“He arranged for me to pick up a ticket at Logan Airport.”
“And made reservations for you and Jamie at the Upham Hotel?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t his money. Harry didn’t have much money. He said he had a client.”
“Do you know who that client was?”
“Yes.”
“Did you meet someone else besides Harry Gould when you came to Santa Barbara?”
“That man there. He was with Harry when they came to the hotel to talk to me.”
“Are you pointing at Victor Dragon?”
“Yes.”
“Was he Harry Gould’s client?”
“Yes, he did most of the talking.”
“And what did he say?”
“That Jamie’s father wanted some…involvement in his son’s life, that he wanted to provide financial support.”
Byerly jumped in. “You’re doing great, Lupe, but I have to ask Mandy a question. Was Jamie’s father prepared to acknowledge paternity?”
“That was not discussed. I did not ask for it. My impression was that everything was to be…secret.”
Now Doreen got her two cents in. “Was Jamie’s father involved or was Victor Dragon acting on his own?”
Mandy hesitated.
“That’s a most important question,” Lupe said. “If Jamie’s father was a participant in all this, it may well make him an accessory to murder.”
Byerly watched Mandy closely. She looked at Jamie, Doreen, her feet, everywhere except at Justin Wright-or tried to. Then the merest flicker in his direction came.
The silence in the room was profound, the tension heavy.
“It’s important, Mandy.”
She nodded, looked at Lupe. “No, I don’t believe Jamie’s father knew anything about it.
Byerly recognized his own disappointment, yet he admired Amanda Sykes. Justin Wright did not deserve a woman like her. “When you had this meeting with Gould and Dragon did they want you to do something?”
“They said Jamie’s father wanted to see his son. They would take us to him the following morning.”
“Did you go?”
“No, Mr. Byerly. I felt uneasy about it. I’ve known for a long time that someone wanted Jamie out of the way. He was a threat-”
“To Whom?”
“I never knew.”
“You worked in Congressman Wright’s office. He was promoting family values in his campaign for President. Surely you realized the effect the mere existence of Jamie would have on-”
“I didn’t want to be involved in that. I didn’t want Jamie involved. That’s why I hid.”
“So you didn’t trust Victor Dragon and decided not to meet him. What happened?”
“I’d taken Jamie to a nearby park. There was a play castle for children.”
“It’s called Kid’s World and it’s in Alameda Park,” Doreen said.
“Jamie met a nice boy, Tommy. I’d struck up a conversation with his mother. She was the only person I knew in town besides Harry and Mr. Dragon.”
“So you asked Karen to baby sit Jamie. Then what happened?”
“I didn’t want to go back to the hotel the way I’d come. I was afraid it might lead them to Jamie. I took a circuitous route and ended up at the library downtown. I was lost. Then a limousine pulled up and I was told to get in.”
“Did you?”
“I had no choice.” She pointed. “That man there pulled me in.”
“That would be good ol’ Dirk, the pancake man.” Byerly laughed at the man’s glower.
“Who was in the car?” Lupe asked.
“Mr. Dragon and a woman I now know was Mrs. Kinkaid.“
“It’s a lie, I was never there.”
Lupe waved that aside. “Then what happened, Mandy?”
“They really didn’t want me, you see, they wanted Jamie.” She clutched the boy tighter. “They wanted me to tell them where he was. I wouldn’t.”
“Were you threatened?”
“Not in so many words, but I was locked in the tower and told I couldn’t leave until I revealed where Jamie was.”
“God, how awful for you,” Doreen said. “I was only there a day or so, but you were held how long? A week or 10 days? It had to be torture, positively medieval.”
He had to smile. Doreen was not helping Wright’s PR a bit.”
“The worst thing, DeeDee, was that I had no newspaper, radio or TV. I had no idea what was going on in the world, no idea whether Jamie was safe or not. I worried constantly.”
“Oh, my dear,” a voice said behind him.
“You poor thing, how awful for you.”
Edie Wright had the most sense of any of them. “Justin, I warned you not to get involved with the Fielding woman. I told you-”
“I should have listened to you.” He raised his voice. “I want all you good people to know I had nothing to do with any of this. I knew nothing about it and definitely would not have condoned such conduct.”
The voice of Dr. Joy did not live up to her name. “Oh shut up, Justin, you’re such a weasel.”
“May Jamie and I leave now? We’ve had quite enough of this place.”
“Just one more question,” Lupe said. “When did you last see Harry Gould alive?”
“On Monday, the day before I was…brought here.”
“The word is kidnapped,” Doreen said. “It’s okay to use it.”
Byerly laughed. “Darling, I didn’t know you were so good at calling a spade a-”
“Is abduction a better word?”
“Not much.”
“Please, you two, I trying to find out-”
“We’re sorry, Lupe,” he said. “You saw Harry Gould on Monday?”
“We worked out plans with Mr. Dragon for the next day, then he left. Harry said he had to go to his office, then work out at the gym. He’d meet us later for dinner. That’s the last I saw him. “
“He never met you for dinner?” Lupe asked.
She shook her head. “Nor the next morning. He was supposed to go with Jamie and me to meet…Jamie’s father. He never showed up. That’s why I became frightened, hid Jamie, and tried to get away.”
“I’ve heard enough, detective.” Buster Brogan stepped forward. “You did good work.” He turned. “Mr. Dragon, I want you to come downtown with me.”
“Are you arresting me?” His face registered both fear and defiance.
“I will, on suspicion of murder.”
“I murdered no one.”
“You were the last person to see Harry Gould alive. You certainly have a lot of explaining to do.”
“You phoned Harry at the gym,” Lupe said. “You got him back to his office to kill him. Sounds like premeditation to me.”
“I’m sure the DA will ask for special circumstances, Dragon. That means the death penalty.”
“Don’t forget kidnapping, sergeant,” Lupe said, “and other charges, too, I’m sure.”
“Yes.”
“And what about Mrs. Kinkaid?” Lupe asked. “She was part-”
“What about her indeed.” Dragon said. “The whole idea was hers.”
“Oh shut up, you asshole!”
