‘Oh, so he’s on the road.’
‘I guess so.’
‘Where will you be?’
‘With the squad. I’ll actually be staying in Baltimore, on the harbor.’
‘And Lucy?’ I asked again, this time in a way she couldn’t evade. ‘Do you want to tell me what’s really going on, Janet?’
I breathed my filtered air, looking through glass at someone I knew could never lie to me.
‘Everything okay?’ I pressed harder.
‘Dr Scarpetta, I’m here by myself for two reasons,’ she finally said. ‘First, Lucy and I got into a huge fight about your going online with this guy. So everyone involved thought it would be better if she wasn’t the one to talk to you about it.’
‘I can understand that,’ I said. ‘And I agree.’
‘My second reason is a far more unpleasant one,’ she went on. ‘It’s about Carrie Grethen.’
I was astonished and enraged at the mere mention of her name. Years ago, when Lucy was developing CAIN, she had worked with Carrie. Then ERF had been broken into, and Carrie had seen to it that my niece was blamed. There were murders, too, sadistic and terrible, that Carrie had been accomplice to with a psychopathic man.
‘She’s still in prison,’ I said.
‘I know. But her trial is scheduled for the spring,’ Janet said.
‘I’m well aware of that.’ I didn’t understand what she was getting at.
‘You’re the key witness. Without you, the Commonwealth doesn’t have much of a case. At least not when you’re talking about a jury trial.’
‘Janet, I am most confused,’ I said, and my headache was back with fury.
She took a deep breath. ‘I’m sure you must be aware that there was a time when Lucy and Carrie were close.’ She hesitated. ‘Very close.’
‘Of course,’ I impatiently said. ‘Lucy was a teenager and Carrie seduced her. Yes, yes, I know all about it.’
‘So does Percy Ring.’
I looked at her, shocked.
‘It seems that yesterday, Ring went to see the C.A. who’s prosecuting the case, uh, Rob Schurmer. Ring tells him, one buddy to another, that he’s got a major problem since the star witness’s niece had an affair with the defendant.’
‘My God in heaven.’ I could not believe this. ‘That fucking bastard.’
I was a lawyer. I knew what this meant. Lucy would have to take the stand and be questioned about her affair with another woman. The only way to avoid this was for me to be struck as a witness, allowing Carrie to get away with murder.
‘What she did has nothing to do with Carrie’s crimes,’ I said, so angry with Ring I felt capable of violence.
Janet switched the phone to her other ear, trying to be smooth. But I could see her fear.
‘I don’t need to tell you how it is out there,’ she said. ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell. It’s not tolerated, no matter what anybody says. Lucy and I are so careful. People may suspect, but they don’t really know, and it’s not like we walk around in leather and chains.’
‘Not hardly.’
‘I think this would ruin her,’ she matter-of-factly stated. ‘The publicity, and I can’t imagine HRT when she shows up after that. All those big guys. Ring’s just doing this to do her in, and maybe you, too. And maybe me. This won’t exactly help my career, either.’
She didn’t need to go on. I understood.
‘Does anyone know what Schurmer’s response was when Ring told him?’
‘He freaked, called Marino and said he didn’t know what he was going to do, that when the defense found out, he was cooked. Then Marino called me.’
‘Marino has said nothing to me.’
‘He didn’t want to upset you right now,’ she said. ‘And he didn’t think it was his place.’
‘I see,’ I said. ‘Does Lucy know?’
‘I told her.’
‘And?’
‘She kicked a hole in the bedroom wall,’ Janet answered. ‘Then she said if she had to, she’d take the stand.’
Janet pressed her palm against the glass, spreading her fingers, waiting for me to do the same. It was as close as we could get to touching, and my eyes teared up.
‘I feel as if I’ve committed a crime,’ I said, clearing my throat.