'Why was Wilson at that party?'
'According to the news reports, so that Orr's friends could make a connection, try to temper his plans,' Hood said.
'Is that easier to believe than the fact that Wilson was being set up?'
McCaskey asked.
'Frankly, yes. I don't see the trail of bread crumbs that leads from Wilson to Link. Senator Orr is wealthy, and he has extremely wealthy friends. They could have set up a program to challenge Wilson. In fact, that would have made a very strong campaign plank. Even if Link wanted to sabotage Orr's campaign for some reason, make it appear that he was behind the murder, why kill a second businessman? No,' Hood said, 'I don't see how they connect.'
'Okay. Here's a reason Link might have wanted Wilson dead,' McCaskey said. 'Publicity for Orr. Guilty by innuendo, then exonerated by the second murder.'
'Possibly.'
'Or maybe Link is a sociopath who misses the thrill of undercover operations,' McCaskey said. 'I know I do.'
'You were stopping transgressions, not instigating them,' Hood pointed out.
'Whether you snort, smoke, or inject, danger is a tonic,' McCaskey said. 'Look, Paul. I don't know why he would do this. I only have a feeling that there's something here.'
'How much time will you need to explore this feeling?'
'Forty-eight hours?'
Hood frowned. 'Take a day and see where it leads. I can't promise you more than that.'
'All right.'
'You also have to decide about Mike,' Hood went on. 'Until I have his resignation, he's still working with us.'
'What do you think?'
'Tough call. If he finds out, he'll think we couldn't trust him. But he'd also feel obligated to tell Link. Best to give him plausible deniability for now.'
'Good call. Speaking of calls, I'm going to let Maria know what's up.
She might have some ideas.'
'Good idea,' Hood said. He thought for a moment. 'Mike is an honorable man. He may not like what we're doing, but if he smells something wrong, he'll act.'
McCaskey smiled.
'Did I miss something?' Hood asked.
'The smile, you mean? Yeah. You never leave us out to dry.'
'You lost me,' Hood said.
'You said that Mike may not like what we're doing,' McCaskey told him as he turned to go. 'You don't pass the buck, Paul.'
Hood did not realize he had done that.
When McCaskey had gone, Hood went to his E-mail. He just stared at the monitor. He had just received another pat on the shoulder for being a good and responsible man. If Paul Hood was so good and responsible, how did he get to this place in life? Rationing McCaskey's hours like they were water in the desert, working as cabin boy on the Good Ship Sharon and Jim, playing defense instead of offense with the CIOC and the William Wilson investigation. When Hood was the mayor of Los Angeles, he used to feel that fighting the city council or one of his commissioners to a draw was unsatisfactory. Right now, a stalemate sounded sweet.
