Close Your Eyes: A Novel Part 26

"That's no answer."

Lynch slammed the trunk and turned toward a black pickup truck parked in front of the house. He walked toward it, and without breaking stride, reached under the left-rear wheel well for a brief moment. He cleared it just as a thin gray-haired man stepped from the house with his arms full of drywall sc.r.a.ps.

"That's him," Kendra whispered. "The man from the security video."

The man dumped the sc.r.a.ps into the Dumpster. He turned toward Lynch and Kendra as they walked up the driveway to meet him.

Lynch took off his sungla.s.ses. "Mr. Bergen, how are you today?"

Bergen regarded them warily. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Absolutely."

"Speak up. Who are you?" Bergen wiped chalky drywall dust from his hands onto his jeans. "I'm really busy here, so I'd appreciate it if you would just get to the point."

"We know about your cleanup job in that College Grove condo last week. Is that to the point enough for you?"

Bergen stared at him blankly. "College Grove? I don't have a place over there."

"Cut the c.r.a.p. I'm talking about the cleanup job you were hired for."

Still no expression, save for one of total puzzlement. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not a janitor. I own the houses I work on."

The guy is a d.a.m.ned good liar, Kendra thought. No nervous twitches, no s.h.i.+ftiness of the eyes, no difference in his vocal quality. He would make a perfect used-car salesman.

Lynch flashed his badge. "You're looking at felony murder, accessory after the fact. I can charge you with that right now and make it stick."

"If that's the case, why aren't I in cuffs in the back of a police car?"

"We don't give a d.a.m.n about you. We need to know who you were working for. I'm guessing it wasn't one of your regular employers."

"Sorry, buddy. I still have no idea what you're talking about."

"We both know you do, and you're starting to p.i.s.s me off. We're closing in on the guy who gave you the job, Bergen. If you don't give him up to me, I'm going to start dropping hints to his people that you're the one who pointed me in his direction."

Bergen smiled. "Even if I didn't."

"Especially if you didn't."

"Well, I guess that's what you're going to have to do. Because I didn't do whatever you think I did."

Lynch shrugged. "Okay. Fair warning." He nodded to Kendra, and they walked back down the driveway. Neither of them spoke until after they had climbed into his car and closed their doors.

"Your routine didn't work quite as well with him, did it?" Kendra said.

Lynch watched Bergen walk back into the house. "I wouldn't say that."

"You're chalking that up as a success?"

"The jury is still out." Lynch reached under his seat and pulled out a cable and a small remote control. He plugged the cable into his car stereo's auxiliary jack, then turned up the volume k.n.o.b.

Kendra watched him punch a few b.u.t.tons on the remote. "Let me guess. The Best of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Volume 2."

He cast a sideways glance at her. "No, but I'll remember to download that for next time. This is connected to that box in the trunk."

"Yes, I remember. The one you were so forthcoming about."

He pushed another b.u.t.ton on the remote, and static spiked from the car stereo speakers, followed by a woman's voice, then a child's. Lynch used the remote to change the signal. "I didn't expect him to give up his employer so easily. All I did was light a fire under him. He's going to want to get in front of this."

Kendra considered this. "By contacting him."

"I would. Sooner than later. And he's not likely to use a landline. He'll probably use a- The sound of a telephone ringtone blared over the speakers, as if someone had just made a call and was waiting for an answer.

"This could be him," Lynch said.

A man answered. "Yeah?"

"It's Bergen."

Lynch and Kendra exchanged a quick glance. Bergen no longer sounded so smooth; he now had a clipped, nervous tone in his voice.

"Why in the h.e.l.l are you calling me?"

"This is an emergency. You really need to know what-"

The man cut in. "What phone are you using?"

"Don't worry, it's a throwaway. This is the first time I've used it. Listen, just a heads-up. The feds know about the job I did for you."

"What happened?"

"They just showed up at my doorstep. There must be a leak on your end, because I haven't told anybody."

"There's no leak."

"There has to be. I'm telling you-"

"You f.u.c.ked up. You did shoddy work, that's what happened."

"No way. You saw that floor. It's a masterpiece. There's no way anyone could tell."

"Someone could and did tell. She smelled it, you idiot."

Bergen paused for a long moment. "That's impossible."

"Impossible for you, maybe. It took her all of fifteen seconds. Who exactly spoke to you?"

"A guy named Adam Lynch. He was with a woman, but I didn't get her name."

"I know who it was. She's the one who sniffed out your hack cleanup job."

"Never in all my years of doing this has anyone ever-"

The man was muttering a string of curses. "We paid a h.e.l.l of a lot for your expertise. You told me you were the best."

"I am. And even if what you're saying is true, how could they have known it was me?"

"I imagine it's because you were sloppy. You were so sure no one would detect your handiwork that you didn't take appropriate measures to cover your tracks. Am I right?"

"No. You're not right. I didn't make any mistakes."

"Bulls.h.i.+t." The man sighed. "I need to think about this. Don't talk to anyone, do you understand me?"

"What are we going to do?"

"You're going to do absolutely nothing. Your only job now is to keep your d.a.m.ned mouth shut. Can you handle that?"

"What if they come back?"

"Say nothing. I'll get in touch with you in the next couple hours. Sit tight."

The call ended.

"You were right," Kendra said. "What's next? Are we going back to confront him?"

Lynch started the car. "No. We don't want to tip off whoever he was talking to."

"I thought you'd want to go all caveman on him to find out who he was working for. You do that role quite well."

"I'm flattered by your approval. I'll reserve the right to employ the caveman, but I want to try something else first." Lynch drove away from the house, raised his phone, and punched a number. Almost immediately, he started talking. "This is Lynch. I just recorded a call that I've sent your way. I need a trace. Name and location, as soon as you can get it to me. Good, I'll be waiting." He cut the connection.

"Just like that." Kendra smiled. "Cool little toy you have back there."

"Yes, I'm quite fond of it. It scans the immediate area, records mobile phone calls and carrier data. It can't trace the call, but it forwards the data to a call center that can."

"What call center?"

"One that you're better off not knowing about."

"Wonderful. It's probably in Calcutta. And does that gadget also obtain the necessary warrants to make this legal?"

He didn't answer directly. "Do you want to find Jeff Stedler or not?"

"I'll take that as a 'no.'"

"Take it however you want. Just remember that you were the one who wanted me to beat the information out of him."

She frowned. "I never actually said that."

"But you obviously had less of a problem with that than you did with-"

"With violating the Const.i.tution?"

"Technically speaking, I think both approaches violate the Const.i.tution."

"You have a point there." Kendra looked at Lynch as he sped toward the freeway. He had been admirably willing to let her take the lead when circ.u.mstances warranted it, but he was clearly more comfortable in the driver's seat, both figuratively and literally. He seemed to come truly alive when stepping into a leaders.h.i.+p role. It was obviously where he was meant to be. His mind was sharp, his responses right on the money, and his lethal quotient was off the charts. She had never seen anyone as impressive and high-impact as Lynch when he threw off that quiet, lazy facade and went into overdrive. She could see how he had become a legend in the Bureau. She could also see how that recklessness could make him be regarded as too volatile and hot to handle.

He glanced at her. "Something wrong?"

"No." Except that she had suddenly realized that she was responding to both that force and recklessness in a way that was purely sensual. Back off. "What about the gadget you stuck in his wheel well?"

"Standard FBI issue, not unlike the USB drive that Griffin tried to give you. It will ping his location to us. I'll talk to Griffin about putting a tail on him, but in the meantime we'll have a pretty good idea where he goes."

"You've got all the bases covered."

"You never know." He checked his watch. "The call center should have some information later tonight, so we can pick up on this tomorrow. I'll take you home."

She checked her watch. She still had a little time before she had to be home to meet Olivia. "Pretty soon. Actually, there's somewhere else I'd like to go first."

CHAPTER.

11.

Scripps Mercy Hospital

San Diego

KENDRA AND LYNCH STOOD in the Intensive Care Unit room staring down at Lesley Dunn. The room was dim, but it obviously would not have mattered to the unconscious woman even if the overhead fluorescents had been on at full strength. Kendra was surprised at how good the woman looked. Her delicate features caught the light in a way that a movie starlet might envy, and her serene expression suggested she was merely enjoying a peaceful slumber.