Part 29 (1/2)
”So was it Marchek who attacked him?” Hailey asked.
Jamie shrugged. ”Tony thinks so, but he couldn't pick him out.”
”With the ski mask, it would be tough,” Hailey agreed.
”He saw him take off in a van, though,” Jamie added. ”But it had no rear plate. I've got him on the Internet, trying to match the van to a year and make.” It felt like having Tony search for a needle in a computer haystack. ”Unfortunately, it also means Marchek now has a car, which makes him mobile and means his kit could be stored anywhere. We've got an APB out on the van, but we're not likely to find it.”
Jamie took a breath. ”In better news, Zephenaya picked out Scanlan for the attack on my dog.”
”That takes b.a.l.l.s,” Hailey said.
Jamie thought back to the morning press conference. ”We know how the press was notified about all Natasha's men?”
”E-mail, supposedly,” Hailey said. ”The computer lab is trying to track it, but it's a random Hotmail account. Get this-the address is ”
”But the information had to come from an officer,” Jamie said. ”No one else knew that stuff.”
A moment pa.s.sed before Hailey spoke again. ”Bruce Daniels slept with Natasha, too.”
Jamie examined the inspector's face. She didn't look at Jamie. Jamie knew why. Her lover had cheated on her. Man, that was screwed up.
”It was last summer, but she called him last month. She knew about the list and she was p.i.s.sed. Asked if Bruce knew about her most recent conquest. Only she said 'qu-qu-quest.'”
Jamie frowned. ”A stutter?”
Hailey nodded. ”Remind you of anything?”
”When Tim was. .h.i.t that night-” Jamie started.
”He mentioned that he thought the man had a stutter,” Hailey finished.
Jamie nodded. ”I can't think of a single person in the department who stutters.”
”I asked Daniels if he'd ever heard Deputy Chief Scanlan stutter.”
”And?”
”He said no, but he did mention that some people only stuttered when they are very angry.”
Jamie shuddered. G.o.d, she hoped Devlin's murder didn't lead to the deputy chief of police.
Just then her cell phone rang. She looked down and recognized Tim's cell phone number. He'd probably heard about the press fiasco. She'd call him later. She was momentarily surprised to realize that she actually planned to return his call.
Immediately, her phone rang again. She stared at the Hall number, wondered if it was Tim calling again. ”Vail.”
”It's Patrol Officer Klein, Inspector Vail. They told me to call you.” He sounded nervous.
”Okay, Officer Klein. What's up?”
”I'm at 113 August Aly. Looks like your guy was here.”
Jamie sagged against her chair. ”s.h.i.+t.”
”He got a woman coming out of the building at about five fifteen this morning, dragged her into the trash room in the back. She's en route to General now.”
”How bad?”
”He did her over something fierce, Inspector. I've never seen one like that-two black eyes, a broken jaw, arm, ribs. Her face was a balloon.”
”Was she conscious?” Jamie asked.
”Barely. She did say the guy told her she wasn't the one. He was waiting for someone else. Kept saying 'You're the wrong one.'”
Jamie halted. ”The wrong one? What would that mean?”
”h.e.l.l if I know.”
She frowned. ”Thanks, Officer Klein.”
”No problem. I'll finish up here if you want to go on to General.”
She pulled her notebook out of her pocket. ”I will. What was that address again?”
”113 August Aly.”
”113 August Aly. Okay,” she repeated.
A cup fell with a loud pop, coffee splashed across the floor. Jamie looked up, saw Hailey drop to grab it. ”You okay?”
Hailey's head reappeared, her complexion pale. ”What was the address?”
Jamie looked up, met her gaze. ”113 August Aly.”
”It's right off Was.h.i.+ngton Park,” Klein said.
”Off Was.h.i.+ngton Park,” Jamie repeated.
Hailey stooped to soak up the coffee.
Jamie's favorite barista brought over a wet rag and helped mop up the mess.
Jamie hung up with Klein, stared at Hailey. When she stepped away, Jamie asked, ”Are you okay?”
Hailey nodded.
But Jamie knew she wasn't. ”You know that address?” She met Hailey's gaze. ”The guy said he had the wrong one. Maybe he was looking for someone else at that address.”