璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第118部分

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This　was　quickly　put　into　the　water。　Then　came　the　forensics　people　with　a　lab　truck；　and　it　was　time　to　go　out　to　the　fountain。　Preis　asked　to　go　along　…　he　was　a　better　photographer　than　the　one　the　cops　used　…　but　was　rebutted；　and　so　he　continued　to　record　the　event　from　the　lake‘s　edge。　There　wouldn‘t　be　another　Pulitzer　in　this。　There　could　have　been；　he　thought。　But　the　price　of　that　would　have　involved　immortalizing　the　instinctive　act　of　a　carrion　bird；　defiling　the　body　of　a　girl　in　the　midst　of　a　major　city。　And　that　wasn‘t　worth　the　nightmares。　He　had　enough　of　those　already。
A　crowd　had　already　gathered。　The　police　officers　congregated　in　small　knots；　trading　quiet　ments　and　barbed　attempts　at　grim　humor。　A　TV　news　truck　arrived　from　its　studio　on　Television　Hill　just　north　of　the　park；　which　held　the　city　zoo。　It　was　a　place　Bob　Preis　often　took　his　young　children；　and　they　especially　liked　the　lion；　not　so　originally　named　Leo；　and　the　polar　bears；　and　all　the　other　predators　that　were　safely　confined　behind　steel　bars　and　stone　walls。　Unlike　some　people；　he　thought；　watching　them　lift　the　body　and　place　it　in　a　rubber　bag。　At　least　her　torment　was　over。　Preis　changed　rolls　one　more　time　to　record　the　process　of　loading　the　body　into　the　coroner‘s　station　wagon。　A　Sun　reporter　was　here　now。　He‘d　ask　the　questions　while　Preis　determined　how　good　his　new　camera　really　was　back　at　his　darkroom　on　Calvert　Street。
‘John；　they　found　her；‘　Rosen　said。
‘Dead？‘　Kelly　couldn‘t　look　up。　The　tone　of　Sam‘s　voice　had　already　told　him　the　real　news。　It　wasn‘t　a　surprise；　but　the　end　of　hope　never　es　easily　to　anyone。
Sam　nodded。　‘Yeah。‘
‘How？‘
‘I　don‘t　know　yet。　The　police　called　me　a　few　minutes　ago；　and　I　came　over　as　quick　as　I　could。‘
‘Thanks；　pal。‘　If　a　human　voice　could　sound　dead；　Sam　told　himself；　Kelly‘s　did。
‘I‘m　sorry；　John。　I　…　you　know　how　I　felt　about　her。‘
‘Yes；　sir；　I　do。　It‘s　not　your　fault；　Sam。‘
‘You‘re　not　eating。‘　Rosen　gestured　to　the　food　tray。
‘I‘m　not　real　hungry。‘
‘If　you　want　to　recover；　you　have　to　get　your　strength　back。‘
‘Why？‘　Kelly　asked；　staring　at　the　floor。
Rosen　came　over　and　grasped　Kelly‘s　right　hand。　There　wasn‘t　much　to　say。　The　surgeon　didn‘t　have　the　stomach　to　look　at　Kelly‘s　face。　He‘d　pieced　enough　together　to　know　that　his　friend　was　blaming　himself；　and　he　didn‘t　know　enough　to　talk　to　him　about　it；　at　least　not　yet。　Death　was　a　panion　for　Sam　Rosen；　MD；　FACS。　Neurosurgeons　dealt　with　major　injuries　to　that　most　delicate　part　of　the　human　anatomy；　and　the　injuries　to　which　they　most　often　responded　were　frequently　beyond　anyone‘s　power　to　repair。　But　the　unexpected　death　of　a　person　one　knows　can　be　too　much　for　anyone。
‘Is　there　anything　I　can　do？‘　he　asked　after　a　minute　or　two。
‘Not　right　now；　Sam。　Thanks。‘
‘Maybe　a　priest？‘
‘No；　not　now。‘
‘It　wasn‘t　your　fault；　John。‘
‘Whose；　then？　She　trusted　me；　Sam。　I　blew　it。‘
‘The　police　want　to　talk　to　you　some　more。　I　told　them　tomorrow　morning。‘
He‘d　been　through　his　second　interview　in　the　morning。　Kelly　had　already　told　them　much　of　what　he　knew。　Her　full　name；　her　hometown；　how　they‘d　met。　Yes；　they　had　been　intimate。　Yes；　she　had　been　a　prostitute；　a　runaway。　Yes；　her　body　had　shown　signs　of　abuse。　But　not　everything。　Somehow　he‘d　been　unable　to　volunteer　information　because　to　have　done　so　would　have　entailed　admitting　to　other　men　the　dimensions　of　his　failure。　And　so　he　had　avoided　some　of　their　inquiries；　claiming　pain；　which　was　quite　real；　but　not　real　enough。　He　already　sensed　that　the　police　didn‘t　like　him；　but　that　was　okay。　He　didn‘t　much　like　himself　at　the　moment。　‘
‘Okay。‘
‘I　can　…　I　should　do　some　things　with　your　medications。　I‘ve　tried　to　go　easy；　I　don‘t　like　overdoing　the　things；　but　they‘ll　help　you　relax；　John。‘
‘Dope　me　up　more？‘　Kelly‘s　head　lifted；　and　the　expression　was　not　something　that　Rosen　ever　wanted　to　see　again。　‘You　think　that‘s　really　going　to　make　a　difference；　Sam？‘
Rosen　looked　away；　unable　to　meet　his　eyes　now　that　it　was　possible　to　do　so。　‘You‘re　ready　for　a　regular　bed。　I‘ll　have　you　moved　into　one　in　a　few　minutes。‘
‘Okay。‘
The　surgeon　wanted　to　say　more；　but　couldn‘t　find　the　right　words。　He　left　without　any　others。
It　took　Sandy　O‘Toole　and　two　orderlies　to　move　him；　as　carefully　as　they　could；　onto　a　standard　hospital　bed。　She　cranked　up　the　head　portion　to　relieve　the　pressure　on　his　injured　shoulder。
‘I　heard；‘　she　told　him。　It　bothered　her　that　his　grief　wasn‘t　right。　He　was　a　tough　man；　but　not　a　fool。　Perhaps　he　was　one　of　those　men　who　did　his　weeping　alone；　but　she　was　sure　he　hadn‘t　done　it　yet。　And　that　was　necessary；　she　knew。　Tears　released　poisons　from　inside；　poisons　which　if　not　released　could　be　as　deadly　as　the　real　kind。　The　nurse　sat　beside　his　bed。　‘I‘m　a　widow；‘　she　told　him。
‘Vietnam？‘
‘Yes；　Tim　was　a　captain　in　the　First　Cavalry。‘
‘I‘m　sorry；‘　Kelly　said　without　turning　his　head。　‘They　saved　my　butt　once。‘
‘It‘s　hard。　I　know。‘
‘Last　November　I　lost　Tish；　and　now　…‘
‘Sarah　told　me。　Mr　Kelly　…‘
‘John；‘　he　said　softly。　He　couldn‘t　find　it　in　himself　to　be　gruff　to　her。
‘Thank　you；　John。　My　name　is　Sandy。　Bad　luck　does　not　make　a　bad　person；‘　she　told　him　in　a　voice　that　meant　what　it　said；　though　it　didn‘t　quite　sound　that　way。
‘It　wasn‘t　luck。　She　told　me　it　was　a　dangerous　place　and　I　took　her　there　anyway　because　I　wanted　to　see　for　myself。‘
‘You　almost　got　yourself　killed　trying　to　protect　her。‘
‘I　didn‘t　protect　her；　Sandy。　I　killed　her。‘　Kelly‘s　eyes　were　wide　open　now；　looking　at　the　ceiling。　‘I　was　careless　and　stupid　and　I　killed　her。‘
‘Other　people　killed　her；　and　other　people　tried　to　kill　you。　You‘re　a　victim。‘
‘Not　a　victim。　Just　a　fool。‘
We‘ll　save　that　for　later；　Nurse　O‘Toole　told　herself。　‘What　sort　of　girl　was　she；　John？‘
‘Unlucky。‘　Kelly　made　an　effort　to　look　at　her　face；　but　that　just　made　it　worse。　He　gave　the　nurse　a　brief　synopsis　of　the　life　of　Pamela　Starr　Madden；　deceased。
‘So　after　all　the　men　who　hurt　her　or　used　her；　you　gave　her　something　that　nobody　else　did。‘　O‘Toole　paused；　waiting　for　a　reply　and　getting　none。　‘You　gave　her　love；　didn‘t　you？‘
‘Yes。‘　Kelly‘s　body　shuddered　for　a　moment。　‘Yes；　I　did　love　her。‘
‘Let　it　out；‘　the　nurse　told　him。　‘You　have　to。‘
First　he　closed　his　eyes。　Then　he　shook　his　head。　‘I　can‘t。‘
This　would　be　a　difficult　patient；　she　told　herself。　The　cult　of　manhood　was　a　mystery　to　her。　She‘d　seen　it　in　her　husband；　who　had　served　a　tour　in　Vietnam　as　a　lieutenant；　then　rotated　back　again　as　a　pany　mander。　He　hadn‘t　relished　it；　hadn‘t　looked　forward　to　it；　but　he　hadn‘t　shrunk　from　it。。　It　was　part　of　the　job；　he‘d　told　her　on　their　wedding　night；　two　months　before　he‘d　left。　A　stupid；　wasteful　job　that　had　cost　her　a　husband　and；　she　feared；　her　life。　Who　really　cared　what　happened　in　a　place　so　far　away？　And　yet　it　had　been　important　to　Tim。　Whatever　that　force　had　been；　its　legacy　to　her　was　emptiness；　and　it　had　no　more　real　meaning　than　the　grim　pain　she　saw　on　the　face　of　her　patient。　O‘Toole　would　have　known　more　about　that　pain　if　she‘d　been　able　to　take　her　thought　one　step　further。　
*　*　*
‘That　was　really　stupid。‘
‘That‘s　one　way　of　looking　at　it；‘　Tucker　agreed。　‘But　I　can‘t　have　my　girls　leaving　without　permission；　can　I？‘
‘You　ever　hear　of　burying　them？‘
‘Anybody　can　do　that。‘　The　man　smiled　in　the　darkness；　watching　the　movie。　They　were　in　the　back　row　of　a　downtown　theater；　a　1930s　film　palace　that　was　gradually　falling　to　ruin；　and　had　started　running　turns　at　9　a。m。　just　to　keep　up　with　the　painting　bill。　It　was　still　a　good　place　for　a　covert　meeting　with　a　confidential　informant；　which　was　how　this　meeting　would　go　on　the　officer‘s　time　sheet。
‘Sloppy　not　killing　the　guy；　too。‘
‘Will　he　be　a　problem？‘　Tucker　asked。
‘No。　He　didn‘t　see　anything；　did　he？‘
‘You　tell　me；　man。‘
‘I　can‘t　get　that　close　to　the　case；　remember？‘　The　man　paused　for　a　handful　of　popcorn　and　munched　away　his　irritation。　‘He‘s　known　to　the　department。　Ex…Navy　guy；　skin　diver；　lives　over　on　the　Eastern　Shore　somewhere；　sort　of　a　rich　beach　bum　from　what　I　gather。　The　first　interview　didn‘t　develop　anything　at　all。　Ryan　and　Douglas　are　going　to　be　working　the　case　now；　but　it　doesn‘t　look　like　they　have　much　of　anything　to　work　with。‘
‘That‘s　about　what　she　said　when　we　。。。　"；talked"；　to　her。　He　picked　her　up；　and　it　looks　like　they　had　a　mighty　good　time　together；　but　her　supply　of　pills　ran　out；　she　said；　and　she　had　him　bring　her　in　town　to　score　some　‘ludes。　So；　no　harm　done？‘
‘Probably　not；　but　let‘s　try　to　control　loose　ends；　okay？‘
‘You　want　me　to　get　him　in　the　hospital？‘　Tucker　asked　lightly。　‘I　can　probably　arrange　that。‘
‘No！　You　damned　fool；　this　is　going　on　the　books　as　a　robbery。　If　anything　else　happens；　it　just　gets　bigger。　We　don‘t　want　that。　Leave　him　bе。　Не　doesn‘t　know　anything。‘
‘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　organiz