Somewhere along the way, some of the things that make us human were lost, either because of genetics or environment or… Well,' Klien shrugged,
'it really doesn't matter, does it, because he's beyond hope and must be stopped. otherwise he'll go on and on and on, as long as there are women out there for him to feed on.'
Nancy Gordon, Wayne Turner, Frank Grimsbo and Glen Michaels were waiting in O'Malley's office when he returned from dropping Dr. Klien at the airport.
'I sort of expected this,' he said, when he saw them.
'Then please explain to us what the fuck is going on,' Turner demanded.
'There's no way to sugarcoat it,' O'Malley said. 'I argued with the mayor and lost, period. We're stuck with Lake.
'You're shitting me,' Grimsbo said.
'No, Frank, I'm not shitting you. I'm telling you the facts of political life.'
'The guy's a potential suspect,' Grimsbo said.
'Let's get this on the table, boys and girls, because I might be able to dump him, if it's true.'
'I don't think it is, John,' Nancy said. 'I've met with him a few times and He's pretty broken up about losing his wife and kid.'
'Yeah,' Turner countered, 'but he says he didn't see anyone coming from the house. Where did the killer go?
There's only one road out of that development from the cul-de-sac.'
'The neighbors didn't see anyone either,' Nancy said.
'No one saw anyone at the scene of any of the disappearances, Wayne,' said Glen Michaels.
'What I want to know is what a civilian is doing on a police investigation,' Grimsbo said.
O'Malley sighed. 'Lake's fixed politically. He's known as a criminal lawyer because he won that insanity defense for that fruitcake Daley.
But the guy's specialty is real estate law and he's made a few million at it, some of which he has contributed to the mayor's campaign chest.
He's — also a major contributor to the governor and he serves on some land use planning council in Albany. The bottom line is, the governor called the mayor yesterday, who then called me to explain how Lake's experience as a criminal lawyer will be invaluable in the investigation and how lucky we are to have him on our team. The press is already on the mayor's ass for keeping the disappearances quiet until the Lake murders forced his hand. He's desperate for results and he's not going to buck a request from the governor or a major campaign contributor.'
'I don't trust him,' Turner said. 'I had a case with Lake a few years back. We served a warrant on this guy and found a kilo of coke in his room. There was a pregnant woman at the house with no record. She swore the coke was hers and the guy was doing her a favor by letting her stay in his room while she was expecting. The defendant beat the case and the d.a. didn't even bother to indict the chick. I could never prove it, but I heard rumors that Lake paid the woman to perjure herself.'
'Anyone else heard anything like that?' O'Malley asked.
Michaels shook his head. 'He's cross-examined me two or three times. My impression is that he's very bright. He did an excellent job in a case involving blood spatter evidence. Really had me going up there.'
'I've heard he's a smart guy,' Grimsbo said, 'but I've heard those rumors about the fix too, and a few of the lawyers I know don't like Lake's ethics. He's still a suspect, even if he's a long shot, and I just don't like the idea of a citizen working on something this sensitive.'
'Look, I agree with you, Frank,' O'Malley said. 'It stinks. But it doesn't matter. Until I can convince the mayor otherwise, Lake stays. just try to keep him out from under our feet. Give him lots of busy work, make him read all the reports. if something comes up you don't want him to see, or there's trouble, come to me. Any questions?'
Turner muttered something about the mayor and Grimsbo shook his head in disgust. O'Malley ignored them.
'Okay, get outta here and back to work. You — all heard Klien. We have to stop this psycho fast.'
Nancy Gordon's stomach growled. She guessed it was a little after six.
Her watch said it was almost seven. She had been writing reports and lost track of time. On the way out of the station, she walked by the task force office and noticed the lights were still on. Peter Lake was in shirtsleeves, his feet up on the corner of the desk. Near his elbow were a large stack of reports and a yellow pad.
He was making notes as he read.
'You're not going to solve this case in one night,' Nancy said quietly.
Lake looked around, startled. Then he grinned sheepishly.
'I always work this hard. I'm compulsive.'
Nancy walked over to Lake's desk. 'What are you doing'?'
'Reading about the Reardon and Escalante disappearances. I had an idea.
Do you have time?'
'I was going to eat. Want to join me? Nothing special. There's an all-night coffee shop over on oak.'
Lake looked at the stack of reports and the clock.
'Sure,' he said, swinging his legs off the desk and grabbing his jacket.
'I didn't realize how late it was.'
'I was caught up in something too. If my stomach hadn't yelled at me, I'd still be at my desk.'
'You must like your work.'
'Sometimes.'
'How did you get into it?'
'You mean, what's a nice girl like me doing in a job like this?'
'That never occurred to me.'
'That I was a nice girl?'
Lake laughed. 'No. That you're not suited for police work.'
Nancy checked out at the front desk and followed Lake outside. After sundown Hunter's Point was a ghost town, except for a few spots that catered to the college crowd. Nancy could see the marquee of the Hunter's Point Cinema and the neon signs outside a couple of bars.
Most of the stores were shuttered for the night. The coffee shop was only a block and a half from the station. An oasis of light in a desert of darkness.
'Here we are,' Nancy said, holding open the door of Chang's Cafe. There was a counter, but Nancy led Lake to a booth. Chang's wife brought them menus and water.
'The soup and the pies are good and the rest of the menu is edible.
Don't look for anything resembling Chinese. Mr. Chang cooks Italian, Greek and whatever else strikes his fancy.'
'You're not from Hunter's Point originally, are you?' Lake asked, after they ordered.
'How could you tell?'
'You don't have the accent. I'm a transplanted westerner myself Let's see. I'd guess Montana.'
'Idaho,' Nancy said. 'My parents still live there.
They're farmers. My brother is a high school teacher in Boise. Me, I didn't love Idaho and I wanted to see the world. Fortunately I run a mean eight hundred meters and the U. offered the best scholarship. So I ended up in Hunter's Point.'
'Not exactly Paris,' Lake commented.
'Not exactly,' Nancy said with a smile. 'But it was New York, and without the scholarship there was no way I could afford college. By the time I realized New York City and Hunter's Point, New York, were worlds apart I was enjoying myself too much to care.'
'And the police work?'
'My major was Criminal justice. When I graduated, the Hunter's Point P.D. needed a woman to fill its affirmative action quota.'
Nancy shrugged and looked at Lake, as if expecting a challenge.
'I bet you made detective on merit,' he said.
'Damn straight,' Nancy answered proudly, just as Mrs. Chang arrived with their soup.
'How did you end up here?' Nancy asked, as she waited for her minestrone to cool.
