“ Unless the killer was having us on,” replied Landry. “Listen, doctors,” he said solemnly to Kim, Jessica and Dr. Longette, “I don't want a word of it, not a single word, going beyond this room. Do you understand? An accusation like this… well, it must be handled with all due caution and by the book.”
“ Yes, indeed, an important man like Raveneaux, a member of the white elite, a member of the old family guard. Be a different story if the man were black, though, wouldn't it, Captain Landry?” said the shrink and hypnotist, his eyes bulging with rage.
“ I'm surprised at you, Dr. Longette,” countered Kim in her most facetious voice. “Do you mean to say there's different laws for Cajun, Creole and black folks than there are for whites in New Orleans?”
Landry just gritted his teeth and pretended he'd heard no objections. “Alex and I'll have to pursue this by the book, and that will mean somehow, some way we're going to have to convince a judge in this town to give up a warrant on former Senator Raveneaux. You know what that's going to entail?” Alex attempted a laugh, which only hurt his bruised insides, and then he said, “Maybe by the time you get that warrant, I'll be ready to walk out of here, go up-country with you, Carl. Just be sure it covers all the Senator's dwellings and vehicles.”
Landry's usually deep worry lines had just sunk deeper into the folds of his skin. “Christ… it would have to be Raveneaux…”
Kim was worried about Alex, the wounds he'd suffered, and she was also worried about her associate and friend, Jessica Coran. Jessica had been subdued, like an exhausted swimmer just finished with the English Channel. She'd been on the phone all morning in an attempt to locate James Parry, wishing to send him news, but she'd been unable to reach him. Meanwhile, she'd refused to check in with Paul Zanek, who had become irrational about the whole matter, blaming Lew Meade for having bungled the whole operation.
Zanek had called Kim, shouting at her, but she hadn't taken any crap from Zanek either, telling him, “What operation's that, Paul? The bag-Matisak operation? Well, you can stop worrying about Matisak. Jessica bagged him just fine. Meade's got a report on the Matisak matter coming over your fax as we speak, and I'm sure you'll like the results.” She'd then briefly explained what had been found at the Gatorland Storage facility.
Paul had punctuated all she said by remarks such as, “Are you sure? Are you putting me on? Is that exactly how it went down? But that's damned good news, damned great!”
“ Yeah, sure it's great, but at what expense to Jessica, Paul? Have you given her any thought at all?”
“ What're you, crazy? She's all I've thought about. Damned straight I have. I put round-the-clock surveillance on her, despite the fact she didn't want it! I arranged everything through Lew Meade with clearance from Santiva.”
“ Well, congratulations, Paul. Hoist a glass for Jessica. In the meantime, she's surviving quite nicely.”
She'd hung up on Zanek, and turned and looked across the room at Jessica, who'd chosen to hide out at her place. Kim had realized that Jessica simply needed some time and emotional distance. She'd been consoling Jessica when she learned of Alex's brush with death and how poor Ben deYampert had met his end.
At that point, Kim had dropped everything and rushed to the hospital, Jessica chasing after. Moments after her arrival, Kim had learned of Landry's request that Alex undergo hypnosis so they could learn all they could about what had happened in the apartment where Ben deYampert was killed.
Alex was now insisting on getting up and going straight for this place called Raveneaux without a warrant, on probable cause alone, and he meant to do it with or without anyone's help, and he meant to do it this moment, disregarding his doctor's advice, disregarding his captain and Jessica's objections or Kim's concern for him. His attempt to get up, however, caused a flurry of dizziness and a tongue-biting pain searing up from his midsection where damaged, bruised ribs were still sending out shards of gnawing distress. His arms were both in bandages, but his hands were free. An orderly was called in by Landry and the hospital machine was put into motion, and in a few minutes Alex was being pumped with a sleep-inducing medication that calmed him into a stark white doze.
Just as Alex was going under, he mumbled to Landry, “I'm going… with you… to this place… Raveneaux.”
“ For now, you get some rest, Alex,” Landry said. But now he was speaking to an unconscious man.
Jessica took Landry aside and said, “Me too, Captain. I want to be with you when you go out to this Raveneaux place.”
“ Listen here, I want you to get some rest yourself, young lady. You've gone through a terrible trauma with that fiend Matisak, and both of you”-he included Kim with a ges-ture-”you've been up all night on this vigil over Alex, and I appreciate your concern for him, but you're not going to be any good to anyone if you collapse.”
“ I'll get some rest now, knowing he's okay,” Kim countered.“It's going to be a while before I get that warrant-if I can get it at all. As to probable cause, that's a long shot and not a very good long shot at that.”
“ I'll see what I can do about a federal warrant,” suggested Jessica.
“ That would be great.”
“ But don't count on it,” cautioned Jessica. “Meade doesn't like the idea.”
“ I'll be in touch, and truth be known, there's some things we picked up at the scene which I'd like you to touch over, Dr. Desinor. See what comes of 'em. Would you mind terribly?” asked Landry.
She shook her head. “No, of course not. That's what I'm here for. Anything I can do to help, which so far hasn't been much.”
“ You don't go second-guessing yourself now, Doctor. You've done far more than we could've expected here.”
Dr. Longette shook Landry's hand. “I want to see you raid that old plantation out there. Wish I could be with you, in fact, but… anyway, that's going to be a sight for the six o'clock news.”
“ Hold on now, Dr. Longette, you promise me you won't go calling Channel 2 or anybody. Say it… say it.”
Longette took a deep breath and finally nodded. “All right, Captain. If that's how you want it.”
“ Say it.”
“ I promise you, Carl.”
Now Landry breathed out of relief. Longette then left, a light chuckle on his lips.
“ You'd best get that rest yourself now. Dr. Desinor, Dr. Coran,” suggested Landry.
“ I will,” replied Kim, “but for now, I think I'll just stay a while with Alex, so he doesn't wake up alone.”
He wakes up alone every morning, Landry thought, but did not say. “He'll be out for hours, maybe till tomorrow. Go home… get some rest, both of you.”
“ You go on back to the hotel, Jess. I'll just stay a little longer,” Kim lied, and sent Landry and Jessica on their way.
When Alex's eyes opened and cleared after the dreamless, white-cloud sleep which only sedation could bring, he found Kim Desinor sitting alongside him, holding his hand in hers, her eyes red and moist from her having had no sleep and from weeping.
“ Hey, what gives? What're the tears for? You okay?” He tried to clear a dry, cracked throat. “Somepin happen while I was out?”
“ Everything's such a mess. Ben's gone, you've been hurt so badly, Jessica's so depressed, and I… I haven't been of any use to any of you. If I'd only heeded my own best voice. I knew I was getting crazy, mixed messages from the killer about identity, so why couldn't I have-”
“ You're talkin' nonsense, Kim. That's crazy talk, and I don't want to hear you blaming yourself over Ben's death. God, if anyone's to blame, hell, the big lug wanted to go home to his wife, and I insisted we make one more stop.”
She leaned in over him and found herself hugging him. With bandaged forearms and wrists, he returned the hug as best he could, and they were both surprised at how casually he found her lips, his own passion rising to the surface of its own volition. “It's all right,” he reassured her. “I'm going to be okay.”
Behind them someone had stepped into the hospital room. It was Carl Landry, accompanied by Jessica Coran, who was polite enough to noisily clear her throat, a smile coloring her features, obviously happy to see that Kim and Alex at long last were getting along so well.
Landry cleared his throat almost in echo of Jessica and said, “Glad that I've found you here, Dr. Desinor. Alex, how're you feeling?”
“ Some better.”
“ Doctors are saying bruised ribs, nothing broken,” Kim began, pushing away from Alex, standing now, a bright and energetic glow about her. “And the forearm gashes should heal in a few weeks like new.”
