sure is that he wants to see a quick, speedy resolution to the problem.”
“ So does the Chamber of Commerce, I'm sure.”
“ Well, hell, yes! Tourism's the biggest industry in the city, and this kinda thing's no good for tourism. Not to mention a pending government contract that'll bring in jobs if-”
“ And that's what propelled Stephens to come see us in Virginia in the first place, isn't it?”
“ Don't trivialize our concerns here, Doctor. We all want to see an end to this before it gets any worse. Nobody in that room”-he pointed a chunky finger-”nobody wants to see another murder. It's as simple as that.”
“ I see. Then it is electioneering. Can't start too soon, right?”
“ It's not about politics, Doctor.”
“ Could've fooled me. Besides, everything's about politics in our business, isn't it, Lew?”
“ In a manner a speaking, I 'magine, yes, but-”
“ The tension in Wardlaw's lab, the fact Frank Wardlaw's out before we're in… just doesn't sit well. We… Jessica and I didn't come here to take a scalpel to people's lives.”
“ Wardlaw's been on the bottle; he dug his own hole long before you arrived here. Let it go at that.”
She gnashed her teeth together, sighed and leaned heavily against the wall.
“ We all have our reasons for wanting a speedy resolution to this madness in our city, but that doesn't lesson our concern for the victims, their families or future victims, Dr. Desinor. And I can tell you this Surette nonsense is just going to waste everyone's time. It's a Landry-Sincebaugh ploy to throw us all off, to give Alex and Landry more time.” More time to do their jobs? she almost shouted. “What's so damnably wrong with this Lieutenant Sincebaugh being allowed to pursue leads, Lew? Are we all at odds here, Lew? I want to know the truth.”
“ Sincebaugh's a rebel and a bastard. And he doesn't play well with our office, never has. He gummed up a case for us a year ago that we're still trying to untangle. Hadn't been for him, we could've screwed over this drug czar working out of the Quarter a long time ago, but Sincebaugh likes to play cowboy, so he ran his own scam and it blew up in our faces; some innocent people got hurt. I didn't want you running the same risks.”
I'm touched, she thought sardonically. “And so everyone's on Wardlaw like he's been the problem all along, and now that he's out of the picture, we cut Alex Sincebaugh off at the knees, show good faith with the press that a shake-up has been ordered, that every little thing's going to be hunky-dory? And Captain Landry? Is he next? Stephens and you intend to throw him to the wolves too? Then who's left, Chief? Who's the mayor and the governor and the FBI and the P.C.'s office going to point a finger at next? Who'll be your final scapegoat? Dr. Coran, me?”
Meade clenched his teeth and stammered.
She realized now why the air in that autopsy room was so thick with the smell of tension; no wonder Alex Sincebaugh and Captain Landry were both so on edge.
She stared hard into Meade's beady eyes and firmly said, “Now that we've blown it with Landry and Sincebaugh, the two principal cops on the case, I don't think we've got a chance in hell of working together.”
“ Just as well. Sincebaugh's not gotten anywhere, I tell you, and going back to the Surette thing…”
“ But Landry has a lot of respect for him, and just because the guy seems to think differently… well, Sincebaugh does have reasons to believe as he does, I'm sure. The snitch trail I've only heard snippets about, for instance.”
“ It's a dead end.”
“ What's a dead end? Fill me in, Lew. Keep me informed. I want to know everything-everything.”
“ Something about the killer's having known all his victims, about his gaining their trust before dispatching each, a coldblooded, deliberate bastard who takes his time getting to know each of the men first.”
“ I got just the opposite feeling, that the killer didn't know his victims at all.”
“ As I said, you'd just be at odds.”
She shook this off. “At odds doesn't frighten me, but I'd be hard-pressed to do my best with that man around.”
“ Good, then it's settled. I'll see to it that Stephens yanks Landry's chain and we snatch Alex Sincebaugh off the case; replace him with someone suitable to you.”
“ No, no! That'd be the worst thing we could do right now. The chief medical examiner for the city's already been cut out from the herd for slaughter.” She breathed a deep sigh of resignation. “There's enough right there to fuel problems between us and whoever's left. I don't want everyone in the NOPD thinking that I'm any more knowledgeable about this case than anyone else; hell, leave that act to Dr. Coran, who I suspect wants the privilege.” She was instantly sorry she'd made the remark, wishing she might take it back.
“ But Dr. Desinor-”
“ Believe me, nothing can be gained if the detectives working the case are given the impression that the investigation has been turned over solely to a psychic detective, Lew. I know this from experience. This case is going to take time, Lew, time and teamwork.”
“ You'll be reporting to Stephens and me directly, in any case.”
“ You know how the locals feel when a normal FBI operation takes over in a case. We've got to remain light of foot here.”
“ I've requested D.C. allow us to fully take charge of this investigation.”
She raised up off the wall, let out an exasperated breath and waved her arms, saying, “That's no good unless the FBI's been invited in to take charge, Lew. Don't you see?”
“ The request is in and under advisement,” he replied patly. “While it's being reviewed, we've opted for the forensics help which Jessica Coran will provide, but officially, so far, the case is still in the hands of the NOPD. And officially, you don't exist as an arm of the Bureau, so you're ostensibly working for the NOPD, and our conversing here like this only jeopardizes your cover.”
“ So if there's a screwup, the FBI comes out smelling rosewater-fresh either way. I get the picture, Chief.” She saw it all completely, that top officials in New Orleans and in the state were scrambling to control that which was uncontrollable, not unlike the desire to preserve in coffins that which was impossible to preserve. Meanwhile, none but perhaps Sincebaugh understood the whole and soul of the case.
Jessica Coran had stepped through the doors, and she'd heard the tail end of the discussion, so she quickly jumped in, saying to Meade,''Lew, we don't want to rock the boat any more than we already have, do you understand me? We don't need or want any macho-shithead FBI gonzo tactics, Lew. By replacing the chief investigating officer, we'd only be building more walls of resistance against Kim, not to mention me, understood?”
Kim felt instantly better, having Jessica aligned with her so perfectly.
Meade now took a long, deep breath. “Yeah, okay… guess you're right, if you two want it that way.”
Anal-retentive, Kim thought, picturing a baby Lew Meade in a sandbox, fighting. “You sure you're objective where Sincebaugh is concerned, Lew?” she asked.
“ Oh, good Christ, now you're questioning my sense of duty? Listen, Doctor, no one with the rank of lieutenant in a frigging city police force has the right to keep files on a case all to himself, which is what Sincebaugh has been doing.”
“ Come on, Lew,” Jessica said with a frown, “that's how all cops operate; we all know that.”
Kim fired her heaviest guns. “The press leaks have saturated the public mind on this case, and you're concerned about a lock on Sincebaugh's files? Maybe if more cops were like Sincebaugh, your governor wouldn't be feeling so much heat over the case.”
“ That's all well and good, but we at the FBI have a legitimate interest,” Meade countered.
Inside the autopsy room behind the double doors, the P.C. was badly dressing someone down. Landry, she imagined.
“ You hear that?” Kim asked. “My fears are already coming true.” She returned to her frontal attack on Lew Meade. “What gives with this character Stephens, Lew? It's a murder investigation. It belongs to Sincebaugh, but Stephens wants maybe to grandstand, to use it as a means to gain attention for himself? To razzle-dazzle the press and the public with his intelligent, up-close and personal, hands-on handling of the crime? Or what? Why's the P.C. so bloody upset with Landry's handling of the case?”
“ Stephens believes the press leak is coming from somewhere inside Landry's precinct.”
She nodded, frowned and knowingly breathed this information in. “I see. And is it?”
