Читать книгу The Icing on the Corpse - Mary Jane Maffini - Страница 7

Stop hyperventilating, Alvin.”

“Well, do something. If he's cunning enough to slip out of jail, he can find her too.”

“It's obviously some kind of mistake, but if she's upset, she needs help. I'll head right over and see what I can do to reassure her. It's probably the stress of knowing the sentencing hearing's today. She's been overwrought.”

“I'll call 911,” Alvin said. “She needs help.”

I yanked the receiver from his hand. “No. Remember the last time he was on the loose so long? People figured he has some kind of inside contact. Even Lindsay thought so. We don't want some dispatcher blasting out Lindsay's address and the wrong person hearing it and passing the information on to Benning. He could use some of his connections to harass her.”

“Lord thundering Jesus.”

“Exactly.” I stuck my feet into the depths of the icy boots.

“I'm coming with you.” Alvin grabbed his studded black leather jacket from the coat rack. I knew his jacket had no winter lining, although it was accessorized with an extensive Mickey Mouse scarf. Oh sure, that was all I needed. To have to explain to my father and Alvin's sainted mother how I'd encouraged him to die of exposure while under my tutelage.

“You must be kidding.”

“I'm not kidding.” Alvin's black eyes flashed behind the cat's eye glasses.

“You are not coming.”

“Yes, I am.” Alvin was already zipping up the jacket.

“Get this straight, Alvin. You are staying here.”

“Wrong.”

I hate that manic glitter in his eyes. Time to change tactics. No point in discussing his lack of suitable winter clothing. I didn't want to bring on another bout of mind over matter. “Your newfound interest in social justice is touching, but it's important for you to be in the office.”

“That's quite a change in policy.”

He had a point. I spend my energy devising ways to remove him from the office on a permanent basis. He raised one eyebrow over the rim of the cat's eye glasses. It was an effect my sisters would have envied. But I was ready for him. “Lindsay may call here, and if you don't answer, she could panic and put herself at risk. She could go into hiding, and we wouldn't be able to contact her at all. That's why.”

Alvin's hand paused on the zipper.

I said, “So, if she does call, keep her calm, find out what happened and call me on my cellphone.”

Alvin removed the jacket and slumped back in his seat.

“Okay,” he said.

I busied myself with my parka and gloves. I was still wearing the hat, socks and long silk underwear. Alvin busied himself staring at the phone. Jimmy Buffett busied himself singing “Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season”.

I snatched the cellphone. “And turn the music off and put the radio on CBC. This is not a holiday camp.”

Alvin plunked his feet on the desk and watched me slantily. “Aloha,” he called as I headed for the parking garage.

I'd been parked long enough for my recently acquired, pre-enjoyed Honda Civic to chill. The engine turned over on the third try. By that time, the vinyl seats had frozen my behind. Despite the red socks, my feet felt ready for amputation. I sat shivering and prayed the car would warm up before the engine flooded or the battery died. It wouldn't help Lindsay Grace if I joined the long list of people praying to be rescued by the CAA. A one-hour wait on sub-zero vinyl.

Therefore, I wasn't going anywhere until the heat gauge crept from the red into the black zone. The air in the garage was full of exhaust fumes. I gobbled some mints to get the taste out of my mouth. Winter in the nation's capital. No end to the fun.

I kept trying Lindsay's line, but the phone rang on and on. I was about to dial for the tenth time, when my own phone rang. “Hello, Alvin. Did Lindsay call back?”

“Not yet.”

“Then why are you tying up the line?”

“Don't you have your radio on?”

“No, I'm warming the car, and I don't want to drain the battery. I also don't want to chat. Hang up.”

“It's on the radio. It's confirmed. Benning's escaped.”

“What? I can't believe it!”

“Believe it. He was supposed to have had a dental emergency, and when they were moving him somewhere, he overpowered his guard somehow and disappeared.”

“Not even possible.”

“Possible, and that's not all. The guard who was escorting him? Benning bit off his nose.”

“What?”

“Bit the guards nose off.” Alvin s voice rose.

“Oh, how could that happen? He had only one guard?”

“I don't know how many, but they reported Benning was armed.”

“How could he be armed? He was in jail!”

“You tell me.”

My heart thundered against my ribs. Lindsay.

Alvin said, “And there's an unconfirmed report an officer was shot.”

“When?”

“As far as I can figure out, it must have happened about an hour ago. Explains all those sirens.”

“Where are their brains? They might have figured out a lunatic like Benning would need a back-up guard. A guy facing an indefinite sentence might be willing to take a real big chance. But how the hell could he have a weapon?”

“Wait a minute. There's an update. Wow, shot at least one officer during his escape.”

I was thinking fast.

Alvin squeaked, “He must have called Lindsay. No wonder she was so upset.”

“No, her phone's unlisted. Only a couple of people have it. He wouldn't know it.”

“Oh, right.”

“Maybe she caught the news report and called us right away.”

“Maybe.”

“Has to be,” I said.

“You better shift your butt, Camilla.”

I let it slide, just that once.

Ralph Benning had nothing to lose going after Lindsay.

“I'm on my way, but we have to get the police there fast without alerting Benning to the location.”

“But you said…Okay, so how do we let them know?”

I fished out my phone book. “You track down Elaine Ekstein. Here's her cell number. She always picks up. Explain what's happened. She'll fix it. She makes a lot of noise as Executive Director of WAVE. She'll tell them to hustle enough officers over to Lindsay's and do it on the QT.”

“But Elaine's a civilian. What if they don't listen to her?”

“Trust me. They'll listen. Every cop in this town's scared shitless of Elaine.”

My father spent twenty years as a high school principal. The legacy is a nice pension and a collection of useful clichés. His favourite saying has always been when the going gets tough, the tough get going. My sisters prefer to say when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. In my case, when the going gets tough, the tough get stupid. Which means that I wasn't giving proper respect to Benning's cunning abilities as I eased off the ramp and onto the street.

January's gift to the residents of Ottawa had been snow. Most of it was still piled on the edges of the side streets. That reduced the streets to one car width in many cases. Under the snow was ice. I didn't want to slide off the road, because I already knew I wouldn't find a tow truck in any big hurry.

Well, what did I have to bitch about? Icy vinyl seats? Small potatoes compared to knowing that a man who would slam a wounded woman with a baseball bat was on your trail. Benning would still have the taste of the guard's blood in his mouth. But Lindsay. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to sit alone and wait for Ralph Benning.

I used the time at red lights to place calls that might yield a bit of new information on the Benning situation. First, I phoned my brother-in-law-to-be in Major Crimes. We didn't see eye to eye on much, but he would be steaming over this. Conn McCracken takes a dim view of domestic assault, to begin with. He'd done the groundwork on Benning's last arrest. He'd seen Rina Benning's broken body in the hospital. He'd know what it meant to have Benning loose. He'd understand what Lindsay Grace was up against.

I left a message after the beep.

You'll never catch me complaining about voice mail. I love it. What's not to love about a technology where no one can avoid your opinions and instructions any time of the day or night?

Next I punched in P. J. Lynch's cell number. That's the best part about having a reporter friend. He'd know what was happening. If I were lucky, he'd fill me in. Speculation and all. He must have been on the line. I left my detailed message after the beep.

Twenty minutes later, six blocks from Lindsay's townhouse, my brain engaged. Benning was smart. I still got chills remembering his cocky smirk when I'd accompanied Lindsay to testify at his trial. He knew I was her legal support. He knew I was connected and in touch. As soon as the word reached her or me, he'd bet I'd head out to protect her.

He would have done his homework, would have had some confederate research all of Lindsay's contacts. He probably had my home address. He'd know where I worked. All he'd have to do was sit and watch my office during the day until I headed out. Then he could follow me. He'd have no trouble waiting. Plenty of practice in Kingston.

I had failed Lindsay once, and I was about to fail her again. I pulled over and sat nudged up against four feet of solid packed snowbank. On the far side of the banks the red vinyl covers on the parking meters told me parking was off limits until the snow clearing had been completed.

A steady stream of cars edged by, most of the drivers shooting reproachful glances. Every second driver blew his horn.

I stared back at each vehicle, expecting to catch Ralph Benning's hard black eyes boring through my soul. The first break in the traffic, I climbed out and pretended to fish a blanket from the trunk. No one was parked behind me. I didn't spot Benning in the straggly line of traffic.

But he was out there. So how the hell could I connect with Lindsay without inviting Benning to the party?

“What?” Alvin said. “Are you out of your tiny mind?”

“Show a little respect. I am, after all, your employer.”

“I suppose you are. In the broadest sense of the term.”

“I am your employer in every sense of the term. Do I understand that is no longer your heart's desire?”

“Yeah, but this is not an office administration activity. Admit it, Camilla.”

“I believe it falls under Other Duties as Required.”

“Well, I don't think it's legal to ask someone to pretend to be someone else.”

“Alvin, say the word, and I'll put an ad in the paper for a replacement.”

“No need to be snotty. You could at least give me one good reason.”

“Lindsay Grace is the reason. If Benning follows me, and he's sharp enough to, I'll lead him right to her.”

“Well, why didn't you say so? Do you have to be so frigging mysterious? Give me a minute. And listen, I cant reach Elaine. I left messages at her home, her office, and her cellphone.”

“Did you leave my cellphone number?”

“Of course.”

“Don't worry. We'll hear from her. And Alvin.…”

“On my way.” He hung up before I could tell him it would take me a while to negotiate the drive back.

The line was already busy when I dialed again. Oh, well.

“Aloha,” I said.

With a one-way street system, you don't get anywhere in a minute. No matter how much you want to. With the clogged streets and cop cruisers everywhere, it took nearly half an hour to reach my parking garage.

I drew some satisfaction from the thought of dragging Benning on a wild goose chase. I tried not to dwell on Alvin in the garage. By the time I edged up the ramp and into my spot, the car was nice and warm. Alvin was neither warm nor nice.

“If you hadn't hung up on me, I would have told you to wait for me in the office.”

I couldn't make out what he answered the way his teeth chattered.

“Head back to the office.” I clanged after him down the metal stairwell to our level. “We'll talk on the beach at Fort Lauderdale.”

“Mmmind over mmmatter.” He didn't break stride.

“All right,” I said when Alvin showed signs of recovery. “I should have made myself clear.” It was hard not to feel bad about Alvin's half-frozen state. Especially since I'd been hoping he'd exhibit an unacceptable level of insubordination and I would be forced, despite my kind and gentle nature, to fire him.

“The weather doesn't bother me.” He shook like a wet wolfhound.

I was not used to him being polite. “I told you I was sorry.”

“And I told you I'm fine. Not cold at all. Don't waste time. That maniac could be on his way to Lindsay's right now.”

“I don't see how. She made sure nobody knows where her new place is, except us.”

“Us? You mean you,” said Alvin.

“Right. Me. None of her friends. None of his friends. Not the police. No one but me and Elaine, of course.”

“He could find out.”

I shook my head. “I don't think so. Not this quickly.”

Alvin took a deep breath, but I wasn't finished.

“I'm his best bet. He'll figure I'll head straight for her. I can't take the chance that he'll follow me there.”

“Lord thundering Jesus, you need to check on her.”

“Hold that thought, Alvin. So, to finish up, he can follow me. Only I will be you. You will be me. And you can lead him to think he's on his way to Lindsay's.”

On the bright side, at least Alvin would be warm, and I wouldn't have to put his pine-boxed frozen corpse onto a train bound for his weeping mother in Sydney.

No indeedy, Alvin would be real toasty in my parka, my thinsulate-lined gloves, my red hat and my recently-warmed car as he led Ralph Benning on a fool's errand around the second coldest capital city in the world. He even had my cellphone, for what it was worth.

I tried not to dwell on how Alvin would drive without the cat s eye glasses. Sometimes you have to trust in a higher power.

I wanted to give Alvin plenty of time to drive down the ramp of the garage and back out into traffic. I figured after twenty minutes he'd be stuck on Elgin going nowhere fast. Not even Benning could find Lindsay Grace in less than an hour.

I hoped like hell I was right.