“They transferred her out to the Washington Field Office to do white-collar crime. So at least she’s not far away.”
“This must have been recent.” I was puzzled.
“Real recent.” Lucy rested her forearms on her knees.
“And where is she tonight?”
“Her family’s got a condo in Aspen.”
My silence asked the question, and her voice was irritated as she answered it. “No, I wasn’t invited. And not just because Janet and I aren’t getting along. It just wasn’t a good idea.”
“I see.” I hesitated before adding, “Then her parents still don’t know.”
“Hell, who does know? You think we don’t hide it at work? So we go to things together and each of us gets to watch the other being hit on by men. That’s a special pleasure,” she bitterly said.
“I know what it’s like at work,” I said. “It’s no different than I told you it would be.
What I’m more interested in is Janet’s family.”
Lucy stared at her hands. “It’s mostly her mom. To tell you the truth, I don’t think her dad would care. He’s not going to assume it’s because of something he did wrong, like
my mother assumes. Only she assumes it’s because of something you did wrong since you pretty much raised me and are my mother, according to her.”
There was little point in my defending myself against the ignorant notions of my only sister, Dorothy, who unfortunately happened to be Lucy’s parent.
“And Mother has another theory now, too. She says you’re the first woman I fell in love with, and somehow that explains everything,” Lucy went on in an ironic tone.
“Never mind that this would be called incest or that you’re straight. Remember, she writes these insightful children’s books, so she’s an expert in psychology and apparently is a sex therapist, too.
“I’m sorry you have to go through all this on top of everything else,” I said with feeling. I never knew quite what to do when we had these conversations. They were still new to me, and in some ways scary.
“Look”-she got up as Marino walked into the living room–some things you just live with.”
“Well, I got news for you,” Marino announced, “the weather forecast is that this crap is going to melt. So come tomorrow morning, all of us should be able to get out of here.”
“Tomorrow’s New Year’s Day,” Lucy said. “For the sake of argument, why should we get out of here?”
“Because I need to take your aunt to Eddings’ crib.” He paused before adding, “And Benton needs to get his ass there, too.”
I did not visibly react. Benton Wesley was the unit chief of the Bureau’s Criminal Investigative Analysis program, and I had hoped I would not have to see him during the holidays.
“What are you telling me?” I quietly said.
He sat down on the sofa and regarded me thoughtfully for a pause. Then he answered my question with one of his own, “I’m curious about something, Doc. How would you poison someone underwater?”
“Maybe it didn’t happen underwater,” Lucy suggested.
“Maybe he swallowed cyanide before he went diving.”
“No. That’s not what happened,” I said. “Cyanide is very corrosive, and had he taken it orally, I would have seen extensive damage to his stomach. Probably to his esophagus and mouth, as well.”
“So what could have happened?” Marino asked.
“I think he inhaled cyanide gas.”
He looked baffled. “How? Through the compressor?”
“it draws air through an intake valve that’s covered with a filter,” I reminded him.
“What someone could have done was simply mix a little hydrochloric acid with a cyanide tablet and hold the vial close enough to the intake valve for the gas to be drawn in.”
“If Eddings inhaled cyanide gas while he was down there,” Lucy said, “what would have happened?”
“A seizure, then death. In seconds.”
I thought of the snagged air hose and wondered if Eddings had been close to the Exploiter’s screw when he suddenly inhaled cyanide gas through his regulator. That might explain the position he was in when I found him.
“Can you test the hookah for cyanide?” Lucy asked.
“Well, we can try,” I said, “but I don’t expect to find anything unless the cyanide tablet was placed directly on the valve’s filter. Even so, things may have been tampered with by the time I got there. We might have better luck with the section of hose that was closest to the body. I’ll start tox testing tomorrow, if I can get anybody to come into the lab on a holiday.”