Chain Reaction

by Diane Fanning

  Putting the lid on the box with the other evidentiary documents, she lifted it and carried it down to Holland’s office. ‘Where do you want me to set this down, sir?’

  ‘Over there by the wall. Is that everything, Pierce?’

  ‘That is what you ordered, sir.’

  Holland looked at her with indecision etched in his brow. If he demanded a direct answer to his question, she knew she couldn’t lie to him but she hoped it didn’t come to that. ‘Is there anything else, sir?’

  His wariness still showed in the expression on his face but he waved his hand and said, ‘No. That will be all. Why don’t you call it a day? If the chief comes down here while he’s still in a fever pitch, it won’t be good for either of us if you’re still here.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘You’re deskbound for now, Pierce, until I say otherwise. Understood?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ she said and spun on her heels, making a fast exit. She needed to get out of there before she said something she’d regret.

  In her car, she pulled out her cell and hit the button for her favorites list, then pressed Jake’s cell number.

  ‘Lieutenant Pierce,’ Jake answered, ‘I cannot discuss the case with you. Please don’t call this number again.’

  FOURTEEN

  Lucinda’s heart felt as if it stuttered and stalled before it began beating again. Her hands shook as she guided her car into a parking space on the side of the road. Don’t call his cell ever again. Did he really mean that? No. Of course not. Someone must have been with him. He was warning me and acting tough for his audience. Who was with him? Connelly? Or his supervisor, the Wicked Witch of Washington, DC? Or ATF Deputy Regional Director Wesley? Whoever – it doesn’t really matter who it was, does it? He’ll explain it all when I see him. I just need to go home and wait until he gets there.

  After feeding Chester and snacking on Havarti, stoned-wheat crackers and a glass of Pinot Grigio, she got restless and anxious. What if he doesn’t come home? What if it’s all over? What if he did really mean it?

  She went out on the balcony and paced. Which one of them would stay in their new apartment? That was easy. I can’t afford it on my own. I certainly will miss this view of the river. I wonder if I can get back into my old building? Until I actually speak to Jake, all I’m doing is creating senseless agitation.

  It was a good time to call Charley, the twelve-year-old girl who’d become a big part of her life since Kathleen Spencer, Charley’s mother, had been murdered.

  ‘Hey, Charley,’ she said when the girl answered the phone.

  ‘Lucy! It’s been a horrible day.’

  ‘What’s wrong, Charley?’

  ‘Well, I just missed getting an A on my algebra quiz. One stupid question. And I don’t know how I got it wrong.’

  ‘You’ll make up for it. Those things happen.’

  ‘Not to me. Not in algebra. It’s sooo easy. I can’t believe I was so dumb.’

  ‘You’re not dumb, Charley.’

  ‘Duh. I know that. But I put down a really dumb answer. And that’s not all.’

  ‘What else happened?’

  ‘You remember Madison?’

  ‘One of the girls involved in the vandalism last year?’

  ‘Yes. She’s back. They made her repeat eighth grade.’

  ‘Is she bothering you?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Did you tell the principal?’ Lucinda asked.

  ‘Lot of good that did. She told me it wasn’t charitable to diss someone who’s trying to suck up to you.’

  Lucinda conjured up an image of that language coming out of the principal’s mouth and chuckled. ‘She used those words?’

  ‘Not all of them. She did say I was being uncharitable for not accepting her apology.’

  ‘Oh, so she was apologizing to you?’

  ‘Yes. Do you realize how annoying that is?’ Charley asked.

  ‘Maybe she’s changed. Maybe she’s sincere.’

  ‘Puh-leez! Not you, too.’

  Lucinda realized that wasn’t an argument she could win and changed the subject. ‘The reason I was calling is that I was just thinking that it was about time we did something together.’

  ‘Yes, yes, yes. Sunday is Mother’s Day. Me and Ruby made cards for you.’

  Lucinda felt an ache deep in her chest. ‘I think that would be a great idea, Charley. Since the three of us all lost our mothers, we ought to stick together.’

  ‘Well, I kinda wanted some time just with you but we can do that another day. Ruby would be real sad if we left her with Dad on Mother’s Day. What do ya wanna do?’

  ‘I thought we might go for tea at the Olde English Shoppe. There will be a lot of mothers and daughters there but I don’t mind that if it wouldn’t bother you and Ruby.’ Lucinda mentally crossed her fingers. It would be a good sign of healing if Charley didn’t object.

  ‘That would be fun. And Ruby’s still just a little girl so she’ll probably want to pretend that you’re her mommy. Would that be OK?’

  ‘Yes, Charley, it would be perfectly OK,’ Lucinda said as a tear dropped from her one real eye.

  ‘Oh, but do we have to wear white gloves to go to tea?’

  Lucinda chuckled. ‘I don’t think that’s necessary.’

  ‘Oh, good. Ruby had to wear white gloves when she was a flower girl last year – and boy did she make a mess of them!’

  ‘All right, then, make sure it’s OK with your dad and I’ll drop by for you and Ruby at three o’clock on Sunday afternoon.’

  ‘Cool. But, Lucy, mean girls are mean girls forever. Just like some of the bad men you lock up. They don’t stop being mean; they just learn better ways to trick people.’

  Sounded like a good working definition of a sociopath, Lucinda thought but she said, ‘You don’t think people can change, Charley?’

  ‘Oh, sure,’ the girl answered. ‘But they have to have some good inside their hearts – and Madison? Her heart is as black and rotten as a banana left in a locker all semester.’

  FIFTEEN

  For another hour, Lucinda stewed and fretted. She thought of calling Jake despite what he said but then thought better of it. She couldn’t bear it if she called and got the same response as the last time.

  Finally, the front door opened and Jake entered the apartment. She rushed towards him and exchanged a kiss. He pulled back and put his index finger up to his lips.

  ‘Jake, what’s—’

  He raised his finger again and shook his head. ‘How about we go for a walk down by the river?’

  ‘A walk?’

  ‘We’ll put on some suitable shoes and take a nice walk,’ he said, stepping past her to the bedroom. He sat on the side of the bed, pulled off a pair of green Converse high-tops and slipped on a pair of Rockport walking shoes. ‘Get a move on, Lucy. Time’s a-wastin’.’

  ‘Times a-wastin’? Are you feeling all right?’

  ‘Never felt better,’ Jake said with a cheeriness that struck Lucinda as false.

  ‘Jake, what is—’

  Jake emphatically pressed his index finger to his lips. ‘I’ll wait for you downstairs.’

  Lucinda watched him leave. She was totally perplexed but she knew the only way to get any answers was to pull on her shoes and meet him outside. And he was still wearing his suit. He was going to take a walk dressed like that? Something was wrong. Instead of waiting for the elevator, she took the stairs down. She wasn’t sure if it was any quicker but at least she wouldn’t be standing around doing nothing.

  ‘Jake?’ Lucinda said as she approached him.

  He put an arm around her shoulder and said, ‘Listen, I know you probably think I’m nuts. And I am probably being excessively paranoid. But when the Wicked Witch forms an alliance with her counterpart in the ATF, anything is possible.’

  ‘You think they bugged our apartment?’

  ‘It’s possible.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘The Wicked Witch has my home address
, and from what I saw of the two of them today, I’m sure she’d have no reluctance about sharing that information with Deputy Director Wesley.’

  ‘Oh jeez,’ Lucinda moaned. ‘My captain told me not to socialize with you until the case is resolved.’

  ‘You don’t need to worry about that.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Both the FBI and the ATF are pretty ticked off at your police chief.’

  ‘But he took me off the case.’

  ‘Yeah. But that’s where he drew the line. He refused to fire you. He told them that they had no control over his department and hiring and firing decisions were internal matters not subject to their review or approval.’

  ‘He did? That’s a surprise. The captain made it sound like everyone was one big happy family.’

  ‘They want everyone to think that. They don’t want to risk seeing the conflict blaring in headlines or on television. But there’s a lot of animosity brewing on both sides, which is probably for the best as far as our job security goes.’

  ‘But what if they find out we’re living together?’

  Jake shrugged. ‘We’ll deal with that when it happens. But, quite frankly, if they haven’t already bugged the apartment, that will give them a reason. As long as they never hear us discuss the case, they’ll be too busy trying to figure out how to turn the situation to their advantage.’

  ‘By having you spy on the police department through me?’

  ‘Maybe. But just because they ask and just because I might agree, that still doesn’t mean I’d do it.’

  ‘And you think your cell might be tapped, too?’

  ‘Mine and yours. Maybe. I just don’t want to take any chances.’

  ‘Well, I took a big one today, Jake.’

  ‘What did you do?’

  ‘I held on to some of the case information I had and didn’t turn it over to the captain. I wanted to give it to you.’

  ‘Risky. Risky, Lucy. What is it?’

  ‘I found two notes in David’s room when I searched. One was from a girl only identified by the letter “E”, asking for his help with a problem. The other was a note from an unidentified person asking for a meeting behind the Walking Dog the night before he died.’

  ‘Oh, c’mon, Lucy. That’s actual evidence. You’re withholding actual evidence. And what about the chain of custody?’

  ‘I handled the notes only with gloves on and I placed them in separate plastic sleeves. I labeled and sealed them.’

  ‘Where are they now?’

  ‘In the safe in our walk-in closet.’

  ‘You’ve got to turn that in. Tell the captain they were in the trunk of your car and you just remembered them.’

  ‘No, Jake. I will not. Not with Connelly involved in the case. Listen. I have one more thing that probably will help identify who wrote the notes. The Bayneses gave me a list of David’s friends – fifty-seven of them. I started getting addresses and phone numbers and even called a few of them. But I don’t want Connelly bullying those people. Either he’ll terrify the kids into shutting up or the parents will hire attorneys and slam the door.’

  ‘You’re probably right about that. It’s not going to be easy to hide what I’m doing from Connelly. I’ll have to run two simultaneous investigations – one for his eyes and another that’s not. Hopefully, if I get results in the latter, I’ll be able to think of some way to slip it unnoticed into the former. Man, this could get really complicated. Hey, you want to keep walking up to El Sol and La Luna and grab some dinner and a margarita before heading back home to get to work on your list?’

  At the restaurant, they both ordered crab and shrimp quesadillas and loaded the tops with sour cream, avocado and salsa. The margaritas took the edge off of their anxiety and the good meal left them in a state of contentment that they each contemplated quietly as they walked home holding hands.

  Inside, they fell into a work pattern of keeping legal pads by their sides and using them to communicate everything about the case. They threw in bits of idle, phony conversation about the books they were reading and leaned over to exchange noisy kisses. If anyone was listening, they wanted their activities to seem harmless.

  Just after eleven that night, Jake stood, stretched and jotted, ‘Well, we’ve got it all together for everyone on the list with a last name. I’m calling it quits; my brain is fried from the tedium.’ He pulled Lucinda tight against him, pressing a hand into her lower back.

  ‘I think I know what’s on your mind,’ Lucinda said.

  ‘I think you’re probably right,’ he said before kissing her again.

  ‘So, what if they are listening?’ she whispered in his ear.

  ‘What if they are?’

  ‘I can try to be quiet but if, well, you know, if that happens, I doubt if I can,’ she continued in a sub rosa voice.

  ‘Let ’er rip,’ Jake whispered back. ‘Let them think we’re having wild, monkey sex – better than anything they’ve ever imagined.’

  Lucinda laughed out loud and then put her mouth back to his ear, ‘Wild monkey sex? Where did you come up with that?’

  ‘I read it in a book somewhere. Not completely sure I know what they meant but I’m up for defining it in any way you see fit.’

  ‘As long as I’m not going to have to scratch under my arms and make those weird monkey grunting noises.’

  ‘Everything is optional, Lucy. It’s time to pick and choose and enjoy.’ He pressed her against the wall and kissed her breath away. When he let her up for air, she raced down the hall, discarding pieces of clothing as she ran.

  SIXTEEN

  Lucinda sat at her desk in the Justice Center, sorting, filing and filling out forms. She startled when she heard her name. She looked up and saw Captain Holland in her doorway.

  ‘Need you on a suspicious death,’ he said.

  ‘Look like homicide?’ Lucinda asked.

  ‘Nope. Looks like a suicide but we’ve got to investigate it until we’re sure.’

  ‘You want me to investigate?’ Lucinda said, pointing a finger to her chest. ‘I thought I was deskbound.’

  ‘Give me a break, Pierce. Considering how stretched we are manpower-wise, you must have known that couldn’t last long.’

  On her feet, Lucinda slipped her arms into a khaki blazer. ‘Didn’t know but I did hope,’ she said with a grin. ‘Who is it?’

  ‘Looks like the other high school student that went missing last weekend.’

  ‘Could it be—’

  ‘Don’t get your hopes up, Pierce. It doesn’t look like it. It sounds like a suicide from the responders at the scene. But just in case, if you see any hint of a possible connection to the explosion, come straight to me. Stop what you are doing and come straight to me. Is that clear?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ she said.

  Holland pointed a finger at Pierce. ‘I’m serious now. I’m not playing games. You find a link, we’ll talk it over, see how far you can run with it. You overstep without my seal of approval and you’ll be out on the street.’

  Lucinda nodded. ‘Yes, sir, I understand.’

  ‘Just be sure you do it,’ he said. He turned around and walked away.

  Grateful of her release from the desk and eager to poke around for a connection to the explosion at the school, Lucinda rushed out of the parking lot to the site where patrolmen now watched over the body of a teenage boy. Partway to the location, more sobering thoughts supplanted her excitement. A young man was dead and, whether it was a suicide or a homicide, his parents would be devastated – even if he was a constant source of problems, the emotions of his mother and father would crumble like a termite-hollowed log.

  Lucinda pulled into a quiet neighborhood and on to Guinevere Lane. The road ended in a cul de sac where two police cars were parked. She pulled her car to the side behind them. A uniformed patrolman stood a short distance away in the grass between two houses. Neither of the backyards had fences, making it easy to walk between them down to a grove of trees. Looking at th
e ground, Lucinda saw a faint but obvious flattening that indicated it was a well-traveled path.

  On the way back, Lucinda asked, ‘Gruesome scene?’

  ‘Actually, not,’ the officer said. ‘He looks very peaceful, maybe even content.’

  ‘Doesn’t sound like any kind of attack.’

  ‘Doesn’t look like one at all.’

  Entering the wooded area, Lucinda felt a sense of irony. Here she was investigating death while, all around her, life seemed to be erupting with vigor. The deciduous trees had all leaved out but still bore the bright, vibrant green of new growth. Old brown undergrowth was now overrun by a fresh crop of green shoots. A blackberry bramble off of the beaten path was covered with white buds not yet opened in full blossoms.

  In a small clearing to the right, Lucinda saw the body. At first glance, the boy appeared to be sleeping, his mouth hanging open with the corners of his lips turned up in a shy smile. His arms rested flat on the ground. The curled-up fingers of one hand held a prescription container, the other a bottle of water. Next to him, she spotted a makeshift fire pit, a ring of soot-covered rocks surrounding a circle of blackened earth.

  Lucinda made a broad circle around the perimeter and approached in a straight line to minimize the disturbance of the site. Crouching down, she peered at the pharmacy label: OxyContin, prescribed for Barbara Matthews. It clearly was not the woman’s body but it definitely indicated to Lucinda that she was looking at the remains of Todd Matthews, the other student missing from Woodrow Wilson High School.

  She looked over the body and saw no signs of injury. She couldn’t flip him over and check his back, though, until Doc Sam or one of the other forensic pathologists arrived. Although some perpetrators try to mask a homicide with the appearance of suicide, at this point Lucinda was not seeing any evidence indicating that this was anything more than a tragic, self-inflicted loss of life.

  As she rose, she visually followed the path that brought her here and saw it continued on through the woods, slipping out of sight. ‘Any idea of where it leads?’ she asked the officers.