Spectrum (The Karen Vail Series) (32 page)

48

>ALCATRAZ

San Francisco Bay

Alcatraz, California

August 3, 2013

Vail was standing with her friend and colleague, Napa County sheriff’s detective Roxxann Dixon. They were in the middle of San Francisco Bay on a fog-socked Alcatraz near midnight, having just concluded a manhunt on the island for a missing person.

The whipping wind blew Dixon’s blonde hair across her face. “Oh my god, it’s freezing.”

“You have too much lean muscle mass, Roxx. You need some body fat to keep you warm.”

“No thanks.”

“Just sayin’.”

Another gust tossed her hair into her eyes. As she sorted it out, Vail started dialing her BlackBerry.

“Who are you calling now?” Dixon asked.

“I forgot something.”

“Karen, trust me. You turned the toaster off at home.”

“That’s not funny.”

“We’ve gotta get that CSI over here to document—”

“Burden’s on his way, I’m sure he’s bringing Price with him. Just give me a minute.” Vail hit send and the call connected. Three rings later, a groggy Carmine Russo answered.

“Russo, it’s Karen.”

“Karen?”

He sounded distant, like he was trying to place the voice.

“What time—are you crazy? It’s the middle of the night.”

“I know. I wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t real important.”

A fog horn blasted in the background.

“Where the hell are you?”

“Near Broadway and Times Square.”

Dixon gave Vail a look of confusion—but Vail’s comment seemed to have the desired effect, because it woke Russo up.

“You’re in town?” he asked. “Why? What’s going down?”

“Actually, I’m in San Francisco, on Alcatraz, just outside the cell house, and the blocks are named Broadway, Times Square—anyway, I need your help on a case.”

“Karen, you there? Hello?”

“I’m here, I’m here.” Vail walked a few feet toward the water, which was crashing against the rocks below. “Listen, the reception on the island is spotty. I’ve got a serial killer case out here and I need your help. Remember I told you about that informant I had, Eugenia Zachary?”

“The one you paid for information even though you shouldn’t have?”

That’s not exactly how things went down, but close enough.

“Did you tell anyone about how I paid her, about what happened?”

“Who the hell would I tell?”

“C’mon, Russo. It’s a good way to poke fun at the Feds. A good story to tell over a few beers at Walkers or Tribeca Tavern. Especially to guys who didn’t like me.”

“First of all, I’d never do that to you, you know that.”

“Anyone? I know it was a long time ago, but think about it for a minute. Is it possible you mentioned it to someone? Even a close friend. Protch, maybe? Sofia? This is really important.”

“I’m telling you, Karen. I didn’t tell anyone. Why? What’s so important about the way you paid your CI?”

“Nothing I want to go into right now. But trust me, it’s critical. If I can cross this off my list, it’ll help a lot.”

“Cross it off. I didn’t say nothing about it to no one.”

That’d be a double negative, meaning you did actually tell someone. Stop obsessing, Karen. How many times does he have to say the same thing?

“She’s dead, by the way. Eugenia. Just found out.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Russo said. “I know she meant something to you.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t the typical confidential informant–cop relationship. Guess I got too close.”
A bit of an understatement.
“Anything new on Hades?”

“Everything’s been quiet. I know that doesn’t help. We still don’t know about Danzig. Haven’t found him.”

“His place?”

“Haven’t found that, either. We’re working with the Canadian authorities. And trying to keep the media away. Not an easy task.”

“So either way, the offender’s still at large. And until we know otherwise, Hades is still an unknown subject.”

“For now, yeah. Look, I’m goin’ back to sleep, you mind?”

“Hey. Thanks, Russo. Sorry for waking you up. Call you soon.”

“During the day.”

Vail grinned. “Right.” She shoved her phone into its holster and stood there looking at the dead body in front of her.

“Who was that?” Dixon asked.

Vail saw Inspector Lance Burden approaching in the near darkness as she considered Dixon’s question.
How do I describe Russo?
“My rabbi.”

Dixon warded off a chill. “Say what?”

Despite the revolting appearance of the body in front of her, she chuckled. “My mentor in New York. A father figure. The cop who broke me in my first day on the job. The guy who pushed the brass to get me my detective’s shield, the guy who’s always had my back.”

“And you repaid him for all that good stuff by waking him in the middle of the night?”

“Just wait, someday I’ll do the same to you.”

“Don’t try to be funny. I’m still mad at you.”

Vail rolled up her jacket collar. “I’ll add your name to the list.”

49

>DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

1 Saarinen Circle

Dulles, Virginia

Present day: Wednesday, July 16

Robby Hernandez plugged his iPad into the charging port and sat back in his seat at the gate of the American Airlines terminal.

“You need to charge anything?”

Vail checked her watch, took a deep breath, and pulled out her Surface tablet. “Did it last night.” She rested her head against Robby’s shoulder and fell silent for a minute. “Must be me.”

“Huh?”

“I was just thinking about when we met, the Dead Eyes case. The eyes were important. And in this Hades case, the eyes seem to be a focal point.”

“Think there’s something to it?”

“Absolutely nothing. It’s kind of like me and banks. Haven’t you ever wondered why I avoid them?”

“I guess I figured you don’t like banks. You probably blame them for the woes of the working man, like everyone else in this country. They’ve been demonized. ‘Bank’ is just another four-letter word.”

“Very funny. No, I don’t like banks because for a while there, every time I walked into one it seemed like it was being robbed. One of the last times I went into a bank to actually do something is when the perp took a hostage. After I shot him, I got a text from Bledsoe. Dead Eyes was back in business, and so was the task force.” She fell silent again, rechecked her watch, and then said, “That case changed my life, you know?”

“You mean because of who the killer was?”

“You’re being diplomatic. I appreciate that. No, I mean because that’s where we met. This is kind of a sick way of looking at it, but without that
killer
, without that case, we probably would never have met.”

“Hey, I almost didn’t catch that case. Another detective was supposed to get the call, but he—well, he couldn’t go.”

Vail leaned back and looked at him. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing.”

“Tell me.”

“He had diarrhea.”

Vail play-slapped him. “Are you saying we met because your partner had the shits?”

“I did
not
say that. But … it does happen to be true.”

Vail sat up straight and faced him, crossed her legs and set the Surface in her lap. She looked at him a long moment, trying to formulate her thoughts. “I’m not sure who’s benefited most—me or Jonathan. You’ve meant so much to him. Deacon, he was a total train wreck, I don’t have to tell you that. You, though, you’ve been that positive father figure Jonathan never really had.”

“Despite what he went through with Deacon, he came out okay. He’s a great kid. We have good times together.”

Vail sat there another few moments, then checked her watch.

“You okay? You look tense. Not ‘serial killer tense.’ Something else.”

“I didn’t realize I had a ‘serial killer look.’”

“You do. This is different.” He leaned back and looked her over. “You’re nervous.”

“No, I’m not.”

He squinted at her. “Yes, you are. What’s wrong?”

“It’s—I’m not sure—” She stopped, thought a second, then said, “Are you sure that black dress looked good?”

Robby grinned. “I told you at home. You looked stunning. Alluring.”

“But not too alluring, right?”

“You’re asking your significant other if the dress you brought to a formal party makes you look too sexy? I’m not sure I can be objective.”

“The heels weren’t too high?”

“They’re pumps.”

“I don’t usually wear heels, so they seem high.”

“Okay,” Robby said. “I give up. What’s really going on?”

Vail turned on her Surface and swiped up, then entered her password. “I just want to make a good impression. These people have never seen me in a dress, let alone heels and jewelry.”

“I’ve hardly seen you in a dress, heels, and jewelry.”

“Maybe I should’ve worn the blue one. Or the white top.”

“You made the right choice. You’re stressing over nothing.”

“I’m telling you how I feel.”

“Right. And I’m telling you they may die of a heart attack because they’ve got some serious eye candy coming their way.”

Vail looked up from the tablet. “Is that what I am to you? A shapely lolli-pop?”

Robby laughed. “You know what my mind can do with that image?”

Vail glanced around at the people behind and beside them, then leaned closer to Robby. “I’m more interested in what you can do with something
else
of yours, involving a certain something
else
of mine.”

Robby held up his right arm, which bore a cast down to his hand. “Good thing it wasn’t a broken leg. That wouldn’t have been so good.”

“You think that would’ve stopped me?”

THEY ARRIVED AT the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and walked into the spacious, richly appointed lobby. Enormous square marbled columns stretched from the hand-woven wall-to-wall rug to the elaborately patterned twenty-foot ceiling.

“Stunning,” Vail said. “I’m glad you talked me into this over the Motel 6.”

“There aren’t any Motel 6s in Manhattan, Karen.”

“Well, if there were, this would definitely be better.” She got in line at the registration desk. “You know, as architecturally striking as the Hyatt was in San Francisco, this is, well, more grand. Elegant.”

“Didn’t see the Hyatt in San Francisco.”

“That’s right. I shared the room—and the bed—with Roxxann.”

Robby held up a hand. “I don’t think I want to know.” He thought a moment. “Then again, maybe I do.”

“I’ll ignore that.” She gave another sweeping look at the lobby, the wood paneling on the walls, the ornate clock in the center, which reminded her of the one in Grand Central Station. “I’m glad you’re going to get a chance to meet Russo and Protch. They’re so much a part of who I am as a cop, Russo especially. Just—if they start telling stories about me, don’t believe them. Unless they’re flattering. Then believe them.”

“You’re making more of this than it needs to be. It’s a retirement party and a promotion party, rolled into one. Why are you so nervous about it?”

“I told you. They’ve never seen me like this. And, well, I’m bringing home the boyfriend. You know?”

Robby tilted his head. “You afraid they won’t approve?”

“You know family. Sometimes you never know how they’re going to react.”

“I’m a good catch, Karen. They’re going to love me.”

While Robby checked in, Vail pulled out her phone to call Russo to confirm their meeting for the next morning. She saw her visit to New York as the perfect opportunity to get the brain trust together for a comprehensive review of the Hades case file, to see if there was something they had been missing. They had gathered in recent years at crime scenes, when they were in crisis mode trying to process a new victim. It prevented them from stepping back and looking at things anew.

In the intervening time, Vail had also gained some distance from the specifics of the case, something a detective rarely has the luxury of doing. She had learned that sometimes things poked up out of nowhere, things that were right in front of you but you did not have the perspective to see.

“We’re all set,” Russo said. “It’ll be me, you, and Protch to start, then Slater will join us around nine, nine-thirty. Joe’s gotta go before a judge first thing in the morning.”

“And Dyer?”

Russo cleared his throat. “Yeah, that. He’s not coming. He’s … out of commission.”

“What, did he hurt his back or something?”

Russo hesitated. “He’s having medical issues, needed time off. Nothing I want to get into right now.”

Sounds fishy. Did he have a breakdown?
“Next time you talk to him, tell him I missed him.”

“I’ll do that.”

She hung up and joined Robby at the elevators. Since they had only two rolling suitcases, he had declined the concierge. Vail did not care. She was still soaking in the opulence.
Decadence?

Once inside, Robby reached over, swiped his card, and pressed the floor button. “You okay in here?”

Vail took a deep breath. “You mean am I going to have a claustrophobic anxiety attack?”

“I wasn’t going to phrase it that way, but … yeah.”

“Just keep talking to me.”

Robby rocked back on his heels. “I got us a room upgrade.”

“Cool. Any particular reason?”

“The woman behind the desk found me irresistibly sexy.”

Vail looked at him. “Are you serious?”

“About the upgrade or finding me irresistibly sexy?”

“Both.”

The elevator chimed and the doors slid open.

“Whoa, this is really quite nice,” Vail said, rolling her suitcase out. “I guess you were serious.”

“Thought you’d like it. They walked up to the room, which had a sign that read, “The Cole Porter Suite.”

“Suite?” Vail asked.

Robby was already sliding his card through the lock. He pushed open the door and Vail’s jaw dropped. “Are you shitting me? This is ‘a room upgrade’?”

“I told you,” he said. “She thought I was irresistibly sexy. Why do you find that so hard to believe?”

She stepped in and turned slowly, doing a three-sixty. The walls were baby blue with gold leaf surrounding inlaid frames on the walls. Thick floor-to-ceiling drapes hung across the large windows. And a baby grand piano sat in the corner. “I’m speechless.”

“For you, that’s impressive.”

“This room is impressive. It’s not a room, it’s … like a lavishly decorated apartment. Like, I don’t know … what Frank Sinatra’s apartment would be like.”

“He stayed here once.”

Vail turned to face him. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.” He gestured behind her. “Look, there’s even a bottle of champagne.”

He walked over and handed her the sealed envelope. She turned toward the light and tore it open, then pulled out the card. It read:

This is a joke. It’s a joke. So why aren’t I laughing?

She turned around, and Robby was on a knee, a small black velvet box in his hand. “I want you to spend the rest of your life with me. That’s assuming, of course, you don’t get eaten alive by a serial killer who’s—”

He did not finish his sentence, as Vail planted a kiss on his lips, and did not let go.