Lane nodded. 'Wish we could talk to Payton. Before they shut him up for good.'
'I've tried. His lawyers say no.'
Lane considered this. 'It may seem pointless,' he said with resignation, 'but Tammy needs to take another run at Mama.'
THIRTEEN
'WE TRIED WITH THE SEMENM,' DR. DAVID LEVY TOLD TERRI. 'No soap. It's way too degraded to yield DNA.'
Terri did not know whether to feel disappointment or relief. Telephone in hand, she began to pace, gazing out her office window as Alcatraz began merging in the dusk with the dark waters of the bay. 'What about the hairs?' she asked.
'The so-called Asian-type hairs from the brothers' carpet turn out to be Thuy Sen's—no surprise there.' The criminalist's tone turned dry. 'As for the hairs from her barrette, it's a classic case of 'good news, bad news.' Which do you want first?'
'The good news,' Terri answered promptly. 'I could use a little.'
'It's not Rennell's. The DNA doesn't match with his.'
Terri felt her own slow release of breath. 'And the bad?'
'The DNA's so similar to his that the hair must have come from a very close relative. I guess we can rule out Grandma.'
'Payton,' Terri said softly.
'Pretty much has to be,' Levy agreed. 'I guess that's not so helpful. But I suppose it still leaves open the question of Rennell.'
Terri thanked him and got off. She did not raise the other question David Levy could not answer: what Yancey James might know about Payton and, she feared, Rennell.
* * *
It was past seven at night when Tammy Mattox appeared in Terri's conference room, perusing its table strewn with records from Rennell's past—what Tammy called the bones of the dinosaur. The mitigation specialist looked weary; she plopped herself in a chair and sat flat-footed, the folds beneath her chin compressing as she bowed her head.
'Well,' she said, as much to herself as Terri, 'that was a long day.'
'Rennell's mother?'
Tammy nodded. 'My new friend Athalie Price. Mama's still in an asylum. Even if she weren't pretty much bughouse, you have to circle around her defenses a good while.' Tammy emitted a sigh of fatigue. 'And you never know what may come out. Does she hate Rennell and want him dead? Does she know something no one else does? But you can't just come out and ask that—you have to try and divine it. For a woman with a low IQ, our Athalie's a devious one.'
Tammy, Terri realized, felt the need to tell her story. Settling back in her chair, she inquired. 'What's she like?'
'Which second? Girl's got moods like mercury.' Eyeing Terri, Tammy gave her a slow smile. 'You had a long day, too, I imagine. So I'll spare you the gibberish and cut to the lucid moments. You don't have my boundless patience.'
* * *
After an hour, Athalie Price flashed Tammy a sudden, startling grin. 'You still here?' she asked.
Tammy smiled. 'Sure,' she drawled. 'Got nowhere to go, and nothing to do.'
Athalie's smile vanished. 'Like me, I guess. Nowhere to go. Been like that ever since I met Vernon, and then Payton got born.'
'Was Vernon your first man?'
'You mean,' Athalie inquired with mild incredulity, 'did he teach me sex?'
'Someone had to, right?'
'Someone did. Not Vernon, though—my granddaddy.' Athalie's tone sounded matter-of-fact. 'Used to give me a quarter for stand-up sex, sliding up and down his thing. Vernon just gave me Payton. That and a beating or six.'
* * *
Tammy poured herself more coffee. 'Near as I can make out,' she said to Terri, 'Vernon was physically and sexually abusive—got hard for Athalie to tell the difference between a beating and a fucking. All as random as the payoff from a slot machine.'
'Did she give a reason for staying?'
'Does a woman that damaged need one?' Tammy asked. 'Sometimes the most powerful weapon an abuser has is sheer unpredictability—you never know when you're going to get it. And in the amazing world of human hope, it sometimes takes damned little to keep a woman coming back for more.
'Athalie's just smart enough to know she's not right—not just disturbed but probably retarded. Whereas Vernon was crazy and controlling.' Tammy's tone was grim. 'And smart enough to know exactly what he had—a woman he could torment till the day he died.'
'What about Payton and Rennell?'
'The kids were just a sidelight.' Tammy placed the cup in front of her. 'But with Rennell, if you believe his
