“Oh no. I drove him to the bus station, which George gave me directions to.”
“George?”
“The guard on duty at the time. At the guard gate. I guess this would have been close to nine.”
“Then Rick’s gone back to Norfolk.”
“I don’t know what he’s done,” she said. “He told me as we were driving that he was certain Danny would show up. He probably has no idea.”
“God. Let’s hope he doesn’t unless he heard it on the news. Let’s hope he wasn’t there,” I said.
The thought of Lucy alone with this stranger in her car filled me with terror, and in my mind I saw Danny’s head.
I felt shattered bone beneath gloves slippery with his blood.
“Rick’s considered a suspect?” She was surprised.
“At the moment, just about anybody is.”
I picked up the phone at the bar. Marino had just gotten home, too, and before I could say anything, he butted in.
“We found the cartridge case.”
“Great,” I said, relieved. “Where?”
“if you’re on the road looking down toward the tunnel, it was in a bunch of undergrowth about ten feet to the right of the path where the blood starts.”
“A right port ejector,” I said.
“Had to be, unless both Danny and his killer were going downhill backwards. And this asshole meant business. He was shooting a forty-five. The ammo’s Winchester.”
“Overkill,” I said.
“You got that right. Someone wanted to make sure he was dead.”
“Marino,” I said, “Lucy met Danny’s friend tonight.”
“You mean the guy driving her car?”
“Yes,” and I explained what I knew.
“Maybe this thing’s making a little more sense,” he said. “The two of them got separated on the road, but in Danny’s mind it didn’t matter because he’d given his pal directions and a phone number.”
“Can someone try to find out who Rick is before he disappears? Maybe intercept him when he gets off the bus?” I asked.
“I’ll call Norfolk P.D. I got to anyway because somebody’s got to go over to Danny’s house and notify his family before they hear about this from the media.”
“His family lives in Chesapeake,” I told him the bad news, and I knew I would need to talk to them, too.
“Shit,” Marino said.
“Don’t talk to Detective Roche about any of this, and I don’t want him anywhere near Danny’s family.”
“Don’t worry. And you’d better get hold of Dr. Mant.”
I tried the number for his mother’s flat in London, but there was no answer, and I left an urgent message. There i were so many calls to make, and I was drained. I sat next to Lucy on the couch.
“How are you doing?” I said.
“Well, I looked at the catechism but I don’t think I’m ready to be confirmed.”
“I hope someday you will be.”
“I have a headache that won’t go away.”
“You deserve one.”
“You’re absolutely right.” She rubbed her temples.
“Why do you do it after all you’ve been through?
could not help but ask.
“I don’t always know why. Maybe because I have to be such a tight-ass all the time.
Same thing with a lot of the agents. We run and lift and do everything right. Then we blow it off on Friday night.”
“Well, at least you were in a safe place to do that this time.”
“Don’t you ever lose control?” She met my eyes. “Because I’ve never seen it.”
“I’ve never wanted you to see it,” I said. “That’s all you ever saw with your mother, and you’ve needed someone to feel safe with.”
“But you didn’t answer my question.” She held my gaze.
“What? Have I ever been drunk?”
She nodded.
“It isn’t something to be proud of, and I’m going to bed.” I got up.
“More than once?” Her voice followed me as I walked off.
I stopped in the doorway and faced her. “Lucy, throughout my long, hard life there isn’t much I haven’t done. And I have never judged you for anything you’ve done. I’ve only worried when I thought your behavior placed you in harm’s way.” I spoke in understatements yet again.
“Are you worried about me now?”