Chapter 75
At Spero, Santopietro summoned Renders to his office.
Santopietro had just gotten off the phone with Roger Teal, who had informed him of the visit from the private investigator.Santopietro wasn’t overly worried and did his best to reassure Teal.Parker, said Santopietro, wasn’t interested in school finances, only in Scott Theriault.Regarding the latter, Santopietro’s conscience was clear, since he hadn’t killed Theriault; that, like Mallory Norton, was on Renders.Santopietro had simply identified the problem and left it to his subordinate to solve.The next thing Santopietro knew, Theriault’s body was discovered in the water, a case of accidental death, which was certainly for the best: for Spero, where Scott was a disruptive presence; for Santopietro and Renders, because of what they’d done to Mallory Norton; and finally, for Scott himself, since his character flaws were too ingrained for the school to remedy.
What Teal hadn’t mentioned, or not until Santopietro raised the subject, was Nola Maddick, aka Gai Cotter, the undercover DEA agent missing in Detroit.When Santopietro asked Teal straight out if Gai Cotter was the woman he and Kenney had killed, Teal at first expressed doubt and tried to end the call, but Santopietro had long had the measure of Roger Teal.
“Roger,” he pressed, “was it her?”
“I think so.”Then: “Yes.”
“Which is it?Possible, or certain?”
“Certain.We couldn’t have known what she was, but it was clean, very clean.”
“What does Kenney say?”
“He agrees.”
He would, thought Santopietro.
“Kenney hasn’t been in touch,” said Santopietro, “not with me.”
“He will.”
“He told you so?”
“Yes.”
“Over the phone, or in person?”
“In person,” said Teal, who was starting to wish he’d never made the call.“We met yesterday evening.That was when he told me that Maddick, Cotter, whatever, was DEA.”
“What else did you discuss?”
“Parker’s visit.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes, that’s all.”
This spoken with too much conviction:a lie.
“If you and Edward say the kill was clean,” said Santopietro, “then it was.As for Parker, he’ll find nothing here.Scott Theriault’s death was a dreadful mishap, and his mother and stepfather have accepted it as such.His father is lashing out impotently.Take a pill tonight, Roger.It’ll help you sleep.”
“I might do that,” said Teal.
But he didn’t hang up.
“Is there anything more?”Santopietro asked.
“Mallory Norton.”
“She’s still missing,” said Santopietro.“Hope is dwindling.”
Teal was silent.
“Roger, are you there?”
