“Kane’s a target,” I say. “You know that. I need to make sure he doesn’t end up dead, whatever that takes. And if you need more motivation, I’m clearly on this killer’s mind.”
He inhales and blows it out. “Okay. I’ll get Lucas diving deeper but get me something to justify probable cause for that warrant. And as for targets, Pocher and his brother are on the list, too. Murphy knows.”
“I’m dealing with that.”
“You need to talk to Murphy first. He’s going to call you.”
“Good,” I say. “I left him a voicemail about your raise.”
“You can’t bribe me,” he snaps.
“No. And I like that about you. The raise is because you deserve it. I can’t supervise Lucas. It’s a conflict in ten murderous ways. And I mean that literally.”
“Oh. Damn. Kane?”
“Yes,” I confirm. “He doesn’t like him. He doesn’t care he’s my cousin, because he’s a step-cousin. He thinks he wants to get me naked.”
“Does he?”
“Yes. Thus why I need you to do this. And I’m about to officially get you that list you’re already working on from Marilyn today.”
“I have no idea how you’re pulling that off.”
“Magic,” I say and I hang up, refocused on Houston. “Is it over?”
“About to finish. What’s the plan here?”
“Well, obviously, we need a warrant for actual police surveillance.”
“If she passes that test, we aren’t getting it. I don’t have probable cause. And even if we get a judge that doesn’t think we’re attacking a scared victim, out of desperation, pushing limits bites us later, and sets her free.”
He’s not wrong, which is exactly why I’m playing chess with Marilyn with every intention of winning. “She isn’t going to fail the test,” I say. “If she didn’t know how to beat it, she wouldn’t have taken it.”
The door opens and the test administrator, a quiet, older man with gray hair, and a uniform, says, “She passed, but I question the validity. She took a full minute for every question. Enough to ask herself another question before answering.”
“We noticed,” Houston says. “Thanks, Joe.”
Joe leaves the room and Marco joins the huddle with me and Houston. “Now what?”
“You follow us to the mail center. She gives us what’s inside the lockbox. And then I withdraw the offer of Kane’s men. You offer her police support.”
“To what end?” Marco asks.
“Aside from the fact that she will decline police support, she’ll ultimately believe she’s free and clear of the murders.”
“You think she did it now?” Houston asks. “For sure?”
“She’s a Black Widow.”
“That’s a stretch. Don’t they usually kill their lovers?”
“They were her lovers and yes, there seems to be a revenge element here which makes her all the more complex to read. She seems to be targeting me and Kane, but I believe that’s because to her we’re somehow a part of the world she’d created with them. Perhaps in a way we have yet to fully understand. But everyone she sees as damaging that world, dies.”
“You’re in her sights,” Marco comments. “That’s a pretty hairy seat to sit in.”
“Let’s hope she’s hyper-focused on me and Kane and we’ll be her next targets,” I say. “That takes the heat off of others. But I also expect she’ll head to New Hampshire where she expected to meet Ann, or so I predict. And I will have men following.”
“All right then,” Marco says. “If you want to take that heat, we’ll go with it.”
I eye Houston. “I need you to try to get the info we need for that warrant the old-fashioned way. My team is looking hard at Marilyn and her connections electronically. I want to avoid anything that lets Marilyn know we’re looking at her at all. We need her to feel safe enough to do bad things while we’re watching. But you can work the hotel and the hotel staff. Follow leads you get from that angle.”
“Will do,” he says. “And I’ll get with Andrew and we’ll pool our resources.”
“Great. And I’ll prepare for the brotherly lecture about always doing things legally.”
“He’s in a small community,” Houston says. “He has a much narrower view than we do. The idea here is that no one else dies. So you get the facts. We’ll find a way to back into them the right way.”
“If we catch her doing bad things, she’ll convict herself for us.” I motion to Marco. “Let’s do this. Let’s go make Marilyn feel safe and secure, like our best buddy who is saving the day.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Once we tell Marilyn that she passed her lie detector test with flying colors, and watch the satisfaction roll over her features, Houston has her give a written statement and asks her to include details about the Clementine as an event location. Thank fuck, that process is quick and easy, and we’re ready to get the hell out of the precinct and on with this.
I return to the parking lot with Marilyn in tow. Marilyn heads to Enrique’s SUV. He turns to me.
“What the fuck?”
“We’re going to the lockbox and then you’ll drop her at her apartment.”
Enrique looks like he just ate a raw oyster with this news. “Why not Jay?”
“Jay has bad luck. He’ll end up dead.”
“She’s right,” Jay says. “She’s all yours.”
“One more thing,” I say. “Insist that for her safety you go in and clear the box.” I reach in my bag and hand him the envelope that was taken out of the lockbox last night. “Walk in with this hidden under your jacket. Don’t let Marilyn know you have it. And then make a big deal of opening the box and grabbing what you already have.”
“Then I get rid of that bitch.”
“Yes. Consider getting rid of her a reward for good work.”
“I’m on it.”
“We’ll follow you,” I say, as we both head to our respective vehicles.
I laugh as Jay and I climb into the Mercedes. “The cartel Enrique can handle, but not a woman who he believes is nothing shy of a voodoo witch. He’s afraid of her.”
“So am I,” Jay says. “Word to the wise. Mexicans are superstitious. You get us going down that black magic train of thought, and we’ll lose our shit.”
Word to the wise, indeed.
I store that tidbit of information away for future use.
Enrique pulls out of the precinct driveway and we are right behind him.
The drive to the mail center is short. Jay pulls into a parking spot next to Enrique, who gets out of the car and heads into the store. Marilyn stays in the car, and with Jay shadowing me protectively, I walk to the passenger door. She rolls down the window. “Enrique said he wants me to be safe,” she explains. “He wanted me to stay in the vehicle.”