'Mere, what the hell's going on?'
'Shut up and listen to me. She was there, Lucas, at the courthouse, in the archives, shadowing me.'
'Are you all right? Were you hurt?'
'I'm fine, just shaken up… emotionally.'
'Are you sure it was Lauralie Blodgett?'
'Yes, I saw her in the crowd afterwards, when they arrested me. She was enjoying every second of my humiliation, Lucas, every second of it. I tell you, it was her. She must've been stalking me the whole time.'
'Did she follow you there from here?'
'How should I know? But Lucas, Byron was there at the courthouse too. He'd run me down and-'
'Byron Priestly?'
'— and maybe she's been following him! If that's true, then we've got an obligation to warn Byron.'
'Calm down. How far away are you?'
'What about Byron?'
'Fuck Byron! How far are you?'
'Five, six minutes.'
'Have Lupo and Tony pull into the underground lot, and I'll meet you there.'
Lucas hung up, and Maurice Remo still stood beside him, listening in. 'I sure miss the action,' the old man said. 'Trust me, young man, never retire. Get yourself killed in the line of duty before you end up a sad old bastard like me with nothing to do all day but watch CNN, reruns, and soap operas. A hundred and thirty-two channels with nothing on…a channel devoted to flower arrangements, you believe that?'
'Maurice, Detective Remo, I'll keep you apprised of any new developments in the Sims case, I promise you, but I gotta rush right now.'
'And what about this weird-ass case I read about in the papers, about this killer posting body parts in the mail to a detective and a shrink here at the Three-one? You know any-thing about that? Sounds like a case to sink your teeth into.'
'It does indeed. Anything you want to know about it, I'd be happy to share with you what little I know, but right now I have to meet someone. Thanks again for coming down, and please leave your murder book on Yolanda right there on my desk, okay?'
'Sure… sure.'
Lucas rushed out for the parking garage. Behind him, he heard the old man shout, 'If ever you need to confer on another case, if ever you want forty-six years experience on the job as a murder policeman, you don't hesitate to call, Stonecoat, you hear?'
'Will do!' he shouted back down the corridor before disappearing from the old man's sight. Something about Remo reminded Lucas of his grandfather. He liked Maurice, and he trusted the old man's experience and tried and true instincts.
He raced for the parking garage.
CHAPTER 15
In the parking garage the two officers, Tony and Frank, turned over the.38 Police Special along with a grateful 31st Precinct forensic psychiatrist. Both Meredyth and Lucas thanked them for their discretion and help. With the officers waved off, Meredyth threw her arms around Lucas. He held her, disregarding the comings and goings of other police personnel and HPD civilian support staff in the garage. 'Come on down to my office,' he told her, walking her to the Cold Room. 'I've got coffee. We can talk.'
'First, I hafta warn Byron.' She got on her cell phone as they walked. Byron didn't pick up his cell. She left a cryptic message, saying, 'Call me on my cell. It's a matter of life and death-possibly yours!'
Once in the Cold Room, he got her a cup of hot coffee and asked her to tell him every detail of what had happened at the courthouse.
Between sips of the steaming coffee, she imparted the entire story.
When she'd finished, she handed Lucas the document she had gone after at the courthouse, the one Lauralie had cranked from the machine for her. Lucas took in a deep breath of air. 'Had she wanted to, it sounds as if she could have killed you then and there, when you had your back to her.'
'Don't you think I've thought of that?'
'So her purpose is not to kill you, Mere, merely to destroy your peace of mind, your emotional well- being.'
'First she stalks us at the convent, leaving the finger there, and now the courthouse.'
'But she didn't leave anything at the courthouse, did she?'
'No, but then I was hardly in a position to notice if she had. I was stopped from pursuing her by the security guards, and next thing I know, I'm handcuffed and pushed into the rear of a police cruiser.'
'Did you see Priestly leave the lot?'
She hesitated, saying nothing.
'Did you see him drive off? Did he wave bye-bye?'
'No…no, I didn't. Byron…'
'She can't kill you.' He stepped off from her, pacing about the office. 'She has more tidbits and items she wants to show you…she wants us to discover.'
'I don't like where this is going, Lucas.'
'First the abduction and mutilation of Mira Lourdes, the planting of clues to lead us to the convent, the funeral home, the courthouse.'
'What're you driving at? That we missed something at these locations?'
'We know she's sick, and we know she's got a sick sense of humor. She must have placed something at Morte de Arthur's and-'
'— and the courthouse?'
'With her twisted sister act, with her sick take on things, yes. Revelations yet in store, Mere. She has yet to show it all to us.'
'What are we going to do?'
'Call in help.' Lucas got on the phone and arranged for two police raids, one on the funeral home, the other on the courthouse. Both required no warrants, as Lucas cagily called each in to Stan Kelton as an Imminent Threat Response Team circumstance. One push of a button sent these search-and-seizure emergency-response units out to a location. The teams responded to terrorist and biohazard threats, bomb scares, and hostage situations. These teams included armed men with tactical training, a CSI unit for gathering evidence, and a public relations team to stave off the press. The teams went into instant action when ordered out, but the go-order must be based on hard evidence. On his say-so, his responsibility, Lucas Stonecoat meant to lock down a place of business and a county courthouse annex building. He felt a flutter in his heart at the power of it all, and the uncertainty of what would happen. It'd be hell to pay with Captain Lincoln if they found nothing.
He made a second call, informing Jana North that he needed her to coordinate the effort at Morte de Arthur's, and she immediately agreed to oversee the raid there.
'Come on, let's get over to the courthouse,' he said to Meredyth when he got off the phone. 'Maybe we'll find the rest of Mira Lourdes.'
They rushed for Lucas's car and the courthouse. Along the way, over the sound of the siren, Meredyth bitterly said, 'A finger here, a finger there. This could go on indefinitely-for as long as they have body parts to scatter.'
'You perhaps should stay here in the car. Let me handle this part myself.'
'No…no, I'll stay with you, if you don't mind.'
'Are you sure?'
'Lucas, this little bitch isn't going to get to me.'
'That's the spirit.' He'd placed his strobe light on top of his unmarked car. The police-band radio was alive with the activity of the simultaneous raids. Lucas imagined the mortification and distress his order would create in Giorgio and Carlotta's funeral parlor, and the curiosity and fear they would soon arouse at the courthouse.
