“Any idea of hubby’s whereabouts?” Horn asked Larkin.
“No. And so far there’s nothing in the place by way of a clue. SWAT team says that when they broke in, the bedroom TV was on.”
“We have to assume Joe Vine knows about Mandle’s death,” Horn said.
“That’s where Cindy could help us, if she would.”
“When she gets a lawyer and rejoins the real world, she might be more willing to cooperate.” Horn knew that Cindy Vine would have little choice, once her attorney filled her in on the facts and told her she herself was in trouble with the law.
“A blood sample was taken from Mandle before his trial,” Larkin said. “The DNA from it matches that of the corpse found in the building. Mandle probably didn’t get far after his escape, with the bullet wound in his chest. Got to a phone somehow and called Joe Vine for help, then hid out in the condemned building’s basement and waited for Vine.”
“Who found him dead or shot him with the other guard’s gun,” Horn said. “And decided he’d be useful in murdering my wife.”
“You’re half right,” Larkin said. “ME said there was only one gunshot wound and it wouldn’t have been fatal. Mandle was stabbed in the back.”
Horn looked hard at Larkin, taking in what he’d just heard. It made Vine all the more dangerous. “In the back, huh? Cold-blooded even with his friends, and cautious enough he didn’t want anyone to hear a gunshot.”
“Yeah. Pretty chicken-shit. You’d think the sonuvabitch would have some kind of code. Just about everybody does.”
“His code,” Horn said, “is whatever’s in his best interest.”
“Shoulda gone into politics, or to more John Wayne movies as a kid. We also gotta figure he’s in possession of the other dead guard’s gun.”
“He’ll have more than that to work with by this time. Kinda guy that can make a weapon out of Jell-O.”
“Did Anne get to the cabin okay?”
“I haven’t heard yet from Bickerstaff and Paula,” Horn said. “It’s a long drive.”
“Plenty secluded?”
“Surrounded by woods. Anne’s brother’s a dedicated hunter, only uses it for that.”
“I sent along a detail so security will be in place shortly after Anne arrives. It’ll be impossible for Vine to get to her even if he somehow figures out where she is. You can check it out later and be in overall command.”
Horn walked over to the window to watch Cindy Vine being loaded into the back of a patrol car for her ride to captivity and interrogation. A woman in a jam not of her own making, with a difficult time ahead. But maybe that was wrong. Maybe she’d urged her husband on, driven just as he was because of their son. It sure wasn’t a perfect world.
“There was a human hair stuck beneath the duct tape over Emily Schneider’s mouth,” Larkin said. “It turned out not to be hers. We took some hair samples from Vine’s comb to see if we come up with a match. We will. There’s going to be a solid case against Vine. We have no worries on that account.”
Horn nodded, but he didn’t think evidence would make much difference.
They were going to have to kill Vine.
Paula was standing at the bureau in Harry Linnert’s bedroom and packing a blue vinyl club bag. Toothbrush, deodorant, gun. .
“You’re going to spend nights on a stakeout?” Linnert asked behind her, still not quite believing it. That she was a cop hadn’t really hit home until now. Not like this, anyway.
“A security stakeout,” Paula said, continuing with her packing. “It will probably only be for two or three days and nights.”
“You’re guarding some big shot? Some Mafia witness or something?”
She laughed. “Nothing like that.”
“I couldn’t stand for you to be in any danger.”
“I’m not, usually, except for being surrounded by too many doughnuts.”
“They haven’t ruined your figure.”
He came to her and kissed the nape of her neck, then turned her around and kissed her on the lips. The world, everything, slowed down and became better when she was in his arms.
She confided in him, explaining the situation.
He gave her another kiss. “You be careful, you hear?”
She nodded. “For you and for me.”
When Horn used the cell phone to call home from his car parked across from the Vines’ apartment building, there was a message on his machine to contact Kray at the Rion Hotel.
He turned the air conditioner on high, sat back, and punched out the Rion’s number then Kray’s extension.
Kray picked up on the first ring. “Horn?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been reading the papers, watching TV news.”
“Spending a lot of time in your room.”
“It’s my information center, such as it is. After Emily Schneider was killed, this operation really started to bother me. Then when you told me about Joe Vine. Jesus, you can imagine.”
Horn wasn’t sure he could. “You’re not the one killing women,” he said. “You’re being too hard on yourself.”
“It’s just that I know what someone like Vine can do. How he can be impossible to find, then how deadly he can be. I know his moves. More than that, Horn, I know his counter-moves. Because I taught them to him. The kind of training he had, that
He was probably right, Horn thought.
“My advice is to get Anne out of the city, out of an urban environment. Vine is trained to be his most deadly in cities, where we ran night strikes and did certain difficult. . jobs for the government.”
“She’s in a secluded wooded area, in a cabin owned by her brother.”
“That’s good. Urban and mountain terrain are where you don’t want her. Is there lots of underbrush?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Don’t take it for granted that Vine will make noise moving through dry brush. There are ways not to. Thick woods?”
“I was there once. The woods are plenty thick. Gently rolling hills.”
“Water nearby?”
“I recall a creek. Maybe a couple hundred yards beyond the place.”
“Not big enough for a boat or canoe?”
“Definitely not. Probably even dry this time of year.”
“Dry creek beds are like highways through wooded areas,” Kray said. “Vine knows how to travel them.”
“We’ve got that covered,” Horn assured Kray.
“Whatever you do, don’t let Anne accept any package, delivered or mailed. The same goes for any strange object placed outside the cabin, especially one virtually calling for a woman to pick it up. It should be checked before she touches it. She should stay away from windows, especially at night with a light on inside. The thing to remember is he can kill from a distance. There are ways you wouldn’t imagine.”
“We won’t underestimate him,” Horn said.
“Good luck, and if you want me there when and if you get him cornered, please call on me. I might be able to help you in unexpected ways, and at the same time atone for my sins.”
“A church is the place for expiation. A priest rather than a cop.”
“You understand what I mean, Horn. I know you do.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Horn admitted. “But I don’t think I can help you. I’ll keep what you said in mind, though. And thanks.”
“Good luck,” Kray told him again, in a way that left no doubt that he meant it.
