The Queen of Cool (15 page)

“
Yes,” Lo said. “We went
early because he had a full day of client appointments. We stopped
at Starbucks for coffee and pastries. I was supposed to gain more
weight, you know. Then he went to the office. Did you talk to
Marilyn?”

“
Marilyn is dead, Lo,”
Manny said. “We found her at your house in Lake Worth. The ME
believes she killed herself.”

“
When?”

“
I found her the day I
talked to you,” Manny said.

“
No, when did she kill
herself?” Lo asked.

“
The Medical Examiner
estimates she died the day after Don,” Manny said.

“
How?” Lo asked.

Manny and Will looked at each other then
looked at the reflective glass. When there wasn’t a tap on the
glass, Manny nodded.

“
She took an overdose of
pain medication,” Manny said.

Lo’s eyes welled with tears. She looked away
from the men to keep from crying.

“
What do you know about her
death, Mrs. Downs?” Will asked.

“
Nothing,” Lo shook her
head slightly. “She was like a mother to Don. He kept encouraging
her to retire, but her husband died a few years ago. She liked the
hustle and bustle of the office. Said it was good for her. She was
at least seventy and such a lovely woman. She must have been
devastated by Don’s death.”

“
Or involved,” Will
said.

Manny scowled at Will, and Will lifted a
shoulder in a shrug.

“
Let’s go back to Friday,”
Manny said.

“
Don worked; like I said he
had client appointments all day,” Lo said. “He wrapped up around
four and was home by four-thirty. We made love –doctor’s orders,
you know – worked out, showered together, and went to
dinner.”

Lo gave a soft smile.

“
It was a really good day,”
Lo furtively wiped a tear from her eye. “You never know how lucky
you are to just have a really good day.”

“
We’ve confirmed that you
ate at Café Modern,” Manny said.

“
We were in bed by eleven,
and up at seven the next day.”

“
We’ve been able to confirm
the schedule you gave me for Saturday,” Manny said. “And Don? What
do you know about his schedule?”

“
Nothing,” Lo said. “I
found his Blackberry. It was in his truck. He must have left it
when we went to dinner. Do you want that?”

“
That would be helpful,”
Manny said. “Why did you take the truck?”

“
Don liked driving it. We
had a lot of fun in that truck,” Lo shrugged. “I’ll call Alisha.
She and Mandy can bring it when they pick me up.”

“
When we’re done,” Manny
said.

“
I didn’t think of this
before, but where’s Don’s car?” Lo asked.

“
With your car,” Manny
said.

“
You mean you don’t know?”
Lo asked.

Manny nodded.

“
Can you tell me how Don
was murdered?” Lo asked.

“
That’s what’s interesting,
Lo,” Manny said. “And what’s taken so long.”

“
What?” Lo
asked.

“
Your husband was killed by
a nerve agent,” Will said. “Something called VX.”

“
A nerve agent? What’s
that?” Lo asked.

“
It’s biological weapon,
Lo,” Manny said.

Unsure of what question to ask next, Lo
shook her head. The detectives let the silence drag out.

“
I don’t understand,” Lo
said.

“
Your husband, Mrs. Downs,
died shortly after exposure to VX,” Will took his pen and made a
tiny dot on a piece of paper. “VX is so deadly that the tiniest
amount is deadly.”

“
He must have gotten it at
that woman’s place,” Lo said. “Jean-Jean’s.”

“
She says that Don was
having seizures and throwing up when he arrived at her place,”
Manny said. “He knew he had been exposed. His office was near her
place, so he went over there. She tried to save him.”

“
Is this VX a weapon of
mass destruction?” Lo asked.

“
It is classified as a
WMD,” Will asked. “Why?”

“
Does this
have anything to do with the 370
^th
Chemical
Company?” Lo asked.

The detectives looked startled. Recovering
first, Manny leaned forward.

“
Why?” Manny
asked.

“
Because my dad used to
work at the NAS,” Lo said. “He was an aircraft
mechanic.”

“
Remind me. How did your
father die?” Manny asked.

“
He had a heart attack,” Lo
said.

“
And your mother?” Manny
asked.

“
She hanged herself,” Lo
said. “You know that Manuel Rodriguez. You went to the funeral. Why
are you asking me this? What’s this got to do with Don?”

“
The Medical Examiner
believes, and it was confirmed by the FBI forensics lab, that Don
Downs inhaled VX approximately twenty minutes before he died,”
Manny said.

“
Inhaled?” Lo
asked.

“
Traces of VX
and Albuterol were found in Don’s lungs,” Manny said. “We had it
triple-checked to make sure. Why did you ask about the
370
^th
Chemical Company?”

“
My dad was friends with
the commander. They used to fish and hunt together,” Lo said. “Our
families had picnics or whatever together.”

“
You mean Captain Lewis
Bozeman?” Will asked.

“
He was a friend of my
dad’s,” Lo said.

The detectives looked at each other. There
was a single tap on the mirrored window. Will left the interview
room. To keep from feeling her shock and loss, Lo ran the facts
over and over in her mind – chemical weapon, inhaled.

“
Don has asthma,” Lo
said.

Manny looked up at her.

“
Especially when the
dogwoods are blooming,” Lo said. She couldn’t keep herself from
referring to him in the present tense. “His asthma is really
bad.”

“
And that day?” Manny
asked.

“
I don’t remember if the
Dogwoods were blooming,” Lo said. “But I think he was having
trouble. I’m sorry. It’s all a blur.”

“
Do you have any idea where
his inhaler is?”

“
The house, his car, my
car, his office?” Lo shook her head. “He had them everywhere.
Running out of breath was horrible. We’d tried everything –
acupuncture, supplements, chiropractors, eliminating certain foods
– and it helped a lot. Except when the Dogwoods were in
bloom.”

They sat in silence for a moment looking at
each other.

“
Why?” Lo asked.

Refusing to say anything, Manny looked away
from her toward the window. There were two taps on the window. He
shook his head. Lo’s eyes scoured his face for some fragment of
information. Seeing nothing, she crossed her arms and looked away.
Then it came to her.

“
That’s what they were
looking for,” Lo said. “That’s why they took our cars and destroyed
our home. They were looking for the inhaler that killed
him.”

Manny’s eyes turned to look at her. His face
remained neutral.

“
That inhaler is out there…
in the world… waiting to kill someone else,” Lo said.

“
More like a thousand
someone elses,” Manny said.

“
Oh my God! Does Jean-Jean
have it?”

“
No,” Manny’s voice was
deep and even.

Lo felt the weight of the truth settle deep
in her abdomen. She gasped for a breath.

“
My Donny reached for his
inhaler to stop an asthma attack and…”

Overwhelmed with the horrible truth, Lo
broke down.

Q

CHAPTER NINE

Thursday afternoon—2:45 p.m.
Fairmount Historic District, Fort Worth, Texas

Days: 39

“
What did Will say?” Manny
asked when Lo had settled in the passenger seat of his police
sedan. He started the vehicle.

“
When?” Lo
asked.

“
When we were
leaving.”

“
He asked me if I thought
Mandy had forgiven him,” Lo said.

“
And you said?”

“
I asked him if he’d ever
said he was sorry.”

Shaking his head, Manny laughed.

“
Why?” Lo asked.

“
He looked like he was
going to throw up,” Manny said. “I figured you’d scared the crap
out of him.”

Lo laughed.

“
I saw the Nike ad,” Manny
said.

“
Oh?” Lo asked. “It was
only published yesterday.”

“
ESPN.com had a picture of
you with the tagline: ‘I workout when things are easy, so I can be
strong when things are hard.’” He quoted the ad. “Did you really
say that?”

“
Something like it,” Lo
said. “It’s funny because the picture they used? I was standing
there, over Don’s grave, trying not to throw myself in.”

“
You look lost,” Manny
said. “I like the black and white of the picture with only the red
of the rose. You’re looking into the hole. Who took the
photo?”

“
I don’t know. Someone the
creative team knew,” Lo said. “They were really great. They used
the photo instead of bothering me with a photo shoot. Then without
us asking, they insisted on creating and filming our Queen of Cool
television ad. They even made a radio ad.”

“
Queen of Cool?” Manny
asked.

“
The air conditioning
business,” Lo said. “They insisted on doing it for free. They said
I let them get away with being lazy on the Nike account. It was the
least they could do. I think they feel bad for me. They sent the
final ad, but we haven’t looked at it yet.”

When Manny didn’t respond, Lo’s mind
wandered to one of the many times she and Don had driven down
Summit Avenue. She stretched her left hand. Don drove automatic
transmission cars so he could hold her hand when he drove. For a
moment, she languished in the familiar comfort of the memory. Manny
startled her when he spoke.

“
You’re really planning on
restarting that air conditioning business?” Manny asked.

“
Lisa and I have spent
almost every waking hour working on it,” Lo said. “Every hour I’m
not bawling my eyes out, that is. Why?”

Manny shrugged and they lapsed into silence
again.

“
Does anyone know you’re
living here?” Manny asked as he turned onto Henderson.

“
No,” Lo said.
“Why?”

“
I just don’t think you
should let people know where you’re living.”

“
You think I’m in
danger?”

“
Maybe,” Manny
said.

“
I’m sure the Fort Worth PD
will do its best to pursue justice,” Lo said.

“
That really pissed you
off,” Manny pulled up in front of Lo’s mother’s house.

“
The Fort Worth PD failed
Don over and over again,” Lo said. “No offense to you, but I can’t
shake the feeling y’all will do it again. I can’t live with
that.”

“
Don’t go investigating on
your own, Lo,” Manny said. “This isn’t a lost dog or a Nancy Drew
mystery. Your husband was killed with a deadly and illegal weapon
of mass destruction. There are forces here that are…
big.”

Lo didn’t have anything nice to say so she
kept her mouth shut.

“
Mindy Sue wants me to give
you one of our dogs,” Manny said.

“
Dogs?” Lo
asked.

“
We raise pit bulls,” Manny
said. “We have a one-year old male left from the last litter.
Someone bought him and returned him. Kids didn’t like the color.
He’s tan and white and a real love. Mindy Sue thinks you should
have one in case…”

“
You really think I’m in
danger,” Lo said.

“
I do,” Manny said. “Don’t
let people know you live here. I saw the gym. I don’t think it’s a
good idea to see clients there or…”

“
I won’t Manny,” Lo said.
“The girls are here. Lisa’s babies live there. I’m not going to let
them get hurt just because I’m stupid.”

“
You’ll think about
exhuming your parents,” Manny said. “We need to know if
they…”

“
I’ll talk to Lisa and
Larry.”

“
Good,” Manny said. “I’ve
buried your address. They do that in Hollywood for movie
stars.”

“
I’m flattered,” Lo said.
“Do you want Don’s Blackberry?”

“
How about when I come back
with the dog? His name is Truman, like the president,” Manny said.
“He’s about seven months old, obedience trained, and house trained.
He’s very sweet, loving, great with kids, but vicious if you’re in
trouble. He’s been neutered, so you don’t have to worry about
showing him.”

“
You don’t think he’ll kill
a kid or something,” Lo said.

“
Mindy Sue will teach you
how to handle him,” Manny said. “My family’s had this line of dogs
for a century. No accidents yet. But you need to know how to care
for him.”

Nodding, Lo opened the door to get out of
the vehicle.