Rage

“They were concerned,” said Binchy. “At seven p.m., they called Van Nuys Division to report him missing, but since he was an adult and not enough time had passed, it wasn’t filed as an official M.P.”

“A convicted murderer wandering around didn’t bother anyone?”

“I don’t know if they mentioned that to Van Nuys.”

“Find out if they did, Sean.”

“Yes, sir.”

I said, “Who was he living with?”

“Some people who take in troubled kids,” said Binchy.

“Duchay was an adult,” said Milo.

“Then it’s troubled people, Loot. They’re ministers, or something.”

“The Daneys?” I said.

“You know them?”

“They were involved with Rand’s case years ago.”

“Back when he killed that little girl,” said Binchy. No rancor in his voice. Every time I’d seen him, his demeanor had been exactly the same: pleasant, unruffled, uncluttered with self-doubt. Maybe still waters did run deep. Or God on your side was the ultimate soul balm.

“Involved how?” said Milo.

“Spiritual advisers,” I said. “They were seminary students.”

Binchy said, “Everyone could use some of that.”

“Didn’t seem to help Duchay,” said Milo.

“Not in this world.” Binchy smiled briefly.

I said, “Both of them were murdered.”

“Both of who, Doc?”

“Rand and Troy Turner.”

“Didn’t know about Turner,” said Milo. “When did that happen?”

“A month after he was in custody.”

“So we’re talking eight years in between. What happened to him?”

I described Troy’s ambush of a Vato Loco, the gang-vengeance theory, the way he’d been hung in the utility closet. “Don’t know if it was ever solved.”

“A month in and he’s thinking he’s a tough guy,” he said. “No impulse control… yeah, sounds like your basic prison hit. Were he and Duchay in the same facility?”

“No.”

“Lucky for Duchay. If he’d been seen as Turner’s buddy, he would’ve been next.”

“Duchay didn’t get away clean in prison. Coroner said there were old knife scars on his body.”

Milo said, “But he was alive until last night. Big and tough enough to defend himself.”

“Or he learned to avoid trouble,” I said. “He got early release for good behavior.”

“That means he didn’t rape or shank anyone in front of a guard.”

Silence.

Binchy said, “I’ll follow up on what exactly Van Nuys was told, Loot. Enjoy your trip to New York, Doctor.”

After he left, Milo jammed some papers into his attache case and the two of us descended the stairs to the back of the station. We walked a couple of blocks to where I’d parked the Seville.

He said, “Guys like Turner and Duchay attract bad stuff.”

“It’s ironic, isn’t it?” I said.

“What?”

“Rand makes it through eight years of the C.Y.A., gets out, and three days later he’s dead.”

“Your feeling this, huh?”

“You aren’t?”

“I pick and choose when I bleed.”

I opened the car door.

He said, “What’s really getting to you, Alex?”

“He was a stupid, impressionable kid who lost his parents in infancy, probably suffered brain damage as a baby, got raised by a grandmother who resented him, was ignored by the school system.”

“He also killed a two-year-old. At that point, my sympathies shift.”

“I can understand that,” I said.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t let it eat at you. Go have fun in La Manzana Grande.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t go.”

“Why the hell not?”

“What if I’m relevant to the case?”

“You’re not. Good-bye.”

***

I drove home thinking about Rand Duchay’s last moments. Perhaps a temple shot meant he’d been looking straight ahead, hadn’t seen it coming. Maybe he’d experienced no final fireburst of terror and pain.

I pictured him lying facedown in some cold, dark place, beyond knowing or caring. Eight-year-old TV images flew into my head. Barnett and Lara Malley exiting the courtroom. She, sobbing. He, tight-lipped, smoldering. So rigid with anger he’d come close to striking a cameraman.

Demanding the death penalty.

Now both murderers of his daughter were gone. Would he find comfort in that?

Had he played a role in it?

No, that was trite and illogical. Revenge was a dish best eaten cold, but eight years between deaths was arctic. Milo was right. Damaged boys like Turner and Duchay did attract violence. In a sense, what had happened was the predictable termination of two wasted lives.

Three.

***

I checked my overnight bag, packed the toothbrush I’d forgotten, and put the house in relative order. Logging onto a weather site, I learned I’d be arriving tomorrow in the midst of a snowstorm.

Low: fifteen, high: twenty-nine. I pictured white skies and sidewalks, the flicker of Manhattan lights in our window as Allison and I holed up in a nice warm suite with butler service.

Why had Rand called me?

The phone rang. Allison said, “Thank God, I caught you. Alex, you won’t believe this.”

Strain in her voice. My first thought was something had happened to her grandmother.

“What’s up?”

“Gram’s friend, the one who was coming from St. Louis, suffered a stroke this morning. We just got the call. Gram’s taking it hard. Alex, I’m so sorry, but I can’t leave her.”

“Of course not.”

“She’ll be fine, I know she will, she always is- is your ticket refundable? I’ve already called the hotel and canceled. I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, sounding calm. No act, I was relieved that I wouldn’t be going. What did that say about me?

“… despite the situation, I’m going to try to get out of the two-week extension, Alex. One week, tops, then I’ll call my cousin Wesley and ask him to do a shift. He’s a chem prof at Barnard on sabbatical in Boston, so his hours are flexible. It’s only fair, right?”

“Right.”

She paused for a breath. “You’re not too upset?”

“I’d love to see you but things happen.”

“They do… it’s freezing, anyway.”