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Close Your Eyes

Page 23

by Iris Johansen

“Bullshit.”

  Lynch shoved him harder toward the cliff. Bergen’s foot caught a rock sticking out of the ground, and he fell headlong into the void.

  Until, at the last instant, Lynch pulled back on the handcuff links. Bergen teetered over the cliff’s edge as a fine mist sprayed him from the rocks below.

  “You’re crazy!” he screamed. “You’re gonna kill us both!”

  “It’s a distinct possibility. These rocks are slippery.” Lynch raised his voice to be heard above the wind. “So how about you stop jerking me around so that we can go home? Tell me what happened in that apartment. And tell me exactly what happened to Jeff Stedler.”

  Bergen threw his shoulder back for balance. “I don’t know!”

  “You cleaned up his blood, didn’t you?”

  “No!”

  “What?”

  “I said no. No blood.”

  Lynch pulled him back a couple of feet. “Don’t bullshit me.”

  “I’m not. There wasn’t a drop of blood in that apartment, I swear. No splatter marks, no bullet holes anywhere … Believe me, I know what I’m talking about. I’ve cleaned and patched a lot of ’em.”

  “Then why were you brought in?”

  “There was something else there on the carpet. Something yellow.”

  “Piss?”

  “No. Brighter, almost fluorescent. I don’t know what it was.”

  Lynch pulled him back farther still. “Keep talking.”

  “It wasn’t on the wall or anywhere else. Just the dining-room carpet. I rush-ordered a carpet piece and replaced it the next night.”

  “Kudos, by the way. It was a perfect match for the rest of the carpet in there.”

  “If it was so perfect, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  “Well, it looked perfect.”

  “Look, I don’t consider myself an artist or anything like that, but I know my job.” Bergen no longer sounded quite so breathless. “I know what needs to be done to make a carpet look lived on for two, five, or twenty years. But is it true this woman could really smell the difference?”

  “It’s true.”

  “Damn.”

  “Did you ask what the yellow stuff was?”

  “Yeah, I tried cleaning it first, and it helps to know what you’re dealing with, you know? Anyway, the guy didn’t tell me shit. I was on my own. It wouldn’t come out, so that’s why I had to rush-order another piece.”

  “What did you do with the stained carpet you pulled out?”

  “Aah, I tossed it in a Dumpster someplace.”

  Lynch thought about it. “Okay, you’re going to show me that Dumpster and tell me exactly the day and hour that you tossed it.”

  “Hey, I don’t remember exactly where it was. How am I supposed to—”

  Lynch spun Bergen around and once again pushed him toward the ledge.

  “Wait!” Bergen yelled. “Dammit, wait!”

  Lynch stopped. “Yes?”

  Bergen paused, trying to catch his breath. “Okay, maybe I do know where the Dumpster is.”

  “I thought you might. Now tell me something else that will keep me from considering you expendable.”

  “What if … I told you that the carpet scrap is still in there?”

  Lynch slowly turned him around. “After all this time?”

  Bergen nodded. “Because that Dumpster is the one in the driveway of the house I’m renovating. You stood eighteen inches away from it.”

  “It hasn’t been emptied?”

  “Not since that night. I’m telling you, it’s still there.”

  Lynch leaned closer. “You’d better not be lying.”

  “I’m not. I swear I’m not.”

  “We’ll soon see.” Lynch pushed him toward the path that would take them back to his car. “Okay, we’ve seen enough up here. Sometimes it’s fun to take a little time and just be a tourist in your own town once in a while, isn’t it?”

  CHAPTER

  13

  TWENTY MINUTES LATER, LYNCH stood in the driveway at the one-story fixer-upper while Bergen waded through piles of construction debris in the twenty-yard Dumpster.

  Bergen popped up and gestured with his flashlight. “This might go faster if you helped, you know.”

  “I’m standing watch.”

  “Is that what you call it? Look like screwing around to me.”

  “The last thing I need is to get stuck in that metal mausoleum if your employer comes to silence you. You were right to go into hiding. Once it was known that we’d found you, you became a liability.”

  “That’s how I figured it. I’ve been in tough spots before, but I’ve learned if I drop out of sight for a while, it usually blows over.”

  “This one might be different. You might think about leaving town.”

  “You’d really let me do that?”

  “Just keep looking.”

  Lynch glanced up and down the residential street. No sign of trouble, but he’d be happier when could get away from anyplace where Bergen might be expected. On the other hand, any attempt on the man’s life would prove invaluable if he could manage to grab the killer in the act.

  Very cold. Kendra would not be pleased at that thought. Nor would she approve of his dangling Bergen over the rocks at Sunset Cliffs. Oh well, he missed Kendra, but working alone did have its advantages.

  “I found it!” Bergen’s voice echoed in the Dumpster. “I’ve got it.”

  Lynch heard broken glass and boards knocking each other. Then a large piece of carpet, almost identical to the one he had seen at the FBI lab, snaked over the edge of the Dumpster and fell to the driveway. Lynch picked it up and angled the surface toward a streetlight. There was a brighter-than-bright yellow stain about eight inches in diameter.

  Bergen climbed out of the Dumpster and pointed to the stain. “What did I tell you?”

  “Just like you said, Bergen. Lucky for me that you got lazy on this job. Seriously, your own driveway?”

  Bergen sighed. “I was tired, okay? I really didn’t think anybody would know. And believe me, it would be far from a slam-dunk to dump this behind a restaurant or something. If someone happens to see a rolled-up carpet being dumped in the middle of the night, the first thing they think is, ooh, dead body. At least here it blends in with the other stuff I’ve been tossing.”

  “I can’t argue with that.” Lynch carefully rolled up the carpet with the fiber side in. “And you definitely helped your cause by turning this over to me.”

  “Wasn’t a hard choice to make. Either this or the rocks at the bottom of Sunset Cliffs.” Bergen chuckled. “You weren’t really going to throw me down there, were you?”

  Lynch didn’t answer.

  Bergen’s smile vanished as he studied Lynch’s expression. “I … see.”

  “Do you? What’s better is that you saw and understood up on those cliffs.” Lynch picked up the carpet and hoisted it onto his shoulder. “May I give you a lift someplace?”

  “Back to my car, I guess. In the morning, I’ll swing by my place, gather a few things—”

  “Wrong. You’re going to get in that car tonight and drive.”

  “Where?”

  “Out of town, out of the state, preferably somewhere you’ve never been before. Follow your own advice and lie low until things cool off. You’re not going home to pack up a few things, you’re not going to stop at your favorite bar for a good-bye drink, and you’re not going to make one last booty call to whomever you’ve been seeing. You’re just going to drive.” He paused. “Feel free to call me if you get into a jam.”

  “You have a business card?”

  “My number is now in your cell-phone directory. Adam Lynch.”

  Lynch walked toward his car with the carpet roll on his shoulder. “Oh, and there are six different ways I’ll be able to find you it if becomes necessary. If you’re lucky, you might think of three or four of them. Hide yourself from everyone else. But don’t try to hide from me, Bergen.”

&nbs
p; The Following Morning

  7:45 A.M.

  Kendra’s cell phone rang as she came out of the showers at the hospital.

  Lynch.

  She felt a mixture of curiosity and annoyance as she accessed the call. “Why are you calling me? Did you find out something important about Jeff?”

  “Not yet. Maybe I just wanted to hear the sound of your voice. I haven’t had anyone barking at me lately. I think I’m beginning to miss it. Neurotic, right? Where are you?”

  “I’m still at the hospital. They gave me a bed so that I could stay close to Olivia.”

  “What about your kids?”

  “I’m updating my reports and having phone conferences with the parents. They’ll let me know if there’s a problem.”

  “I wouldn’t think that would be enough for you. Aren’t you a little bored?”

  “Why? Olivia is my best friend. She never bores me. Particularly when she needs me.”

  “But you’ve avoided the crisis. Does she really still need you?”

  “I’m staying with Olivia, Lynch. Drop it.”

  “Consider it dropped. I just want you to know that she may not be the only one who needs you. I’ve become very attached to you.”

  “Because I’m the only one who barks at you?”

  “Among other things. You tend to escalate matters in all kinds of directions. There were moments during the action last night when I thought about you at the most unlikely times.”

  She stiffened. “What action?”

  “But you’re not interested, are you? You left it all in my court.”

  “You want me to ask you again? Screw you, Lynch. You’ll tell me anyway. Why else did you call?”

  He chuckled. “You’re right. Out of the generosity of my heart, I didn’t want to leave you completely out of the loop. I wouldn’t do that to you when you’ve worked so hard to find the answers.”

  She wanted to slap him. “And did you find one of those answers last night?”

  “I found one of the question marks. I located the piece of carpet that was cut out of Stedler’s apartment.”

  She tensed. “And?”

  “No blood. Another kind of stain.”

  “What kind of—”

  “I’ve got to hang up now. I’m at the FBI Forensic Lab, and Sienna Deever just came in with the report on the carpet.” He hung up.

  Kendra felt a surge of sheer frustration as she pressed the disconnect. It was exactly what Lynch wanted her to feel, she realized. He knew exactly how to tease and manipulate her. In the last few days, they had grown to know each other better than some people did who had been together for years. There were still blank pages in their association, but what they did know made for a complex and edgy relationship. He had realized that she would want to know everything there was to know about that carpet, then left her hanging.

  She should have been at that lab to hear that report herself instead of having to rely on Lynch, dammit.

  And that was precisely what Lynch had wanted her to think.

  He had figured that she wouldn’t be able to stand being shut out of a crucial piece of the investigation. His instinct had been totally accurate, and that was another reason for her to try to separate herself from him.

  And why was she standing here letting him do this to her? Lynch could be a Pied Piper, and he was trying to lead her down the path he wanted her to take.

  And he was making her want to take that path, too.

  She couldn’t listen to that siren call. She was doing the right thing. She had a duty to Olivia.

  Go to hell, Lynch.

  She started down the hall toward Olivia’s room.

  Or was she blaming Lynch for her own intense drive and curiosity? She had always hated leaving anything unfinished. Maybe that siren call was deep within herself …

  FBI Forensic Lab

  “Déjà vu,” Lynch said, looking at the carpet scrap on the same bench where he’d seen its twin only a couple days before. FBI forensics specialist, Dustin Freen, once again addressed the assembled agents, which that morning included Lynch, Griffin, and Sienna Deever.

  Freen showed a spectrometer image on the monitor overhead. “No surprise here, but the piece that Lynch provided is most definitely from the same batch as the rest of the carpet in Agent Stedler’s apartment.”

  “Good work,” Griffin said to Lynch. “But I’d feel better if we had a statement on the record by the man who replaced it.”

  “He’s currently unavailable. But he gave me his statement,” Lynch said. “Eagerly.”

  “And, I’m sure, under no duress.”

  “Guilty conscience, I guess.”

  Griffin pointed to the yellow stain, and asked Freen, “Any idea what this is yet?”

  Freen turned to Sienna. “Do you want to take this one?”

  She nodded and turned to the other two agents. “We’re not finished yet, but we’ve already run the stain through several tests. Electron microscope analysis, Raman Spectral Comparator, and we’re sending out for others.” She glanced at Lynch and Griffin. “It’s very … exciting. It’s the same substance we’ve been finding in the murder victims’ systems.”

  “Holy shit,” Griffin said. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” Her eyes were glittering in her taut face. “At least a substance that we’ve been finding. It may be interacting with something else, but this is essentially what we’ve been finding in the victims’ organ tissues.”

  “That’s incredible,” Lynch said. “But you still haven’t answered the million-dollar question. What the hell is this stuff?”

  She shook her head. “We still don’t know.”

  “When will you know?” Griffin asked.

  “Difficult to say. We’ve sent it out to the labs we think will have the best chance at identifying it quickly. This is like nothing we’ve seen. Even though we can break down most of the elements, we still don’t know the reason or purpose of the formula.”

  “Can’t you even make a guess what we’re dealing with?” Griffin asked.

  “We agree that it does seem to possess some corticosteroid properties, but even that is preliminary. And your guess is as good as ours as to how so much of it ended up on the floor of Agent Stedler’s apartment.”

  Lynch stared at the large yellow splotch, which was now reminding him of a figure from a disturbing Rorschach figure. The stain looked like a pair of hideously thin lips, twisted into a maniacal grin, taunting him, baiting him.

  Hmm, better keep that one from the agency shrinks.

  He turned to Sienna. “Is this toxic? Could it cause the premature aging we’ve been seeing in the victim’s internal organs?”

  She grimaced. “Sorry. We need to wait for the lab results. Our preliminary lab results don’t suggest it, but right now, I can’t absolutely say what effect this stuff would have on the human body.”

  “But maybe with a little more time…” Freen offered.

  “With a little more time, someone else may be dead,” Griffin bit out. “I just spent half an hour talking to Lesley Dunn’s father about why his little girl is in a metal drawer in the hospital basement. And I didn’t have any answers for him.” He glanced at Sienna. “Agent Deever, I appreciate your quarterbacking the medical aspect of this case. Your background made you a good choice to interface with the labs and medical community. But we may need to make a change.”

  She stared at him in disbelief. “Sir?”

  “It may be time to bring in someone else with a bit more hands-on laboratory experience. I’m going to talk to Washington about it.”

  “Sir, you can’t. This is my case. The time it would take for someone else to get up to speed would—”

  “You’ll stay on the case, of course. I’m just saying that we might benefit from a new perspective.”

  Sienna flushed. “Sir, with all due respect. I don’t see how you can justify—”

  “Agent Deever, I don’t have to justify it at all. At least, not to you. A
re we clear?”

  Lynch watched Sienna’s face as she fought the anger and outrage she was feeling. David against Goliath. He knew exactly how she felt. He also knew that what she said or did in the next fifteen seconds could have an irrevocable impact on her career.

  Freen stared uncomfortably at the floor, probably wishing he was somewhere, anywhere else.

  Sienna finally drew a deep breath and nodded jerkily. “Yes, sir. Of course.”

  “Good. We’ll discuss this later.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Good girl, Lynch thought. It will only gnaw at your soul for a little while.

  Griffin turned toward the door. “Has Lesley Dunn’s autopsy been performed yet?”

  “Not yet,” Sienna said. “It’s going to be done later this morning. I’d like to be there … if you don’t mind, sir.”

  “Of course.” Griffin headed for the door. “Call me as soon as you’re finished.” He disappeared down the hall toward his office.

  Lynch watched Sienna rush past him as he went down the corridor toward the elevators. She was heading toward the bathroom as soon as Griffin was out of sight. She was probably going to either cry or punch a wall. He figured Sienna to be a wall puncher.

  He’d meant to give her a word of support and encouragement, but she was clearly not in a mood to appreciate the fact that her humiliation had been witnessed. She’d have to cope with it herself.

  The incident had brought back bad memories of his own days of working with Griffin. The man ran his own little kingdom and did not like to be challenged or in any way questioned even if it was to clarify his directives.

  Rather like another arrogant bureaucrat he knew.

  And it was time to give that man a call.

  As he reached his car in the parking lot, he pulled out his phone and punched in a number. After a few seconds U.S. Associate Attorney General Frederick Jamerson answered.

  “Jamerson.”

  “Adam Lynch.”

  “Lynch … Where in the hell did you get this number? I never give this number out to any—”

  “Your cell phone gave it to me. It’s scary to think how many state secrets you entrust to that thing. Anyway, sorry for the privacy invasion. I didn’t want to wait half a day to talk to you.”

 

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