“She doesn’t tell anybody about him because it’s early days yet,” Peabody put in. “And she feels a little foolish contemplating an affair with someone twenty years younger.”
“He doesn’t have a house ’link, he tells her, his pocket’s broken. He hasn’t gotten around to replacing it. He doesn’t want her contacting him yet. He needs to keep her anxious and off balance. He’s got the power. But she’s not next.”
“Somebody else is.” Concern covered Peabody’s face as she studied the images of possible targets Eve had displayed on the rear wall screen. “And probably this weekend.”
“He doesn’t get another one. Let’s take the child services supervisor, then the APA.”
She downed coffee between interviews and gave Peabody a twenty-minute break to grab a sandwich of her own.
She began to see the steps, the stages, the story that took place twenty years before, and thought she understood the players, their roles, their choices.
“She went down for him,” Roarke concluded. “He conned her into it, or convinced her in that call she made after the bust. ‘We can’t both go down, baby, who’ll take care of the boy?’ ”
“That, maybe,” Eve agreed, “but he’d already been in once. Prints on file. They’d bust him hard on the ID fraud if she admitted he’d been involved, and he’d do more than the eighteen months for the second offense. He’d use that. ‘You’ll do a year, sugar, and I’ll be there for you. If they look at me, it’s five to seven.’ ”
“You got that right. He had more on the line than she did.”
“And he’d need her to go down quick and clean, make it easy for the cops and the PA. No fuss, no muss, no looking too hard at him.”
“And more, I think more, if they both went down, there’d be no one to maintain their identities. He could push that. The center wouldn’t hold, and they’d be exposed for what they were. A lot more than a year and a half at stake. And she’s the one who got caught, wasn’t she? She’s the one who got careless. Why should they lose it all when she could suck it up?”
“That’s my take,” Eve agreed. “He’d already gone in once, and he wasn’t going back. Some time, some dealing, some pleading hardship, she could’ve gotten off with the year, and part of that, maybe most, in a halfway, mandatory rehab. But that would’ve made it risky for him. The quicker she goes down, the quicker he’s clear. But it’s more, I think.”
Sliding her hands into her pockets, she wandered the room so familiar—an illusion, but familiar. And remembered.
“With my mother, I’m vague. It’s blurry with only a few clear flashes. But I know—I knew—she hated the . . . fact of me. But she had me, and she stayed at least long enough for me to have a few pictures in my head, to remember specific events.”
“As Darrin Pauley does?”
“Whatever he remembers, or has been taught to remember is different. I know I wasn’t a child to either of them. I was a commodity. A potential income. But did they come up with that together, or did one convince the other? That’s a question I’ll never have the answer to, and isn’t important.”
She wouldn’t let it be important.
“But in this case, maybe it is.”
“Why she chose, or they chose to have the boy,” Roarke continued.
“She’s the player, the brains, the front man. He’s the manipulator who likes the flash and she taught him what she knew. The sex, the drugs, that’s cheap money, and lacks finesse. Quick and greedy, like you said. She had to have finesse to play Pauley for a year. And the kid? He should’ve been baggage, she should have shucked that off. She didn’t. So she either wanted the kid or she wanted Pauley—maybe both. The kid wasn’t a commodity. Maybe a cover, but even that’s a stretch.”
“Easier to move, to blend, to work the grift without an infant to tend to,” Roarke agreed.
“When Pauley got out, they could’ve left the kid with Vinnie. Poofed.”
“Taking them both, the woman Vinnie loved, the child he thought was his? It’s cruel.”
“Fits the pattern. She was clean and healthy, and they had a decent stake—one they stole from Vinnie—and in a couple of years, she’s using and soliciting. And it shapes up that he was running the show.”
“Easy money,” Roarke concurred, “with her doing the work.”
“It’s Pauley, he was her weakness. She whored for him, and dealt for him—and somewhere along the line he started running the show, looking for easier money, more flash, more cash. By the time she did her eighteen and they shifted to Chicago, he was in full charge.”
She took a breath. “That’s the way it was, that’s the way I remember it. The way it felt to me when I remember them together, or get those flashes of events. She was a junkie and a whore—and he ran the show. So maybe I’m projecting.”
“I don’t think so.”
She shook her head. “That’s for later, maybe it’ll be useful. We have to deal with the now. Let’s get Peabody back and take the judge.”
He went to her first, took her face in his hands. “Whatever you remember, or feel, you need to know that whatever they were they did one worthwhile thing in their miserable lives. And that was you. Whatever they were, they couldn’t destroy that. They couldn’t stop you from becoming.”
Judge Serenity Mimoto, a trim and tiny woman, studied the sketch of Darrin Pauley on screen. “He looks like his father.”
“You remember the father?”
Mimoto cut intense eyes to Eve. Their striking azure color radiated against smooth hazelnut skin. “I refreshed myself on the matter, and those involved, when your office contacted me earlier. I’m familiar with the details of the case. The defendant, through her attorney, had reached an agreement with the prosecutor. She pled guilty to all charges, with the APA recommending a sentence of eighteen months. Taking into account the nonviolent nature of the crimes, the lack of previous criminal record, the defendant’s cooperation and plea, I so ordered. She was remanded to the Minimum Security facility at Rikers.”
Mimoto nodded toward the screen again. “And I remember him, the baby in his father’s arms, crying for his mother. I allowed them a moment to say good-bye. She took the boy briefly, very briefly, then passed him to her attorney and embraced the man. I thought, so she has no comfort to give her son, but needs to take it from the father.”
“You haven’t seen him, the father or the son, since that day in court?”
“No, I don’t believe I have. If this young man’s case comes before me, when you’ve arrested him, I’ll be forced to recuse myself due to this conversation, and the previous connection. So I’ll ask you, Lieutenant, do you have enough for an arrest?”
“I believe we do, and will have more.”
Mimoto inclined her head. “You hope I can provide you with some of that more.”
“Yes, I do, and by doing so prevent him from harming someone close to you. You pronounced the sentence that put his mother in prison. Six months after her release, when she, her son, and her partner were going by different names, and I believe continuing the confidence games and illegal activities that resulted in her arrest and incarceration, she was raped and murdered in a manner nearly identical to that of my two victims.”
“And you believe this is the man responsible for two murders, because he somehow blames his mother’s death on her arrest and in carceration?”
Eve appreciated Mimoto’s calm demeanor as much as her quick understanding. “Yes, and I believe he’s been indoctrinated to make that connection throughout his life.”
Mimoto lifted a sharp black eyebrow. “That’s for the psychiatrists and lawyers to sort out. He won’t come after me. That’s a pity as it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been threatened or targeted in my twenty-six years on the bench. Someone in my family. I have a very large family, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, Your Honor, you do. Four siblings, all currently married, three children, also all currently married. Eight grandchildren.”
“And anoth
er on the way.”
“Ma’am. Your oldest granddaughter is also married.”
“And made me a great-grandmother only yesterday.”
“Oh.” That one hadn’t made the data records yet, Eve thought. How did anyone keep track? “Congratulations.”
“A boy. Spiro Clayton, seven pounds, eight ounces.”
“Um. Nice.” She supposed. “Your husband, who has four siblings and so on. Your parents, and all four of your grandparents.”
“Along with various aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and the progeny thereof. We are, one could say, legion.”
Exactly, Eve thought. Where to begin?
“I’ve found a pattern, Your Honor. A way he chooses his targets. From the . . . breadth of your family, I don’t doubt there would be a member who fit any of his criteria. However, I have established contact with three other potential targets, so fining down the remaining pattern to two of his requirements. I’m looking for someone you’re close to—in that family or someone you consider as family—who is recently married or who has recently lost a spouse through death.”
“A beginning and an end.”
“The probability is extremely high these are the two parameters left. I should add, it’s possible he hasn’t yet made contact with the widow or widower. While this is, by pattern established, the last target, the newlywed will almost certainly be next, and may be targeted for this coming weekend.”
For the first time the enigmatic face showed a frisson of fear. “So soon. Lieutenant, we are, fortunately, long-lived in my family. We have suffered loss, of course. An aunt who was dear to me passed only a year ago.”
“I’ll take the information, but I believe the target will be female. Both his victims and the three targets we’ve established have been women.”
“Ah . . . a cousin a few months ago. His wife—” She pressed a finger to her temple. “I’ll have to check. She lives in Prague. My mother would have all the information. She’s a family database.”
“Someone closer. He doesn’t want to hurt you, but devastate you.”
“None of my children or grandchildren are recently married. Two of the grandchildren are engaged. I have a niece who was married last summer, another who’ll be married this fall. And . . .” She trailed off, shaking her head. “Let me take an hour or so on this. I’ll contact my mother. She’ll know. In fact, she’ll have a list of everyone and their current address from the renewal ceremony invitations.”
“Renewal?”
“Yes, yes, my parents decided to renew their wedding vows on Valentine’s Day. She decided after seventy years they’d earned a booster shot, a massive party, and a second honeymoon.”
“A second honeymoon. Like newlyweds.”
“Yes. They’re eighty-nine and ninety-three and . . .” Mimoto’s face went blank with horror. “Oh my God. My mother? He’s targeted my mother?”
“It’s possible. I want to bring her in. Sit tight, Your Honor. Peabody.”
“I’m pulling up the number now.”
“Put it on speaker when you have her ’linked, in case she wants to verify with her daughter. Then have two officers in plainclothes report to her residence to ensure her safety. We’ve got her,” she assured Mimoto. “She’ll be covered.”
Within minutes, the holo-image of Charity Mimoto sat beside her daughter. For someone looking square-eyed at ninety, Eve thought, the woman looked damn good.
She was long where her daughter was petite, rawboned while the judge was delicate, and her skin tone several shades deeper. But the eyes, intelligent and azure, were all but identical.
Charity took one look at the wall screen. “Why it’s Denny. He’s shaved his little beard and fiddled with his hair, but sure, that’s Denny all right.”
“Do you have his full name, Mrs. Mimoto?”
“Of course, I do. Dennis—but he goes by Denny—Plimpton. He’s that nice young boy I’ve been teaching to play piano. I teach piano a little to earn my mad money. He’s taking lessons on the sly to surprise his mama. It’s so sweet.”
“Oh dear Jesus. Are the police there yet? Mama, don’t you or Daddy answer the door unless it’s the police. Make them show—”
“Seri, your grandma didn’t raise a fool.” With admirable aplomb, Charity crossed her long legs and got comfortable. “What’s this boy done, Lieutenant Dallas? Because it’s hard for me to believe he’s done anything to cause all this commotion. He couldn’t be sweeter or more well-mannered.”
“He’s the prime suspect in two homicides.”
“Murders? This boy?” She started to laugh it off, then narrowed her eyes at Eve’s face. “Wait just one minute. I know you. Of course, I do. I’m so fuddled up about all this business and beaming around like old Star Trek episodes I didn’t see it. I’ve seen you on the news, and I saw you on it just today. About that little girl, and the other one. You think this boy did that?”
Eve started to give the departmental line, then decided to cut through it. “I know he did. How long have you been giving him le ssons?”
Charity held up both hands, pushing them out as if to thrust the words back. “Just a minute. A minute here. I’ve always been a good judge of character. Passed it on to you, didn’t I, Serenity? I never saw any bad in that boy. But I’m looking right at you, Lieutenant, and I guess I can judge that. I’ve given him five lessons so far, Wednesday afternoons, though he had to switch one to a Thursday evening a couple back.”
“Daddy plays golf Wednesday afternoons. You’ve been alone with this monster.”
“Why did he switch the one lesson?” Eve asked.
“He said he got called into work. He’s a computer programmer, and there was some glitch or other he had to take care of. It was raining that day,” she added. “My Deke doesn’t play golf when it rains, so he was home all day. And once a month, Thursday evenings, he goes and plays poker with some of the boys. He wasn’t home the Thursday evening this one came.”
Those soft blue eyes sharpened. “That was smart, wasn’t it? Smart to know all that, to make sure I’m the only one who’s seen him. Why, he’s a fucker, isn’t he?”
“Yes, ma’am, he is. Has he ever come to your home on a weekend?”
“No, but he asked to switch this week’s lesson to Friday afternoon.”
“Lieutenant, my father, my husband, brothers, the grandsons, they’re all going on a camping trip this weekend. They’re leaving Friday. My mother would be home alone until Sunday. He must know.”
“Sure he knows, didn’t I tell him myself?” Charity slapped a hand to her own thigh. “I must’ve said something a couple weeks back about how glad I was going to be to have the house to myself for a couple days, and damned if I didn’t tell him all about it. He asked where they camped, how long they’d be away. It was smooth, when I think about it, all how he’d never gone camping, wasn’t sure he’d like it. And last Wednesday, he brought it up, making sure, I see now, that it was still on.”
She gave a grimace of disgust. “He’s planning on coming here to kill me. I’ll kick that little bastard’s ass to next week.”
“I bet you could,” Eve said. “But you’re going to have to leave that part to me.”
Charity drew a deep breath, then gave Eve a look of approval. “You look like you can handle it. What do you want us to do?”
It took time to lay it out, reassure, and to bring in the last name on her list, find the target, interview, and again reassure.
At the end of it, a tired Peabody sighed. “We’ll get him tomorrow, at the memorial. We’ll get him then, and all the rest will just be precaution and backup. Because, well, we want him but . . . Louise’s wedding.”
“Don’t. Don’t even start.” Tired herself, Eve scrubbed her hands over her face. “Briefing tomorrow as scheduled. We’ll bring the rest of the team up to speed. I’ll write it up. Go ahead and fill in McNab and Jamie since you’re going to do that anyway. Then shut down. You need to be on full charge tomorrow.”
&nb
sp; “I will. Because we have to take him tomorrow. For the sake of law and justice. And true love.”
“Roarke. Please.”
He smiled. “Good night, Peabody,” he said, and discharged the holo.
“Okay, and peace reigns across the land. For a minute. I need the recording so I can—”
“Disc copy.” He offered it. “And another is already transmitting to your unit. Now, come with me.”
“I have to—”
“Yes, I know you do.” He took her hand, drew her to the elevator. “If there was enough time—or I thought I could browbeat you into it—I’d see you took a hot bath and a relaxation session, but rather than argue for the next many minutes . . .”
He drew her into the bedroom.
“I don’t have time for that either.”
“Dear God, sex, sex, sex. It’s all you think about.” He turned her toward the sitting area.
There was candlelight, two glasses of wine, and—
“Is that cake?”
“It is.”
“I get cake?”
He pulled her back before she could pounce. “It depends.” He pulled a small case out of his pocket, watched her happy surprise turn to annoyed scowl.
“I don’t need a blocker.”
“You do if you want cake. I know you have a headache—overwork, stress—overthinking—it shows. Take the blocker like a good girl, and you’ll have cake.”
“It better be really good cake.” She popped the blocker, then immediately grabbed the plate. One bite had her closing her eyes. “Okay, it is. Really good. Worth it. Ten minutes for cake.”
“Seems only fair.” He tugged her down to sit.
“We found them all.” She closed her eyes again, not in pleasure but relief. “All five.”
“Saved them all.”
“No, not all.”
“There are five women, and their families, who think differently.”
“If we can take him tomorrow.” She let it ride a moment, took another bite of cake. “The judge’s mother? Something.”
“Indeed she is.”