So much for your expensive facial analysis software, Hunter thought.
‘And that includes everything he told you in the last few minutes of your interview,’ Doctor Lambert added.
Lucien had tried keeping his voice quiet; quieter than throughout the entire session, but the powerful multi-directional microphone on the ceiling directly above the metal table had picked up every word he had said to Hunter.
‘I’m sending a riddle your way, Robert. A riddle that only you will know the answer to.’ Lucien had placed both elbows on the table, leaned forward, and looked over Hunter’s shoulder at the two-way mirror behind him. ‘I don’t trust those fuckers.’
His voice had become almost a whisper.
‘For the past several years, I’ve been living — or hiding, if you prefer — in North Carolina. The house is rented, and I pay cash in advance directly to this old couple, so the place can’t be traced back to me.’ A pause, followed by a sip of water. ‘In our dorm room back in Stanford, I used to have several posters on the wall by my bed. But there was a particular one. The largest of them all. The one that you also liked. . with the sunset. If you think about it, you will remember it. The county in North Carolina carries the same name as the figure in that poster.’
Hunter’s expression had turned thoughtful.
‘I’m sure you’ll also remember Professor “Hot Sauce”.’ The right edge of Lucien’s mouth had lifted in a semi-devious smile. ‘Susan’s dare? Halloween night?’ He’d waited just a second before seeing recognition dance across Hunter’s face. ‘By sheer coincidence, the city I’ve been living in shares his name.’
Hunter had said nothing.
‘After I got the first phone call asking me to make the first car delivery, something inside my head told me that this would probably end very badly. So, out of precaution, I started keeping a diary, so to speak. Actually, it was more like a notebook, and I noted down everything I could — date, time and duration of calls, conversation details, pickup times and locations, car type and license plate numbers, stops I did on the way, the name of the person at the other end of the line. . everything. I keep the notebook in the house, down in the basement.’
Hunter had caught a new glint in his old friend’s eyes. Something that wasn’t there before.
‘The house is right at the end of the wood’s edge. The keys are in my jacket pocket, which I believe was seized by the FBI. You have my authorization to use it and get into the house, Robert. You’ll find a lot in there. Things that can help you clear this mess up.’
That was all Lucien had said.
‘So,’ Newman said to Hunter. ‘Do you know the answers to all that crap he threw at you at the end?’
Hunter said nothing, but Newman seemed to read his demeanor as a positive answer.
‘Great. So if you give us the name of the county and the town in North Carolina where his house is at, your job here is all done.’ He finished drinking his water. ‘I understand that you were on your way to Hawaii for a long-overdue vacation.’ For no reason at all, Newman checked his watch. ‘You’ve only missed a day. You could be there by tomorrow morning.’
Hunter’s gaze lingered on Newman for a few seconds, before moving to Taylor, and then back to Newman.
‘That’s exactly why Lucien made the location of his house into a riddle that only I could figure out,’ he said, standing up straight and adjusting the collar on his leather jacket. ‘Because the only way any of you are getting there, is if I take you there.’
Twenty
Neither Newman nor Taylor had the authority to make that sort of decision. All they knew was that the man in their custody had refused to talk, saying he would only speak to Detective Robert Hunter of the LAPD. Hunter had been brought in, but as far as everyone was concerned, he was there simply as a listener. His job was to get Lucien Folter to talk. He wasn’t supposed to be involved in the investigation, and he certainly wasn’t part of the team. This was not a joint venture between the LAPD and the FBI.
‘I thought that you couldn’t wait to go on vacation, Robert,’ Adrian Kennedy said, staring straight into the web camera.
Hunter, Taylor and Newman had gone back up to the BSU floor and were now sitting inside an ample office, facing a very large flat-screen monitor mounted onto the west wall. The dot-sized green light at the top of the monitor indicated that the in-built camera was on.
Despite being less than an hour away, Director Adrian Kennedy’s overbooked schedule prevented him from making the trip back to Quantico. He was speaking to everyone via a video link from his office in Washington, DC.
‘Well, that plan got screwed up yesterday when you showed up in LA, Adrian,’ Hunter said, matter-of-factly.
‘I’m sure we can fix it, Robert,’ Kennedy replied. ‘If you just give Agents Taylor and Newman the information they need to proceed, I can arrange to have a jet fly you over to Hawaii tonight.’
Hunter looked impressed. ‘Wow. Is the FBI budget that loose that you can actually justify getting a jet just to take me all the way to Hawaii from Virginia? Damn, and at the LAPD we don’t even get a big enough budget to supply us with enough bulletproof vests.’
‘Robert, I’m serious. We need this information.’
‘So am I, Adrian.’ Hunter’s voice went grave all of a sudden and his stare hardened. ‘I didn’t ask for this. You came to me, remember? You threw me into this mix. Now I’m part of it, whether you like it or not. If you think I’m just going to hand over the information and walk away like an obedient little boy, then you don’t know me at all.’
‘Nobody really knows you, Robert,’ Kennedy hit back, his voice still calm. ‘You’ve always been this cryptic enigma for as long as I’ve known you. But you’re now playing a very risky game. You do understand that what you’re doing is withholding information that’s pertinent to a federal homicide investigation. I can have your ass for that.’
Hunter looked unfazed.
‘If that’s how you want to play it,’ he replied evenly. ‘I’ve never explicitly told anyone that I understood what Lucien’s little riddle meant. I can’t be withholding information if I have none, Adrian, because I don’t think I remember seeing any posters in my old dorm room, and Professor “Hot Sauce” is no professor I can recall.’ Hunter paused and, from the corner of his eye, saw frustration start to color Agent Newman’s face. ‘You’re not the only one who knows how to play hardball, Adrian, and I’m not one of your puppets.’
Kennedy didn’t look angered or offended. In fact, he wasn’t really expecting Hunter to react in any other way, not after watching the footage recorded from the interrogation room. Hunter was being asked for help, on one side by the FBI, on the other by his old best friend.
‘Sorry to interrupt, Director Kennedy,’ Newman said, leaning forward on his seat. ‘But we still have the subject in our custody. If Detective Hunter is refusing to cooperate, sorry, but fuck him. Let him go back to LA.’ He looked at Hunter. ‘No offense, pal.’
He got absolutely zero reaction from Hunter.
‘We can still extract the information directly out of the subject,’ Newman continued. ‘Just give me a few more sessions with him.’
‘Of course we can,’ Kennedy said. ‘Because that has worked brilliantly so far, hasn’t it, Special Agent Newman?’