and then all the rest down to the next page
B
and then more names and another page
C
Vivien stopped abruptly. The name had jumped out at her, reminding her of a face smiling with contentment after she had treated poor Elisabeth Brokens like dirt. She leaped to her feet, dropping the papers on the floor.
Russell and Bellew looked on in surprise as she rushed to the door, crying out just two words.
‘Wait here.’
She descended the stairs as fast as she could without breaking her neck. There was a rush of adrenaline inside her. After so many
On the steps she stopped and looked around her for a moment.
A car with two officers was reversing out of the parking lot next to the entrance. Vivien waved to them and ran down the short flight of steps. She reached the car, and saw the reflection of the sky disappear from the side window as the officer lowered it.
‘I need a ride to 23rd and Third.’
‘Get in.’
She opened the back door and sat down in a seat usually reserved for arrested people. But she was in too much of a hurry to register that.
‘Use the siren.’
Without asking for explanations, the driver switched on the flashing light and pulled out quickly, with a slight screech of tyres. She was so impatient to arrive that the journey seemed very long, even though it was only three blocks. When she saw the orange plastic barriers around the site, she relived the discovery of the body of Mitch Sparrow, which at first had seemed to be yet another case to be filed away in the records, but which had in fact given a whole new direction to this crazy business, and might even help to bring it to a conclusion. The madness of chance, as well as of human beings, was turning out to be the one thing connecting all the threads of this case.
The car had not yet come to a compete halt when Vivien opened the door and jumped out.
‘Thanks, boys. I owe you one.’
She didn’t hear the reply, didn’t hear the car drive off. She had already approached a worker who had just come out of the gap in the perimeter fence and took him aback with the urgency of her request.
‘Where can I find Mr Cortese?’
The man indicated a point beyond the fence. ‘He’s right behind me.’
After a moment, the figure of Jeremy Cortese appeared. He was wearing the same jacket as on the day they had first met. When he saw her coming towards him, he recognized her immediately. Difficult to forget someone who reminds you of the discovery of a corpse!
‘Hello, Miss Light.’
‘Mr Cortese, I need to ask you a few questions.’
Surprised, but realizing there was no way out, he said, ‘Go ahead.’
Vivien drew Cortese aside. The place where they were standing, between the fence and the barriers, was used by the workers and she didn’t want them to be disturbed, or for them to disturb her. She took up a position facing Cortese and spoke as clearly as possible, as if she and the man were speaking two different languages.
‘I need you to dig deep into your memory. I know it’s been a long time, but your answer’s important. Very important.’
He nodded to confirm that he had understood, and waited in silence for the question.
‘I know you worked for the company that constructed the building on the Lower East Side, the one that was blown up last Saturday.’
A hint of fear and alarm appeared in his eyes, as if she had just told him that the police were investigating him personally. His shoulders drooped a little and when he spoke, there was a distinct unease in his voice. ‘Before we go on, I’d like to ask you a question. Do I need a lawyer?’
Vivien tried to put him at his ease. ‘No, Mr Cortese,’ she said, as reassuringly as possible, ‘you don’t need a lawyer. I know perfectly well you had nothing to do with that. There are just a few things I need to know about.’
‘Go on.’
‘Among the men who worked with you on that building, do you remember if there was one with a heavily scarred face?’
The answer came without hesitation. ‘Yes.’
Vivien’s heart skipped a beat. ‘Are you sure?’
Now that his fears had been calmed, Cortese seemed reassured by the turn taken by the interview, and was eager to reply. ‘He wasn’t in my team but I do remember seeing the guy a few times. With a face like that, you couldn’t exactly miss him.’
Vivien’s heart was standing still in her chest. ‘Do you remember his name?’
‘No. I never even spoke to him.’
The disappointment Vivien felt at this lasted only a brief moment before it was wiped out by a new thought that suddenly occurred to her.
‘God bless you, Mr Cortese. God bless you a thousand times. You have no idea how helpful you’ve been. You can go back to work now, and don’t worry.’
The briefest of handshakes, and Vivien had already turned her back on him, leaving him standing there on the sidewalk, surprised and relieved. She took out her cellphone and dialled the captain’s number.
She didn’t even give him time to say his name. ‘Alan, it’s Vivien.’
‘What’s going on? Where the hell are you?’
‘You can call off the men. We won’t need to search through those names any more.’
She waited a moment, to give Bellew time to prepare for what she was about to ask him.
‘You need to send officers to the oncology departments of every hospital in New York to check if they had any patient with a strongly disfigured face who died in the last year and a half.’
