“Yeah, I do. You know the stupidest thing? That dog-Blake-that’s what makes me cry the hardest. Best damn dog I ever knew, loved Emil. I just know he’s dead, too.”
“Animals can become a big part of your life. Particularly one like Blake.”
“Yeah.” She blew her nose again.
“Nina, what d’you think happened to Emil?”
“I don’t know. He went out, he didn’t come back. What I told the cops.”
“But that wasn’t true, was it?”
Silence.
“Did he decide to hit Kev Daniel up for more money than I could offer?”
Even in the darkness, I could see fear flare in her eyes at the mention of Daniel’s name.
I added, “You didn’t tell the police because you’re afraid of Daniel. And you’re afraid they’ll arrest you as an accessory to extortion.”
“Could they do that?”
“Yes, but I doubt they would, if you were honest with them.”
A long silence. “I want to see them nail that bastard Daniel, but I’m afraid if they can’t make it stick, he’ll come after me.”
“They’ll make it stick.”
“I don’t believe it. These rich guys, they always get off.”
“Not always.”
“Mostly they do.” She sighed. “You know, Emil could be such an idiot sometimes. Brilliant forger and top dog in prison, according to him. But then, what was he doing screwing around with meth and getting himself half blown up, for Christ’s sake? And then this Daniel thing-” She broke off, putting her fingertips to her lips.
I said, “So he
“You tell the cops any of this, I’ll say you’re lying.”
“Look, Nina, the sheriff’s department investigator already knows you’re hiding something. He told me as much a couple of hours ago. It’s only a matter of time before they come down hard on you. Why don’t you talk with me, and I’ll see what I can do to help you.”
She bit her lip, considering. “You mean it-that you’ll try to help me?”
“Yes.”
“And what about more money? You said you might be able to arrange it.”
“That, too.”
“Okay. This is what happened: After Emil got that five hundred off of you, he was high. Said he knew what he had was worth a lot more. He called Daniel that afternoon, told him he had a five-thousand-dollar offer from you, but was willing to keep quiet for real money-fifteen. They set a meet for the pier last night, at ten-thirty. Daniel said he’d have the cash with him.
“I wanted to go along, but Emil wouldn’t let me. I told him the situation would go bad. ‘What kind of person keeps fifteen thou in cash just laying around?’ I asked. But he wouldn’t listen, he never listened to me. He went anyhow, and now he’s gone and Blake’s gone and I’m all alone.” She bent her head and began to cry again.
I rummaged in my bag for my wallet and took out my remaining hundred dollars. Laid it on the coffee table. Nina Tiegs didn’t notice; she’d pressed her face into her hands, and tears were leaking around her fingers.
Before I left I touched her shoulder and said, “Thank you for talking with me, Nina. I’ll be in touch. And I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Why did you withhold the fact that when you met with Tiegs you paid him for this information?” Jim Whitmore asked, pointing at my voice-activated recorder on which I’d just played him the tape of my meeting with Tiegs.
I turned it off. “Client confidentiality.”
“Come on, McCone. You can do better than that. You also withheld the part about seeing Kevin Daniel returning home last night.”
“Okay, I wanted to talk with Tiegs’s wife first. And frankly, I was concerned about losing my leverage over Daniel. But given what Nina Tiegs told me, there’s no way I can justify withholding anything any longer.”
Whitmore leaned back in his desk chair and regarded me with narrowed eyes. We were in his small office at the SLO County Sheriff’s Department in San Luis Obispo, down the hall from where I’d spoken last week with his colleague, Deputy Selma Barker.
“The wife will give us a statement?” he asked.
“If you lean on her. I’ll ask my client if she’s willing to pay more for the information about her mother, and that may loosen Nina up somewhat.”
The detective continued to stare at me. “You remind me of my sister,” he said. “She’s a lawyer in Seattle. Specializes in divorce for women. Her clients call her ‘Old Hard-as-Nails,’ but they know that the reason she goes toe-to-toe for them is that she cares.”
“Ah, you’ve found my weak spot. Kittens, puppies, children, grieving widows.”
“Isn’t a weak spot-it’s a strength. So how’re we gonna do this?”
“
“Maybe. But the kind of money and local prominence he has builds a thick wall around a person.” The phone buzzed. Whitmore picked up. “Yeah?… Uh-huh… I see… Well, canvass the neighbors and run a surveillance on the place… Yeah, thanks.” He replaced the receiver and looked up at me, scowling. “You screwed up, McCone. The Tiegs woman has taken off.”
I thought of the hundred dollars I’d left on her coffee table. Not a lot to most people these days, but traveling money to someone like Nina. “Damn!”
“Kind of puts a whole new slant on how we proceed, doesn’t it?”
“I guess.”
He thought for a moment, then smiled-fiendishly, I thought. “Okay, McCone, how d’you feel about wearing a wire?”
Ten-thirty that night, and the huge windows of Kev Daniel’s house in the vineyards blazed with light. People in casual attire were scattered over the floodlit deck, sipping wine and conversing animatedly. From where I had parked my car I could hear their laughter, see their sometimes expansive gestures. A woman shrieked, and the shrill noise was followed by applause and more laughter.
Friday night party time in the mid-coast wine country, and here I was, alone and cold sober, with tape pulling at my skin where the sheriff’s deputy had attached the wire and my bag hanging heavily from my shoulder. Jim Whitmore had been adamantly opposed to my going into Daniel’s house armed, but I’d made an unauthorized stop on the way here and retrieved my.357 from the closet safe at the inn. No way would I place absolute trust in the sheriff’s department for getting me out of there speedily and safely should the situation turn dangerous.
As I got out of the car, I wondered what was wrong with me. Why had I volunteered for this duty when I had a new husband hoping we could spend at least part of the weekend together? But as I approached Daniel’s house the thought vanished in a rush of excitement. I lived for moments like this, and so did Hy. So what if we weren’t a conventional couple?
A few people glanced at me as I crossed the deck to the front door, probably wondering who I was; the circle Daniel ran in would be a small, close-knit one, and an outsider was always interesting. The door stood open and I went inside. More people filled a large room straight ahead, where a bar and buffet table were set up. I went to the bar, asked the man behind it for Mr. Daniel.
“Out there, ma’am,” he replied, motioning at the other side of the wraparound deck, which was accessible through open French doors.
