Chapter 10
Twenty minutes later, Pepper and Wallace were on their way back to the police station, blood sample safely tucked away in a sterile container. The Inspector had gotten the requisition paperwork sent to the hospital within minutes, and they had waited while the nurse went into Jennie's room and collected the sample. They strode into the forensics lab and delivered the container to Janssen, who was waiting for them. As soon as she saw them enter the room, she pulled on a pair of blue latex gloves.
"Where's The Kid?" Wallace asked, looking around for Singleton as he handed the bag to Janssen.
"Kyle's out on a case," Janssen replied. She was the only person in the whole department who never called The Flamingo Kid by his nickname, and Pepper was impressed that she never stooped to the juvenile behaviour of the rest of them. "There was an accident over on Wavell Street. It sounded pretty bad. He's there now." She opened up the bag and lifted out the small glass vial, placing it in a slotted rack on the stainless steel table in front of her. "So I hear you think Jennie Swindon might have been given the same drug as Yvonne Redmond?"
"From the way Jennie described her symptoms, I'd bet on it," said Pepper. Wallace nodded in agreement.
"What did she say?"
"She described it almost exactly as you told us it would work," Pepper said. "Bartolucci slipped it into a drink he gave her, and then kind of coerced her into drinking it fairly quickly. It seems as if she started to feel out of it within ten minutes or so."
"Wow, that's fast."
"She said that she was totally awake, but couldn't move. She was able to see everything he did, but there was nothing she could do about it. She said she tried to scream, but her mouth felt totally numb."
"God, that must have been terrifying. Did she say how long the feeling lasted?"
"Based on the time frame she laid out for us, I'd say at least ten hours each time."
"Each time?" Her eyebrows shot up.
"Yeah, he drugged her twice. The first time was after they left the party and went back to his place. She said after he gave her that drink, she wasn't able to move until late the next morning. She said he tied her up and gagged her, and then went out for quite a while. When he came back, he fed her some soup-which I'm sure was laced with the stuff-and then almost right away she started to feel 'woozy', as she called it. She said that time it lasted until almost dawn the next day-and it was later that morning when we happened to show up."
"Jesus. It sounds like that girl is damn lucky you two got there when you did." They all thought about Jennie Swindon, and what might have happened. Janssen looked up at both of them. "Even if they had the same kind of drug in each of them, the time frame doesn't work out for Bartolucci to have had the Redmond girl. He was with Jennie the whole time, except for a few hours that one afternoon."
"No, you're right. There's no way Bartolucci could have been directly involved in Yvonne Redmond's death. But if that sample tells us what I think it will, well, it's just too much of a coincidence, especially with both girls being at the same party."
"Well, let's see what this baby has to say," Janssen said. The two detectives watched as she carefully carried the glass tube over to another work bench. She put the vial into some kind of small machine, and started turning dials.
"How long do you think that's gonna take?" Wallace asked.
"Because I'm just testing for that drug at this time, I should probably know within an hour-maybe less." She hit some form of start button, and the machine starting humming as Janssen stood back. "Did you guys see the press conference they had at City Hall?"
"No," Wallace said. "How'd it go?"
"The Dick started it off, front and centre as usual, saying that our thoughts and prayers were with the Redmond family. He then went on to say this was a shock to the whole community and he knew that London Police Services were doing everything in their power to resolve this matter quickly and efficiently."
Bradley Dickinson was the city mayor. He swept into office a couple of years previously on a platform to return a high level of integrity to the mayor's office. Now, allegations of kickbacks from a major developer were continuing to hound him. Nothing definitive had yet to be proven, but the reporters were still digging. The mayor had started showing up at all public appearances and press conferences with his wife in tow. Once he'd started doing that, someone had come up with the nickname, 'The Dick', and it had stuck ever since.
"Was the mayor's wife there this time?" Wallace asked.
"Yeah," Janssen replied. "You know, he said the right things, which was good, but I just don't buy the sincerity shtick from that guy anymore. Every time I see him, I just want to wipe that smarmy look off his face. You could just tell that he seemed pleased that there was something else that took the spotlight off him, and he could be seen to be the good guy again-instead of the mayor who was filling his pockets with cash."
Pepper looked over to Wallace and saw his partner trying to suppress a smile as he gave Pepper an eye roll. "Uh gee, Tanya," Pepper said, "tell us what you really think."
She pointed her finger at both of them as they laughed. "You guys think the same thing-don't give me any of that crap."
"We all know the guy's an asshole, you don't need to tell us," Pepper said. "At least his speechwriters fed him the right things to say." His tone changed, abruptly serious now. "My guess is that Councillor Redmond is gonna take a leave of absence after what's happened."
"He may never come back," Wallace said. "Being a city councillor's a thankless job, and after what happened with his daughter, he might just step down." Both Pepper and Janssen nodded before Wallace continued. "Did the Chief and the Inspector have much to say?"
Janssen shook her head. "Nothing more than you'd expect. Chief Dakin gave the usual statement assuring the community of their safety, and also expressed our condolences to the Redmond family. The Inspector spoke briefly, outlining the basic facts of the case, stating who the girl was, where she was found, not much more than that."
"I assume nothing about the arrow or the note?" Pepper asked.
"Nope. Although Fragakos pressed him for more details."
"That Fragakos is something else," Wallace said. "You ever notice every time he says his name, it's always 'Anthony Fragakos, Channel 10 News'? I'd love to see that guy in a reception line at a wedding. I can just see it, every time a guest shakes his hand, 'Anthony Fragakos, Channel 10 News', 'Anthony Fragakos, Channel 10 News'. If he ever had a team jersey, that's probably what they'd put on the back of it."
Pepper and Janssen just stared at him.
"What?" Wallace asked, genuinely bewildered.
Pepper and Janssen both grinned, marvelling at the quirky way the little man's mind worked. Janssen turned away and checked the machine with the blood sample.
"Okay, thanks Tanya," Pepper said. "Text us when you get the results."
"Got it. Now get out of here so I can get to work."
Every Breath You Take Page 13