And they all seemed so sincere, you said.
Not in any way conclusive.
Of course not.
Let’s remember Occam’s razor.
The simplest explanation is usually the best.
Not quite.
Right. The simplest explanation that explains all the facts is the best.
Dorita looked steadily into my eyes. She didn’t say a thing.
It was a challenge.
I thought. I pondered. In my head I shuffled the index cards.
One popped out.
Jesus, I said. You’re right.
He was the last man she was seen with.
Other than me.
You’ve been cleared.
He’s weird.
So you’ve said.
She was in his thrall.
It appears.
The last time Kelly and I picked her up from the hospital, two or three months ago?
You never told me about that.
When we were leaving?
Yes?
He hugged her.
Well, that’s not necessarily unusual.
Maybe not. But I remember thinking there was something strange about it.
Yes?
I don’t know. I couldn’t put my finger on it. It made me uncomfortable.
We sat in thought.
And then there was the day I came home, I said. Her last relapse. And he was on the couch with her. Holding her hand.
That couch seems to get a lot of action.
She lived on it. He told me he needed time with her alone.
Jesus H. Christ.
That was my reaction, at first. But then, I figured it was just a therapeutic thing. That my reaction was just paranoid. Insecurity. That he was helping her. And I could never help her.
Damn your neuroses, Ricky.
And then, when I came back into the living room, he couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
Hmm. You’d think he’d want to talk to you and Kelly for a while, no?
Sure. Explain the situation. Reassure the family. Though he never was that kind of guy, I have to say. With him it all seemed to be about power.
Dorita gave me the under-the-eyebrows look.
Yes, I said. Yes. Damn. It fits.
It does appear to.
Jesus, I just remembered something else, too. That night, when he was at my house? When I went up to Kelly in the dining room? One of the first things she said was that Melissa had been asking for him.
Asking for Steiglitz?
Steiglitz. Everything fits. Goddamn everything.
It does appear to.
Let’s check him out. I’ll do it. Damn. I don’t even have to. I know it was him.
Whoa, said Dorita. Slow down. Let’s make a plan.
I don’t need a plan, I said. I know what to do.
She raised her eyebrows.
Trust me on this one, I said. Did I single-handedly win the Case of the Red Car Door?
You did. I have to admit it.
So trust me.
93.
I called Steiglitz’s assistant. The good doctor was at the clinic in Westchester. He’d be free after five.
What to do til then? I was jumping out of my skin.
My cell phone rang. Laura.
I think I know what you’re going to tell me, I said.
Really?
Yes. But go ahead.
It’s really strange, Rick. Which is why I wanted to double-check. But the hair?
The hair. Yes. I know. It’s a close match to Melissa’s.
Rick, how in God’s name did you know that?
I have my ways, Laura. Anyway, thanks for the help. Really. You’ve been great. Gotta go.
I hung up.
Distract me, I said to Dorita. Or I’m going to have to do something antisocial.
Why should today…
Yeah, yeah. Come on. Distract me.
We’ve got to break the Jules logjam, she said.
Jesus, you’re right. Less than a week. Shit.
We talked it through. Everything we knew. We couldn’t find a weak point to attack. We couldn’t find a pattern that felt right.
FitzGibbon, I said.
You said that before.
You’ve got a better idea?
No.
Then let’s go.
Maybe Dorita could add a frisson to the mix. Unsettle him a bit. Who knew what might come out?
We took a cab. It smelled of apple cores and filth.
As it happened, the twins were there. Both of them. Our first dual sighting. Ramon looking tight and edgy. Raul smooth and well tailored.
They didn’t look a bit alike.
Pleased to see you, Raul said.
Sure.
I considered asking FitzGibbon if we could meet in private. Get him alone. But I thought better of it. It would be interesting to see the interaction of the three. We might learn more by watching than by anything the cagey bastards had to say.
If there was anything to learn. I still wasn’t convinced that Jules hadn’t chased Larry Silver to the alley. Stove his head in.
Nice of you to make the time to see us, I said.
Sure, said FitzGibbon, with a quizzical glance at Dorita.
My colleague, I said. Dorita Reed.
