the Outer Banks?”
“That’s it.”
“I don’t think I need to fiddle them anymore. Too much time
has passed for them to find her now. I think we’re home free–
well, at least for the moment.”
Silence.
“Hatch, I know you’re lighting a cigarette in a closed phone
booth. Put it out right now or I’ll fire you.”
Silence.
“Is it out?”
“Yeah, boss. I swear it’s out. I didn’t even get one decent puff.”
“Swell news for your lungs. Now, what about the NYPD?”
“They’re talking to their counterparts all over the country, just
like the Feebs are. But hey–nothing, nada, zippo. This Detective
Morales is a wreck, probably hasn’t slept for three days. All he can
talk about is how she called him, repeated to him that she’d told
him everything, and he wasn’t able to talk her in. There’s this other
detective, a woman name of Letitia Gordon, who evidently hates
Ms. Matlock’s guts. Claims she’s a liar, a nutcase, and probably a
murderer. Old Letitia really wants to bring her down. She’s pushing
everyone to charge her with the murder of that old bag lady
outside the Metropolitan Museum. You know, the murder Ms.
Matlock reported? The one the stalker did to get her attention?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Well, they told Detective Gordon to pull her head out of her
armpit and try for a bit of objectivity. The woman’s really got it in
for our gal.”
Adam made a rude noise. “Let Detective Gordon get hives over it
for all we care. Neither Thomas nor I ever believed they were going
to charge her with murder. But a material witness? That’s possible.
And you know as well as I do that the cops couldn’t protect her from
this stalker. Nope, that’s our job. Now, what do you have on McCallum?”
Adam wasn’t expecting anything, so he wasn’t disappointed
when Hatch sighed and said, “Not a thing as of yet. A real pro
spearheaded this operation, boss, just like you thought.”
“Unfortunately, it can’t be Krimakov because Thomas finally got
him tracked down. He was living on Crete, and as of a week ago,
he’s dead. I’m not sure of the exact date. But it was before McCallum
was run down in Albany. I guess Krimakov could have been
involved, but he certainly wasn’t running the show, and that’s not
his MO. Anything Krimakov was involved in, he was the Big
Leader. Thomas is willing to bet his ascot on that. But if Krimakov
was somehow involved, it means he knew about Becca being Matock’s
daughter. Jesus, it makes me crazy.”
“Nah, the guy’s dead. This is a new nutcase, fresh out of the
woodwork, and he’s picked Becca.”
Adam scratched his head and added, “No, I don’t think so,
Hatch. It’s got to be some sort of conspiracy, there’s just no other
answer. Lots of folk involved. But why did they focus on Ms. Matlock?
Why put her in the middle? I keep coming back to Krimakov,
but I know, logically, that it just can’t be. Someone,
something else, is driving this. How’s the governor?”
“I hear his neck is a bit sore, but he’ll live. He doesn’t know a
thing, that’s what he claims. He’s very upset about McCallum.”
Adam sat there and thought and thought. The same questions
over and over again. No answers.
Silence.
Put out the cigarette, Hatch. I know about your girlfriend. She
loves silk lingerie and expensive steaks. You can’t afford to lose your
job.”
“Okay, boss.”
Adam heard some papers shuffling, heard some mild curses, and
smiled. “Anything else?”
“Yeah, of course there’s no positive ID on that skeleton that
popped out of Ms. Matlock’s basement wall. For sure it was a
teenage girl who got her head bashed in some ten or more years
ago. I did find out something sort of neat, though.”
“Yeah?”
“It turns out there was an eighteen-year-old girl who just up
and disappeared from Riptide, Maine. Now ain’t that a neat coincidence?”
“I’ll say. When?”
“Twelve years ago.”
“No one’s heard from her since?”
“I’m not completely sure about that. If she’s still unaccounted
for and they decide she’s a good bet, then they’ll do DNA tests on