“So you really have no idea who it could be?” It was a last effort, fueled by hope more than anything else.
“No. I keep my head down and concentrate on my own business. For the record, though, if I knew who he was, I’d tell you. He’s creepy.”
“Thank you, James. I guess we’re on our way.”
Poulter gave a lazy salute, his relief about being off the hook almost palpable in the air. They left the club the same way they had entered, followed by the watchful eyes of the cleaning woman. When they were back in the car, Andi thumped the dashboard in frustration. “Damn!”
George started the engine, glancing at Andi. “Where to next?”
“Straight down this street, turn left at the end.” They were silent while George steered the Escalade back onto the street. When he was on his way to where Andi had indicated, he finally spoke. “This Poulter guy wasn’t very forthcoming.”
“No.”
“And he was frightened.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think he knows more than he let on?”
Andi growled. “Unfortunately, I’ve been acquainted with him long enough to be fairly sure he’s telling the truth.”
“And this bullshit about telling you if he knew?”
“The truth.” When Andi saw the disbelief in George’s eyes he started to explain. “See it from his point of view. The Lion is a nuisance to him, but not a direct threat to his business, since Poulter specializes in people who have no control over their lives left. Plus he knows me and my reputation, has seen me in action. The Lion may not be Poulter’s primary concern, but he’s an outsider, somebody he doesn’t trust, and therefore getting rid of him by telling me what I need to know would be an elegant solution from his point of view. We have already seen how careful the Lion is in everything he does. He’s been able to stay under the police’s radar for two years, and even now we don’t have any clues with which to find him because of the way he has structured his dealings. Using outside contractors is risky but also has its benefits, like no ties back to the client.” He let his head rest against the soft leather of the seat. “Let’s hope the others on my list have something more to say, though I’m beginning to suspect we won’t be that lucky.”
George huffed a humorless chuckle and turned into the street Andi had indicated.
AS ITturned out, Andi’s hunch about not being lucky was dead on. After four hours of fruitless questioning, the only thing they knew for sure was that the Lion was a smart son of a bitch and dangerous enough to have even the most brutal of the pimps in Charleston quivering in fear. None of them had been able to provide them with any substantial leads, which meant they were facing the potential of the case going cold. Andi was so preoccupied with thoughts about the case that the battery of sensual input he got from the arthropods in the precinct when George pulled into the parking lot caught him completely by surprise and had him doubling over in his seat.
Bustling like an ant colony before swarming, stress, anger, pheromones flying, the air full of currents carrying and mixing all kinds of scents, making it hard to decipher where the useful ones originated, too many feet running around, the ground trembling in overlapping waves, destabilizing nests and webs and nooks and crannies where the brood was, destroying hiding places, all stirred up like a tornado, insects trying to hide or scuttling around, the soft churning of tiny feet rasping over countless different surfaces, the disorientation, the chaos, keeping the queen safe, hustling the brood away, shouts in the air, adding more currents, more chaos, too much of everything, too much everywhere, no place to hide…
“Whoa, Andi, are you all right?” George’s hand on his back was the anchor that brought Andi back to reality. He shook his head, regretting it immediately when a sharp pain needled its way into his brain from behind his eyes.
“I’m fine. Just… just….” He couldn’t think of anything to say, his body too busy shutting out the sensory overload and being in pain because of it. He barely registered George leaving the car and coming round to his door. His partner opened the passenger door, released Andi’s seat belt, and helped him out when he couldn’t seem to get his feet under control. Once he was outside in the fresh air, Andi took a few deep breaths, wrestling his body back under the dominion of his will.
“Something’s going on inside.”
George kept a hand on Andi’s right arm, steadying him with a concerned expression. “One of your hunches?” There was no special emphasis on the word “hunch” this time, only genuine worry for Andi’s well-being, and he appreciated it more than he probably should have. They slowly made it inside, where they were greeted by chaos. Chief Norris was barking commands at anybody coming too close to her, while Shireen was standing right next to the chief, wringing her hands nervously and looking as if she was ready to collapse. The chief saw them entering through the door and gestured them to come closer.
“Hayes, Donovan, bad news. Taylor Vance’s cell has vanished. My office, now. You as well.” She shot Shireen a look of pure venom.
Andi was still digesting the catastrophic fact when George closed the door to the chief’s office. His partner appeared calm on the outside, as if they hadn’t just lost an important part of their meager evidence after a day of potential leads vanishing into thin air.
“What happened?”
The chief glared at Shireen. “Tell them,” she barked, and Shireen flinched.
“I’m sorry, so sorry. I had the cell in my department’s safe. I was hoping to perhaps find some more clues on it, so I hadn’t sent it back to evidence after the initial sweep was done. I went to get it about twenty minutes ago, to work on it some more, try something with the apps on it, but it was gone. The safe was closed, no signs of anybody having tried to gain access. It’s gone.”
Shireen’s shoulders slumped, her entire demeanor that of somebody who was defeated.
“Have you any idea who could have taken it?” George was still projecting a calmness Andi couldn’t find. He was glad his partner was taking over, because he was still too blindsided from the fact that the cell was gone, as well as the still ongoing assault of images coming from the arthropods in the building. Shireen took a shuddering breath, concentrated on George, and ignored the chief, who was silently fuming in her chair. Unhelpful as always. Instead of reassuring her top IT specialist, Norris was making Shireen nervous, and nervous witnesses were useless witnesses.
“No. I mean, it could have been anyone who knows the combination for the safe. It’s a simple code, because we don’t have the budget to get an iris scanner or even facial recognition. And besides, who’s crazy enough to steal something from the heart of the precinct?”
“Somebody who doesn’t want us snooping around in the Lion’s business.” George tapped his index finger against his chin. “Are there any cameras that could have caught our thief?”
Shireen seemed to shrink into the chair George had pulled out for her. “There are, but we were running maintenance today. Checking the wires and plugs, the angles. Whoever did it must have known and chosen a time when everything was down.”
