Covet - A Novel of Fallen Angel Part 19

As if on cue, because this s.h.i.+t storm clearly needed another tornado in the mix, his cell phone went off.

Jim picked the thing up from the bedside table without looking where it wasa"a little trick head taught himself thanks to having worked in the pitch-black a lot. Amazing how sound made up for sight.

aGood morning, suns.h.i.+ne,a he said without looking to see who it was.

His old bossas voice was about as cheerful as he felt. aShe doesnat exist.a Jimas hand tightened its hold, even though this was not a surprise. aYou couldnat find anything?a aDidnat say that. But your Marie-Terese Boudreau is an ident.i.ty cooked up by a guy in Las Vegas. As far as I can tell, it was created about five years ago and first used by some lady who ended up in Venezuela. Then your girl bought the doc.u.ments the year before last, traveled east and settled in Caldwell, New York. Address is One Eighty-nine Fern Avenue. Has a cell phone.a The digits rolled off his bossas tongue and went right into Jimas razor-sharp memory. aOn her income taxes, her W-twos are from a place called ZeroSum, and then at the end of last year, for about a month, the Iron Mask. Occupation listed as dancer in both places. Dependent is one.a aWho is she really?a There was a pause. aWell, now, isnat that the question.a The satisfaction in that deep voice was not the kind of thing you ever wanted to hear: It meant your b.a.l.l.s were in a vise grip and someone with a s.a.d.i.s.tic stretch a mile long had his hand on the crank.

Jim closed his eyes. aIam not coming back. I told you when I left, Iam out.a aCome on, Zacharias, you know the drill. A toe tag is the only way youare truly done with us. The only reason I let you have a little vacation was because you were too close to the edge. But what do you know, you sound soooo much better now.a Jim fought the urge to punch his fist through the wall. aFor once in your miserable, G.o.dforsaken life, can you do something without expecting anything back? Try it. Maybe youall like it. You could start now.a aSorry. Everything is a negotiation.a aDid your father beat the morality out of you? Or were you just born a s.h.i.+t?a aYou could ask him, but heas been dead for years. Poor guy got in the way of my bullet. d.a.m.n shame, really.a Jim bit his frickina lip and clenched every muscle in his jaw and neck. aPleaseaI need to know about her. Just tell me. Itas important.a Naturally, Matthias the f.u.c.ker didnat fall for the mother-may-I s.h.i.+t. aThe afavora I supposedly owe you only gets you so far. Then if you want more, you have to give me something to earn it. Up to you. And before you ask, the a.s.signment I have in mind is right up your alley.a aI donat kill people anymore.a aHmm.a aMatthias, I need to know who she is.a aIam sure you do. And you know where to find me.a The line went dead, and for a moment, Jim seriously considered firing the phone across the room. The only thing that stopped him was Dog, who lifted his sleepy head and somehow managed to drain the urge right out of Jimas arm.

He dropped the phone on the bedspread.

As his mind raced and his temper seethed, he didnat know what the f.u.c.k to do with himselfaso he just reached out to the animal and tried to pat down the fur that was sticking straight up between his ears.

aGet a load of this ado, man. You look like Einstein when you wake upayou really do.a Eye contact was everything when you were in jail.

Vin had learned this during his forays through the juvie system: Behind bars, how you met the stares of the guys you were in with was your h.e.l.lo, My Name Isa and there were five main categories.

Junkies had unfocused peepers, usually because they couldnat control their optic nerves any better than they could their sweat glands, bowels, or nervous systems. As the prison equivalent of lawn sculpture, they tended to pick a place and stay there, and for the most part, they kept out of the drama because they didnat instigate and easy targets were a bore.

Dime-sizers, on the other hand, who were usually on their first trip through the penal system and more than a little freaked out, had stares like Ping-Pong b.a.l.l.s, all w.i.l.l.y-nilly, not-for-longs, their eyes bouncing around. This made them perfect candidates for ridicule and verbal hara.s.sment, but generally not fistsa"because theyad be the ones whoad yell for the guards at the drop of a hat.

Motherf.u.c.kers, in contrast, had seeker stares, always probing for weakness and ready to pounce. They were the ones who picked at everyone and loved playing the hara.s.ser, but they were not the dangerous ones. They instigated, but let the hotheads follow througha"they were kids in the sandbox who broke toys and blamed it on others.

Hotheads had crazy eyes and loved to fight. All it took was the slimmest of openings and they were ready to go to town. aNuff said.

And finally, you had your bona fide sociopaths, the ones who didnat give a f.u.c.k and could kill you and eat your liver. Or not. Didnat matter either way. Their eyes drifted around, ocular sharks that swam in the middle distance of the room for the most parta"until they IDad a victim.

As Vin sat among a representative sample of the above, he was part of none of these groups, falling into a category that was fairly atypical: He stayed out of peopleas biz and expected others to extend the same courtesy. And if they didnat?

aNice suit you got there.a With Vinas back against the concrete wall, and his eyes on the floor, he didnat have to glance up to know that out of the eleven other guys in the holding bin, he was the only one with a pair of lapels.

Ah, yes, a motherf.u.c.ker stepping up to the plate.

Vin deliberately s.h.i.+fted forward and put his elbows on his knees. Bringing his fist into his palm, he slowly swiveled his head toward the guy whoad spoken.

Wiry. Tattooed up the neck. Earrings. Hair cut so short that his skull showed. And as the SOB smiled like he was looking forward to a meal he intended to enjoy, he flashed a chipped front tooth.

Clearly he thought he had a dime-sized newbie by the tail.

Vin flashed his own teeth and one by one cracked the knuckles on his striking hand. aYou like my threads, a.s.shole?a As the reply came back at him, Mr. Personality was instantly cured of his this-is-gonna-be-funsies. His brown eyes did a quick measure of the size of Vinas fist and then returned to the steady stare that was locked on him.

aI asked you,a Vin said loud and slow, ado you like my threads, a.s.shole.a While the guy considered his answer, Vin hoped the response was obnoxious, and something about that must have come through: As the rest of the men made like spectators at a tennis match, going back and forth, back and forth, the tension eased out of the motherf.u.c.keras shoulders.

aYeah, itas real nice. Real nice suit. Yeah.a Vin stayed right where he was as the other guy settled back on the bench. And then one by one he met the stares of the peanut galleryaand one by one the men looked down at the floor. Only then did Vin relax a little.

As half of his brain stayed plugged into office politics, such as they were, the other part went back to churning over how the h.e.l.l head ended up where he was. Devina had lied through her teeth to the police, and so help him G.o.d, he was going to find out what the f.u.c.k had really happened. And abuddya? What the h.e.l.l was she talking about?

He thought back to the blue dress that had smelled like menas cologne. The idea that shead been f.u.c.king around on him made him dangerously psychotic, so he forced his brain to consider the more important stuff. Like, oh, the fact that she had been beaten by someone other than him, but it was his c.o.c.k and b.a.l.l.s in the clink.

Christ, if only his security system at home had the same kind of monitoring s.h.i.+t his office did. Then head have a video of every room, twenty-four/seven.

The chiming of keys announced the arrival of a guard. aDiPietro, your lawyer is here.a Vin got up off the bench, and as the door slid open with a clang, he stepped out and put his hands behind his back, presenting himself to the guard for cuffing.

Which seemed to surprise the guy with the keys, but not the ones whoad just witnessed Vin be all ready to Rocky it with the motherf.u.c.ker.

There was a click, click and then he and the badge walked down a hall to another bank of iron bars that had to be released by someone on the far side. After that they hung another right and a left and stopped in front of a door that was something out of a high school, the thing painted blech beige, its window marked with chicken wire embedded in the gla.s.s.

Inside the interrogation room, Mick Rhodes was leaning back against the far wall, his wingtips crossed, his double-breasted suit the kind that Mr. Personality would also have approved of.

Mick stayed quiet as the guard released the cuffs and ducked out of the room. After the door shut, the lawyer shook his head. aNever expected this one.a aThat makes two of us.a aWhat the h.e.l.l happened, Vin?a Mick then nodded up at a security camera, indicating that attorney-client privilege was probably more of a theory than an actuality here in the station house.

Vin sat down at the little table, taking one of the two chairs. aNo f.u.c.king clue. I came home around midnight and the cops were in my placea"which had been trashed. They told me Devina was in the hospital and she said I was the one whoad put her there. My alibi is airtight, though. I was at my office for the whole afternoon and into the evening. I can get them videos of me sitting at my desk for hours.a aIave seen the police report. She said she was attacked at ten oaclock.a s.h.i.+t. Head a.s.sumed it had happened earlier.

aRight, weare going to talk about all that where-were-you stuff a little later,a Mick murmured, as if he knew the answer to that one was complicated. aIave pulled some strings. Your bailas going to be set within the hour. Itall be a hundred thousand or so.a aIf they give me my wallet, I can do that right now.a aGood. Iall take you homea"a aOnly to get clothes.a He never wanted to see the duplex again, much less stay there. aIam going to a hotel.a aDonat blame you. And if you find you need some privacy from the media, you can stay with me in Greenwich.a aI just need to talk to Devina.a He needed to find out not only who had busted her up, but who the h.e.l.l shead been sleeping with. He had a lot of friendsaa man like him with money like his? He had friends all over the f.u.c.king place.

aLetas get you out of here first, okay? And then weall talk about next steps.a aI didnat do it, Mick.a aDo you think I would be dressed up like this on Sunday morning if I thought otherwise? For G.o.das sake, man, I could be cozied up with the Times right now.a aAt least thatas a priority I can respect.a And Mick was true to his word: Thanks to a quick hundred grand taken off his debit card, Vin was out of the police station and getting into his buddyas Mercedes by ten thirty a.m.

Getting released was hardly cause for celebration, though. As they went over to the Commodore, Vinas head was an utter mess, spinning out of control as he tried to find some kind of inner logic to the whole thing.

aVin, buddy, youare going to listen to me because Iam not only your frat brother, so you can trust me, but Iam also your lawyer. Do not go to the hospital. Do not talk to Devina. If she calls or reaches out to you, do not interact with her.a The Mercedes eased to a halt in front of the Commodore. aDo you have an alibi for where you were between ten and twelve last night?a Staring out the winds.h.i.+eld, Vin remembered exactly where he had beenaand what head been doing. The decision was clear. aNot that I can give the police. No.a aBut you were with someone?a aYes.a Vin opened the door. aI wonat be involving hera"a aHer?a aYou can reach me on my cell phone.a aWait, who is this ahera?a aNone of your business.a Mick braced his forearm on the steering wheel and leaned across the seat. aIf you want to save your a.s.s, you may have to reconsider that.a aI didnat hurt Devina. And I have no idea why she would want to frame me for this s.h.i.+t.a aYou donat? She know about this ahera of yours?a Vin shook his head. aNo, she doesnat. Call me.a aDonat go to that hospital, Vin. Promise me.a aNot where Iam headed next.a He shut the door and strode over to the Commodoreas entrance. aTrust me.a

CHAPTER 26.

The St. Francis Hospital complex was laid out with all the logic of an ant farm. Reflecting an iterative architectural philosophy, like so many medical centers of its kind, the buildings that covered its acreage were a hodgepodge of styles, and they were positioned where they could be squeezed in, like round pegs shoved into square holes. On the campus, you had a little bit of everything from Gothic brick, to inst.i.tutional steel and gla.s.s, to sprawling be-columned stone, with the only commonality being that everything was cramped.

Jim parked his truck in a lot next to a fifteen-floor high-rise, and figured this big daddy was a good bet to start with, as it was where head been admitted as an inpatient from the emergency room. Cutting through the rows of cars, he crossed the lane and went under the porte cochere, entering the building through a set of retracting gla.s.s doors.

At the information desk, he said, aIam looking for Devina Avale.a The hundred-and-twelve-year-old blue-hair manning the station smiled up at him so warmly, he felt like an a.s.shole for reducing her to nothing but her age.

aLet me find her room for you.a As her twiglike fingers did a hunt and a peck over the keyboard, he thought of how much faster his own had been back at his apartment. Head figured the name Devina was unusual enough in the modeling trade that if he Googled it on his laptop, head find Vinas girlfrienda"and what do you know, it wasnat tough. Although she went by her first name in her professional trade, she and Vin had been photographed together at a fund-raiser for the Caldwell Courier Journal about six months ago, and there it was, Avale.

aSheas in twelve fifty-three.a aThank you, maaam,a he said with a little bow.

aYou are so welcome. Just go up on those elevators by the gift shop.a He nodded and strode over to the lifts. There were a bunch of people waiting in a group, all of whom were tracking the little number displays over the three doors, and he joined the fray.

Seemed to be a race between the one all the way on the right and the one in the middle.

The center elevator won, and he piled in with the rest of the people, joining the scramble of reach arounds as he punched in his floor and then oriented himself facing the digital number readout above. Bing. Bing. Bing. Doors opened. People shuffled. Bing. Doors opened. More shuffling.

He got out on twelve and did not say anything to anyone at the nursesa station. It had been easy to get this far, maybe too easy, and he wasnat volunteering for any bottlenecks. h.e.l.l, it wouldnat surprise him to find a CPD uni outside 1253abut there wasnat. There also werenat any family or friends milling around the closed door.

He knocked softly and leaned in. aDevina?a aJim?a came the quiet voice. aHold on a minute.a As he waited, he glanced up and down the corridor. A cleaning cart was parked in between Devinaas and the room next door, and an upright cupboard on wheels was coming down toward hima"which given the smell of wax beans and hamburgers as it pa.s.sed, meant it was lunch. Nurses were walking here, there, and everywhere, and down at the far end, a patient was taking baby steps in his johnny, his hand on his IV pole.

Looked like he was taking the thing out for a walk so it could pee on the doorjambs.

aOkay, come in.a He stepped into a dim room that was exactly as his had been: beige, stark, and dominated by the hospital bed in the middle. Across the way, the curtain that was drawn against the daylight was moving ever so slightly, as if she had closed ita"maybe so he couldnat get a clearer picture of her face.

Which was a mess.

So much so, he paused for a moment. Her beautiful features were distorted by swelling on the cheeks, chin, and eyes; her lip was split open; and the purple bruising on her pale skin was like a stain on a wedding gowna"ugly and tragic.

aItas that bad, isnat it,a she said, raising a shaking hand to s.h.i.+eld herself.

aJesusaChrist. Are you okay?a aI will be, I think. They held me over because I have a concussion.a As she tugged up the thin blanket that covered her, Jim eagle-eyed her hands. No bruising on the knuckles.

Which meant she didnat do this to herself and didnata"or more likely couldnata"fight back.

Staring at her, Jim felt his resolve s.h.i.+ft around like it was trying to find level ground. What ifano, Vin couldnat have done this.

Could he?

aIam so sorry,a Jim murmured, sinking down onto the corner of the bed.

aI shouldnat have told him about you and mea.a She snapped a Kleenex out of a box and carefully dabbed under her eyes. aBut my conscience was killing me and Iadidnat expect this. He broke off the engagement, too.a Jim frowned, thinking last head heard, the plan had been for the guy to break up with her. aHe asked you to marry him?a aThatas why I had to tell him. He got down on one knee and asked meaand I said yes, but then I had to tell him what had happened.a Devina sat forward and gripped his forearm. aIad stay away from him. For your sake. Heas furious.a Thinking back on the guyas expression when head been talking about Devinaas blue dress smelling like another manas cologne, it wasnat hard to imagine that was true. But there were parts of this situation that just didnat computea"although it was hard to think like that, looking at Devinaas faceaand her arm.

Which had a series of bruises that formed the shape of a manas hand.

aWhen are they letting you out of here?a he asked.

aProbably this afternoon. G.o.d, I hate that youare seeing me like this.a aIam the last person you should worry about.a There was a silence. aCan you believe where we ended up?a she said softly.

No. On so many levels. aYou got family coming to pick you up?a aTheyare due here around one when Iam supposed to be discharged. Theyare really concerned.a aI can understand why.a aThe thing is, part of me wants to see him. I want toatalk this through. I just donat knowa. And before you judge, Iam aware of how bad that sounds. I should just walk away, put as much distance as I can between us. But I canat let go that easily. I love him.a The defeat in her was as hard to bear as the condition she was in, and Jim took her hand.

aIam sorry,a he whispered. aIam so d.a.m.ned sorry.a She squeezed his palm. aYou are such a good friend.a There was a sharp knock and then a nurse came in. aHoware we doing?a aIad better go,a Jim said. As he got to his feet, he nodded to the nurse and refocused on Devina. aIs there anything I can do for you?a aCan I have your number? Just in caseaI donat knowaa He gave her the digits, said another good-bye, and took off.

As he left the ward, he felt the way he had on many of his military missions: Conflicting information, incomprehensible actions, unpredictable choicesahead seen it all before, with only the vocabulary of names and locations changing.

Sifting through what he knew to be true, there were a lot of blanks to be filled, and more questions were raised than solid answers found.

As he got on the elevator and watched the numbers decrease until the readout showed an L, he fell back on training and experience: When you didnat know what was doing, you gathered information.

Back at the help desk, he approached the little old lady and pointed to the double doors head come into the building through. aIs this the only way out for patients?a She smiled in that warm waya"which gave him the impression she might make really good Christmas cookies. aMost of them leave from here, yes. Especially if theyare getting picked up.a aThanks.a aYouare welcome.a Jim went out and scoped the front of the building. There were a number of places to sit down and watch the exit, but the little benches between the bald trees that ran along the sidewalk didnat have enough cover. And there were no corners to duck behind.

He looked past the overhang of the porte cochere to the parking lot, wis.h.i.+ng like h.e.l.l he could find a spota"

At that very moment, an SUV backed out of a s.p.a.ce that was two down from the ones marked with blue-and-white handicapped signs.

Three minutes later, Jim pulled his truck into the empty slot, killed the engine, and trained his eyes on the inpatient center. The fact that he had to look through the window of the minivan next door was the perfect camouflage.

Head learned long ago that the information you got when you gathered in secret was likely to be the most helpful.

aAre you ready?a Marie-Terese called up from the kitchen.

aAlmost,a Robbie shouted down.

Checking her watch, she decided a more hands-on approach was needed to get them out of the house on time. Mounting the carpeted stairs one by one, her flats were quiet on the blue-and-maroon zigzag pattern. Like the rest of the decor, the runner was nothing she would have picked, but understandable for a high-traffic area in a rental house.

She found her son in front of his mirror, trying to get his minia"man tie to hang straight.

For a moment, she was overcome by maternal extrapolation: In a flash, she saw him standing gangly but strong on his way to his senior prom. And then proud and tall at his college graduation. And even later, in a tuxedo at his wedding.

aWhat are you looking at?a he said, fidgeting.

The future, she prayed. A nice, normal future that was as far away as possible from what the last couple years had been like for them.

aDo you need help?a she asked.

aI canat do this.a His hands flopped to his sides and he pivoted to her in capitulation.

Coming forward, she knelt down before him and loosened the off-kilter knot. While she worked, he stood with such patience and trust, it was hard not to think of herself as at least a halfway decent mother.

aI think weare going to have to get you a bigger blazer.a aYeahaitas getting tight in the top part. And lookasee?a Putting out his arms, he frowned at the way the sleeves rode up halfway to his elbows. aI hate it.a She made quick work of the short strip of navy blue and red, not at all surprised he approved of the jacketas fit. Her son always liked dressing up in suits, and he preferred his shoes, even his sneakers, to be scuff-free. The same was true about everything he had: Open his drawers or his closet and the clothes were all arranged and hanging neatly; his books were lined up on the shelves; and his bed was never unmade unless he was between the sheets.

His father had been the same, always particular about how his clothes and his things were.

Her son also had Markas dark hair and dark eyes.

G.o.dashe wished there were no part of that man in him, but biology was biology. And the stuff she really worried about, her exas temper and meanness, had never been apparent.

aThere, youare good to go.a As he turned around to inspect, she fought the urge to hug him hard. aLook okay?a aItas much gooderer than I did.a She glanced over at him. aSorry, better than I did.a aThank you.a Staring at his reflection, she thought about the cost of new blazersaand shoesaand winter coats and summer shorts and tried not to panic. She could always waitress, after all. It wouldnat bring in nearly as much as she had been makingabut it would be enough. It would have to be enough.

Especially when she moved them to a smaller city where rents were less.

G.o.dashe didnat want to leave Caldwell, thougha"she truly didnat. Not after last night with Vin.

aWeare going to be late, come on,a she said.

Downstairs, they coated and gloved up together and then got in the Camry. The morning was chilly, which meant the garage was an icebox, and the engine wheezed and sputtered.

aWe need a new car,a Robbie said as she cranked the key again.

aI know.a She hit the garage door and waited as it revealed the drive and the world beyond. Backing out, she K-turned, punched the remote again, and took off for St. Patrickas.

By the time they got to the cathedral, there were cars parked all along the street, stretching for blocks. She drove around, checking out the illegal options, and settled on a corner slot that put the b.u.t.t of her car in the breeze. Getting out, she walked around and measured how far her b.u.mper was over the yellow-curbed no-parking zone.

aBout two feet. ad.a.m.n it.a As the cathedralas bells started to ring, she decided she was going to hope that if a policeman drove by he or she was either a good Christian or color-blind.

aLetas go,a she said, holding out her hand to Robbie, whoad come over. As his palm slid into hers, she started walking fast and he clipped right along next to her, his little loafers having to go twice as fast over the bare sidewalk.

aI think weare late, Mom,a he said breathlessly. aAnd itas my fault. I just wanted my tie to be right.a She glanced down at him. As they rushed along, the top of his hair flopped to the same beat as his navy blue pea-coat did, but his eyes were unmoving: They were locked on the pavement and he was blinking too fast.