by H. P. Bayne
“Same thing, and answer’s the same. No way. I’m not allowed near the place, and it’s got all kinds of cameras up. And Sully—well, that’s obvious, isn’t it?”
“I’m not saying the plan is perfect,” Lachlan said. “Hell, I don’t even have a plan yet. I’m just saying we should keep it in mind as a possibility. It might be there are answers we won’t find anywhere else.”
“My worry is we’ll find a lot more there than answers,” Dez said. “And it could be the answers we get aren’t ones we’ll want.”
13
Sully helped Dez tug the rowboat to shore and conceal it within the bushes.
The first time he’d done that, he’d fully expected to return and find it gone, but so far, no one had happened onto it.
This stretch of riverbank was relatively free of pedestrian traffic, close to nothing but the main road above and the old warehouse district behind that. The part of the warehouse area closer to Kimotan Rapids’ core had been converted into bars, night clubs, condos and trendy businesses, but this side didn’t possess the same sort of ambience. Some of the buildings were still in use, but many had been abandoned.
Regardless, it was a fairly quiet area, perfect for stashing rowboats you’d need later.
Also perfect for phone calls to suspicious police detectives.
Dez, though, seemed to have other ideas. He’d left his SUV parked behind one of the abandoned businesses, and Sully imagined he was anxious to ensure it was both still there and in one piece. Sully trailed Dez to the vehicle and watched as he gave it a visual once-over.
“Everything where it should be?” Sully asked as he and Dez dropped into the front bucket seats.
“Seems to be. Kinda thought I’d get back to find it gone. I need to invest in a steering wheel lock”
“It would have come in handier as a weapon at the Gerhardt house than in the vehicle.”
Dez nodded and slipped the keys into the ignition.
“Dez? I should call Forbes.”
Dez sighed. “Right.” He dug out his phone and laid it on the dashboard between them. “Listen, I’m going to make it clear I’m here with you. That way I can—”
“No,” Sully said. “If he starts thinking like I’m obstructing justice, and you’re a part of it, he could get your private investigator’s licence revoked.”
“Uh, newsflash. I don’t have a licence. Not yet. I’m just helping Lachlan, technically.”
“Okay, so it could keep you from getting one down the road then. Same thing. I don’t want him knowing you’re here.”
“All right, but I’m staying while you talk to him anyway,” Dez said. “If things head somewhere I don’t like, I’ll make a cutting motion and you end the call.”
“Right, but I should use my own phone then, not yours.”
Dez didn’t respond other than to re-pocket his phone.
Sully removed his own. “Any other advice?”
“He might try to trip you up by asking you the same questions in different ways. People who are lying sometimes have a hard time repeating their stories without flubbing something up.”
“That’s great because I won’t be lying. Forbes knows why I went there, and I had nothing to do with Montague getting killed, so I’ve got nothing to hide.”
“Except you broke into the house of a murder victim, pretended to have a gun and threatened the guy into talking.”
“I made an edit of the audio using your laptop, and I took out the threat part. I was going to start a fake email account and send it anonymously to Forbes, but I guess there’s no point now. He knows it was me anyway.”
“Suspects it was you,” Dez said. “I didn’t confirm anything.”
“Come on, Dez. Forbes is a lot of things, but he’s not as stupid as Lachlan likes to say. He knows me well enough to recognize me on a surveillance video. I’m not starting this off by lying to him about that.”
“If he knows for sure it was you in there, he can’t sit on that information,” Dez said. “He’ll be obstructing the investigation if he doesn’t reveal what he knows.”
It was a good point, one Sully hadn’t given enough consideration to. With Forbes, ensuring his wife’s secrets remained untold would only go so far. He was a husband, but he was also a police officer with serious ambitions to reach the top of the ladder someday. Forbes was caught between a rock and a hard place, and Sully wasn’t certain he wanted to take a chance at finding out which side the cop was willing to break apart first.
“I know what to do,” he said.
“What’s that?”
Sully dialled without answering his brother’s question. He just wanted this over with before his anxiety got the better of him.
Forbes answered his cellphone almost immediately. “Raynor, Major Crimes.”
Sully put the call onto speaker for Dez. “It’s Sully.”
“Give me a minute.”
Sully waited, listening to the sounds of movement in the background. Half a minute passed before Forbes spoke again. “Wanted to get somewhere quiet. Where are you? I need to speak with you.”
Dez waved a hand around in a wild gesture of “no”; Sully didn’t need the advice. “I can’t. You know that.”
“I can’t keep pretending I don’t know anything about the tape. I know it was you in Montague’s house that night.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Gray. I’m not an idiot.”
“I’m not trying to bullshit you. I’m just calling to tell you I’d be happy to help with your investigation, but not until I can come out of the reeds. I can’t risk my life, and I can’t risk my family’s. You can’t ask me to do that.”
“A man is dead.”
“Several people are dead, including my dad. I think this all comes down to the same thing. Montague knew something about Lowell and the Circle, and he tried to use it to buy himself a deal. If word got back to Lowell, there’s no doubt in my mind he either took that shot himself or paid someone to do it.”
“Is he capable of pulling off a hit like that himself?”
“He’s trained in firearms. I didn’t have him pegged as a sniper, but I haven’t exactly spent much time around him. If I were you, I’d start checking it out. Find out which shooting clubs he uses, and if he’s certified in sharpshooting. After that, start checking into any former Armed Forces members or police officers with sniper backgrounds. Could be one of them’s running an underground murder-for-hire gig.”
“We’re already checking into that angle, given what we’re looking at here—the Army/SWAT thing, not the Lowell Braddock thing. No one’s really treating Montague’s supposed info on Braddock seriously, at least insofar as his murder goes.”
“Why not?”
“Come on. The head of a major pharmaceutical company turned assassin? Does that sound plausible to you?”
“It does, and you know it.”
Forbes sighed heavily. “All right. I know what you told me, and I believe you. But if I bring that forward without something to back it, I’d be laughed out of the room.”
Sully met Dez’s eye. Dez shrugged, then nodded agreement at Forbes’s suggestion.
“What if I told you I can get you the info you need to get people to take you seriously?” Sully asked.
“What sort of info?”
“I can’t tell you yet, but I can get something to you. I just need to know you’ll cover for me. If you drag me in there, you’ll not only put lives in jeopardy, you’ll prevent my being able to help put all of this to bed. And you do need me, Forbes. There are elements at play here no one but me can get at—namely witnesses no one else can interview.”
“Because they’re dead.” Forbes had always been good at stating the obvious. “Damn it. Okay. Okay, I’ll buy you a little more time. But you’d better be close to something.”
“We’re closing in on Gerhardt. My hope is if we can promise him the thing he wants the most, he’ll give us L
owell on a platter. If he does, I’ll send him your way.”
“You really think he’ll talk? Hell, if you could get Lockwood’s chief psychiatrist to talk, people would have to take it seriously.”
“I’m hopeful,” Sully said. “Just give me some time.”
“I need something soon,” Forbes said. He paused, and Sully sensed he was about to switch tracks. “Did you have anything to do with Montague’s death?”
“I didn’t kill him, and I wasn’t connected to anyone responsible for the shooting. I promise you that.”
“Okay. I guess that’ll have to be good enough for now. Do what you’ve got to do, but keep me looped in, you hear me? I can’t wait around forever.”
“I’m not asking you to. Our time is limited on this too. If we can’t get Lowell soon, I’m afraid more people will get hurt. Work things from your end, and tell me what you find. But play it cool, okay? If Lowell thinks police are closing in on him, he’ll lash out. It’s what he does. Don’t get caught in his crosshairs.”
“I can handle him.”
“My dad was one of the strongest people I’ve ever known. He thought he could handle Lowell, too, and he’s dead. Don’t underestimate him. We need you on our side here, and I’d rather be able to communicate with you alive than dead.”
“All right, all right. Call me with updates. If I find anything I think you can help with, I’ll call you. I can reach you at this number?”
“For now. If I need to switch out phones, I’ll get you my new number.”
Sully disconnected without a goodbye. He replaced the phone in his pocket, then met Dez’s eye and grinned. “How’d I do?”
Dez raised his eyebrows. “Good, actually.”
“I’m like a really cool confidential informant now, aren’t I?”
Dez smirked. “The only time you’re cool is when you’re standing outside in winter, but as far as the confidential informant angle, you’re doing all right. Now let’s get back to my house for a shower and change, and so I can check your injuries and get some ice on mine. After that, we’ll figure out where to go next.”
“I’ve got an idea,” Sully said. “There’s one person who knows Lockwood almost as well as Gerhardt. Emily might be able to help—and if it involves taking down Gerhardt, she’ll definitely want to. One suggestion, though? Maybe we should skip your house and go to your apartment instead.”
“I want to go home, Sull.”
“Mom’s there. The second she sees us looking like this—”
“Crap. You’re right. My apartment it is.”
Sully had changed his clothes back at Ravenwood, but he gratefully stood under the spray of Dez’s shower while Dez made himself a proper breakfast from whatever was left in the fridge and cupboards.
They traded places, Dez first ensuring Sully’s injuries weren’t turning colours they shouldn’t be. Seemingly satisfied on that count, he closed himself in the small bathroom while Sully ate the eggs, bacon and toast Dez had left for him on the counter.
While chewing, Sully’s eyes drifted to the remains of the coffee table propped up against the wall, then the short note he’d written Dez before leaving, still on the counter where he’d left it. That had been only a few days ago; Sully had anticipated it would be months or even years before they reached the point they’d come to now. He’d underestimated his brother more than once. Not only had Dez not gone after Lowell, he’d found a way to forgive Sully far sooner than expected. The past few years, Sully had complained Dez didn’t give him enough credit for being able to take care of himself; only now did Sully realize he hadn’t given his brother the credit he deserved either.
Dez stayed in the shower long enough to soak up the rest of the hot water. By the time he returned to the kitchen, Sully had finished eating and was washing the dishes in lukewarm suds.
Sully looked back at Dez, relieved to find him less pale than when they’d arrived. “How you feeling?”
Dez grabbed a towel and started drying. “I took a couple painkillers and had a good hot soak, so I’m feeling like a human being again. You?”
“Sore but okay.”
“Let me know if things get worse. God knows where that knife had been before it ended up in you. There’s all sorts of bad stuff you could wind up with.”
“Thanks, Doctor Doom, but I’ll be fine.” He handed Dez a plate.
Dez dried it and placed it back in the cupboard. “Listen, I’ve been thinking. Given Raynor’s not likely to come at you now, you should stay here. It doesn’t make sense, you going back to The Forks. This is closer, it’s safer and it’s more practical. Plus, you’ve got running water and electricity. And the best part is, you’re neighbours with Emily, not Ned or that other ghost whose main skill is finding ways to keep people from sleeping.”
“Dez, you’re back home with Eva and Kayleigh now. There’s no point holding onto this place, is there?”
“Until things are sorted out, there’s plenty of point. Like I said, I’d love it if you’d stay here. Anyway, if Eva gets sick of me again and gives me the boot, it’s good to know I’ve got a place to crash.” Dez grinned, and Sully responded with a smile of his own.
“Thanks,” Sully said. “I’ll think about it.”
“What’s to think about?”
“I just need to make sure the risks don’t outweigh the benefits.”
“I’m looking forward to the day when the riskiest thing we need to worry about is whether to eat the chicken that’s been sitting in the fridge for a week and a half.”
Once the dishes were done, they headed across the hall.
Emily answered the door, glasses-magnified eyes wide as she peered up at them. “I thought I heard someone go into your apartment, but I couldn’t get up fast enough to see anything but your back, Desmond. Both of you? Does this mean everything’s all right between the two of you again?”
Sully all but buckled under the weight of Dez’s hand as it settled firmly on his shoulder and gave it a shake.
“Yeah,” Dez said. “We’re good.”
Emily gave a little sigh as she beamed. “Thank goodness. Come in. That calls for tea and coffee cake.”
Sully grinned. Emily’s coffee cake was another great reason to move back into Dez’s apartment.
Five minutes later, the three of them were gathered around her table, Dez devouring his second piece of cake while Sully picked more politely at his.
“I was certain things would work themselves out with the two of you,” she said. “I haven’t met many siblings closer than you are.”
“Yeah,” Sully said. “We’re lucky.” He glanced at his brother in time to see the rest of the cake disappear into his mouth.
“Another piece, dear?” she asked.
“Uh… I really shouldn’t,” Dez said. The smile that formed a moment later said otherwise.
With Dez tucking into his third piece, Sully launched into the reason they’d come. “We wanted to talk to you about something you might not like discussing much. Dr. Gerhardt.”
He watched her for signs of discomfort, but didn’t see anything obvious. Nothing to indicate this topic of conversation would cause her any great distress. “Yes?”
“We’re looking into what happened to his son.”
“David.”
“Right. Were you working at Lockwood when he disappeared?”
“I was. It was a terrible time.”
“I know you described what a horrible person Gerhardt was later on,” Sully said. “Was it because of what happened to David?”
“He was a horrible person even before that. Don’t get me wrong. He was a fine doctor, and he was always very good with most of the patients and their families. But he could be a tyrant as a boss, and he treated many staff members like his servants. He utterly debased us over minor mistakes. Major ones—well, you can imagine. A young nurse once put the wrong medication into the cups. She caught it in time, thankfully, but one of the other staff members told him about it. He pulled the n
urse aside and tore a strip off her, screamed at her that she was completely incompetent and a failure, and that there was no room for people like her in his workplace. She ran off in tears. I never learned what became of her after, poor dear.”
“And his family? Do you have any idea whether they might have been treated like that too?”
Emily offered a dry smile. “One thing I’ve learned about people like him. They’re very good at putting on a good front where they believe it counts. He’s always been able to charm the right people, and he’s also been an excellent advocate for the staff in terms of helping to ensure competitive pay and excellent benefits. Some staff there, the ones who never had a run-in with him, they’d defend him with their dying breath. If you asked them, they’d tell you any staff member who’s complained was simply sucking sour grapes. To answer your question, he always showed his true colours when he believed he could get away with it. I suspect his family might have suffered the same sort of wrath he otherwise reserved for weaker staff.”
“Did you ever hear any talk about what happened to David or Eloise?” Dez asked.
“Nothing about David. No one so much as breathed his name afterward for fear of upsetting the doctor. Everyone simply saw it as a terrible tragedy, and I know sympathy for Dr. Gerhardt increased significantly for a time. When Eloise left him, and no one heard from her again, some people did talk. Some said she ran off after he’d beaten her. Some said she committed suicide because he blamed her for their son’s disappearance. Others said he killed her.”
“Did you know her?” Sully asked.
“A little. I’d see her at functions now and again, and I spoke to her when I had the chance. She was a lovely woman, doted on their little boy. David was so happy around her. Two peas in a pod. She put on a pleasant face around her husband, too, but I don’t know. I always suspected something was off.” She tipped her head to the side. “Hard to say now, of course, whether I’m recalling what I truly thought then or simply imposing what I know now. He tried to have me killed, after all, once I attempted to confront him over your mother. I have hated precious few people in life, but I do hate him.”