identify either man.
The elevator doors opened. McCarthy bought two coffees from a vending machine while Greene took a table in the deserted cafeteria.
One interesting thing, McCarthy told the DA after taking a sip from his cup. Cardoni had a visitor yesterday afternoon, Amanda Jaffe.
What was she doing with Cardoni?
Her firm represented him when he was charged in Milton County. Maybe he wants her to continue the representation.
There's no way the Jaffes could do that, Mike said. She's a witness, and he murdered one of the firm's clients. There's a clear conflict. Have you talked to her?
I phoned her apartment, but her answering machine was on.
Have someone go there. It's a long shot, but Cardoni may have said something to Amanda that will give us a clue to where he's gone.
Before McCarthy could answer, McCarthy's partner, Alex DeVore, walked into the cafeteria.
We've got an ID on the two men in Cardoni's room, he said. Dimitri Novikov and Igor Timoshenko, Russian Mafia from Seattle.
What were they doing down here? McCarthy asked.
Remember the Colombians who tried to move in on Martin Breach two years ago?
I still have trouble eating when I think about the crime scene, Greene answered.
The word is that Novikov was in on that.
So you think Breach brought in out-of-town talent to do Cardoni?
Breach never forgives and he never forgets, McCarthy answered.
Mike Greene's pager started to beep. He took a look at the number on the screen, then pulled out a cell phone and dialed immediately.
Amanda? It's Mike.
We've got to talk.
She sounded upset, almost near tears.
I can't right now. I' m at St. Francis. Cardoni's escaped.
What! How?
We're not really certain.
We still have to talk. Please. What I have to say may be more important than the escape.
I find that hard to believe.
There's a possibility that Vincent Cardoni is innocent.
Come on, Amanda. Cardoni murdered Justine Castle almost under your nose. We've got five dead men here. The man is a homicidal maniac.
Listen to me closely, Mike. Before a patient has surgery the hospital draws a blood sample. You have to find out if there was any trace of sedatives, anesthetic or tranquilizers in Cardoni's sample. If his blood wasn't tested for those substances, I want you to run one and tell me the results. If the test results are what I think they'll be, you'll change your opinion.
Chapter 63
Sean McCarthy and Alex DeVore followed Mike Greene into the conference room at the district attorney's office. Greene stared at Amanda Jaffe. Her shoulders slumped and her complexion was ashen.
What the hell happened to you? Greene asked as he took a seat next to her. When Amanda answered, he had to strain to hear her.
We've all been fools. Her voice caught, and she paused to collect herself. Mike thought that she might begin to cry. Cardoni is innocent. So was Justine.
It's going to take a lot to convince me of that.
Amanda took a deep breath, as if the mere act of speaking had wasted her. She sipped from a glass of water.
Fifteen years ago a member of my father's law firm drove to a cabin he owned near the Ghost Lake ski resort. A few days later my father learned that he had died in an arson fire. The body of a young woman was also found in the cabin.
What does this have to do with Cardoni?
Nothing. The lawyer's name was Dominic Fiori. He was Tony's father. The following year, the bodies of two young women were found in shallow graves a mile or so from the Fiori cabin. One had been reported missing the year before the arson during winter break. The other was reported missing two years before, also during winter break.
Amanda paused. She ran her hand hard back and forth across her forehead and fought to regain control of her emotions.
Are you okay? Mike asked, concerned by Amanda's obvious distress.
No, Mike. I feel sick. I can't ...
Greene cast a quick glance at McCarthy, who looked equally concerned.
Amanda gathered herself. When she spoke, Greene was certain he' d misunderstood her.
What did you say?
I said the women at Ghost Lake were Tony Fiori's first victims. Amanda's voice broke as tears flooded her eyes. He killed them, Mike. He killed them all.
How is that possible, Amanda? Tony was with you when Justine called you for help. The medical examiner said that Justine died within an hour of your arrival at her house. You told Sean that you were with Fiori for two hours before Justine called.
Amanda wiped her eyes. When she spoke, her voice was devoid of emotion.
When I visited him at the hospital, Cardoni told me that he was knocked out with a tranquilizer dart at the rest area. I think Tony kept him a prisoner somewhere, then brought Cardoni to Justine's house before I came over to Tony's house on the night Justine died.
But what about the phone call? Mike asked. How could Tony kill Justine? He was never out of your sight.
That's not true. I didn't see Tony while I was making the nine-one-one call at Justine's house. I've given this a lot of thought. What if Tony tortured Justine earlier in the afternoon and forced her to make a tape? He could have left Cardoni sedated in Justine's kitchen and Justine sedated and tied to the chair in the living room. I took Justine's call in the loft on my cell phone. Tony could have played the tape over his phone in his kitchen. I couldn't see Tony when I spoke to Justine. None of her statements was responsive to anything I said. The call was short. She said my name, then she told me to come over and she hung up.
I don't know, Greene said. That's quite a stretch.
Amanda sat up straight in her chair and her features hardened.
Cardoni had traces of heavy-duty tranquilizers in his blood. That's what you told me. Why would he tranquilize himself?
Greene didn't answer.
After Tony told me that Justine was tied up in the living room, he told me to stay in the car and lock myself in when I called 911. He was counting on my following his orders. I think he ran into the house and cut Justine's throat. He' d calculated when the anesthetic he' d given Cardoni would wear off. Maybe he even gave Cardoni something to bring him around. After that, all he had to do was place the second gun in Cardoni's hand while Cardoni was still groggy and fire the first shot. Then he shot Cardoni with his own gun. I' m betting that Tony would have finished him off if I' d stayed in the car. Tony needed Cardoni dead so you' d stop investigating his crimes. He was afraid you' d stumble onto something that would prove he was the killer.
This sounds crazy, Amanda, Greene said.
Tony Fiori has been killing since he was a junior in high school and no one has ever suspected him. He was supposed to be in Mexico during winter break when his father died, but that was his alibi. I think his father walked in on him while he was working on his third victim and Tony killed him. My father is the one who called Mexico to tell Tony that Dominic was dead. I asked him about that last night. He said it took the people at his hotel a day to find him.
You have to do better than this.
