“I might need a little time on that.”
Silence. Then Masters’ voice came back over the line.
“Let me ask you this. You think there might be anyone else in danger here?”
I watched as a black Town Car pulled to the curb and Bennett Davis stepped out. Alone.
“I don’t think so,” I said.
“You got a week. After that, I bring you in and start squeezing. And I do mean squeezing. You got me, Kelly?”
“Yeah. Remember what I said. Keep a lid on this until I come in.”
“Have you heard anything from me yet?”
“No.”
“All right then. Get the fuck moving on whatever it is you do.”
Masters hung up just as Bennett Davis approached, hand extended.
“Michael. Thanks for meeting me on such short notice.”
I shook Bennett’s hand. He sat down beside me.
“How are you doing?” he said.
“Fine, Bennett. How about you?”
“Been better, Michael. Been better. The Nicole thing.”
“Doesn’t really go away, does it?”
Bennett shrugged as the weight of so much grief settled about his shoulders.
“Not really. There is something, however, I need to talk to you about.”
“I’m listening,” I said.
“We’ve known each other a long time, right?”
I nodded.
“Here’s the thing. I think I might have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?” I said.
“Vince Rodriguez worked a homicide two nights ago. A man named Daniel Pollard. Shot twice in the chest. Ballistics came back this morning. The gun they used was the same one that killed Gibbons. A nine.”
I took a beat and then responded.
“And you want what from me?”
Bennett rubbed his chin and ran his tongue over his lower lip, like he was thirsty but not sure for what.
“I know you’re working that case, Michael. I think you might know where I could find the gun.”
“You think so?”
“Whoever killed this guy Pollard also killed Gibbons. We can prove that now.”
“I know all about your case, Bennett. In fact, I was there when Rodriguez found Daniel Pollard’s body.”
Bennett Davis peeled back his lips and pushed out a smile. If I hadn’t known it already, I did now. My friend was dirty. The only question left for me: Was he also dangerous?
“Maybe we should go back downtown and get on the record,” Bennett suggested.
“Maybe. But hear me out first.”
I pulled a plastic bag from my pocket. Inside it was the cigar butt I had taken from under Pollard’s recliner.
“You see this? It’s a Macanudo.”
I gestured to the row of cigars stacked inside the assistant DA’s overcoat.
“Your brand, Bennett. Yesterday I took a piece of this down to Gentech. Ever hear of them?”
Bennett shook his head.
“I hadn’t either. Rachel Swenson recommended them. A private DNA lab out of Joliet. Can work fast if they have to. They isolated saliva and are certain they can get a DNA profile. Takes three days to get back preliminary results. I’m guessing it comes back to you.”
Bennett Davis got up to go. I kept talking.
“Go on, Bennett. But you’re going to hear the rest. Either here or in a press conference.”
He stopped.
“Pollard was your mistake,” I said. “The first and biggest one you ever made.”
Davis sat down again, pulled out one of his cigars, and rolled it between his fingers. Otherwise, he just listened.
“You didn’t appear in any of the press because you were just too green. But you worked the Grime case. Donovan remembers you.”
I pulled out the photo of Grime’s prosecution team.
“That’s you in the background. How old were you? Twenty-six?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Fucking prodigy. None of us ever knew.”
“I hated that goddamn photo,” Davis said. “Only one taken of all of us, you know.”
“You cut the deal with Pollard. I had to plow through five boxes’ worth of paperwork, but I found it. You gave Pollard the immunity deal for his testimony.”
“He was key to the case,” Davis said. “Closest thing we had to an eyewitness.”
“What you didn’t realize was, your eyewitness was actually Grime’s accomplice.”
Davis looked up and opened his mouth but I kept going.
“Don’t bother, Bennett. Not here, anyway. The cigar will put you inside Pollard’s house. But there’s more.”
I pulled out a sheaf of papers.
“These are records from the Department of Corrections.”
I put them on the bench, but Davis ignored them.
“Probably didn’t seem like a lot, but the visits add up over the years. Twenty-three separate contacts with Grime on death row. Haven’t talked to him yet. Once we do, he’ll give you up.”
Bennett Davis smiled. A grin of the damned.
“When did Grime first blackmail you?” I said.
Davis struck a match. Let the sulphur burn off and then drew the flame up into his cigar. The smoke came out thick, smooth, and cool, casting a veil, if only for a moment, between us. Then the smoke was gone and Bennett Davis came clean.
“Fuck it, Kelly. You’re just too goddamn good. No, I take that back. You’re not good. Just lucky. Sure, Grime contacted me. It was a year after he was convicted. Had one hell of a time with it. Taunted me. Told me I was a stupid punk. Gave immunity to a serial killer. ‘How would that play in Peoria?’ Grime would always say, and laugh like a motherfucker. Pollard was his protйgй. His surrogate animal on the street. And there was nothing I could do about it.”
“When was the first time?”
“Remington was first. At least the first that I knew of.”
“And you fixed it?”
Davis looked past me and nodded.
“Damn straight I fixed it. Shut up everyone who needed to be shut up. Some of them I bought. The rest I just bluffed.”
“Like Gibbons?”
“He knew nothing. After that it became easier. Most of the victims were hookers. At least at first. Not exactly high-priority stuff. Later on, as long as Pollard used a condom, didn’t leave any DNA behind, I was safe.”
I thought about Nicole and her cold files. I thought about how much she cared for her friend Bennett. I found myself hoping she never knew the truth about him, even as the knife slid across her throat.
“The years go by,” Davis continued. “Just becomes part of your life. Of course I’d heard rumors about the street file on Remington. Maybe there was some lost evidence out there. Some DNA. If so, it was the thing that could link Pollard to Grime.”
“And you to Pollard.”
“Eventually, yeah. After I talked to you at the lockup, I figured Gibbons was looking for the street file. Or might have already found it.”
