Suspicion (23 page)

  "I hope you’re right."

  He sat down again, hitching his chair a little closer. "Besides looking like the man Tony saw outside Lilly’s

  building, is there anything familiar about that man? Do you have any idea who he might be?"

  "No. But I think I know whom he works for."

  He looked startled. "Who?"

  "Maddy Mays. The owner of the Europa Hotel."

  Mitch’s reaction wasn’t quite what she had expected. There was no shock at the mention of the famous woman’s name, no look of surprise. Just a flicker of interest. "What makes you think that?"

  Without revealing the identity of her informant, she told him what she had found out about Maddy and about her visit to the Europa Hotel.

  "Was Maddy upset by your questions?" Mitch asked. "Or angry?"

  "If she was, she didn’t show it. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Mays couldn’t have been nicer. Or more cooperative."

  "She’s a charmer all right. But don’t you ever make the mistake of trusting her."

  Kate’s attention perked up. "Why? What do you know about her?"

  "Only that her connections extend far and wide and that she was once suspected of killing a man. The charges were later dropped for insufficient evidence."

  "I don’t remember that."

  "It happened in New York, long before she married Henry Mays. She was smart enough to discuss it briefly in her autobiography a few years ago, before some overzealous reporter got wind of the story and made too much of it."

  "You wouldn’t happen to know if one of her employees fits my attacker’s description, would you?"

  "No, but it should be easy enough to find out."

  "I’m not so sure. If he does work for Maddy and if

  she is as smart as you say, she’ll ask him to lie low for a while."

  "If he’s in Washington, I’ll find him." Mitch leaned forward, his expression deadly serious. "But before I do that, you and I have to come to an understanding."

  She looked surprised. "About what?"

  "Your safety. Last night was just a warning, Kate."

  "I told you I would be a lot more careful from now on."

  "That’s not going to be enough. You’re dealing with killers here, people who have gone to great lengths to cover up whatever it is they’re covering up."

  "If you’re about to ask me to drop the case-"

  "I’d be wasting my breath," he finished, giving her that lopsided, and rather endearing, smile of his. "But you can let them think that you’ve dropped the case, both cases-Tony’s appeal and Gina’s murder-since it’s now obvious that they’re connected. But for the ploy to work, you’ll have to make everyone believe that you’ve withdrawn. And I mean everyone, Kate-Rencheck, Tony, Douglas, Rose, even Frankie."

  "Frankie is my right hand," she protested. "My friend. She knows as much about my cases as I do. And Douglas is family. I could never lie to him about something like that."

  "I didn’t say it would be easy. Just remember that the more people who know about your decision, the more believable it will sound to the people who are after you. And the safer you’ll be."

  "How do you expect me to conduct an investigation if I can’t come and go as I please?"

  "By working covertly. And by letting me do most of the leg work."

  Kate studied him with renewed interest. She may have

  been risking her life for an ex-husband, but Mitch Calhoon was risking his career for someone he hardly knew. "Are you sure you want to do that? When I was working in the U.S. attorney’s office, such chivalry toward a defense attorney would have been frowned upon."

  "Oh, I’m well aware of the adversarial nature within our legal system. But I also believe that both sides seek the same goal-justice. And if in order to achieve that goal, a police officer must occasionally team up with a defense counsel…" He shrugged. "I see nothing wrong with that."

  She brushed toast crumbs from the sheet. "Is that what we’ve become, then? A team?"

  He smiled. "Too challenging for you?"

  "Just intriguing." She cocked her head to the side. "You no longer believe Eric killed Gina, do you?"

  Mitch shook his head. "Too many things don’t add up."

  "Like what?"

  "Like Winslow’s death for one thing, and that mysterious ape attacking you last night. Someone is scared, Kate. Very scared."

  "Did you tell that to the U.S. attorney?"

  "The man is stubborn as a mule. He won’t listen to a word I say until Eric turns himself in."

  Kate sighed. "I wish there was a way I could tell Eric that. He must be a wreck."

  "He hasn’t called back since the other morning?"

  Under his amused gaze, she felt her cheeks color again. "How did you know it was him?"

  "Oh, come on, you didn’t think I bought that secretary act, did you?"

  Kate felt like a ten-year-old caught with her hand in

  the cookie jar. "I’m sorry about that. I didn’t know what to do."

  "Don’t worry about it. We have more important matters to discuss."

  "Like what? What did you find out?"

  "Do you remember an alleged rape case several years ago involving a college woman and the son of Senator McKackney?"

  "Quite well. I was a freshman at Georgetown U at the time. When my mother heard the news, she wanted me to come home. When I wouldn’t do it, she made me swear never to go out on a date without thoroughly checking the man." Kate frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

  "Maybe a lot." He told her about his visit to the Carteris Modeling Agency and his conversation with Sean McKackney.

  Kate’s eyes widened. "Gina Lamont was Sean McKackney’s alibi?"

  "You see the implications here, Kate? And why someone would kill to keep it all under wraps?" He gave her a moment to digest the news, then asked, "Did you know that Douglas was Sean McKackney’s attorney at the time?"

  "No, but I’m not surprised. Douglas and Senator McKackney are old friends. They went to law school together."

  "If I’m right, and Mary Sweeney’s alibi was fabricated, do you think Douglas could have been in on it?"

  Kate didn’t even have to think about that question. "Not Douglas. He has too much respect for his profession to be part of such a deception. Even for a friend. On the other hand…" She tapped her index finger against her chin. "I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if McKackney senior

  engineered that scheme and then convinced Douglas it was the truth. It wouldn’t be the first time that a smart, conniving client pulled the wool over his attorney’s eyes."

  From downstairs came the sound of the front door closing.

  "That’s Maria," Kate said, glancing at the clock on her bedside table.

  "Good. You can start by telling her that you’ll no longer be working on Tony’s appeal."

  He saw Kate’s eyes fill with panic. "Not Maria. Mitch, I can’t. She’s gone through too much."

  Standing up, he squeezed her hand. "You have to do it, Kate. It’s the only way to guarantee your safety. And Alison’s."

  "Madre de Dios!"

  Sitting in the chair Mitch had occupied a few minutes earlier, Maria crossed her hands over her breast as Kate finished telling her about last night’s attack.

  "Are you sure you are all right?" Her soft brown eyes filled with worry. "And Alison?"

  "I’m fine, Maria. And so is Alison. To make sure she stays safe, however, starting today, she will be driven to and from school by either Rose, Douglas or Joseph, and she’ll be allowed to visit only a few of her friends. She won’t like it, but I can’t help that."

  Still looking troubled, Maria nodded. Kate bit her bottom lip, at a sudden loss for words. Maria had placed so much faith in Kate, in her ability to free Tony. How could she destroy that faith and maintain their friendship at the same time?

  "Can I bring you anything before I start the wash?" Maria asked, rising. "More coffee or-"

  "No." Kate took Maria’s hand and held it. "There is something else I need to tell you. I’m afraid you’re not going to like it, Maria."

  Maria sat down again. "Is it about Tonio? About the appeal?"

  "In a way." She continued to look at her housekeeper, feeling miserable. "That man frightened me very much last night, Maria, but even more frightening was what he threatened to do to Alison."

  "Of course. She is your baby." It was obvious from the look of concern on Maria’s face that she hadn’t yet realized what Kate was trying to tell her.

  "If it were only me," Kate continued, "I wouldn’t care. But I can’t take a chance with my daughter. Even with all the additional precautions I’ve taken, they could still get to her if they wanted to. If I gave them a reason to."

  Maria’s hand went to her throat. "You won’t be working on Tony’s appeal anymore, will you?" Her voice trembled with sudden panic. "That’s what you are trying to tell me."

  "Yes." The single word came out as a shameful whisper. "I’m sorry, Maria. I wish there was another way of handling this, but there isn’t. The man who attacked me made that very clear. Either I stop investigating those two cases, Tony’s and Eric’s, or he’ll hurt Alison."

  "What is going to happen to Tonio?"

  "I was talking to Douglas before you came up. He gave me the name of an excellent attorney, one who specializes in appellate law. And he’ll do it pro bono, as a favor to Douglas."

  "I don’t want his charity." Maria pulled herself up straight. "It was bad enough that you would not take any money. I’m not going to let a stranger do the same."

  "But, Maria, attorneys do that all the time-"

  "I want to pay him," she said stubbornly. "I have some money saved. And if it’s not enough, I can pay him a little each week. Otherwise, I will find a lawyer of my own."

  Knowing that Maria’s pride was as unshakable as the woman herself, Kate didn’t argue. She would make it up to her later, in the form of a bonus. "Then you’re not upset with me?" she asked. "You understand that I have no choice?"

  Maria nodded. "I’m upset, but not with you. I know that Alison has always come first in your life, just as my Tonio comes first in mine." She walked over to the dresser and picked up the breakfast tray. "I’d better get to work. I have a lot to do."

  "All right, Maria." Kate watched her leave and hoped Tony would be just as understanding.

  "The lieutenant wants to see you," Tom Spivak said as Mitch arrived at the station a few minutes before noon. "And he’s in a foul mood."

  "So what else is new?" Mitch muttered as he headed toward the glassed-in office at the other end of the room.

  Jarvis was standing in front of the door, the jacket of his navy blue suit open. His fists were on his hips and he looked as though he was about to pounce on anyone who came through the door. "What the fuck have you done now, Calhoon?"

  Annoyed that half the squad room had heard the crude greeting, Mitch slammed the door shut. "I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?" It wasn’t the most diplomatic way to handle a superior officer, but what the hell, he was tired of being treated like a bumbling rookie.

  "I just got a call from Senator McKackney. He’s practically foaming at the mouth. He said you accused his son of having killed Gina Lamont."

  "I didn’t accuse him of anything. I merely questioned him."

  "What the hell for?"

  "I found out that Gina Lamont and Mary Sweeney were one and the same. You remember Mary Sweeney, don’t you, Lieutenant? The sweet girl who gave Sean McKackney that convenient alibi after he was arrested on suspicion of rape sixteen years ago?"

  "If by convenient you mean phony, you’re dead wrong, my friend. Mary Sweeney told the truth that night. I should know. I was the arresting officer."

  "The same Mary Sweeney who later became a hooker? And a blackmailer? Come on, Lieutenant, don’t tell me you don’t smell a rat here."

  "The operative word is ‘later,’" Jarvis snapped. "What the girl became is irrelevant. At the time she made her statement, she was clean. That’s all that counts."

  "That’s not as I see it. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let some high-powered senator tell me how to do my job. This is my case and I’ll investigate it any damn way I please."

  Jarvis turned red. "The hell you will. Effective right now, you’re off this case."

  Stunned, Mitch stared at him. "What did you say?"

  "You heard me. You’re off the Lamont murder case. I’m giving it to Spivak."

  "Why are you doing this? Are you that scared of McKackney?"

  "You’re out of line, Calhoon."

  "And you’re not being fair. You’re letting-"

  "You want fair?" Jarvis banged his fist on his desk. "I’ll give you fair. Senator McKackney wanted you suspended. He told me that if I didn’t fire you, he would sue you and this department for defamation of character and everything else he could think of. And don’t think for one moment that he couldn’t have made it stick. The only way I could get him to back off was to agree to give the case to someone else. So instead of accusing me of being unfair, show a little gratitude, will you? I saved your job. Maybe even your ass."

  "You can shove the job, Lieutenant," Mitch snapped. "I don’t want it." Reaching into his breast pocket, he pulled out his shield and slammed it on Jarvis’s desk. Then, removing his service revolver, he laid it next to the shield. "Tell the senator that some cops can’t be scared off."

  Then as Jarvis, whose mouth had dropped open, started to say something, Mitch stormed out of his office.

  Situated within sight of the U.S. Capitol, the Irish Times was a Celtic pub in the true Irish tradition, and a favorite of young, hip lobbyists and congressional aids who liked to be seen.