, Charlie. Tell Forsythe to send his tech straight to my room. I'll make sure the hotel informs the guard at the door to expect him."
Chapter 14
Haverston swept right past David and Seleeby. Unlike me, his radar didn't register in the red zone at the sight of certain attitude. Federal agents exude it. I turned left and headed back to the restaurant, but I could feel them following and hear the steady click of polished patent leather shoes on the marble floor.
"Helen," David's fingers gripped my shoulder. "We need to talk."
I shrugged out of the light restraint. "No, I have nothing to say to either one of you."
"Then you'll listen," Seleeby chimed in. "Because we're not leaving until we've spoken our piece."
"Whatever it is, I simply don't care. My life in Washington is behind me, permanently. Is that clear enough for you, Agent Seleeby? Whatever you do, whatever information you think you've gathered, it simply doesn't matter to me."
"Helen, we think that Sully Marcos had Rick assassinated."
Well hallelujah and praise Jesus. There was that word again. Assassination. Technically, it implied the murder of an important person. I supposed that it signified the government's sense of loss of an important witness, one who I knew would never turn on his master.
"It's hardly rocket science. Marcos probably feared what you hoped would happen."
David's head jerked at Seleeby who, like the obedient dog, slouched off to the corner. David took a step closer to me. "Helen, you scared the life out of me. We had no idea what happened to you after you left the brownstone."
"Like I would stick around to witness them knock holes in the walls."
"They did no such thing. Mark told me that you accused us of sending another team to watch you. I wish we had. It would've saved me a lot of anxiety."
"Your comfort is the least of my concerns."
"You don't mean that. I know you don't." David's hand snaked out, fingers brushing lightly against my newly coiffed hair. "You look so different. It suits you."
I slapped his hand away. "Stop it, David. You can't woo me back into complacency."
"Can I woo you back home where you belong? This thing has blown over as fast as I thought it would. They had to look at you, Helen. Until we had concrete evidence of Sully Marcos' motive, there was no choice but to look at anyone who had a relationship with him. When you resigned, the way you did, it looked bad."
"I gave ten years of my life to the bureau. Monday was my reward. Thanks but no thanks. My life is moving in a different direction now."
"To Darkwater Bay? Helen."
"This is none of your business."
"Aren't you curious about why Marcos had Rick murdered?"
"I really don't care." My arms wrapped around my waist. Whatever path they were hurling headlong down really wasn't my concern. As long as they didn't consider me a suspect, it meant less than nothing to me.
"Someone embezzled a very large sum of money from an account managed at Rick's firm," David said. "An extremely large sum of money."
"Shame on Seleeby and company for not making sure all of the assets linked to the Marcos crime family at Rick's firm weren't frozen. He has no one to blame but himself, yet here I am, tainted once again. Well I won't endure a second round of what I went through when Rick was arrested, David."
"I understand what you're feeling, Helen, I really do. But running away isn't the answer. Darkwater Bay absolutely isn't the answer. Nobody survives the corruption in this city. It's a career ender."
"Then you heard the news."
"That the biggest buffoon in police administration is trying to lure you into signing a contract? Yes. You forgot to erase the messages on your voice mail before you left Georgetown."
I pulled out my badge and waved it in front of him. "You're about ten hours too late, David. It's a done deal. And it's pretty sanctimonious of you to deem this city a career ender after what the FBI has done to my professional reputation in the past three days."
"Don't do this –"
"You need to leave, David. Don't come back. Don't call me. If you want to talk to me again, you can do so through my attorney."
"Helen."
I stepped away.
"Stop running from me. Don't expect me to believe it's an accident that of all cities in the country for you to make a fresh start, you'd pick the one where Sully's nephew happens to live." David grabbed my arm and prevented retreat. His voice was low, intimate, too quiet for anyone within earshot to hear.
I supposed later that it looked like a lover's quarrel. The twosome quickly transformed into a triangle – at least as far as any witnesses were concerned.
Orion plucked me out of David's grasp and bared his teeth. "Are you alright, Doc?" One arm shielded me from David.
"Yes, I'm fine. Mr. Orion, this is Supervisory Special Agent David Levine." The introduction didn't quell Orion's protective instincts. The man was like an apparition. I hadn't even noticed him lurking around.
"I don't care if he's the freakin' director of the FBI. Nobody grabs you like that."
"Who the hell is this guy, Helen?"
"A concerned bystander." I looked up at Orion. "Please let me handle this. I don't need you protecting me."
"It didn't look that way to me."
"Johnny, please. Let me handle this. David was about to leave anyway, weren't you, David?"
"No, I wasn't leaving. I'm not going until you come to your senses and come home."
"This is her home," Orion growled. "Helen, who is this guy really?"
Jealousy arced like lightning between his eyes.
"He was my former supervisor. I'm not leaving here, all right? We'll meet later like we planned and I'll explain everything. Right now, I need to get back to my dinner guest. If you'll both excuse me." I stared hard at David. "Good bye, David. I wish you only the best."
I hooked my arm through Orion's and gave a not-so-subtle tug. Smoldering eye contact held between David and Orion, but he acquiesced and fell into step beside me.
"What the hell were you thinking?" My lips barely moved around the smile pasted on for the benefit of the spectators in the lobby. "Are you trying to make things worse for me?"
"Doc, I see two guys accost you, one of them grabs you, and in light of what happened Monday, not to mention in your hotel room this morning, what am I supposed to think?"
"That I know what I'm doing and can take care of myself."
"Like you did with the detectives Monday evening?"
"That's hardly fair.
I was unarmed at the time, and the last thing I needed was to draw more attention to myself by throwing down with them in a public lobby."
Orion's laugh lacked amusement, fell hard on the side of incredulity. "Throw down? With those two goons? Doc, they collectively outweigh you by five hundred pounds."
"Oh would I love to give you a demonstration on why bulk doesn't matter right about now, but I've kept Maya waiting long enough. Could you please be patient for another hour before you completely destroy any chance I've got to figure out what's really happening in this city?"
"I'll wait. Your friends from Washington are still watching you."
I resisted the urge to turn around. I didn't need to anyway. Orion was right. I could feel their eyes boring into our backs. "Do me a favor, if it's not too presumptuous to ask."
"Name it." He shot a boyish grin down at me.
"I need to talk to Tony Briscoe tonight. I can't trust this place to be secure enough." I pulled the electronic device from my pocket and gauged Orion's reaction to it. "Also, you need to let your guard know that Forsythe is sending someone over to the room to sweep for more of these tonight."
"Where the hell did you find that?" Anger. Determination. Swift assessment of our surroundings. Either Orion was as practiced a liar as I am, or he truly was surprised that someone was interested enough in what I was doing to bug my hotel room.
"The room. After you left, I had Haverston process the scene."
"Good thinking. We'll find a quiet place where we can speak without any ears listening."
"Alone, Orion."
"What?"
"I want to speak to Briscoe alone."
"Why?"
"I need background information from someone who isn't too close to the investigation. You, my newest shadow, are in this up to your eyeballs whether you can see it or not."
"You learned something new? About Gwen?"