But Amanda was already opening the door of her car. As she backed out she saw Tony staring at her. Then the woman was beside him in the doorway, and Amanda got a second look at her. While she was finding Vincent Cardoni's severed hand in the cabin in Milton County, Tony Fiori had been spending the night with Justine Castle.
Chapter 30
Amanda spotted her father coming off the 9:35 P.M. plane from LA before he saw her in the crowd at the gate. He looked agitated, and his head swung back and forth as he searched for her. Amanda stepped forward, and Frank threw a bear hug on his daughter. Then he held her at arm's length.
Are you okay?
I' m fine, Dad. I was never in any danger. How was your flight?
Damn the flight. You don't know how upset I've been.
Well, you shouldn't have been upset. I told you I was fine this morning.
They started moving with the crowd toward the baggage claim. Now that he saw that Amanda was in one piece, Frank's face darkened.
What were you thinking, meeting Cardoni in that place in the middle of the night?
I was thinking of what you would have done. I even brought your thirty-eight with me.
You're not serious, are you? Did you think Cardoni would stand in front of you and let you shoot him?
No, Dad, I thought he was a client in trouble. Don't tell me that you would have stayed in bed with your covers over your head and told Vincent to come to your office in the morning. He sounded desperate. He said he knew who murdered the victims at the cabin. It looks like he may have been right.
Amanda had given Frank a capsule version of her Milton County adventure early Friday morning. He had wanted to fly straight home, but Amanda convinced him to finish his deposition. As they waited for Frank's luggage Amanda told him everything that had happened at the cabin.
Do they know yet if the hand is Cardoni' s? Frank asked as he hefted his bags and headed toward the parking garage.
Amanda nodded. Mr. Scofield called me at work. The prints match.
Jesus. Frank sounded subdued. You must have been scared out of your wits.
If I could move as fast in the pool as I moved when I ran out of the cabin, I' d have Olympic gold on my wall.
That got a grudging smile out of Frank.
What about the body? he asked.
They're digging up the property, but they hadn't found a thing when Scofield called.
Frank and Amanda walked for a while without talking. He loaded his bags in the trunk, and Amanda started the car. On the way back to town Frank told his daughter about the deposition and asked about the office. When they were halfway home on the freeway, he asked Amanda twice about a research project he' d given her before getting an answer.
Is something besides what happened at the cabin bothering you?
What?
I asked if something else is worrying you besides what happened to Cardoni.
What makes you think that? Amanda asked warily.
I' m your father. I know you. Do you want to tell me what's wrong?
Nothing.
You forget who you're trying to con. Some of the best liars in the state have tried to fool me.
Amanda sighed. I feel like such a fool.
And what's made you feel that way?
Not what, who. Last night the police let me go around three in the morning. I was still upset, and it was dark when I got back to Portland. I just didn't want to be alone, so I drove to Tony's house.
Amanda colored. It was so embarrassing. Frank waited patiently while she collected herself.
He wasn't by himself. He ... There was a woman with him.
Frank felt his heart tighten.
It was Justine Castle. I ... I ran off without talking to him. I shouldn't have. It was immature. We just went out a few times and we never ... We weren't intimate. It's academic now, anyway. Tony was just accepted into a residency program in New York and he's not even going to be here.
How do you know that?
Amanda's color deepened.
I called him to apologize. Amanda sighed. I really liked him, Dad. I guess I' m just disappointed, she said in a way that broke Frank's heart.
Tony might not be the best person for you to get serious with.
Amanda turned toward Frank for a moment before bringing her eyes back to the road.
You don't like Tony?
Did he tell you that he was seeing Justine Castle at the same time he was seeing you?
We weren't serious. He never even made a pass at me. If he was seeing Justine, that was his business. He didn't lead me on. I ... I just got my hopes up. Anyway, like I said, it's all over. Tony is going to New York.
Chapter 31
The first thing that Bobby Vasquez noticed when Sheriff Mills ushered him into the long, narrow interrogation room was the hand. It had been printed and cleaned up, then placed in a large jar, where it floated in preservative that gave the skin a faint yellow cast. The jar was at one end of a long table in front of Fred Scofield. Scofield was in shirtsleeves, his collar undone and his tie yanked down away from his fleshy neck. It was warm in the room, but Sean McCarthy was still wearing a suit jacket and his tie was knotted. To McCarthy's right was a guy named Ron Hutchins from Internal Affairs who dressed like a mortician and sported a goatee. Sheriff Mills was in uniform.
Scofield pointed at the hand. What do you think, Bobby?
Ugly mother, Vasquez answered. Whose is it?
Don't you know? Scofield asked.
What is this, Twenty Questions?
Sit down, Bobby, McCarthy said in a kind, nonthreatening way.
Vasquez slouched onto an unoccupied chair. The sheriff sat behind Hutchins's shoulder. They were all facing him now. The theory was that he would feel overwhelmed, but he didn't feel anything at all.
How are you doing? McCarthy asked with real concern.
As well as anyone whose career has been ruined and who's facing bankruptcy and jail, Vasquez responded with a weary smile.
The homicide detective smiled back. I' m glad to see you've kept your sense of humor.
It's the only thing I still own, amigo.
Where's your lawyer? Scofield asked.
He charges by the hour, and I don't need him. I know how to plead the Fifth if I have to.
Fair enough, Scofield said.
You want something to drink? McCarthy asked. Coke, a cup of coffee?
Vasquez laughed. Who's playing the bad cop?
McCarthy grinned. There isn't any bad cop, Bobby. Besides, how are we going to con you? You already know all the tricks.
I' m not thirsty. Vasquez turned his attention back to the hand. You still haven't told me who this belongs to.
This is the right hand of Dr. Vincent Cardoni, McCarthy said, watching closely for his reaction. We found it in the basement of the Milton County cabin.
You're kidding!
McCarthy thought that Vasquez's surprise was genuine.
Dr. Death himself, Scofield answered. The prints check out.
Where's the rest of him?
We don't know.
Poetic justice.
