The Bricklayer - Boyd Noah. Страница 36

“And?”

“What’s the most logical way to investigate this case?”

“It’s a little early for a pop quiz, but I don’t think it’s by going after Pendaran. I don’t know, I guess you have to dig into Salton’s history, see who he was tight with inside and look for anyone he might have hooked up with when he got out.”

“That’s logical, but it’s one of those things where there are just too many possibilities. While he was in prison, thousands of prisoners came and went.”

“I suppose then you have to go back to investigating the murders, separately and as a group.”

“And that’s what the Bureau’s been doing. But it’s not working, because whoever is responsible was using that investigation to lead us to Bertok and Pendaran. The murders are not the key.”

“Then what is?”

“The drop locations. While the selection of the murder victims can be almost random, the drops are much more critical because they are the most vulnerable phase of the extortion. They’re the only time when the Bureau and the criminals have to be in the same place at the same time, so the Pentad has to be familiar and comfortable with them. There are three locations. The Arizona highway, which is just too long to reveal anything. And we know that the group is centered in Los Angeles, so for them to have knowledge of that railroad tunnel and the area in general doesn’t help us at all. But the naval prison in New Hampshire may be a way into this.”

“Do you think that one of them was a prisoner there?”

“It’s been closed for thirty years, so probably not. But that island is more than a prison. It’s a naval base with a lot of civilian employees as well. It has a hospital, a hotel, and everything in between. It’s a small city.”

“How does that narrow it down?”

“It doesn’t. But with Salton identified, it looks like there’s a reasonable chance we’re dealing with career criminals. Federal ex-cons. New Hampshire is a small state, less than a million people. Social Security numbers issued to residents begin with 001 to 003. Can you get ahold of someone at the Bureau of Prisons and get a list of everyone with a New Hampshire Social Security number who was released within the last year from Marion? Then two years, up to the last five years. Five lists.”

“I assumed you checked Salton’s.”

“New Jersey.”

“That sounds like it still could be a lot of people. With just the two of us sneaking around, it could take forever,” Kate said. “I assume you’ve come to me with this because we are going to be sneaking around.”

“I prefer ‘parallel investigation.’ It’ll sound better at your trial board.”

“So what do we do with this list of people with New Hampshire Social Security numbers?”

“Our target extortionist is now living here, and if I’ve learned one thing about Los Angeles, it’s that you can’t live here without driving. When you get the list of the New Hampshire names, run them for current California driver’s licenses.”

“That makes sense. I’ll get on it as soon as I can get dressed. What will you be doing?”

“Well, I could stay and watch.” She started pushing him toward the door. “Then I’ll be sleeping.”

EVEN THOUGH HALF AWAKE, Vail let the phone ring three times before he reached for it, hoping it would stop or go to voice mail. “Hello,” he said, trying not to reveal the sleep in his voice.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Kate said.

“Funny.” Vail looked at his watch; it was 10:30. “What’s up?”

“For one, the Bureau of Prisons. Fortunately, they’re three hours ahead of us, and I got them to run the New Hampshire numbers. Then I had those names checked for California driver’s licenses.”

“How many?”

“Fourteen.”

“That’s more than I would have liked, but we can probably narrow it down by city, age, crime, anything like that.”

She smiled to herself and hesitated a moment to enjoy what she was about to say. “No need.”

Vail pulled himself up to a half-sitting position. “Aren’t you the little overachiever this morning?”

“I called the agent in charge up in Portsmouth, where the first drop was. They’ve been quietly conducting an investigation up there since Dan West was murdered. The big employer there is the shipyard. I had them check their list of old employees, and guess what?”

“One of your fourteen worked there.”

“Worked there as a welder when he was eighteen. Before he went to prison the first time. Victor James Radek. White male, thirty-eight years old. Released from Marion nine months ago. Did fifteen years for robbing an armored car. Supposedly he was the brains behind a gang that actually hit eight different cars, but the government could prove only the one. None of the money was ever recovered. He was incarcerated in Marion at the same time as Salton.”

“That’s nice work, Kate. For a—”

“Woman?”

“I was going to say deputy assistant director, but woman works equally well.”

“Apparently your tongue is wide awake.”

“We can start with the address on his driver’s license.”

“I’ll pick you up in a half hour,” Kate said.

WHEN VAIL GOT into the car, she handed him a container of coffee. “Thanks. Anyone going to miss you in the office?”

“They’re too busy congratulating one another about Pendaran.” She handed Vail two different photos of Radek. “He was arrested three months ago by Alameda PD for DUI. They e-mailed that to me after I talked to you. The other’s from Marion.”

Vail took a long look at the mug shots of Victor James Radek, memorizing the inner trapezoid of his features, from the outer corners of his eyebrows to the underline of his lower lip. In the local arrest photo, anger had reduced his eyes to slits and his lips were drawn back in defiance. His expression was that of an experienced criminal who didn’t like being caged no matter how briefly. His shoulders filled the frame, and his lean jawline suggested that he was not only fit, but capable of explosive brutal force.

His prison photo was different. He had been in the system for a while when it was taken and had learned that invisibility was the surest path to early release. Prison officials referred to it as “Caspering” after the cartoon ghost who was almost invisibly transparent while just trying to be everyone’s friend. Radek’s expression was as neutral as humanly possible. And there was something about the production quality that left the photo generically stark, washed out not only in color but in depth, eliminating any other clues to the person behind the mask. Vail looked a little closer and thought he could detect the slightest smirk at the corner of the convict’s mouth, as if the world were about to end and he was the only one who knew about it. “Sounds like you don’t think Pendaran’s involved.”

“At that meeting yesterday, I listened to the evidence against him, and it suddenly came to me that this is Stan Bertok all over again. Radek and his merry men put this in place just in case we saw through Stan and the suicide. I was surprised that Tye Delson didn’t question it. I thought she was a little smarter than that.”

“Maybe she was embarrassed because she’s the one who first came up with Pendaran’s name.”

“You’re making excuses for her? You know what that’s a sign of, don’t you?”

“Oh, how I’m going to regret this. What?”

“She’s got a thing for you. And you like that.”

“I’m not sure that’s true.”

Kate laughed. “Then maybe it’s you who’s got a thing for her. I know there’s a thing in there somewhere.”

Vail said, “Is this important to you, Kate?”

“No!”

“Kay-tee,” he teased.

“It’s not,” she said quickly, and realized how unconvincing she sounded.

“That’s too bad.”

His tone made her look at him, and she could see he was no longer joking. Too bad. What was that supposed to mean? She told herself she couldn’t care less. She didn’t have time to peel the layers off Vail’s motives. All she could do was pretend the remark didn’t register. But of course it had. She adjusted the rearview mirror unnecessarily, as if she were extra vigilant, since they had been followed the day before. Reading men’s intentions, at least the more basic ones, had never been difficult for Kate, but Vail, from the moment he knew her name on that Chicago rooftop until this latest overture, confused her. “So what’s the plan when we catch up with this guy Radek?”