Vector (21 page)

"Your impression that the stab wounds were made with a knife with a serrated upper edge might help, " Lou said. "Provided the knife turns up.

Also the bullet you took out of the brain might be useful, but it's hard to say at this point until ballistics looks at it. The fact that the crucifying nails were of Polish manufacture is not going to be any help because I've already found out they're widely distributed." if "So this PAA or People's Aryan Army is still a metropolitan unknown?"

" Jack asked.

"I'm afraid so, " Lou said. "The only reassuring part is that Internet traffic concerning them has suddenly dropped off. We're hoping that means whatever they'd been planning has been canceled."

"Let's hope so, " Jack said.

The appetizers began to arrive and the red wine was poured. The four concentrated on their food and for a time, conversation was minimal.

Jack surreptitiously eyed Laurie but was unable to make any eye contact.

"Tell us about your case today, " Laurie said to Jack. "I heard it was an other interesting one." Jack had to clear his throat. "Surprising yes, interesting.. .

somewhat.

It was a case of inhalation anthrax."

"Anthrax? " Lou questioned with obvious interest. "That's a potential bio-weapon."

"It is indeed, " Jack agreed. "But fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, this case has a more prosaic origin.

The victim had just imported a bunch of rugs from Turkey, where the disease is endemic. He's apparently the only victim and the rugs are safely locked up in a warehouse in Queens. End of story. I couldn't even get a rise out of the city epidemiologist."

"Thank the Lord for small favors, " Laurie said.

"Amen, " Lou added.

The entrees arrived, and while the foursome ate their dinners the conversation stayed on neutral ground. The delay in addressing the real issue, whatever it was, only made Jack's curiosity and anxiety mount.

Adding to his anxiety was the subtle and, he couldn't help but feel, inappropriate familiarity between Laurie and Paul. He noticed it in the way she touched his arm or the way he dabbed at the corner of her mouth with his napkin. In Jack's mind these small intimacies were inappropriate because he knew she couldn't have known the man long.

Finally, over coffee, Laurie cleared her throat and tapped her water glass gently with her fork. Paul assumed a self-satisfied smile and leaned back. It was obvious that from his point of view this was Laurie's party.

"I guess you guys must wonder why I invited you here tonight, " Laurie began.

No, the thought has never entered my mind, Jack said to himself while his pulse quickened.

"I don't quite know how to tell you this but.. ." Laurie looked at Paul, who shrugged his shoulders as if to say he didn't know either.

Out with it before I barf, Jack said silently.

"First of all, I owe you both an apology, " Laurie said. She looked alternately at Jack and Lou. "I'm sorry I had to call you so early in the morning. At least early for your time." Jack blinked. Laurie had lost him. Why was their time different from her time?

"The explanation is that I was calling from Paris, France, " Laurie said. "Paul and I had gone there for the weekend, and we were waiting to board the Concorde to come back to New York." Paul nodded, confirming this startling story.

"Paul had business in Paris, " Laurie continued. "He was nice enough to invite me to go along. It was quite a weekend." She looked over at Paul and extended her right hand. He took it lovingly.

Jack smiled over gritted teeth. He suddenly saw Paul as a snake-in the-grass who'd managed to win Laurie with this grand, gallant gesture, a weekend in Paris.

"One of the things that happened was quite unexpected, " Laurie continued. "At least for me." Laurie took her left hand out from under the table where she'd kept it discreetly for the entire dinner.

It was balled in a fist as she extended it out over the tablecloth.

When her arm was fully extended she dramatically opened her hand and spread her fingers.

Both Jack and Lou blinked. They found themselves looking down at a diamond that seemed to be the size of a golf ball on Laurie's ring finger. It caught all the light from the room and threw it back with blinding intensity.

"You guys are getting married, " Lou said as if he were describing an upcoming cataclysm.

The couple interpreted his tone as one of awe, not dread.

"It seems that way, " Laurie said with a smile. "I haven't unconditionally agreed yet, but as you can see Paul has convinced me to take the ring. We haven't even told our parents. You two are the first to know."

"We're flattered, " Jack managed to say while his mind churned for an explanation for this unexpected turn of events.

He'd thought of Laurie as being much too mature for what he considered adolescent behavior.

"It's been a whirlwind, " Laurie said. She looked at Paul for confirmation.

"I'd describe it more as a tempest, " Paul said with a lascivious wink.

Laurie and Paul then launched into an animated description of all the romantic things they'd been able to squeeze into the previous month.

Jack and Lou found themselves reduced to nodding at appropriate moments while maintaining forced smiles.

When the stories drew to a close, Paul stood and excused himself.

Laurie looked after him as he headed toward the rest rooms. Turning back to her two old friends, she sighed.

"He's really wonderful, isn't he? " she asked.

Jack and Lou looked at each other, hoping the other would respond.

"Well? " Laurie questioned.

Both Jack and Lou started speaking at the same time then hastily deferred to the other.

"What is this, a comedy routine? " Laurie demanded. Her beatific smile faded. "What's the matter with you two? "

"This situation has caught us off guard, " Jack finally admitted. "We'd both guessed you'd gotten a job offer and were going to move out on us.

We never thought you'd be getting married."

"And why not! " Laurie demanded. "That's almost insulting. What am I, too old? "

"I don't mean it that way, " Jack said meekly.

"How long have you known this man? " Lou asked.

"A couple of months, " Laurie said defensively. "I know that's not a lot of time, but I don't think that's so important. He's intelligent, warm, generous, confident, and willing and able to make a commitment.

And all those are important characteristics as far as I'm concerned.

Particularly the confidence and the ability to make a commitment." Both Jack and Lou couldn't help but feel indicted.

"I don't believe this, " Laurie said. "You two, of all people I know, I thought would-d be happy for me."

"What kind of business is he in?"

" Jack asked.

"What kind of a question is that? " Laurie demanded.

"Just a simple question, " Jack said timidly.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know, " Laurie said. "And I don't really care. It's him I'm interested in, not what he does for a living. You men are impossible."

"Have your parents met him? " Lou asked.

"Of course, " Laurie said. "I met him through my parents."

"That's nice, " Lou said.

Laurie let out a mirthless laugh. "This is not how I expected this evening to go." Neither Jack nor Lou knew quite what to say. Luckily they were rescued by Paul's return. He was in an ebullient mood, totally unaware of what had transpired during his brief absence. He started to reclaim his seat, but Laurie stood up.

"I think it's time we go, " Laurie said.

"No after-dinner drinks at the bar? " Paul asked.

"I think we've all had enough, " Laurie said. "And as Jack is wont to say, it is a school night." Jack smiled weakly. Sensing that he'd let Laurie down only made him feel worse. He got to his feet.

"Congratulations, you guys, " he said with manufactured enthusiasm.

"In the spirit of the occasion, Lou and I will take care of the tab."

"It's all taken care of already, " Paul said with an air of superiority.

"It's our treat."

"I'd prefer to pay, " Jack said. "It's only fair.

" ', Hogwash, " Paul said. He reached over and shook Jack's and Lou's hand.

"I've really enjoyed meeting Laurie's two closest friends. I can't tell you how highly she talks of you two and how often. It's enough to make a guy jealous." He laughed.

"See you tomorrow at the office, " Laurie said. She turned and started across the crowded dining room. Paul gave a final wave and hurried after her.

Jack looked at Lou. "What do you want to do? "

"Go home and shoot myself, " Lou said.

"You want company? " Jack asked.

The two men sank into their chairs. Jack felt shell-shocked. Laurie's getting married was worse than her going away. Instead of moving to the West Coast, it was more like her going to Venus. The episode startled him into realizing how much he'd been avoiding thoughts about the future. Guilt about his family still made it difficult for him to justify future happiness. That's why he found making a commitment so difficult.

Lou cradled his head in his hands. He was the picture of dejection.

"I've worried about Laurie getting married, " he said. "Especially to you."

"To me? " Jack questioned with surprise. "I actually worried she'd get married to you. I know you two dated before I came on the scene."

"You shouldn't have worried, " Lou said. "It wasn't to be.

It never would have worked. During the brief time we went out on a regular basis, I screwed it up. Every time there was the slightest blip, I thought she was breaking up with me, and I acted like an ass.

It drove both of us batty, and we ended up having a long talk about it.

Tonight when she mentioned about confidence' being an important personality characteristic for her, she was referring to me."

"The part about the ability to make a commitment was directed at me, " Jack said.

"Was that the problem between you two? " Lou asked. "I never could figure out what happened. You guys seemed natural for each other. You know, similar backgrounds, fancy schools, and all the rest of that bullshit."

"It was part of it, " Jack said. "But I'm so screwed up I don't even know all the reasons."

"It's a tragedy! " Lou complained.

"For you and for me. At least if she tied the knot with you, I could stay friends with both of you. When she marries this twerp, I'm out the door. I mean, I fantasized about Laurie and me staying friends even when they married. But tonight when I saw that rock on her finger, I instantly knew staying the kind of friends I envisioned was out of the question."

"I guess I was unrealistically hoping the present would never change, " Jack said.

Lou nodded and thought for a moment before asking, "What did you think of this guy? "

"A snake in the grass, " Jack said without hesitation.

"But I don't know how objective I can be. I'm obviously jealous. It bugged me how they kept touching each other."

"It rubbed me the wrong way as well, " Lou said with another nod.

"Like puppy love. It was disgusting. But I question my objectivity, too. Yet it all seems too quick to me, like the guy's after her money even though she doesn't have any. Of course that can be the cynical detective talking." Jack shook his head dejectedly. "We can sit here and say nasty things about him, but the fact is, he's a lot more spontaneous than we are, and he's got a lot more bucks. I mean, going to Paris for the weekend!

There's no way I could do that. Worrying about how much it was costing would drive me bananas, and I'd be miserable to be with."

"It makes me mad to think that there are people that can do that sort of thing, " Lou said. "What with my alimony payments and raising two kids, I'm lucky to have two nickels to scrape together."

"Envious might be a better word than mad, " Jack said.

Lou scraped back his chair and stood up. "I got to get home to bed before I get too depressed. I've been up for two straight days."

"I'm with you, " Jack said.

The two men wormed their way out of the restaurant feeling all the more depressed in light of the festive atmosphere.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18

10:15 P. M. After Curt and Steve left, Yuri had gone down to his beloved lab. The first thing he did was repair the damage Connie had caused when she'd pried off the padlocks. To be on the safe side he bolted the hasps to the door rather than replace the screws. With that setup, an intruder would most likely need something more powerful than a crowbar to pull them loose.

While he worked, he thought about Curt and Steve's disturbing visit.

He was taken aback by their anger, particularly their anger about his stopping by the firehouse. The explanation that he was a security risk because he was a foreigner with a Russian accent didn't ring true. New York was much too cosmopolitan a city. Every other person had an accent.

Yuri thought there had to be another reason why they didn't want him seen there. Although he couldn't think of what it might have been, it made him feel uncomfortable. For the first time Yuri began to question where he stood with Curt and Steve. He knew they were strong on prejudice, so the thought passed through his mind they might be prejudiced against him, and if that was the case they certainly weren't the friends he zmagmea.

The other source of their angerthat Connie was black was equally mysterious. It wasn't so much the prejudice itself that surprised yuri. He was well aware of Curt and Steve's racial bigotry. What got him was the amount of anger involved. It was so out of proportion, and the pseudo-religious explanation Steve had given seemed contrived. Neither Curt nor Steve had ever said anything to suggest they were at all religious. And finally, there was the issue of the pest control truck and aerosolizer. Yuri couldn't understand why they'd not obtained it yet.

That was an important part of the agreement. Without it, Yuri would not be able to carry out his part of the operation. He needed a sprayer, and he needed it to be mobile. A point source was not anywhere near as effective.