璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第132章

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‘So　he‘s　not　a　problem？‘　Tucker　wanted　to　be　clear　on　that。
‘No。　But　try　to　remember　that　you　can‘t　open　a　murder　investigation　without　a　body。‘
‘I　have　to　keep　my　people　in　line。‘
‘From　what　I　hear　you　did　to　her　…‘
‘Just　keeping　them　in　line；‘　Tucker　reemphasized。　‘Making　an　example；　like。　You　do　that　right　and　you　don‘t　have　any　more　problems　for　a　while。　You‘re　not　a　part　of　that。　Why　does　it　bother　you？‘
Another　handful　of　popcorn　helped　him　bend　to　the　logic　of　the　moment。　‘What　do　you　have　for　me？‘
Tucker　smiled　in　the　darkness。　‘Mr　Piaggi　is　starting　to　like　doing　business　with　me。‘
A　grunt　in　the　darkness。　‘I　wouldn‘t　trust　him。‘
‘It　does　get　plicated；　doesn‘t　it？‘　Tucker　paused。　‘But　I　need　his　connections。　We‘re　about　to　hit　the　big　time。‘
‘How　long？‘
‘Soon；‘　Tucker　said　judiciously。　‘Next　step；　I　think；　we　start　feeding　stuff　north。　Tony　is　up　there　talking　to　some　people　today；　matter　of　fact。‘
‘What　about　now？　I　could　use　something　juicy。‘
‘Three　guys　with　a　ton　of　grass　good　enough？‘　Tucker　asked。
‘Do　they　know　about　you？‘
‘No；　but　I　know　about　them。‘　That　was　the　point；　after　all　…　his　organization　was　tight。　Only　a　handful　of　people　knew　who　he　was；　and　those　people　knew　what　would　happen　if　they　got　a　little　loose。　You　just　had　to　have　the　stones　to　enforce　discipline。
‘Take　it　easy　on　him；‘　Rosen　said　outside　the　private　room。　‘He‘s　recovering　from　a　major　injury　and　he‘s　still　on　several　medications。　He‘s　really　not　capable　of　talking　to　you　with　a　full　deck。‘
‘I　have　my　job；　too；　doctor。‘　It　was　a　new　officer　on　the　case　now；　a　detective　sergeant　named　Tom　Douglas。　He　was　about　forty；　and　looked　every　bit　as　tired　as　Kelly；　Rosen　thought；　and　every　bit　as　angry。
‘I　understand　that。　But　he‘s　been　badly　hurt；　plus　the　shock　of　what　happened　to　his　girlfriend。‘
‘The　quicker　we　get　the　information　we　need；　the　better　our　chances　are　to　find　the　bastards。　Your　duty　is　to　the　living；　sir。　Mine　is　to　the　dead。‘
‘If　you　want　my　medical　opinion；　he‘s　not　really　capable　of　helping　you　right　now。　He‘s　been　through　too　much。　He‘s　clinically　depressed；　and　that　has　implications　for　his　physical　recovery。‘
‘Are　you　telling　me　that　you　want　to　sit　in？‘　Douglas　asked。　Just　what　I　need　…　an　amateur　Sherlock　to　watch　over　us。　But　that　was　a　battle　he　couldn‘t　win　and　wouldn‘t　bother　to　fight。
‘I‘ll　feel　better　if　I　can　keep　an　eye　on　things。　Go　easy　on　him；‘　Sam　repeated；　opening　the　door。
‘Mr　Kelly；　we‘re　sorry；‘　the　detective　said　after　introducing　himself。　Douglas　opened　his　notebook。　The　case　had　been　booted　up　the　ladder　to　his　office　because　of　its　high　profile。　The　first…page　color　photo　on　the　Evening　Sun　had　e　as　close　to　the　pornographic　as　anything　the　media　could　publish；　and　the　mayor　had　personally　called　for　action　on　this　one。　Because　of　that；　Douglas　had　taken　the　case；　wondering　how　long　the　mayor‘s　interest　would　last。　Not　very；　the　detective　thought。　The　only　thing　that　occupied　a　politician‘s　mind　for　more　than　a　week　was　getting　and　holding　votes。　This　case　had　more　spin　on　it　than　one　of　Mike　Cuellar‘s　screwballs；　but　it　was　his　case；　and　what　was　always　the　worst　part　was　about　to　take　place。　‘Two　nights　ago　you　were　in　the　pany　of　a　young　lady　named　Pamela　Madden？‘
‘Yes。‘　Kelly‘s　eyes　were　closed　when　Nurse　O‘Toole　came　in　with　his　morning　antibiotic　dose。　She　was　surprised　to　see　the　two　other　men　there　and　stopped　in　the　doorway；　not　knowing　if　she　should　interrupt　or　not。
‘Mr　Kelly；　yesterday　afternoon　we　discovered　the　body　of　a　young　woman　who　fits　the　physical　description　of　Miss　Madden。‘　Douglas　reached　into　his　coat　pocket。
‘No！‘　Rosen　said；　getting　out　of　his　chair。
‘Is　this　she？‘　Douglas　asked；　holding　the　photo　before　Kelly‘s　face；　hoping　that　his　proper　grammar　would　somehow　lessen　the　impact。
‘God　damnit！　‘　The　surgeon　turned　the　cop　around　and　pushed　him　against　the　wall。　In　the　process　the　photo　dropped　on　the　patient‘s　chest。
Kelly‘s　eyes　went　wide　in　horror。　His　body　sprang　upwards；　fighting　the　restraints。　Then　he　collapsed；　his　skin　pasty　white。　All　in　the　room　turned　away　but　for　the　nurse；　whose　eyes　were　locked　on　her　patient。
‘Look；　doc；　I　…‘　Douglas　tried　to　say。
‘Get　the　hell　out　of　my　hospital！‘　Rosen　fairly　screamed。　‘You　can　kill　somebody　with　that　kind　of　shock！　Why　didn‘t　you　tell　me　…‘
‘He　has　to　identify　…‘
‘I　could　have　done　that！‘
O‘Toole　heard　the　noise　as　the　two　grown　men　scuffled　like　children　in　a　playground；　but　John　Kelly　was　her　concern；　the　antibiotic　medication　still　in　her　hand。　She　tried　to　remove　the　photograph　from　Kelly‘s　view；　but　her　own　eyes　were　first　drawn　to　the　image　and　then　repulsed　by　it　as　Kelly‘s　hand　seized　the　print　and　held　it　a　scant　twelve　inches　from　his　own　wide…open　eyes。　It　was　his　expression　now　that　occupied　her　consciousness。　Sandy　recoiled　briefly　at　what　she　saw　there；　but　then　Kelly‘s　face　posed　itself　and　he　spoke。
‘It‘s　okay；　Sam。　He　has　his　job　to　do；　too。‘　Kelly　looked　down　at　the　photo　one　last　time。　Then　he　closed　his　eyes　and　held　it　up　for　the　nurse　to　take。
And　things　settled　down　for　everyone　except　Nurse　O‘Toole。　She　watched　Kelly　swallow　the　oversized　pill　and　left　the　room　for　the　calm　of　the　corridor。
Sandra　O‘Toole　walked　back　to　the　nurses‘　station；　remembering　what　she　alone　had　seen。　Kelly‘s　face　turning　so　pale　that　her　first　reaction　to　it　was　that　he　must　be　in　shock；　then　the　tumult　behind　her　as　she　reached　for　her　patient　…　but　then　what？　It　wasn‘t　like　the　first　time　at　all。　Kelly‘s　face　had　transformed　itself。　Only　an　instant；　like　opening　a　door　into　some　other　place；　and　she‘d　seen　something　she　had　never　imagined。　Something　very　old　and　feral　and　ugly。　The　eyes　not　wide；　but　focused　on　something　she　could　not　see。　The　pallor　of　his　face　not　that　of　shock；　but　of　rage。　His　hands　balled　briefly　into　fists　of　quivering　stone。　And　then　his　face　had　changed　again。　There　had　been　prehension　to　replace　the　blind；　killing　rage；　and　what　she‘d　seen　next　was　the　most　dangerous　sight　she　had　ever　beheld；　though　she　knew　not　why。　Then　the　door　closed。　Kelly‘s　eyes　shut；　and　when　he　opened　them；　his　face　was　unnaturally　serene。　The　plete　sequence　had　not　taken　four　seconds；　she　realized；　all　of　it　while　Rosen　and　Douglas　had　been　scuffling　against　the　wall。　He‘d　passed　from　horror　to　rage　to　understanding　…　then　to　concealment；　but　what　had　e　in　between　prehension　and　disguise　was　the　most　frightening　thing　of　all。
What　had　she　seen　in　the　face　of　this　man？　It　took　her　a　moment　to　answer　the　question。　Death　was　what　she‘d　seen。　Controlled。　Planned。　Disciplined。
But　it　was　still　Death；　living　in　the　mind　of　a　man。
‘I　don‘t　like　doing　this　sort　of　thing；　Mr　Kelly；‘　Douglas　said　back　in　the　room　as　he　adjusted　his　coat。　The　detective　and　the　surgeon　traded　a　look　of　mutual　embarrassment。
‘John；　are　you　all　right？‘　Rosen　looked　him　over　and　took　his　pulse　quickly；　surprised　to　find　it　nearly　normal。
‘Yeah。‘　Kelly　nodded。　He　looked　at　the　detective。　"；That‘s　her。　That‘s　Pam。‘
‘I‘m　sorry。　I　really　am；‘　Douglas　said　with　genuine　sincerity；　‘but　there‘s　no　easy　way　to　do　this。　There　never　is。　Whatever　happened；　it‘s　over　now；　and　now　it‘s　our　job　to　try　and　identify　the　people　who　did　it。　We　need　your　help　to　do　that。‘
‘Okay；‘　Kelly　said　neutrally。　‘Where‘s　Frank？　How　e　he‘s　not　here？‘
‘Не　can‘t　have　a　hand　in　this；‘　Sergeant　Douglas　answered；　with　a　look　to　the　surgeon。　‘He　knows　you。　Personal　involvement　in　a　criminal　case　isn‘t　terribly　professional。‘　It　wasn‘t　entirely　true　…　in　fact；　was　hardly　true　at　all　…　but　it　served　the　purpose。　‘Did　you　see　the　people　who　…‘
Kelly　shook　his　head；　looking　down　at　the　bed；　and　he　spoke　just　above　a　whisper。　‘No。　I　was　looking　the　wrong　way。　She　said　something；　but　I　didn‘t　get　around。　Pam　saw　them；　I　turned　right；　then　started　turning　left。　I　never　made　it。‘
‘What　were　you　doing　at　the　time？‘　
‘Observing。　Look；　you　talked　to　Lieutenant　Allen；　right？‘
‘That‘s　correct。‘　Douglas　nodded。　
‘Pam　witnessed　a　murder。　I　was　bringing　her　in　to　talk　to　Frank　about　it。‘　
‘Go　on。‘
‘She　was　linked　up　with　people　who　deal　drugs。　She　saw　them　kill　somebody；　a　girl。　I　told　her　she　had　to　do　something　about　it。　I　was　curious　about　what　it　was　like；‘　Kelly　said　in　a　flat　monotone；　still　bathing　in　his　guilt　while　his　mind　replayed　the　image。　
‘Names？‘
‘None　that　I　remember；‘　Kelly　answered。　
‘e　on；‘　Douglas　said；　leaning　forward。　‘She　must　have　told　you　something！‘
‘I　didn‘t　ask　much。　I　figured　that　was　your　job　…　Frank‘s　job；　I　mean。　We　were　supposed　to　meet　with　Frank　that　night。　All　I　know　is　it‘s　a　bunch　of　people　who　deal　drugs　and　who　use　women　for　something。‘　
‘That‘s　all　you　know？‘
Kelly　looked　him　straight　in　the　eyes。　‘Yes。　Not　very　helpful；　is　it？‘
Douglas　waited　a　few　seconds　before　going　on。　What　might　have　been　an　important　break　in　an　important　case　was　not　going　to　happen；　and　so　it　was　his　turn　to　lie　again；　beginning　with　some　truth　to　make　it　easier。　‘There‘s　a　pair　of　robbers　working　the　west　side　of　town。　Two　black　males；　medium　size；