Whisper in the Dark (A Thriller) (25 page)

“Better than the road to prison.”

Despite his protests, Tolan knew she was right. Nobody would believe this wasn’t his doing. He had a feeling even Lisa didn’t believe it.

He bent down and grabbed hold of Sue Carmody’s ankles, which were wet with shower water.

Trying not to stare at the gaping wound in her abdomen, he waited while Lisa grabbed her wrists, then helped her hoist the body onto the blanket.

“I need you to know this, Lisa. I need you to understand I didn’t kill her.”

“That isn’t how it’ll look to the police.”

“Maybe not, but this wasn’t me. It was Vincent. The body, the blood on my shirt. He’s setting me up.”

She dropped Sue Carmody’s arms and looked at him. “Vincent? What are you talking about?”

“Those crank phone calls I got this morning? The ones I was so evasive about? They weren’t just a prank. They were real.”

Lisa’s brow furrowed. “From Vincent?
The
Vincent?”

Tolan nodded. “He says he didn’t kill Abby. And he thinks
I
did. Thinks I’m some kind of psychotic plagiarist.”

“And you told this to the police.”

Tolan nodded.

“Which explains why they were all over the hospital this morning.”

“Right,” Tolan said. “But now Vincent is looking for revenge. First he kills some guy on The Avenue, now this.”

Lisa’s frown momentarily deepened, then her face went blank. “Help me roll her up.”

Tolan looked down at Sue Carmody’s body again, his instinct for survival overruling any hesitation he felt.

“God forgive us.”

“God gave up on us a long time ago,” Lisa said.

Then the doorbell rang.

44

T
HE MOMENT SOREN
lit up, Blackburn wished he had a cigarette of his own. But he’d never made it through an entire day without succumbing to temptation and was determined to make this one an exception.

So rather than bum a smoke, he said, “I think you know a friend of mine.”

“Oh?”

“Michael Tolan. We’ve worked together on a couple cases. He used to be your partner, right?”

“Yes,” Soren said, exhaling a plume of smoke. Then the alarm returned to his face. “This isn’t about Michael, is it? The dead patient?”

The question surprised Blackburn. “Is Tolan a patient too?”

Soren shook his head, looking a bit befuddled. “No—I mean, that’s privileged. He’s okay, isn’t he?”

“As far as I know, he’s fine.”

“Then who are we talking about?”

“A guy by the name of Hastert,” Blackburn said. “Todd Hastert.”

Soren took a moment to search the memory banks, but seemed to draw a blank.

“You prescribed Paxil to him a little over a year ago. He filled it at the County General Pharmacy, so I’m assuming he might’ve been a pro bono patient.”

Still no sign of recognition. And it seemed unforced. Genuine. “And he’s dead?”

“I’m afraid so. Somebody carved him up pretty good last night.” Blackburn reached into his coat pocket and brought out Hastert’s mug shot. “Maybe this will refresh your memory.”

Soren took a long drag off his cigarette and squinted at the photo. Nodding now, he exhaled and said, “Right. I saw him a few times at the hospital clinic. But that’s about all I’m willing to say.”

“The man was murdered, Doc.”

“That doesn’t change the law. Or my duty to my patients.”

“Did he ever express any concerns to you? That someone might be threatening him?”

“I haven’t seen him in over a year. So I highly doubt anything he may have said would have much bearing on the here and now.”

“What about Dr. Tolan? Did he ever treat the patient?”

Soren was about to put the cigarette between his lips again, when he paused. “Why don’t you ask
him
?”

“I would, if I could find him.”

“What does that mean?”

“He’s MIA,” Blackburn said. “And I have reason to believe he may be in danger.”

This wasn’t strictly a lie, of course. Tolan was certainly in danger of being arrested. But Soren didn’t need to know that.

“Danger? What kind of danger? Does this have something to do with Hastert?”

“I’m afraid it does,” Blackburn said. “I think there may be a connection between the two, but I’m not sure what it is, at this point. Which is why I asked if Tolan ever treated him.”

Soren thought about this a moment, the new information seeming to compound both his alarm and his befuddlement. “As far as I can remember, Michael never even met the man. He didn’t do much pro bono work. Didn’t have time.”

This wasn’t what Blackburn wanted to hear. “So you don’t know of any threats Hastert may have made against him?”

“No,” Soren said. “None whatsoever.”

“What about the other way around?”

“What?”

“You were his partner, I assume you knew his wife?”

“Yes, of course. But what—”

“How would you characterize their relationship?”

“They were in love,” Soren said. “Probably more than any two people I’ve ever known. They had their share of problems, but—”

“What kind of problems?”

“They fought sometimes, just like anyone else.”

“So is Tolan capable of violence?”

Soren said nothing for a moment, his inebriated brain trying to process the turn in the conversation about four questions too late. “What’s going on here, Officer? Is Michael in danger—or is he in
trouble
?”

Blackburn shrugged. “Six of one, half a dozen the other.”

Soren’s face hardened. “You fucking asshole.”

“Just doing my job, Doc.”

“You think Michael killed Hastert? Is that what this is all about?”

“Among other things.”

Soren shook his head. “That’s completely preposterous. I’ve known him for years and I’ve never seen him lift a finger against anyone. He doesn’t have it in him.”

“What about his wife? You said they fought.”

“Yes, but . . .” Soren paused, starting to put it together now. “Jesus Christ,” he said. “This isn’t about Hastert at all. It’s about Abby. You think Michael killed Abby.”

“I’m more interested in what
you
think. Is it possible Tolan was having an affair? Screwing around on her?”

Soren flicked the cigarette at him. “Fuck you.”

“You don’t want to be assaulting a police officer, Doc.”

“So arrest me.”

“If it comes to that, trust me, I will. But I’d rather hear what you have to say about Tolan. What are you treating him for?”

Soren turned. “This conversation is over.”

Blackburn grabbed his arm. “Did he ever confess to you, Doc?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Let go of me.”

But Blackburn didn’t let go. “What about Todd Hastert? Did he ever brag about his job? Maybe mention something about the Vincent murders? Pass along a little inside information that you turned around and gave to Tolan?”

“I said let
go
of me.” Soren wrenched his arm free. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. If Hastert was guarding some kind of state secret, then I suggest you go to County General and start slinging your accusations there. That’s where he spent most of his time.” He paused. “As for Michael, there’s nothing you could ever say to convince me he hurt Abby. Not one thing. So do me a favor and fuck off.”

Soren turned again and headed back inside.

This time Blackburn let him go.

45

K
AT PENDERGAST WAITED
what seemed an eternity before the door opened.

She wasn’t quite sure why they were here. After an extended shift this morning, and all the drama on the fourth floor, she had gone home and crawled into bed without even bothering to shower. She’d gone straight to sleep and stayed that way until her alarm clock kicked her awake again.

She was halfway through dinner when her phone rang, the watch commander telling her he was short-handed and needed her and Hogan to start their shift early.

Which meant another long night.

The minute they reported in, they were told about the alert out on Dr. Michael Tolan and were instructed to check out the girlfriend’s place, a two-story beach house in Baycliff.

Kat didn’t know much about Tolan, but she knew the alert had been initiated by Frank Blackburn and that was good enough for her.

Unlike most of her fellow officers—hell, most of the squad, for that matter—Kat liked Frank. She knew that every time she walked away from him he was ogling her ass, but that didn’t bother her. She’d put a lot of time into making it a view worth ogling, so if people weren’t going to appreciate it, what was the point?

Besides, Frank’s backside wasn’t so bad either. And while she might not admit it out loud, she’d thought more than once about what it would be like to grab a couple handfuls while he did whatever he wanted with those nice big hands of his.

They’d been circling each other for over a month now, the circle getting smaller with each pass. Sooner or later, there’d be a head-on collision and Kat was looking forward to it.

But back to reality. While Hogan shone his flashlight into the girlfriend’s car, a sparkling new silver BMW parked in the drive, Kat leaned on the doorbell again.

They knew the girlfriend was inside. Had seen her turn in from down the block, where they’d been waiting for the last half hour. So Kat couldn’t quite understand what was taking so long.

She was about to ring the bell again when the door finally opened a crack and an attractive woman in her early thirties peeked out. Her hair was wet. Looked like she was wearing a bathrobe. She’d obviously been in the shower.

Which reminded Kat that she’d never taken one herself. She suddenly felt sticky and gross.

“Lisa Paymer?”

“Yes?”

“Sorry to bother you, ma’am, but we’re here about a Dr. Michael Tolan.”

Paymer’s face fell and she opened the door wider. “My God, is he hurt?”

Kat realized she should have phrased that differently. “No, ma’am, it isn’t that. We’re looking for him, is all. We were hoping he might be here.”

“Here?” Paymer said. “I haven’t seen him since this morning.”

“At the hospital?”

“Yes, I’ve tried calling him, but he doesn’t answer, and I’ve been worried sick. Why are you looking for him? Is he in some kind of trouble?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that. Would you mind if we came in and took a look around?”

“I told you, he’s not here.”

“It’s just a formality,” Kat said. “Part of the job. And it’s entirely up to you.”

Paymer hesitated a moment, then gestured them inside. “Be my guest.”

Kat nodded to Hogan and he moved around the BMW and joined her, the two of them stepping into a nicely appointed living room with oriental rugs and off-white furniture. It looked like a photo out of
House Beautiful
. The kind Kat usually found herself drooling over while she waited her turn at the dental clinic.

She and Hogan took a perfunctory look around, Hogan sticking his head through a doorway that led into the kitchen, then moving down a short hallway to what looked to be an extra bedroom.

Kat glanced toward a set of carpeted steps that led to the second floor, but decided not to bother going upstairs. Paymer had seemed genuinely surprised that they were looking for Tolan, and her willingness to let them search the place was a fair indication that she wasn’t hiding anything.

A moment later, Hogan returned, and Kat knew from his expression that he thought this was as much of a waste of time as she did.

They exchanged a look, then moved back to the front doorway. “Sorry to bother you, ma’am.”

“You don’t want to go upstairs?”

“I think we’re okay,” Kat said. “Sorry for the intrusion.”

As they were about to step outside, Paymer said, “Wait.”

Kat turned to see her digging through her purse on the coffee table. She brought out a business card and handed it to Kat.

“If you do find him, please call me right away. Both my home and cell are on there.”

Kat glanced at the card, nodded, then unsnapped her shirt pocket and slipped it in.

“You have a good evening,” she said, then went outside.

When the door closed behind them, Hogan whistled. “Wish they grew ’em like that at my hospital.”

“Keep your voice down, dumbass. She might hear you.”

Hogan waved her off as they headed down the drive to their cruiser. “I’m sure she’s used to it. But I’ll lay odds she didn’t buy that house with the money she earned cleaning up after crazies.”

Kat nodded. “I’m guessing she’s daddy’s little rich girl. She’s got that pampered look.”

“You gotta give her credit for taking a job at Baycliff.”

Kat was about to agree with him when her cell phone bleeped. She dug it out and clicked it on. “Pendergast.”

“Hey, hot stuff, you on duty yet?”

Frank Blackburn.

Kat stifled a smile. “Unfortunately, yes. They called us in early. What’s up?”

“I’ve got a favor to ask you and your partner. Strictly off the books.”

Kat glanced at Hogan. “What do you need?”

“A lookout.”

“For what?”

“What else?” Blackburn said. “A little B and E.”

46

W
HEN THE FRONT
door closed, Tolan let out a breath.

He was pretty sure he’d been holding it ever since the doorbell rang. He hadn’t been able to hear much of what was going on downstairs, but it was enough to let him know that the police were looking for him.

The question was, why?

Did they know about Carmody?

A moment later, Lisa was back upstairs, pulling open the closet door. It was a big walk-in adjacent to her bedroom that provided plenty of room for both Tolan—

—and the body.

Lisa had taken her bathrobe off and was standing there in her bra and panties. As the light spilled inside, illuminating the rolled-up comforter that lay at Tolan’s feet, the absurdity of the situation suddenly hit him.

What the hell were they doing?

Instead of hiding from the police he should have called out to them. Instead of helping to get rid of a body, a cop’s body, no less—a cop he
knew
—he should have reported the death immediately.