Daddy's Little Killer (8 page)

"I'm curious if Datello did anything to help
defend his employee."

"That I can't tell you.  Myre or Orion
would know the particulars about how all of that unfolded. 
Although I'm not sure which of them would be more cooperative."

"I heard Orion left the department a bitter
man."

"He did.  Flynn Myre's still pretty
defensive about the whole thing, despite the fact that Orion's
resignation all but vindicated him.  I guess a man never gets
over being wrongly accused."

"Do you think Orion planted evidence against
Masconi?"

"Johnny?  I doubt it.  In my
opinion, that fiasco could've been cooked up by Masconi in order to
save his own ass.  Johnny cared too much about justice to take
matters into his hands that way.  He believed that the system
wouldn't fail."

"But it did."

"Big time," Forsythe nodded.  "Do you
mind if I get my team in here to start processing?"

"Be my guest," I'd seen enough anyway. 
Until I could talk to the people who knew the victim, if we were
able to quickly verify her identity, there wasn't much I could
provide other than initial impressions of the crime scene.  It
looked too neat to be less than staged.  In other words,
someone straightened up after the deed was done.  I couldn't
imagine someone being passive during a murder.  This woman
probably fought for her life.  Whoever took it wanted the
setting to appear otherwise.  "I think I'll head over to my
hotel and check in," mumbled around a yawn. 

"You might want to have a word with Orion
before you go."

Or I might never want to lay eyes on him
again.  I was pretty sure my way was rooted in logic and
reality.  Forsythe had no way of knowing that. 
"Because?"

"If you can develop a rapport with him,
which I suspect you can, he'll be far more forthcoming about the
Bennett case than anyone at central.  Plus, there's the other
obvious factor."

I waited.

"He probably knows the identity of the
victim.  If he was meeting her in her home tonight, he might
be able to fill in the blanks for you about who she is and what
possible reason anyone might've had to kill her."

"She could be his girlfriend."

Forsythe chuckled.  "Johnny Orion
doesn't have girlfriends.  He has one night stands."

There was my old friend humiliation, rearing
its ugly head again.  "That doesn't preclude this being a one
night stand," I said. 

"You won't know until you ask."

Just the same, I'd rather have white-hot
needles driven into my brain.  I smiled wanly.  "Perhaps
tomorrow.  I'm jet lagged, Forsythe.  My flight landed at
midnight, so my body is screaming about being up in the middle of
the night.  Orion's not going anywhere, especially if he's the
prime suspect."

"That won't establish rapport with the guy,"
he disagreed with a quick shake of the head.  "Don't kid
yourself, Eriksson.  Johnny Orion is no fool.  He was a
shrewd cop and a tough one too.  He'll know if you're going
along with the flow at central or if you really want to get to the
truth.  He'll know based on what you do next."

"Why would I care what a potential suspect
thinks of me?"  I imagined a rift dividing Darkwater Bay into
separate camps – those who supported Orion, those who blamed
Datello for everything.  Did anyone really expect me to bridge
the gap? 

"Because what Orion thinks in this city
matters to a lot of people."

"Including Danny Datello?"

Forsythe's face hardened.  "He'd
probably shoot you on sight if you accused such a thing."

"Interesting."

"Not really.  Nobody in law enforcement
likes Datello.  Unfortunately, nobody's ever been able to
build a successful case against him."

"Not even Johnny Orion?"

"I suspect he hasn't given up the
cause."

Even more interesting.  "And what
official capacity does he hold out here?  I thought Briscoe
said he left the police department under a cloud of suspicion."

"Johnny's a private contractor now, in
security.  It doesn't mean he wouldn't take evidence of a
crime to the DA if he found it."

Score again for Orion.  So far, his big
lie was the identity.  Why do that?  Not that I had a
right to question his motives.  I hadn't been particularly
forthcoming myself.  "Maybe I'll have a chat with him tomorrow
after he's processed by whoever gets this case." 

"Do you think that's wise?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Rogers, Daltry and Myre would love nothing
better than to close this case tonight and charge him with
murder.  They hate him almost as much as cops hate
Datello.  As for Downey," Forsythe snorted, "I got nothing
against Tony Briscoe and Crevan Conall, but in this case, they
happen to be your prime suspect's best friends."

Shit.  Truth number three.  "I
never said he was or should be the prime suspect.  Person of
interest would be more accurate at this point."  Given Orion's
history of lying – to me in particular – I doubted he would be
inclined to talk to me at all.  My conscience reminded me that
I had done more creative editing of the life story than Orion
had.  All he lied about was his name.  I on the other
hand, had been far more deceptive.

Chapter 7

I breathed a sigh of relief when I stepped
out of the house.  Orion was nowhere in sight.  Perhaps
he had shifted his ability to charm to his former brethren and
convinced them to let him go.  Briscoe was still engaged in a
neck vein popping argument on the front lawn.  I hadn't seen
Conall since the rental agency. 

Through the pockets of fog and flashing
lights, I caught a glimpse of him beside one of the patrol
cars.  One hand propped on his hip, the other raked through
his hair and took a wild swipe in the direction of the car.

The plan was to slip as quietly as possible
back to my rental.  I forgot about Detective Pigpen guarding
the door.  His withered fingers snaked around my wrist. 
"Where you goin', Eriksson?"

It didn't take much to break the feeble
grasp.  "To my hotel, not that it's any of your concern. 
I'll meet with Commissioner Hardy later this morning and give him
my assessment."

Myre snapped his
fingers.  "Just like that, you think you got this whole thing
figured out?  Well, you're too late,
doctor
.  Central already solved
this one."

As a general rule, I try not to make snap
judgments of others.  You never know when someone will be an
unexpected ally.  Alienation slams that door shut. 
Regarding Myre and his lackadaisical posture at a horrific crime
scene stripped away any desire to keep doors open.  Curiosity
prompted my response.  "And just who committed the crime
inside, Myre?"

"The perp in the back of Haverston's
car."  He jerked his head in the direction of uniformed
officers and Detective Conall.  "Johnny Orion.  We
finally got the bastard after all these years."

So much for my relief.  I walked to the
vehicle where the so-called perp was being held.

"Detective Conall, what's the status of the
prisoner?"

One of the uniformed officers shot Conall a
smug grin at my question, as if I had validated his actions
somehow.

"Beyond wrongly accused?" 

Again, Conall's eyes screamed something just
out of the reach of tangibility.  Under other circumstances,
such creepy stares would make me wonder if the irate detective was
hitting on me.  But this didn't even come close to that
vibe.  It made my skin crawl.  Did I know him from
somewhere?  Not even a glimmer of recognition flashed.

"Yes, I'm listening, detective," the lie
rolled easily past my lips.  I turned my attention to the
officer.  Name badge read Haverston.  "Officer Haverston,
did you read Mr. Orion his rights?"

"Yep.  He said he doesn't have anything
to say until he gets his attorney."

"He'll talk to me."  I yanked the back
door of the car open and slid inside. 

Orion's head was in his hands, cuffed
together at the wrists.  He looked sideways and groaned.

"We meet again,
Todd
."

"Why were those men trying to abduct you,
Helen?"

"I prefer doctor if you don't mind."  I
didn't, but we'd already established a pattern of lying.  I
saw no reason to break it.  "And in case you're curious why
I'm here, I need to ask you a few questions about the body inside
that house."

"And I asked for a lawyer."

"Cut the crap, Orion.  When did you get
back to Darkwater Bay?  For that matter, when did you really
leave Washington D.C.?"

"What difference does it make?"

"Depending on the victim's time of death, it
could be the difference between your alibi passing muster and this
charge sticking.  Geez, all I've heard from your pals is what
a great cop you were.  I'm not seeing that so far."

"Screw you."

"Missed your chance last night."

"Diana Farber, who is she?"

"A figment of my imagination.  It
shouldn't be so difficult for you to grasp the concept that
psychologists rather enjoy games, Orion.  That's all you
were."

"Those would-be kidnappers weren't playing
games, were they?"

"Probably not.  Then again, I'd imagine
I've pissed off more than my fair share of criminals over the past
decade.  That dead body in there isn't about me.  Fifty
percent of the people at this crime scene think she got in her
current condition with a little help from you."

"I have nothing to say."

"Personally, I think it's an astounding
coincidence that you found a body in the same condition more or
less, as your most infamously botched investigation.  Then
again, Daddy always taught me that there's no such thing as a
coincidence."

"I would never harm Gwen or any other
woman!"

A tiny smile quivered at the corners of my
lips.  "First name Gwen.  Now we're getting
somewhere.  Doesn't Gwen deserve justice for what happened to
her, Mr. Orion?"

"She'll never get it from Darkwater Bay
PD."

"Not even from your pals Briscoe and
Conall?  Briscoe, he was the mentor you mentioned last night,
wasn't he?  Is his partner Conall your best friend?"

"I have nothing to say."

"Bullshit.  Level with me, Orion. 
What were you really doing in D.C. this week?  Don't expect me
to believe that incident at the Ritz wasn't arranged by you to give
you an easy in with me.  Did Hardy send you to follow
me?  Are you working for Datello?"

"What?" Orion snarled.  His wrists
strained against the cuffs, and for a second, I felt a pang of
anxiety that they'd snap.  "I hate that piece of shit!"

"Which one, Hardy or Datello?"

"I wouldn't walk across the road to piss on
Datello if he were on fire."

"How did you get here before I did?"

Orion masked his anger with a smirk, but his
eyes still glittered in the semidarkness.  "Nothing to say to
you.  Cop."  He spat the word like an epithet.

At least he didn't call me a fed. 
"What's Gwen's last name?  You know how this works, I
presume.  If we're going to figure out who was the most likely
suspect to commit the crime, I need to know about the victim. 
Her name would be a step in the right direction."

"Foster," through tight lips.

"And was she the kind of friend you wanted
Diana to be last night?"

Veins in his neck bulged.  "No," came
out clipped and terse.

"Client then?"

"I couldn't tell you even if I wanted
to."

"There's no such thing as security
guard-client confidentiality, Orion.  Why were you standing me
up in Washington to be here with Gwen tonight?"

"Emergency meeting."

"And the nature of your business with this
client was what, exactly?"

"Gwen was not my client.  She was an
old friend."

"How old?"

"Thirty-four." 

I laughed softly.  "If that's old, I'm
downright geriatric, Mr. Orion.  Tell me, did you plan to let
me know that you weren't going to be around to play hero for me
tonight?"

His eyebrows stitched together.  "Did
you plan to tell me you weren't gonna be in town, Doc?"

"Don't call me Doc."

"Did you?"

"Perhaps I tried to leave you a message when
I left town."

"You didn't."

"No," I said.  "Nor did you.  Why
did you skip the last day of your conference to rush home?"

"Legitimate work trumps rubbing elbows with
my competitors.  Hell, you were there when I got the
call."

"Yet it didn't seem quite this urgent when
you got it, did it, Orion?  You obviously learned that
something was wrong.  Why won't you tell me what time you
arrived in Darkwater Bay tonight?  It could mean the
difference between spending the night in a warm bed versus one
downtown in lockup."

His lips curled into a sneering grin. 
"Is that an invitation to join you, Doc?"

"Sorry.  I never make the same mistake
twice.  Tell me when you got back to Darkwater Bay."

"Late this afternoon," he sighed
heavily.  "Yes, it was business.  Yes, it was related to
the call I got when Todd was wooing Diana last night.  No, I
won't divulge the details of the case or the phone call, nor will I
explain why I was meeting Gwen tonight.  If you want my alibi
for the time between when I arrived home until I found Gwen's body,
ask Crevan.  We had dinner together tonight before I came over
here."

"What was your flight number and the
airline?"

"Northwest, flight 21.  It arrived at
four-fifty.  I met Crevan for dinner at the Island Hotel
Resort and Casino on Hennessey Island at seven."

"Two hours between flight and dinner? 
That's a lot of time, Orion."