“It’s easy.” Finn had the bad manners to scoff at her. “Green downtown, Government Center, Copley, Park Street, all the way through Boylston, and to Newton if you are riding the D Line. Red will take you through Cambridge and all the way to Quincy. Blue will—”
“Stop!” Val shouted, stunning everyone in the office. She took a moment and tried to calm herself. “So, basically, he walked out of the hotel complex, and from what you’re saying, he could be anywhere. Now my question is how does a kiddy fucker who’s been locked up in segregation end up with an all-expenses-paid trip to Bean Town and a phone bought in California? According to the logs at Bridgeport, only his lawyer visited him. And the lawyer didn’t really seem interested in his well-being. Who is bankrolling him? And why?”
She was slightly amused by the confused look Finn was sporting. The rest of the team seemed to be enjoying his distress as well.
She finally let him off the hook. “Never mind. How about the rest of you? Anything from the surveillance on the ex-wife or the Calloway sisters?”
“Nothing,” Mills said. “He’s been on the move for thirty hours now. Damn. Wish we had checked the video earlier. The tip came in too late.”
“Yeah, I know.” Val continued pacing. “Video at the Copley? isn’t that how you got the Craigslist killer?”
“Exactly the same way, same hotel.”
“That’s right.” Val furrowed her brow. “Everyone knows that. It’s been all over the news, not just here but all over the country. It was on Dateline. Unless he’s a complete idiot, which is entirely possible, Beaumont would know not to show his face at the Copley.”
“Then why?”
“If I had the answer to that one, we’d have the bastard.” Val ran her fingers through her hair. “Okay, I take it your subway has video surveillance?”
“Of course,” Finn said.
“Mills, would you be available? I need you to come with me and help me get around the transit cops. Everyone else, get back to working your details.”
“We don’t call it the subway. Around here it’s the T,” Mills said. “Short for MBTA, Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority.”
“I will never understand this city.”
“Excuse me!” Finn barked. “And just what am I supposed to be doing while you’re taking over?
“You?” Val wanted to tell him to carry on being a useless jackass. “I need you to check out every hotel, motel, rooming house and watering hole in the city. This guy had to be heading somewhere. Let’s hope it isn’t somewhere in another state.”
“You want me running traces?” He gasped.
“Got a problem with that?”
Val waited as everyone stared at Finn, who was glaring at her. Silently she dared him to say something, anything that would give her an excuse to have him thrown off the case. She egged him on with a cocky smirk that made him storm out of the room.
“Okay, now that the pissing contest is over,” Val calmly said, knowing she had won, “get back to work and keep me updated on everything.”
“That was incredibly risky,” Mills said as they made their way towards the elevator.
“Had to be done. He wants the glory. I want the bad guy. Maybe now he’ll be of some use. If not, at the very least he won’t be in the way.”
Chapter 23
When CC rolled into the station house, her mood was foul. She had just gotten off of the phone with Mills. The update wasn’t what she had hoped for. Anything short of “We got him” was a major disappointment.
“Long night?” Max asked, his chair squeaking loudly. CC couldn’t refrain from scowling at him.
“Not really. The dipstick my mother had the bad sense to marry is in the area.”
“Not just a maybe?”
“Looks like he’s been hanging around Copley Place.”
“What?”
“Staying at the Marriott.”
“Nah. How’s a guy just out of the joint and on the run manage to hole up in a posh place like that?” Max argued.
“Don’t know.” She tried to keep her composure. “Right now, we need to deal with yet another pretrial hearing for the people vs. Stern. They’re trying to get the confession tossed.” She couldn’t help smiling when Max barked with laughter. “Could happen,” she said.
“You and Mulligan wrapped her up tighter than a virgin in a convent. I’ve got twenty that says the judge barely listens to her mouthpiece.” Max scoffed at the idea.
“You’re on.”
* * *
Val felt like crap after poring for hours over grainy videotapes. The only thing she had to show for her efforts was a stiff neck and a possible glimpse of Beaumont heading towards the Boylston Hills stop on from what she understood to be the Green Line route. Which put him in the Calloway family’s backyard.
Back at the office, she went through everything at least twenty times. Each time she came to the same conclusion: nothing made sense.
“Why would a man just out of prison run to the one place everyone wants him dead?” She couldn’t help muttering out loud.
“Answer that and you’ll find him.” Mills took a seat at the table where Val was working. “Better still, why hide in places where you’ll be seen?”
“It’s a game. It’s always a game with these jokers. Usually it’s a lame game of tag. This time, I’m playing chess with someone who shouldn’t have lasted long after his opening move. I have a better question for you. Why didn’t Boston move faster? They got the call from Connecticut and just sat on the information.”
“Finn got the call.” Mills reluctantly mumbled.
“And?”
“And he hates Calloway.”
“Enough to let a twisted fuck like Beaumont slip through his fingers?” Val sputtered thoroughly disgusted.
“I didn’t think so, until this happened.”
“What’s his problem?”
“What do you think?”
“Taking things this far usually means something on the job o a woman.” Val quickly surmised still not understanding why someone in Finn’s position would let a slime ball like Beaumont slip through their fingers. “Since Calloway is one of those disgusting happily married types, I’m guessing that it was something that happened on the job.”
“Wrong.”
* * *
“Will you stop playing with that thing?” CC regretted letting Max use her phone.
“This thing is amazing. Look, this is the boat I want.”
“Donald Trump doesn’t have a ride that nice.” CC snatched her phone back. “Perhaps you should lower your sights. Shirley must be ready to throttle you. How did you go online with this?” She waved the phone in his face.
“Here.” He showed her once again how to use her phone to Google. “And this is how you send pictures or video. You can even do it while it’s in the holder you wear on your belt. Or you can do a conference call, even a videoconference call, if you wanted to.”
“Why would I want to?”
“You know, I’m the old fogey and I got this mastered.”
“I just want to make phone calls.”
“Seriously.” Now Leigh grabbed the phone from CC. “This is an amazing phone. Mine isn’t this nice. Half the reporters in there today are using something like this to stream a video to their producers. See you can send live video by doing this.” CC’s eyes glazed over as Leigh explained what appeared to be a simple task.
“The judge said no TV,” CC said. “We’re not even supposed to have our phones in the courtroom.”
“I’ll be streaming,” a sultry voice said.
“Laura Carson. Come to watch the circus?” CC greeted the former defense attorney who was now under the employ of a major television network. “Tell me the truth. Don’t you miss the courtroom?”
“I spend almost every day in a courtroom. I just don’t have to defend lying sociopaths anymore.” Laura scoffed. “I still believe in the justice system. I just feel safer reporting the facts instead of crea
ting excuses. Nice phone. Maybe you’ll learn how to work it before the new model comes out. You do know that your ineptitude could cost you your butch card.”
“According to my wife, I never had one. Are we going to be seeing more of you, Laura? I take it you’re covering the Stern trial or, as you news people call it, the Whacko Soccer Mom trial. Where do you come up with these monikers?”
“My producer,” Laura said and groaned. “Any chance you’ll change your mind about doing an interview for my piece on West?”
“Nope.”
“You have a call,” Mulligan told CC.
“I didn’t hear it.”
“I reset you to vibrate since we have to be in the courtroom,” Mulligan explained. “It’s someone named Brooks.”
“Cop from San Diego,” Max explained.
“There’s a case I wanted to pitch,” Laura said, suddenly excited. “My producer shot it down. Not enough bodies and no trial. It wasn’t newsworthy.”
CC liked Laura. In her day, the leggy blonde had been one hell of a lawyer. CC teased her about going Hollywood, but CC got it. Too many guilty clients walking the streets versus sitting in front of a camera wasn’t a difficult choice for Laura.
“Brooks, what’s going on?”
“Hate to bug you this early.” He apologized.
“Middle of the day for me.”
“I keep forgetting.” He tried to joke, but CC could hear an odd note in his voice. “Look, I’ve got a bad feeling about something and need to talk to someone about it.”
“I’m due in court in a few.” She stepped away from the others so she could better hear Brooks. “You’ll have to make this quick.”
“It all started with the father, Malcolm Fisher.”
“What do you mean?” Her mind was already trying to process why he had called her. “Was he into something?”
“No, not him. Elizabeth Pryce died about a week ago.”
“Elizabeth Pryce?” CC searched her mind for the name. “Right, Janie Jensen’s girlfriend. What happened?”
“The medical examiner has it listed as undetermined. I don’t have all the details. It happened up in San Francisco. I couldn’t get much, just it might be some kind of virus.”
“Okay.” CC pulled a notepad and pen out of her pocket and started to scribble. She had no idea what was going on. So far, Brooks wasn’t telling her anything earth-shattering.
“A couple of days ago, Bitsy Marsden was murdered.” Brooks’ grave tone sent shivers down CC’s spine.
“Marsden was Fisher’s neighbor,” CC said. She suddenly felt out of sorts. “The one who every time Fisher asked her out when they were teenagers, she turned him down. Then one of her pets would wind up mutilated.”
“That’s the girl.” Brooks sounded far too excited. “Our Special Victims Unit is handling it. On the surface, it looks like a rape attempt. Her car turned up in a chop shop in East LA. A couple local youth were bagged trying to use her credit card.”
“And?” CC wasn’t connecting the dots. “One anaphylactic shock, one mysterious virus, and a random act of violence. I’m not seeing a connection.”
“Don’t you? They were all connected to Fisher.”
“But not to each other.” CC tried to reason as a dull pain formed in her temple. “Only one of them is listed as a crime. I’m not getting why you called.”
“I guess I wasted your time. I just think we should be looking into this.”
“I’m willing to peek if you think there’s something worth looking at. I trust you. Hey, while I’ve got you on the phone, what can you tell me about a Fed named Val Brown? She’s a US Marshal.”
“Val?” CC noticed that his tone lightened.” Brown’s a good kid. Reminds me a little of you. Good instincts, smart, and generally plays by the rules. Retired from the navy, I think. Why?”
“She’s here, working a case that’s a little close to home.”
“If I was looking for someone, she’s who I would want on the case. She seems to have resources that we don’t.”
“Interesting.” CC didn’t know what to make of the information. She saw Judge Conrad’s bailiff waving for them. “I’ve got to get my butt into court. We’ll talk more about Fisher later. I’ve kind of got my hands full at the moment, but I promise to get back to you.”
* * *
The pretrial motions went quickly. One look at the video, and the judge quashed the defense’s motions. Despite her bet with Max, CC doubted that the defense would get the confession tossed. It probably didn’t help their cause when Judge Conrad referred to her as an exemplary officer. Less than half an hour later, CC handed Max a crisp twenty dollar bill. She enjoyed getting him back in the game. She missed the banter, the friendly wagers, and generally annoying one another. When cops partner together, it’s just like being married: there are days you can’t live without one another and then there are days when you just want to shoot each other.
“What did Brooks say about Brown?” Max asked.
“Basically, I should trust her.”
“You don’t?”
“I guess I do. I just don’t like the way this is going down. It isn’t her. It’s the situation. I thought I had seen the last of that bastard, and now here he is again. Or is he? I also don’t like that she’s been watching us. I really don’t like the way she looks at my kid sister.”
“You don’t like anyone looking at Stevie.”
“I practically raised her. Having some hotshot Fed ogling her like she’s a piece of candy bugs me. Having her father running
around scares the crap out of me. We don’t want to let Emma go trick-or-treating.”
“Hold on.” Max held up his hand, halting her in her tracks. He had that worried look he got at times the fatherly look of concern that usually led him to try to take complete control of the situation. If anyone but Max acted that way, CC would throttle them. Coming from Max, it was like dealing with a parent.
“With Bert on the loose, it isn’t safe.”
“What isn’t safe?” Mulligan asked as she approached them.
“The world in general,” CC said with a grunt. “What was Krassowski doing here?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” Leigh sighed. “Since he’s my partner, he’s taking credit for the bust.”
“He hasn’t done any work on this case.”
“Work?” Max said. “He hasn’t done anything.”
“I know.” Leigh threw up her hands, obviously just as displeased as CC and Max. “When the first report was filed, he told me to forget about it because Annie probably got a taste of life in America and is off with some boy having a great time.”
“Good thing you didn’t listen.”
“Now you understand why I’m looking to branch out.”
“I can’t say that I blame you.”
All through the hearing CC kept thinking about Brooks’ phone call. As much as she would love tacking more charges onto little Simon, she just didn’t see a connection. “Max, what do you say we head back to the station and try to get some real police work done?”
“What about Halloween?”
“What about it?”
“Emma?”
“It’s too dangerous. It’s going to break her heart. She’s got her costume all ready. Our new neighborhood seems much more into the holidays than our last. I’m dumping it on Stevie to tell her.”
“Tell her what?” Leigh asked.
“With Beaumont on the loose, we’ve decided not to let my niece go out trick-or-treating. We thought about letting her dad, Brad, take her out, but Halloween is a big night for drag queens. Even if he could, I still don’t feel like it would be safe. If Bert knows about Emma, he could know about Brad.”
“How about I go with you?” Max said. “Between the two of us, we should be able to keep Stevie and Emma safe.”
“I can join you,” Leigh said.
“See, a police escort.” Max beamed.
CC almost laughed at how eager Max seemed. “T
hanks, guys. I’ll run it by Stevie and see what she thinks. Now enough stalling. Let’s get back to the station. Krassowski is heading this way, and I don’t want to listen to him brag about how he solved our case.”
Chapter 24
Jamie stood at the nurses’ station reviewing charts, while listening to the latest gossip. Deep in her heart, she knew gossiping was wrong, but sometimes, she just couldn’t resist. Stella and Evaline were in full swing. The main topic of conversation was, of course, which of the new residents were sleeping with each other.
“Nothing to add, Dr. Jameson?”
“I don’t like gossip.”
“Of course not. That’s why you’re always hanging around when our tongues start wagging.”
“Coincidence.”
“Of course,” Stella said. “What is little Emma wearing for Halloween this year?”
“Uh…” Jamie hesitated, still not happy that Emma might miss the festivities this year. She also wasn’t eager to reveal that Emma might not be able to go. The disclosure would require an explanation.
“CC thinks she’s going as Wonder Woman.”
“She thinks that every year.”
“I know.” Jamie laughed, completely understanding her wife’s love for Wonder Woman. Yet she was clueless to what today’s seven-year-old might find fun. “Emma’s going as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Her father’s very excited.” Jamie would be, as well, if Emma might actually get to wear her costume.
Jamie was completely unaware that Bert Beaumont was wandering around the waiting room. He was there for one reason: he had received a text message telling him to do so. He tried to blend in. The sight of a young girl sitting off to the side playing with her Barbie doll made him nervous. He felt the stirrings beginning. He didn’t want to stay, but the message said he had to. He was to stay there until someone noticed him. If anyone approached him, he was to say something to explain why he was there and make his exit quickly and quietly.
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