‘I think so. You will know more about that soon because your next task is to go to the DNA testing lab and check to be certain they know exactly which items we want tested. We don’t want any stupid mistakes to screw up this expensive procedure now, do we? No. So go, make sure, view the items, check the listing – whatever it takes to assure me we have the right goddam blood and sweat in those machines.’
She wasn’t going to win any popularity contests at the lab either, she saw when she got there and asked for Sandy. A handsome young man in scrubs looked at her as if she’d ordered spiders on toast to go.
‘Not a good day to talk to Sandy, if you haven’t heard,’ he said. ‘She just took her major funk back to the freezer. She’ll be out soon, though. Nobody stays long in the freezer.’
‘I can talk to someone else, if – oh, here she comes.’
Gloved and gowned in plastic, Sandy pushed a cart loaded with carefully wrapped and labeled packages. Her brooding expression grew even darker when she saw Sarah.
‘You people really know how to play dirty, don’t you?’ She parked her cart by her workbench. ‘You proud of yourself, going around us to the chief, causing all this extra work?’
‘I’m sorry about that part. Are these my—’ Sarah leaned to look at the labels.
‘Don’t touch anything!’ Sandy said, jumping between Sarah and the cart. ‘What are you doing here, anyway? You come to gloat?’
‘Of course not. Sandy, can we please call a truce? I came because my boss insisted. He says I have to verify that the tests you’re about to run are the ones we asked for.’
‘He thinks I’m too dumb to take the right samples out of the freezer? I have a master’s degree in organic chemistry, goddamn it! What has he got?’
‘Probably a terrible headache. Delaney took such a beating from the chief of police about asking to jump the queue that he now says if there is any mistake in what we test we will all face a firing squad.’
‘God, isn’t this a swell place to work? Everybody mad at everybody else, just because we’re trying to do our jobs.’ Sandy was not a natural grudge-holder, though. She was coming around. ‘These are your items, see? The clown suit and the mask. I must admit I’m hot for that mask – around the mouth is always the best. And here we have the sweat off the corner post and the button off the coat. A coat, in July? But we’ll test it anyway; it’s what we do when we’re asked.’
‘And we’re all so grateful when you do what we ask.’
‘Uh-huh. Some people manage to ask politely, without bullying. We have to back all the current tests out of the machines now and then clean the machines. It’s going to be a couple of hours before we can start on your stuff.’
‘So we should expect a report sometime Wednesday morning?’
‘If all goes well. Have you ever noticed how rarely that happens?’
Denny was incandescent when Will brought her home Monday night. ‘I can ID all Toyotas without fail,’ she bragged. ‘And most Hondas. The Toyota Prius is almost too easy to be fun. Don’t you think, though, that most older model cars are easier to identify than new ones? Why have our rides all started to look alike?’
‘We all started demanding better mileage,’ Sarah said, ‘so the tail fins had to go. Right, Will?’
‘And the big trunks and most of the chrome. Everything’s lighter and more aerodynamic now.’ He grinned at Denny. ‘Tell her about the chaser’s dream car.’
‘Oh, yeah – toward the end of the hunt we saw a totally beat-to-the-socks Dodge Dart. I wish you could have seen it! It had this long broad hood with twin, um, air scoops – is that what they’re for? And it was kind of electric blue but had one greenish door and one kind of pukey-gray one that was wired shut. Looked like it had escaped from a junkyard but there it was, keeping up in traffic, no problem. The owner must be some kind of a magical mechanic.’
‘Easy to follow, huh?’
‘I would know that car anywhere! Just for the fun of it we turned off once and lost it, got back on the street and found it again within ten minutes.’
‘Denny wanted to do it again,’ Will said. ‘She really had the blood up today – all she needed was a deerstalker cap. But I saw some signs we might be kind of spooking the driver by then so we quit.’
‘That sounds like fun. Excuse me a minute.’ In her bedroom with the door closed, Sarah looked up a number in her notes and dialed it.
‘Mabel?’ she said when the hoarse voice answered. ‘That old car of Jack’s you were telling me about the other day … could you describe it for me?’
‘Describe it? It’s a, let’s see, a blue Dodge Dart that looks about a hundred years old but never seems to get any older.’
‘Did you say it has mismatched doors?’
‘Yes. One green and one gray. Why?’
‘Oh, this is just a silly thing that I shouldn’t even be bothering you about. One of my team members came back off a job and described an old car he saw on the street. And I know it was wicked of me,’ she giggled a little, hoping she sounded light-hearted, ‘but I bet him five dollars I could ID the make and model.’
‘Listen, if you find ways to get some fun out of that hard job of yours, all I can say is good for you.’
‘Well … thanks for being so understanding. How are you doing?’
‘Pretty well. I’ve decided to ditch quilting and try ballroom dancing – what do you think?’
‘Excellent idea. My mother loves it. The hard part is getting her boyfriend to go along.’
‘Ah. I’m not ready for a boyfriend yet, if I ever will be. But I’ve got a couple of women friends who want to try it too, and we’ve agreed to take turns being the lead.’
She put her head back in the kitchen and said, ‘Will, I’ve got a drawer stuck, can you help me?’
Back in their bedroom she told him about her conversation with Mabel, adding, ‘I think you and Denny just had fun tracking the man we spent the whole weekend hiding from.’
‘Holy shit.’ Will turned toward the wall and breathed into the plaster for a long minute. When he turned back, he said, ‘If I’d had any idea whose car that was, I never would have—’
‘I know. Did you see the driver? Can you describe him?’
‘Thin number-five male in an old hat that shaded most of his face. I wasn’t much interested in him – we were both looking at the car.’ The nerve was twitching in his cheek – the tic he got after he was shot. She’d thought it was gone for good. ‘Why didn’t I know about his fishing car? But then why would you tell me all about your interviews? I certainly don’t do that.’
‘Praise be.’
Stone-faced, he contemplated the shutters closed against the afternoon sun. Finally, ‘You don’t know for sure yet, do you, that Jack Ames is the shooter?’
‘No. Not till the DNA test comes back.’
‘But you do know for sure whoever shot your car got a look at Denny?’
‘She claimed she saw him so he may have caught a glimpse of her.’ Then she had to ask. ‘How about today?’
‘Today she was glued to the window, grinning all over her face. He wasn’t aware of us at first. And he’s probably used to getting some extra attention in that car. By the end, though, he was starting to do a few evasive maneuvers to see if we were following. He might have got a good look at her before we backed off.’
They looked at each other in the gloom of the shuttered bedroom, two grave faces in search of relief that neither could offer.
‘We just have to get through tomorrow,’ Sarah said. ‘The day after that is Wednesday. Sometime Wednesday, we’ll know.’
‘If there’s a match—’
‘If there’s a match we’ll pick him up right away and that’s the end of it.’
Sorting through bad options, Will came to, ‘But if there isn’t—’
‘Back to Shit City. Up to our eyeballs. Don’t even think about it. Those alleles are going to match, Will.’
The nerve stopped jumping. He had m
ade up his mind about something. He leaned closer and said, ‘OK with you if I bring my deer rifle in the house? There’s no cop out there now, walking the perimeter. I’ll keep it under the bed on my side.’
‘All right. Wait until after we eat, OK? Then I’ll tell Mom and Denny where it is. We can’t have any secrets about loaded guns in the house.’
She went back to the kitchen. Handing her a bowl of potatoes, Aggie said, ‘Well, did you get it sliding all right?’
‘What?’ Sarah said. ‘Oh, the drawer. Yes, it’s working fine now. Trust Mr Fixit.’
‘I always do,’ Aggie said.
TWELVE
Tuesday morning, Sarah checked her watch twice before ten o’clock. Her computer kept telling her the time was right. It was her mind that was out of step. It kept racing out of the building and flying four miles north to where the gleaming stainless-steel containers of the DNA lab percolated toward her answer.
She knew better than to get invested like this in an outcome. Facts were facts; you took the ones you could find and worked with them. Trying to get the evidence to prove your theory was a fool’s game. Hadn’t she learned that long ago?
But this Tuesday she could not listen to the voice of experience. She wanted Jack Ames identified as the bad guy and put away so that Denny was safe, and she was ready to throw rocks at objective truth if it offered any other answer.
At that, Tuesday was a cake-walk compared to Wednesday. She had passed a restless night worrying about whether to let Denny go back to swimming class and woke Will at dawn to discuss it. He said he understood her concern but he thought they should all get back to their routines and stick to them.
‘You don’t know for sure what that DNA test is going to show. We could be at this hunt for some time yet. Our best chance of keeping calm is to go about our business and stay ready for anything.’
Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, she said, ‘I know you’re right. Do you think I ought to tell her what we think?’
‘And make her as nervous as we are? What’s the use of that?’
‘Same with Aggie, I guess.’
‘Absolutely.’
They presented a cheerful front at breakfast, Sarah thought, but Aggie was a little too brisk and never quite met her eyes.
She knows something’s up. Would it be kinder to tell her? But the day seemed to have its own momentum; they talked about Aggie’s grocery list, Denny came into the kitchen yawning, Sarah blew a kiss and went to work.
She got through the morning by concentrating ferociously on a case that was hitting one roadblock after another on its way to court. By noon, desperate for word from the lab and longing to call Sandy but not quite able to summon the nerve, she called Aggie instead.
‘So,’ she said, ‘is Denny getting ready to go to swim class?’
‘Already standing on the front step in her gym clothes,’ Aggie said. ‘The meet’s at Sunshine Swim School today so they’re leaving early. They have to drive miles east on Speedway, almost out of town. She’ll be really tired tonight.’
‘Good news for you, though, Ma. You get a nice long afternoon to yourself. You should take a nap.’
‘I believe I will. Something about this long hot summer is making me tired.’
Sarah closed her phone, thinking, I know what’s making you tired and it’s not the weather. Everybody in the big house on Bentley Street was wound tight, waiting for the truth to show its face. And not talking about it was making it worse.
She went back to work. What else could you do? The Bergman case was due in court in a few days. The file had to be brought up to date, the physical evidence checked one last time. Anyway, if I wasn’t busy I’d jump out of my skin. What’s holding up those people at the lab?
She knew the practice meet at Sunshine ended at three o’clock and figured it would take about an hour for the van to load up and get everybody back to Catalina Terrace. Denny was catching a ride home with one of the other mothers today and Sarah was hoping to have good news to tell her tonight. But the clock on her desk scrolled on past three-fifteen with no call from Sandy. A problem with one of the tests? When her phone chirped at three twenty-three she almost dropped it trying to pick it up and answer.
But it wasn’t Sandy. It was a text message from Denny and all it showed was the number three.
For two seconds she froze in her seat while her brain protested, wait now, this was just a game to pass the time. Wasn’t it?
But then her memory showed her Will saying, ‘No fooling around, now, we must never use this number unless we’re serious.’ She saw the three of them making that pact, shaking hands.
Then she was out of her chair, tapping her phone to bring up the tracking app. She paused by Ollie’s workspace till she had a clear image of the icon, moving slowly southwest on Grant. She poked his shoulder and held the phone in front of him as he looked up.
Pointing to the moving icon on her phone, she said, ‘This is Denny, coming toward us on Grant. I’m pretty sure she’s on a swim-team bus and I know she’s in trouble but I don’t know what kind. I’m going to go find her now. Will you round up the team and follow me soon as you can? Text me when you’re on the road.’
Her phone rang as she grabbed her day-pack and trotted toward the stairs. When she answered, Will said, ‘I got a number three from Denny – did you?’
‘Yes. I’ve got the icon on-screen. The way it’s moving I think she must still be in the swim-team van.’
‘I got it up now. Hang on, let me watch a minute.’ A silence, then, ‘Not changing lanes, coming on steady. I think you’re right: she’s probably still in the van. You asked for help yet?’
‘All my guys are coming behind me. Probably ten minutes back. Where are you?’
‘Coming up Country Club, just passed Speedway. You?’
‘On Elm Street, turning onto Tucson. You’ll see them first. Hold on, I’m getting a text.’
Ollie typed, ‘All exit sta now u want SWAT?’
She told Will, ‘Ollie’s offering a SWAT team but I think four cars off the street will do better, don’t you?’
‘Yes, it’s too long a wait for a SWAT outfit. Four beat cars can do a good box.’ There was a silence full of sweat and then he said, ‘Hang on, I think I see the van.’ Sarah waited, feeling her heart beat till he said, ‘Yes, the swim-team van just passed me. Still going nice and steady on Grant and that Dodge Dart is right behind it. I’m turning to follow them now.’
‘The blue Dodge you followed on I-10?’
‘Yes. He’s following the van.’
‘Can you see Denny on the van?’
‘No. There’s one small window in the back and I can just see the tops of three small heads. I’m dropping back a little – I don’t want to scare off Mr Dodge. They’ll be heading up to Hedrick, right?’
‘Yes. Probably turning on Tucson. Soon as I’m sure I’ll call Dispatch to ask for a box on Tucson north of Grant. What do you think about cross-streets – Water, Spring?’
‘Copper’s got the best space.’
The van turned off Grant onto Tucson with the old blue Dodge close behind. Sarah said, ‘OK, turning onto Tucson now. I’m calling Dispatch.’
He was silent while she called. Then he asked, ‘You see your guys yet?’
‘They’re meeting me at the turn. It’s just ahead … and there they come, crossing Jackson.’ She texted Ollie, ‘Box Dodge Dart @ Tucson/Copper.’
Then Dispatch called and said, ‘Four cars boxed around Copper and Tucson, waiting for your signal.’ She wouldn’t see them till she called, but she remembered how it felt to be in the cars, waiting, hoping the prey kept coming.
When she saw the sign for Flower Street, Sarah said ‘Go!’ into her hand-mike. Eight cars swarmed the intersection of Tucson and Copper just as the Dodge entered it. When she saw they had the blue Dodge stopped inside a rectangle of flashing light strips, Sarah called Ollie and said, ‘Will you go stop the swim-team van?’
After sundown, Sarah and her family sat out on the patio in the dim glow from two house lights, nothing but a bug light turned on outside. The heat had eased a little. Doves made sad sounds in the trees. Sarah had been home long enough to enjoy a plate of warmed-over hash and a cold glass of Shiraz. Relaxed in the canvas recliner, she finally got to hear Denny’s side of the story.
‘We won our meet so we were pretty happy getting on the van,’ Denny said. ‘But the street was full of cars and we could see we’d be forever getting home. Coach kept saying, “At least we get to go back on Grant. A change of scenery will help.” But at rush hour, who can tell the difference? The MGs were bored, of course, so they decided—’
‘Wait,’ Aggie said. ‘What are MGs?’
‘Mean Girls. You saw them in swim class, remember? Pulling sneaky stunts on this one little waify girl named Brady who only has one ratty swimsuit. On the bus today they got really awful, mocking every move she made.’
‘Are they still doing that?’ Aggie looked at Sarah. ‘I thought we agreed somebody should make them stop.’
‘We did,’ Sarah said. ‘I guess we’ve all been waiting for somebody else to do the job.’
‘Yeah, well, I was about ready to today,’ Denny said. ‘I couldn’t take it anymore. But I looked around to see where the next light was so I could judge how long till I jumped up—’
Aggie said, ‘Jumped up for what?’
‘To clobber Snotty Patty with my fanny pack.’
‘Good Heavens, child.’
‘Grandma, usually I agree it’s not right to hit people but nobody else has done anything. Brady was almost crying, and the closer she got to tears the more the MGs liked it! Patty had the back of her hand on her forehead and was going on like, “Ooh, it makes me so saaad,” and her pals were just breaking up over that. But Coach Joan pretended she couldn’t see them – she was being all polite and sweet, setting a good example the way she does. I decided maybe Patty could follow her example better if I broke her nose first. But when I looked around out the back window I saw that crazy car.’
Denny's Law Page 21