Maybe (21 page)

“THEY’RE STILL CHECKING Gundy’s house,” Lou says, “and they’re going to pin the Derby City Fair attack on him, but they’re not going to declare him responsible for poisoning the kids in Nashville.”

“Why not?”

“The official explanation?”

“Go ahead.”

“They don’t have enough evidence.”

“What’s the real reason?”

“My opinion?”

“Yeah.”

“I think the administration doesn’t want to admit they failed to issue a warning when you made the recommendation.”

“And why didn’t they?”

“They thought it would create a panic situation. Plus, they weren’t convinced one guy did it, or that he’d do it again.”

“Technically they were right. He didn’t put poison in any other dispensers, as far as we know.”

“No. But he did something far worse with the ricin. And you know the media culture we’re dealing with today, right?”

“Yeah. No matter who you are, or what you’ve done, or how many people you’ve helped, or what you’ve stood for all your life, the only thing that counts is if you could have done more. If they can make a case you could have done more, you’re toast.”

“And the president doesn’t want to be toast,” Lou says.

“Which is why he’s going to work with me on this Dani Ripper thing.”

“Do you really want me to go so far as to threaten the president?”

“No. I want you to tell Sherm Phillips I’m threatening the president.”

“What’s the threat, specifically?”

“You’re taping me.”

He pauses. “Yes.”

“The specific threat is the president could have done more. I warned him this guy was going to keep attacking. I happen to know Dani and Sophie are innocent, and I like having Sal Bonadello owing me a huge favor.”

“Donovan?”

“Yeah?”

“You sort of rambled there. What’s the specific threat you’re making?”

“I’ll tell the media the president could have done more.”

“And if he says it’s your word against his?”

“I’ll explain how we found the guy, and how we know he killed those children at the birthday party in Nashville. And you know what’s really scary?”

“What’s that?”

“I bet Gundy did some other shit we don’t even know about yet. Which means the president can
still
do more.”

“Got it. I’ll let you know what he says.”

To my surprise, I get my answer forty minutes later.

“Sherm says this thing with Dani and Sophie is going to be on your ass.”

“Okay.”

“I’m serious, Donovan. If it turns out you’re wrong, and one or both of them killed Dani’s husband, they’re going to sell you out.”

“I can live with that. So how’s it going down?”

“You’ll meet with Agent Chase on Sunday. He’ll show you the evidence. He’s hard core, meaning, he’s not going to drop the case without interviewing the girl.”

“But?”

“But you’ll go with him to Sophie’s house for the interview. You’ll watch how Dani handles the questions. If you’re convinced she’s innocent, you’ll make the call. He’ll abide by your decision.”

“He’s okay with me impersonating an FBI agent?”

“He is not. But the president okayed it.”

“Personally?”

“No, of course not. But yes, through Sherm. So how does all this sound to you?”

“Perfect, for two reasons. First, I get to meet Dani in person. Second, I get to spend two more days with Miranda.”

“Good for you.”

“Speaking of good things, I’m very happy for your promotion.”

“I only got it because you didn’t want it.”

“That’s not true. You’re a diplomat. They respect that.”

“I suspect Holden Prescott didn’t want me, but he must have been outvoted. It helped that I took all the credit for you catching and killing Miles Gundy.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you and the geeks. So, do you have a code name yet?”

“They decided against the whole code name dynamic. None of them knew for sure who Darwin was. They don’t want to make the same mistake twice.”

“Well, either way, I’m proud to work for you, Lou. You’ll be a helluva better boss than Darwin.”

He laughs. “Work for me? You’ve never worked for anyone in your life! You’ll only do the things you agree with. We both know that. The difference between me and Darwin is I know not to expect anything else.”

“See what I mean? You’re already better at this than Darwin.”

AGENT CHASE DOESN’T like me.

Ask me if I give a shit.

Look at him leering at me. He’s as big and powerful as a horse, and as fit as you can get outside of prison. He’s also really steamed, which would work against him in a fight.

He’s sizing me up, convinced he can take me.

But he’s wrong.

He’s a rough, tough, no-nonsense guy, but there are different ways to measure tough. He tests his against recruits. I test mine against the military’s latest torture weapons. Over four years I’ve built up my stamina against the ADS weapon. The one they banned citing it cruel and inhumane. See, the army’s only allowed to use humane weapons in combat situations these days. I can handle twenty-two seconds of constant exposure to the ADS weapon. Second best in the world is three seconds. You think the difference of nineteen seconds is a small one? Let me put it in perspective. The three-second guy would kick Agent Chase’s ass.

Don’t fuck with me, Agent Chase. I don’t play fair.

I’ve read up on Agent Chase these past two days, and asked around. He’s got a reputation as a fierce fighter, with years of hand-to-hand combat training under his ninth-degree black belt. Maybe before this is over he’ll try to show me how tough he is.

Agent Chase is a hard-working, honest man, and the world is better off for having people like him in it. I respect him, and that’s the truth. But he needs to sit there and deal with it, because this thing with Dani and Sophie has already been decided.

It’s political.

You hate politics, don’t you, Agent Chase?

Me too.

But while this is politics, I happen to be on the right side. You’re convinced Dani and Sophie are guilty, but you’re wrong. For you to be right, Sal Bonadello has to be wrong.

And Sal isn’t wrong.

You have a greater respect for evidence than Sal does. Maybe it’s because you never planted evidence.

Sal has. In fact, he’s a master of planting evidence. And he says the evidence against Ben and Dani was planted, but not by his niece or Dani.

And I believe him.

So deal with it.

This is as good a time as any to stop giving me your evil game-face stare. It means nothing to me. While I respect the hell out of you, I’m not going to hold back if you come at me. You and I are like Ernest Hemingway and Jack Dempsey. Jack always refused to box exhibitions with Ernest Hemingway because Hemingway was a big guy with a lot of training. In other words, in his world, he could fight. He had just enough training to be dangerous. When a man is dangerous, a guy like Dempsey can’t take the time to pull his punches.

Jack didn’t refuse to fight Hemingway because he feared him.

He refused to fight him because he respected him, and didn’t want to hurt, or possibly kill him.

That’s how I feel about Agent Chase.

These gym boxers and self-defense experts think they can handle themselves because they’ve kicked ass all their lives in the real world. But the real world isn’t Jack Dempsey’s world of elite fighters, and it’s not my world. I kill killers and terrorists, not angry civilians and bank robbers. The people I fight don’t come at you the way they do in the FBI handbook.

Agent Chase needs to cool the fuck down. Because there’s always a moment of truth when these hard asses learn what
kill or be killed
really means. It means when the attack gets out of hand there’s no one in the room blowing a whistle to end the carnage.

I speak to him respectfully. I go so far as to tell him I respect him.

That seems to help. He’s not happy, but he’s talking. Maybe we’ll be friends before this is over. Wait, he’s about to say something warm and fuzzy.

“You respect me?” he says. “I’m one of the good guys. I don’t need your respect. And don’t kid yourself we’re going to be friends when this is over. I’ve asked around. I know all about you. I want it on the record between us that I don’t approve of you or what you stand for. It’s people like you who weaken the moral fiber of our country.”

“Is your office in downtown Cincinnati?” I ask.

“Yeah. So what?”

I decide he knows nothing about me. I could explain how I saved his life by preventing downtown Cincinnati from being wiped off the face of the earth a few years back, but that information is classified beyond his pay grade.

“Were you making a threat just now, Mr. Creed?”

I sigh. He’s trying to goad me, calling me “mister” to prove I don’t have a title.

“Let’s just move along,” I say, “and I’ll stay out of your life as best I can.”

“That would be wise,” he says.

He tells me how the meeting with Dani Ripper is going to go down tomorrow.

We work out a signal. After the interview is concluded, if I’m still satisfied Dani’s innocent, I’ll put my hands together and form a steeple with my index fingers.

I demonstrate it, and he nods.

I’M NOT GOING to hit you with a bunch of details about the Dani Ripper back story and investigation. It’s fascinating, but that could take up a whole book.

Maybe Dani will write one someday.

For now, here’s what you need to know: Dani’s husband died in their home in Cincinnati last week while the house was surrounded by reporters. Dani was staying with her friend, Sophie, in Nashville, at the time. Everyone agrees Ben died of natural causes, but the evidence found at his home “proves” he raped and killed a local minor, Jaqui Moreland. Jaqui’s death has become a thorn in the side of local law enforcement. You know the drill, everyone’s hot to solve the case. If Ben is good for Jaqui’s murder, the city goes back to being a safe place to live and raise children.

It’s to everyone’s advantage that Ben killed Jaqui Moreland.

Except that Dani Ripper doesn’t believe it. She thinks Ben has been murdered and framed for the killing. She’s a private eye, and had been personally investigating Jaqui’s death. Had even been hired by Jaqui’s mother at one point, to help find her missing daughter.

Agent Chase thinks Dani knows more than she’s saying. He believes Dani knew her husband was a murderer, and may have been covering up for him.

Here’s Dani’s problem. If she’s right, and Ben was murdered and framed for raping and killing the little girl, she and Sophie become the prime suspects. Sophie has mob connections for the killing, and Dani had access to the house for planting the evidence.

Tomorrow morning Agent Chase is going to grill the beautiful and vulnerable Dani Ripper. He’s going to show her some gruesome crime scene photos and evidence, and I need to decide if her reaction to them is authentic.

In other words, did she know her husband was a murderer? Has she seen these pictures before? After judging her reaction, if I honestly believe she’s innocent, I have the power to shut down the investigation.

But what if I think she’s lying? What then?

Simple.

I’ll let Agent Chase do his job, and I’ll deal with Sal on my own.