Where were the tales from anywhere in his past to indicate that he would be inclined to take a bribe? To arrange the killing of such a key witness, would Dane dare to approach someone he had never dealt with before? Nothing in the Internal Affairs investigation indicated that Lefebvre would have been ready to cross the line — no reprimands, no signs of dissatisfaction with his job, none of his partners from his days in uniform saying they suspected him of being on the take. Instead, it seemed the worst accusation anyone could make was that he was a loner.
But was he? He had been friendly to Irene. And despite Marie’s denials, Frank was certain that Lefebvre had met a woman at the restaurant on the evening before he died.
Frank focused on the events of that day — June 21. Several witnesses said that at the press conference, Seth suddenly seemed upset. No one knew why. The press conference ended, and the room was cleared — but Lefebvre stayed behind. That night Lefebvre the loner dined with a woman at the Prop Room. A date or a business connection? Was the woman an emissary from Whitey Dane? Did she hire Lefebvre to kill Seth that night?
After thinking it over, Frank discarded that idea. Lefebvre would not hold such a meeting in a public place, let alone in one where he was so well known. He had paid for the meal with a credit card — knowing such transactions could be traced.
There was some connection between the woman and Yvette. At lunch today, Yvette was the one who had prevented Marie from naming the woman — Yvette had protected the woman’s identity. But the only woman whose name had been mentioned in connection with Lefebvre was… Irene.
Had Irene been afraid to reveal just how close she had been to Lefebvre?
He thought of Yvette’s recognition of Irene’s name, that look of amusement.
He dialed Irene’s work number. The line rang once, twice, three times, then went to her voice mail. He hesitated, suddenly aware that he was about to ask her if she had lied to him. He hung up.
He sat for a long moment with his hand on the receiver. Maybe he’d ask to be taken off the case after all.
He glanced down at the photo of Lefebvre, then looked around the office. Vince was staring at him. Some of the others had returned, but they ignored him. If he bailed on this case, would any of these men take the time to find out what had really happened to the Randolphs and Lefebvre?
He turned back to Lefebvre’s record.
Money was widely assumed to have motivated Lefebvre to murder Seth. But instead of the multiple reports of a payoff that Frank had expected, the files showed only one anonymous tip. Reed had taken the call and noted that the voice was mechanically disguised. Anyone with an ax to grind could have made that call. He began to see why the numbers he had heard up in the mountains were so varied — the rumors about the payoff amount had probably originated in-house. He had seen this sort of thing many times before, squad-room know-it-alls making sly remarks to one another, innuendos that soon were believed to be fact. This case had all the ingredients needed to excite the gossips — a fallen department star, envied for his success, supposedly turned into a hired killer for Whitey Dane — rumors must have been flying.
But Frank was more and more convinced that there had been no payoff. Nothing in Lefebvre’s financial records indicated money trouble or even big spending habits. He was at top pay for a detective. As in his military days, he saved more than he spent. He owned a small condo, which he had bought for a song. His only other big expenditure had been the purchase of the Cessna, and Internal Affairs documents showed that Lefebvre had saved over years to buy it and had chosen it carefully. The man had been conservative with his money, lived simply, and was not burdened by debt.
Lefebvre was not at all the typical target for bribery or a hired hit. A large enough sum might tempt any man, but given what he had learned about Lefebvre, it was hard for Frank to imagine that Lefebvre would have been the easiest person for Dane to approach. Why not bribe one of the lower-paid guards? Or send in a professional killer dressed as a hospital staff person?
He was struck by the degree to which the investigation had always focused on Lefebvre; apparently, no other suspect had been considered. He could easily see how this had happened, but still thought the investigators guilty of poor detective work.
His phone began ringing with calls from reporters. Someone must have tipped them off about who was handling the investigation. He gave a polite but standard “no comment on open cases” to all of them and referred them to the department’s public information officer. After the sixth call, he picked up the files and moved to the break room. Once his voice mail was full, the calls would transfer to the Wheeze’s desk.
He poured a cup of coffee and began looking through the coroner’s and lab reports. The physical evidence in the Seth Randolph case was of little use; the autopsy had not provided any surprises. The boy had been held down and suffocated with a pillow, and judging from the direction of the pressure, it was likely that the killer had been right- handed. Seth’s hands had been too injured from the previous attack to allow the boy to defend himself — no skin from the attacker had been found beneath the boy’s fingernails.
Trace and fingerprint evidence were inconclusive. Many people had been in and out of the hospital room during the previous twenty-four hours, including Lefebvre.
Frank also noted that Seth’s computer files had been erased. He would have to ask Henry Freeman, the department’s computer expert, if there was any chance that the files could be recovered. He knew that sometimes this could be done, that the erased files might actually still “reside” on the computer’s hard drive, but he wasn’t sure what was involved in locating and restoring them.
He finished his coffee and went back to his desk. As he sat down, Frank glanced at Vince Adams, who was now involved in completing paperwork. At the time of Seth Randolph’s murder, Vince would have been paying alimony for an ex-wife and child support for four kids. Frank recalled what Pete had said at breakfast — in addition to the payments to his first wife, Vince was beginning divorce proceedings with his third wife. Attorney fees and court costs, setting up a separate household — and the costs from the two previous marriages already on his back. He would have had all those expenses, and at a lower salary grade than the one he had now. Were there others in the department who might have found Whitey Dane’s offer too tempting to refuse?
He became aware of some new tension in the room and followed the gaze of the other detectives. The Wheeze was coming toward his desk with a skirt-stretching stride, and he found himself thinking that she could teach Carlson how to march. Maybe the two of them could form a private drill team.
Some of his amusement must have shown on his face, because she raised her brows. They had been recently re-dyed, he noticed, a process she went through every few weeks. Now, as always on the first day or two after she had them done, her brows were alarmingly dark — a cue for Pete to stalk behind her, doing Groucho imitations behind her back.
