off his sunglasses and stared at Colin.

'Jesus, pal, you look like hell.'

'Thanks.'

In the kitchen Mark said, 'I mean it, Colin. You look like you've been up all night.'

Colin sat at the table and took a slug of his coffee.

Mark glanced at the paper. 'What a bitch,' he said.

Colin nodded, smoothed out his mustache.

'Hey, you left your phone off the-oh. Crank calls?'

'Three before I got smart.'

'This sucks, Colin.'

He stared at Mark, trying to imagine him slitting Ruth Cooper's throat.

'What are you going to do?'

'Nothing right now. If you want me to come in to work I will.' Could Mark have cut the symbol on Joe Carroll's chest?

'Do you want to?'

'No.'

'That's fine with me.'

He couldn't see him killing Mary Beth Higbee.

'Do you think there'll be any more stories?' Mark asked.

Colin shrugged. 'It doesn't matter. The damage is done.'

'We could run something,' Mark said hesitantly.

'Like what?'

'I don't know, off the top of my head.'

'How are things with Amy?' Colin surprised himself as well as Mark.

'Amy?'

'Yeah, Amy. You remember her, don't you?'

'I haven't seen her again,' he said smoothly.

'Since when?'

'What do you mean, since when? Since Friday. What is this?'

'What's what?'

'This shit about Amy.' Two spots of color, like rosebuds, appeared in Mark's cheeks.

'Is it shit?'

'Hey, pal, I don't know what the hell you're talking about.'

'Amy. I'm talking about Amy.'

'What about her?' Mark said sharply. 'Come on. If you've got something to say, say it. We've been friends too long for this kind of crap.'

'Forget it, Mark, I'm just… I don't know. I mean, it's not my best day.'

'No, come on, you've got a bug up your ass about Amy and I want to know why. Do you think I wasn't there or something?'

Colin felt cold inside, as if all compassion had been drained from him. 'Why did you ask that?

'Wait a minute. Shit. It's Sarah, isn't it? She called you, right? Goddammit.'

He said nothing.

'Christ, did she give me a hard time this weekend. She accused me of everything under the sun except committing the murders.'

Colin forced himself to look at Mark, who was smiling, laughing.

'I got her calmed down, though. I just stuck to my guns about the meeting with Gildersleeve. I told her to call him up if she didn't believe me, knowing she wouldn't. But she called you, huh?'

'No.'

'She didn't? So, then what's all the shit?'

'Forget it, it's nothing. I'm just crazy this morning.' He couldn't go on with it. 'Want some coffee?'

'No, thanks. I've got to get back.'

'Have you gotten any calls about me?'

Mark waved a hand. 'Don't worry about it, pal.'

'A lot?'

'A few. Listen, nobody's going to tell me who I can have working on my paper, so don't sweat it.'

'Who's telling you?'

'Come on, Colin, you don't need to know that.'

'No, I want to know.'

'Just some cranks, that's all.' He started for the front door.

Colin followed. 'Mark, I want to know.'

'Well, Gildersleeve called. You'd expect that, wouldn't you?'

'I guess. Who else?'

'Just people. Listen, pal, they're all stupid fucks and I'm not going to pay any attention to them, so don't you. Okay?' He put a hand on Colin's shoulder, squeezed. 'Look, I have to get back but call me if you need anything. Do you want to come up later for dinner?'

'I'm seeing Annie.' But would he? he wondered.

'Hey, terrific.' He slapped Colin on the back. 'If you want me to drop by later give me a buzz, okay?'

'Okay. Thanks for coming over, Mark.'

'No sweat. Talk to you.'

Colin closed the door after him and locked it. He'd had no idea Mark was such an accomplished liar. Still, he was having a hard time believing Mark could murder anyone, let alone four people, one a child. Oh, Christ, it was all too much.

Back at the table Colin finished the last swallow of coffee. What would Mike Rosier think if he told him of his suspicions? He picked up the dead phone, pushed down the cradle, got the tone, and dialed the number of The New York Times.

– -

Hallock had never been to Florida before. With the exception of the heat, ninety-five in the shade, he liked the place. The sand was whiter than Seaville's, sky brighter, water bluer. And those palm trees made him smile. But he wished Fran was with him. Maybe he'd call her later, see if she'd come down. Ah, hell, what was he thinking? This wasn't some damn pleasure trip. Besides, he was supposed to be mad at Fran. And day dreaming around like this he was almost late for his appointment with the Conways.

They lived in a high rise two streets back from the beach. On the phone she'd said they'd met, mentioning a benefit party for the hospital twelve years ago. He'd lied and said he remembered it well. He told her to think back over the past, to try and remember anything about their lives that might have been unusual, or anything about Ruth Cooper's life, even when she'd been Ruth Conway. Mildred Conway had said they would. Going up in the elevator Hallock had a feeling based on nothing, that he was going to get lucky. He reached into his jacket pocket and rubbed the gold coin his father had given him forty-three years before. Even though he'd never been a superstitious man he'd always carried it. What the hell, it couldn't hurt.

– -

At ten o'clock on the nose Colin pulled up in front of the Seaville Library. It was a one-story building, its facade made of fieldstone, the wooden trim painted white. Above the door was a plaque that said 1870.

Inside, the library felt cool. Betty Mills was checking something in the card catalog. She was a fairly tall woman, young, probably no more than twenty-five. Her hair was brown and she wore it long, parted on the side. She was pleasant looking, and had a sweetness to her that was immediately evident. When Colin approached her she smiled, her eyes reflecting her good humor. 'Can I help you?' she asked.

'I hope so. Annie Winters said you might be able to.' He wondered if Betty had seen the story in Newsline. 'Well, I'm willing to give it a try.'

Colin handed her his notebook with the copy of the symbol cut on Joe Carroll's chest. 'I'm interested in finding out what this means.'

Вы читаете Razzamatazz
Добавить отзыв
ВСЕ ОТЗЫВЫ О КНИГЕ В ИЗБРАННОЕ

0

Вы можете отметить интересные вам фрагменты текста, которые будут доступны по уникальной ссылке в адресной строке браузера.

Отметить Добавить цитату