'I'm a homicide detective,' I told him.
'So?'
'So Kaplan and Martinson are only two of the nine. One or more of those other seven is a killer. That's who I want. Have you identified any of the others?'
'Only one. I caught him red-handed and fired his ass.'
'Who was that? Harry Campbell?'
Martin Green looked at me, startled. 'How'd you find that out?'
'How doesn't much matter. Think back to when you were up on the building with Angie Dixon,' I continued. 'Is there a chance that someone up there could have overheard her agree to give you the tapes?'
For a moment Green said nothing, then as the realization dawned on him, he nodded, his mouth hardening into a grim line. 'He was her partner, wasn't he?'
I nodded.
'Right off-hand, I'd say the chances are one hundred percent that he must have been listening.'
'And is that crew working overtime again tomorrow?' I asked.
He nodded. 'They start at six-thirty. If you want me to, I'll be only too happy to go along and point him out.'
CHAPTER 24
I didn't want to give Watty any ammunition about my not being a team player. Martin Green and I walked over to the Labor Temple and picked up Harry Campbell's address. When we got back to my apartment, I called Manny Davis at home, told him what was up, and gave him Harry's address in Edmonds just north of Seattle proper. He said to hold tight, that either he or Kramer would get back to me.
As soon as Ralph Ames caught wind of what was going on, he went into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. He brought the pot and three cups on a tray into the living room.
'Looks like it could be a long night,' he said, handing me a cup.
I accepted it gratefully, but I was watching the phone, waiting for it to ring. Willing it to ring.
It did. Finally. Two cups of coffee later. But it wasn't Manny or Kramer. 'Sergeant Watkins here, Beau. How's it going?'
'How the hell should I know how it's going? I've been sitting here for forty-five minutes, cooling my heels, and waiting for someone to get back to me.'
'There wasn't time.'
'What do you mean, there wasn't time?'
'We had to get a warrant and negotiate a peace treaty with the Edmonds Police.'
'Wait one fucking minute here! Do you mean to tell me Kramer and Davis have gone up to Edmonds to pick him up?'
'Kramer was still here working. He took off as soon as we had the warrant. Said he'd pick Manny up on his way north.'
'What about me?'
'I already told you, Beau. There wasn't time. We were afraid Campbell might get wind of what had happened to Kaplan and take off. Besides, the doc says Kaplan should be coming out of sedation about now. I thought I'd send you up to Virginia Mason to talk to him.'
'Talk to Kaplan!' I sputtered. 'You mean…'
'Look,' Watty interrupted. 'I'm giving this one to Manny and Kramer. And if you know what's good for you, you will too. I had a chat with Kramer while we were waiting. You let them take credit for this and he won't file a grievance on the other.'
'In other words, blackmail.'
'Let's just say tit for tat,' Watty responded. 'Kaplan's up in Virginia Mason. Go see him, Beau. And let this be a lesson to you.'
I flung down the phone. Ralph Ames and Martin Green had been chatting quietly on the window seat. They both looked up. 'What's the matter?' Ames asked.
'I've just been screwed, blued, and tattooed. Without a kiss.'
'What's that supposed to mean?'
'I'm on my way to Virginia Mason.'
'Want me to drive?' he asked.
'No thanks. Believe me. I'm stone-cold sober!'
It was almost two o'clock in the morning when I walked up to the door of Don Kaplan's room in Virginia Mason Hospital. A police guard was standing by outside.
'He's awake,' he told me. 'One of the nurses was just in talking to him.'
I pushed open the door. Don Kaplan lay in the bed, his eyes fixed on a flickering screen of a television set on the wall at his feet. He glanced over at me, and then turned back to the old movie.
'I want to see my lawyer,' he said.
'You'll need one, you son of a bitch. By the time we finish talking to the prosecutor, we're going to nail you for murder every bit as hard as if you'd pulled the trigger yourself.'
Kaplan turned and looked at me. 'I want my lawyer.'
Turning on my heel, I stalked out of the room. The threat had sounded good, but I wondered if we'd be able to make it stick.
There was an ambulance coming up Boren and I waited for it to pass. It was headed for Harborview. After a moment's hesitation, I followed it. There was no longer any reason not to tell Linda Decker what was happening.
The nurses' station was empty when I got to the ninth floor. I could see a flurry of activity down the hallway a door or two. The folding chair in the hallway outside Jimmy Rising's room was empty. With an eerie sense of foreboding, I stepped to the door and pushed it open.
The room was dimly lit. The thermos and the lunch pail sat on a table near Jimmy Rising's head. He seemed to be asleep. I started toward the waiting room, thinking Linda might be there, when I ran into the guard. He was coming out of a rest room, zipping his fly.
'Where's Linda Decker?' I asked.
'Who are you?'
'Beaumont. Detective Beaumont from homicide.'
'She left just a few minutes ago.'
'Where'd she go?'
'The chaplain came and got her. I guess they were going to his office.'
A nurse came bustling down the hall. She had to walk around us. 'Excuse me,' I said, 'but where's the chaplain's office?'
'On the first floor. Why do you need to know?'
'I'm looking for Linda Decker. According to the guard here, she just left with the chaplain. They went down to his office.'
'His?' the nurse asked, frowning.
'His,' I repeated. Maybe she wasn't awake. 'The chaplain's office.'
'But the night duty chaplain is a woman,' she said.
A hard knot of fear lumped in my gut. I turned on the guard. 'What did this guy look like?'
The guard shrugged. 'Fairly tall. Well-built for a minister, I thought.'
'Did he say anything?'
'Something about her kids. I don't know exactly.'
The nurse had gone on into the nurses' station and was studying a chart. 'Can you call the chaplain's office?' I asked.
She looked annoyed, but she picked up the phone, dialed a number, and handed the receiver to me. A woman
