The Devil's Punchbowl

  “And of course the FBI hates your guts.”

  “There are still a couple of people there I think I could talk to. I’ve thought about calling Peter Lutjens, just to have him troll through the computers for what can turn up on Jonathan Sands.” Lutjens is an agent who works in the Puzzle Palace—FBI headquarters—and has access to almost everything in their digital data banks.

  “You nearly got him fired last time,” Caitlin reminds me.

  “Not ‘nearly.’ He was fired.”

  “They reinstated him.”

  “The point is, Peter might be able to help, but I’m reluctant to put him in the same position again. I also worry that any query on Sands might trigger some kind of automatic response.”

  “Okay, there’s my problem with this. How could a guy working in a casino in Natchez, Mississippi, be that important?”

  “If we knew that, our problems would be over.”

  The window attendant hands Caitlin a white bag, and she pays with a credit card. As we pull away, she plucks a triangle of pita bread from the bag and eats it in a bite. “Food of the gods,” she says. “What about the Chinese angle? In the post-9/11 world, surely foreign investors in American casinos must be investigated by the CIA, even if the gaming commission gives them a pass because they have a nominally small share.”

  “I agree. That part doesn’t make sense. If one of these Chinese investors has a criminal record, or is dirty in some way, I don’t see the government allowing him to purchase part of a casino company.”

  “And you never thought Tim’s theory of Sands ripping off the town by shorting taxes made sense. So what is he really up to?”

  “When I was in Houston, I heard about some cases where casinos had been used for money laundering. An Indian casino in particular, I remember, with links to organized crime on the East Coast. But if that’s what they’re up to, why risk the operation with side action like dogfighting and prostitution? I mean, maybe a guy like Sands would risk it, but not some Chinese billionaire. At least I don’t think he would.”

  “Superrich freaks exist,” Caitlin says. She laughs, then digs out a strip of meat to eat with another piece of pita. “In fact, they’re probably the rule, not the exception. Plenty of rich Japanese freaks, when it comes to sex and violence. China, I don’t know. I’ve been there twice, but only as a tourist.”

  “You mean you didn’t sleep with any natives?”

  “No, I still like older white guys, for some unfathomable reason. What do you expect out of Kelly?”

  “Security, for one thing.”

  She looks up with utter seriousness in her eyes. Annie? she mouths.

  “Safe. That’s all that matters. But Kelly won’t show up empty-handed. He’ll have whatever Blackhawk finds on Sands, Quinn, and Golden Parachute. Those guys don’t miss much.”

  Caitlin gives a skeptical little hmph.

  “What’s that for?”

  “They do a lot of work in Iraq, right? That hasn’t turned out so well, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “Yeah, well, Kelly’s on the first team. And he’ll push to get a thorough job on this.”

  “I agree. Besides, I miss having a guy around who can handle a mob attack or home invasion, if I get into that kind of situation.”

  I know she’s keeping up this patter to try to keep me from sinking into depression, but just bringing her up to speed has exhausted me. Two bites of food is like taking a shot of Demerol.

  “I wasn’t kidding when I said you look terrible,” Caitlin says. “What were you going to do next? Like right this minute?”

  “Tonight I’m going to fly the river with Danny McDavitt and try to see where the VIP boat goes.”

  “The VIP boat?”

  “The excursion boat owned by Golden Parachute. I forgot to tell you, Tim said they usually take the excursion boat to these dogfights.”

  “When was the last time you slept?”

  “I got a few hours last night.”

  “Bullshit. Your eyes look like they’re bleeding.”

  I flip down the visor and look in the vanity mirror. She’s not exaggerating by much. If I don’t recharge my batteries soon, I’m going to be no use to anybody. “Actually I guess the last time I slept was in my office yesterday. Couple of hours on a cot. And I only got four hours the night before that.”

  “What were you going to do if you found the VIP boat?”

  “Nothing. Stand off and find out where it anchors. Then go home and wait for Kelly.”

  “I think your pilot could handle that job on his own. Don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I think he could. But—”

  “You’re in no condition to make decisions. You’ve done well up to now, but you need sleep. You’re coming back to my house and crashing until an hour before Kelly arrives. Tell McDavitt to call me if there’s a problem. I’ll man the satellite phone, whatever.”

  “That’s a tempting offer.”

  “It’s not an offer. It’s an order.”

  “Okay. Let me speak to Danny. I need to check on something anyway.”

  As Caitlin drives along Homochitto Street, I roll down the window and call Danny McDavitt on the satellite phone. His usually laconic voice sounds worried from the first syllable.

  “Carl’s not back yet,” he says.

  “From the Devil’s Punchbowl?”

  “Right.”

  “How long has he been gone?”

  “I don’t know exactly what time he went in, but he’s almost three hours past due now.”

  “You think he got stuck down there in the dark?”

  “He may have. He’d probably spend the night down there rather than try to climb out in the dark.”

  “I hope that’s it.”

  “How are you doing?” McDavitt asks.

  “I’m pretty whipped. Haven’t slept for two days. Do you think you could make tonight’s flight without me?”

  “Just do what we talked about earlier?”

  “Yeah. And stay far enough away so that they don’t hear the chopper.”

  “I might have to make one pass at an audible level to get a good fix. FLIR has its limitations, especially when you can’t afford the top of the line.”

  “Just be careful.”

  “Always. Hey, I heard from Hans Necker. He examined the wrecked balloon, and he’s pretty sure the shots came from the levee road. So most likely they were fired from a parked vehicle, or from the trees near one. And definitely from a silenced rifle.”

  “Okay. Tell him thanks if you talk to him again, but we already know who ordered those shots fired. I was just hoping they’d been fired from private property, and we could get the name of the landowner. How are Necker’s legs?”

  “One bad sprain, one fracture. He’s a tough bird though. I also heard from our blond friend. He’s landing in Baton Rouge about three this morning. I’m going to fly down and get him, if you’ll pay for the fuel.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “We can be at the rendezvous by four thirty a.m., if you want to wake up that early.”

  When Danny dropped me off at my car, we decided that as soon as Kelly arrived, we’d meet on a piece of private property owned by one of my father’s two partners. “That’s great. The sooner the better.”

  “Do you want a report before then?”

  “Only if Carl turns up.”

  “Right. I’m out.”

  “Thanks, Danny.”

  “Everything okay?” Caitlin asks.

  “I don’t know. The guy who’s checking out Tim’s car hasn’t come out of the Devil’s Punchbowl.”

  “You think he’s in trouble?”

  “I just hope he’s not down with a snakebite or something.”

  “You said he was a marine, right? He’ll be okay.”

  “I guess. That food is really hitting me now. Jesus. I can hardly keep my eyes open.”

  “Close them. I’ll wake you when we get to my house.”

  “If my cell rings, ignore it. If the satellite phone rings, answer it. But be very careful what you say, once we’re in your house.”

  She reaches out and brushes my hair away from my eyes. “Just let go, okay? We’ll be home
soon. You did the right thing telling me.”

  “Did I?” I ask, but my mind is already sliding into blankness.

  “Penn, wake up.”

  “What?” I jerk to a half-alert state of panic. We’re still in the car, parked against a vanilla brick wall. “What’s happening?”

  “Chief Logan just called.”

  “What time is it?”

  “You were only asleep for a couple of minutes. We were almost home and your phone rang.”

  More panic. “The satellite phone?”

  “No, no, your regular cell. I wouldn’t have answered, but I recognized his number.”

  “You what?”

  “I don’t forget numbers, you know that.”

  I look out the window and see the Entergy building. “We’re at the police station?”

  “Logan said he needs to talk to you face-to-face.”

  “What else did he say? Sands’s people can listen to my regular cell.”

  “He said the problem was Soren Jensen and Shad Johnson. I think you’re okay. Apparently the boy hasn’t been arraigned yet, and your old girlfriend has been raising hell. That’s good cover, right?”

  “Best we’re going to get. Is Libby here now?”

  “No. Wasn’t she a lawyer before she ran that bookstore?”

  “A corporate lawyer. And she’s not licensed to practice in Mississippi. Look, do you mind waiting in the car?”

  Caitlin gives me a disappointed look. “You don’t trust me?”

  “It’s not that. Logan’s not going to speak freely in front of you.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you think anybody followed us here?”

  “I don’t think so. But what do I know? I haven’t been stalked since college.”

  “Even so, we can’t use this car anymore. If Sands’s people heard that call, they’ll cruise by just to see what vehicle I’m in.”

  “I can get more cars,” Caitlin says. “Get going. You know I hate waiting.”

  Chief Logan looks five years older than he did yesterday.

  “What’s up, Don?”

  “I’ve got the autopsy report.”

  “Looks like you don’t like what’s in it. How long have you had it?”

  “A few hours.”

  “What does it say?”

  His eyes meet mine. “I have a feeling you already know.”

  “I knew last night what it was going to say. Murder. You knew it too.”

  “Yeah. I guess I was hoping this really was a drug murder. Or just a straight killing. Over a debt, a woman something.”

  “There’s nothing straight about this, Don. What did Shad say about the autopsy?”

  “Our illustrious district attorney claims this is a drug murder. Drugs and adultery.”

  “So why did they torture him?”

  “That’s easy to explain, if you’re trying.”

  “What about Linda Church? Any word on her?”

  “Nothing. It’s like she fell off the face of the earth.”

  “I think she has. She knew way too much to keep breathing.”

  Logan sighs heavily.

  “What are you going to do now, Chief?”

  “Same thing I always do. Work the case.”

  “How?”

  “That’s what I’ve been down here thinking about. What would you do, if you were in my place?”

  “I’d get a warrant for the security tapes on the Magnolia Queen for the twelve hours prior to Tim’s death.”

  Logan’s mouth falls open. “You’re kidding, right? What would they show?”

  “I don’t know. But the company’s reaction to the search would tell you a lot. What about the SUV Tim jumped out of before he was killed?”

  “Three local casinos own similar vehicles. Golden Parachute alone owns eight of them. But I don’t have a plate, so what can I do?”

  “Make them account for every one of them. Look for time sheets. Try to spot the vehicles on surveillance cameras.”

  Logan leans back in his chair. “Jessup did something on that boat, didn’t he? That’s why he’s dead.”

  “I have no idea, Chief.”

  “Sure you don’t.”

  For a moment I consider telling Logan that I know where Tim’s car is, but that’s a risk I’m not prepared to take until I know Carl Sims is alive and well. “I’d also check every business and home on Broadway for security cameras. Maybe somebody has a tape of the minutes before Tim went over the fence and doesn’t even know it yet.”

  “I’ve checked. No luck. In Natchez, you generally only find cam eras at gas stations, convenience stores, and banks. Liquor stores, of course.”

  “And casinos,” I add.

  “I hear you. But what judge is going to give me a search warrant for those tapes?”

  “Judge? I thought you had a stack of presigned warrants over here that you just fill out when you need one.”

  Logan shakes his head. “Once upon a time, maybe. But those days are gone. I can pick up the phone and get a search warrant for almost anywhere in the city, probable cause or not. But the security tapes of a casino boat? No judge wants to get into a pissing match with those people and their lawyers.”

  “An honest judge has nothing to worry about. You’ll get the warrant if you ask for it. Try Eunice Franklin.”

  Logan gives me a weary sigh. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

  “Don’t think too long. Tapes can be erased. Actually it’s probably hard drives, not tapes. I’d get on top of this fast.”

  “In an ideal world.”

  “The world is what we make it,” I say softly.

  Logan steeples his fingers and regards me with a cold eye. “You know, when you won for mayor, I was looking for some big changes. And I think you were ready to make them. So why haven’t things changed much?”

  “I take your point. I realize you don’t have a lot of power, Don. But you do have some. And no one can fault you for working a homicide case hard. Certainly not the average citizen. If you say you need those tapes, I’ll back you up, and so will the people of the town.”

  “The people of the town won’t be sued for harassment by a battery of attorneys.”

  “Who do you think pays if you lose a suit? Ultimately, it’s the town.”

  “Okay, okay. But let me turn this around. What are you doing about Jessup’s death?”

  “Nothing,” I say flatly.

  Logan seems surprised, but after a few moments he seems to reconcile himself with the fact that I can’t or won’t say more. “Penn, what did Jessup steal? What’s on that USB drive he hid up his ass? If I knew that ”

  I turn up my palms and give him a helpless shrug. Unless he’s a very good actor, Don Logan is an honest man. That he’s in the dark about the missing data tells me that. But his power to help me with my problem is limited. “Are your men as ignorant of that as you are?”

  His eyes never leave mine. “I wish I knew.”

  “Have you been threatened, Don?”

  “Not in so many words. But it’s no secret that nobody wants a cash cow to stop making milk.” Logan gets up and gets himself a cup of coffee from a small carafe on a table to his left. “I thought I was being put through the ringer, but you look pretty rough, brother.”

  “I feel worse than I look.”

  “You’d better get some sleep.”

  “I’m about to. Maybe things will be better when I wake up, huh?”

  Logan sips his coffee. “I wouldn’t count on it. If this were a hurricane, I’d say it hadn’t even made landfall. Yet.”

  I get to my feet and walk slowly toward his door. “I hope you’re wrong.”

  “Any last advice?” Logan asks.

  “Think hard about who you assign to this case.”

  “Who would you suggest?”

  “Family men with no history of financial problems or substance abuse. And none with expensive habits.”

  He studies me in silence for a while. “What if they actually turn up some evidence?”

  “I’d keep it to myself until I talked to the mayor.”

  Logan clucks his tongue. “What about the district attorney?”

  “Obviously the DA has to be informed. At
some point.”

  “That sounds like a dangerous game.”

  “It has been from the start. We just didn’t know we were playing it.”

  When I step outside, Caitlin actually gets out and opens my door for me. “A new black Cadillac Escalade parked in the lot three minutes after you went inside.”

  “Where is it now?”

  “The second you appeared in the entryway, it took off, headed downtown.”

  “It didn’t pick up anybody or drop someone off?”

  “No. And it had tinted windows. I couldn’t see anything.”

  Only after I’m in and seated do I notice my open backpack on the floor at my feet. My pistol is lying on the dashboard.

  “Good girl.”

  “Maybe it was nothing,” she says.

  “Don’t think that for a second. You’re in the middle of this now. You’ve been in it ever since you wrote the story on Tim’s death.”

  “Should I drive back to the office and get my car?”

  “No. This van’s blown now. Let’s take the shortest path to your house. I need a bed.”

  She pulls out of the lot and turns right, heading toward town through widely spaced pools of sodium-pink light. “What did Logan want?”

  “He knows Tim was murdered. He knows it has something to do with the Magnolia Queen. Beyond that I don’t know.”

  “Do you trust him?”

  “I think he’s clean on this. But he knows something’s wrong, and that it runs deep in the town.”

  “Can he help?”

  “Not much, if at all.”

  The smell of the leftover Greek food combined with the mess already in the van makes my stomach roll.

  “What is it?” Caitlin asks anxiously.

  “Just queasy. Exhaustion.”

  I feel her hand close on my left knee. “Three minutes, you’ll be in my bed.”

  A strange laugh comes from my lips, but it sounds like someone else’s voice. “I thought that would take a lot more work than this.”

  “Oh, I’m not worried. I don’t think you could do anything about it even if you wanted to. Certainly not up to my standard, anyway.”

  I want to offer a riposte, but my synapses don’t seem to be firing properly. My eyelids are closing when my cell phone rings. I start to ignore it, but then I see that the caller is Seamus Quinn.

  “Our friends from the Emerald Isle,” I mutter. “Hello?”