Show of Evil

'Jackowitz, sir.'

'Take that fence and see if you can see anything through the terrace door. I don't wanna go kickin' in anythin' until I'm sure he's in there.'

'Yes, sir.'

'Take a walkie-talkie and be cautious.'

Jackowitz took the fence like a pro, jumping up and grabbing the top slat, chinning himself, and swinging first one leg then the other over the top. He dropped down onto the terrace.

Johnson waited.

The walkie-talkie crackled to life.

'Terrace door's unlocked, sir.' Jackowitz reported.

'Oh, shit,' Johnson moaned. 'You got a flashlight?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Take a look inside, but be careful.'

'Going in.'

There was a minute or two of silence, then: 'Oh, sweet Jesus, Lieutenant, I ain't believing this. I'm opening the front door.'

Johnson walked to the entrance and a moment later the front lights flickered on and the door swung open and Jackowitz stared out at them. Even in the dim light he was pale and swallowing hard.

'I been on the force twelve years, sir, I never seen anything the likes of this.'

Johnson walked into the foyer and turned into the living room. Shoat was lying in the middle of the room, naked, his arms folded across his chest as if he had been laid out by a funeral director. The destruction of the body was profound, from the wounds on his torso, legs, and arms, to the emasculation of his private parts. There was blood everywhere. Johnson stared at the scene for a full two minutes, the muscles in his jaw twitching.

Finally he said, 'Where the hell's his head?' to nobody in particular.

 'Good question,' Jackowitz answered in a hoarse whisper.

Vulpes held the towel hard against his jaw to stem the bleeding. It was already beginning to swell and pain was etched into the side of his face. He had the city map on his lap marked with the route from the halfway house to Venable's place and back to Hydra's apartment. He watched his speed. He had to ditch Stenner's car fast, forced to assume that Venable had called in the report and his situation had suddenly became desperate.

What shitty luck, he thought. First, Stenner had brought her home instead of Vail. And then the bitch had screwed everything up. That was twice she had tried to kill him. Once in court, where she tried to send him to the chair, and again tonight.

Okay, so he had got Stenner instead of Vail. And he had smashed the bitch up good, maybe scrambled her brains. Poetic justice. As his own brain raced, he momentarily forgot the pain in his jaw.

He was cautious when he got to Hydra's apartment. He drove past it. The street looked safe. He parked at the opposite end of the street. Too bad Hydra didn't have a phone; he could have called her, told her to split, to follow him until he could find a good spot to ditch the car. He would have to take a chance, go up to her place and get her out of there.

As he got out of the car, he saw the police car. It was a block away and it cruised in quietly, parking perpendicular to the street he was on. Two cops got out, strolled to the corner, and crossed to Hydra's apartment building. They looked around, went in the front door.

They're on to her, he thought. How the hell did they get on to her? He decided he had to abandon Hydra. But she knew the plan. He didn't think she would talk, though she was now so far over the edge he couldn't be sure. He got back in, pulled the door shut, and started the car. Then he saw the two policemen come around the side of the house and return to their car.

He sat in Stenner's darkened sedan. Maybe they were just answering a disturbance call. Maybe it was just a coincidence and they would leave. He decided to give them a few minutes.

Meyer drove the car to the row-house apartment south of Garfield Park. Vail sat in the backseat, twirling an unlit cigarette between his fingers. St Claire turned in the shotgun seat and looked back at him.

'What about Vulpes?' he asked. 'We got enough to pull him in?'

'For talking to a computer? We need the woman, then we'll decide. We're still not positive she's the copycat.'

'He's not going anywhere,' said Meyer. 'He's home singing duets with