Shell-shocked after her conversation with Crandall, she expected only more hostility and mistrust. She was surprised when Hauser proved friendly.
“Agent McCallum,” he said as his big hand wrapped itself around hers, “I’ve heard a lot about you. You have a reputation for getting things done.”
“My reputation is probably a bit overblown.”
“I’ve looked at the cases you worked-the big ones, anyway. Mobius, STORMKIL… You impress the hell out of me, I have to say.”
“I’ve been lucky in L.A.”
“Yeah, luck.” He winked at her. “Funny how some people have all the luck, and some don’t. Anyhow, we need all the help we can get. We’ve opened a genuine can of worms, which is a lot less fun than a barrel of monkeys.”
“I read the case report. But it wasn’t very detailed. How exactly did you find the woman, anyway?”
“Wasn’t easy. She did a pretty good job of dry-cleaning herself. We knew she must have gone underground, and she’d probably done it eight years ago, shortly after her release. It was likely she’d used somebody who was active in the Los Angeles area, probably somebody well known, because she wasn’t a person with a lot of criminal contacts. We found a guy who matched the description serving a ten-year sentence in federal prison. Fellow by the name of Rodriguez, who used to run a little identity-swapping operation out of Studio City. Couple of our people visited him in lockup and asked whether our subject had ever been one of his clients. There was the usual bargaining-he wanted to be moved to a less life-threatening part of the facility, which we arranged-and he gave her up. Told us what name she was using now. Once we had the name, we tracked her down easily.”
“But not until last week,” Crandall said. “The GPS surveillance is a recent development.”
Hauser looked at Tess. “How much has Crandall told you about that?”
“Just that you instituted it.”
“Then he left out the most important part. Last night Andrea Lowry drove her car to a political event in Orange County hosted by none other than Congressman Jack Reynolds.”
“Did she?”
“Global positioning does not lie. We know every place that car has been and what time it was there, and one of those places was the high school where Reynolds was addressing his constituents.”
“She’s stalking him?” Tess frowned. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense, under the circumstances.”
“You don’t think she’d have a desire for revenge?”
“If she did, wouldn’t she have taken action years ago?”
Hauser shrugged. Clearly the mysteries of human motivation were of little interest to him. “Sometimes it takes a while for a person to get up the nerve. And you know what they say, revenge is a dish best served cold.”
“After twenty years I’d say it would be ice cold.”
“Well, maybe she has some other motive for going there. Maybe she’s trying to renew her contact with Reynolds. Or just trying to spook him, shake him up a little. Or she wants hush money. It’s campaign season, you know.”
He didn’t have to say more. If the updated section of the MEDEA report was accurate, Reynolds couldn’t afford to have Andrea Lowry talk.
Of course, it was possible that Reynolds was innocent, his misconduct purely a fantasy in a disturbed woman’s mind. The ambiguity was what made the case so radioactive. If word of the accusation got out and was later found to be baseless, there would be many kinds of hell to pay. A sitting congressman would not take kindly to the trashing of his good name.
“She may have been going to his events for weeks, even months,” Crandall said. “And the poor son of a bitch probably doesn’t even know it.”
Reynolds knew, Tess thought. It explained Abby’s involvement. Reynolds had hired her to deal with the threat of the stalker.
“So how are we playing it?” Tess asked.
“We’re continuing the GPS surveillance. Full-fledged mobile surveillance would be preferable, but it’s manpower intensive, and there’s always the risk of detection.”
“And we still make no attempt to contact her?”
“Everything we know about this woman says she’s paranoid, especially where the government is concerned. We don’t expect her to cooperate with any FBI agents who come knocking at her door. We need to keep our distance for now.”
“How about talking to Reynolds?”
“That’s a no-go, also. We’re staying clear of the congressman. We haven’t even initiated surveillance on him.”
“Why not?”
“We’re working with an insider in his organization, someone well situated to be helpful. We can’t risk raising Reynolds’ suspicions. It could mean exposure for our informant. Right now it’s hands-off.”
“If we don’t contact him or her, aren’t we basically waiting for one of them to make the first move?”
“Not entirely. We’re making one change. We’re upgrading the electronic surveillance on Lowry. Or I should say, you are.”
“Me?”
“You and Agent Crandall. I’m teaming you up, because you two worked together on the Rain Man. That okay with you, Crandall?”
Crandall uttered a half-hearted, “Yes sir.” The question had been a pure formality, anyway.
Tess was confused. “I assumed Michaelson had arranged some nice, boring scut work for me to do.”
“The ADIC isn’t running this show. This is my case, and I’m not giving you scut work. That would be a waste of your abilities, which I deem to be considerable.” Hauser grinned. “The director and I don’t see eye to eye on everything. He may not be happy you’re here, but I am. I want some of that, shall we say, luck of yours coming my way. We can use it.”
Suddenly Tess was almost happy she’d bluffed her way onto the squad. “I'll do my best,” she promised, feeling a bit like a rookie on her first assignment.
Hauser gave her another smothering handshake. “Sounds okay to me. From what I understand, Agent McCallum, your best is very damn good indeed.”
14
Rush hour, which lasted pretty much all day in L.A., was even worse than usual, and it took Abby two hours to get from Santa Ana to San Fernando. She arrived in Andrea Lowry’s neighborhood at five thirty.
She cruised past the house and saw the Chevy Malibu in the carport. Andrea was home. No surprise. Clearly she wasn’t the type who got out much.
Abby parked on a side street, figuring that Andrea had few if any visitors, and if the same car was parked in front of the house two days in a row, it might get noticed. At the corner she glanced up and down the block. The neighborhood was deserted except for a few children in the playground across the street.
She approached the house and went up the front walk. The door opened before she had a chance to ring the bell.
Andrea Lowry stood in the doorway. She was unarmed, and Abby was glad about that.
“ You.” Her eyes were narrowed to slits in her broad, fleshy face. “Do you really think I’m going to give you an interview?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then go away.” The door began to close.
“I’m not here for an interview,” Abby said. “I’m not even a reporter.”
Andrea flashed a glare at her. “You already told me-”
“I lied. I’m good that.”
There was a beat of silence as Andrea took this in. “You lied? And you expect me to believe you now?”
“I’m hoping.”
“You must take me for a fool.”
“I was hired to locate you. I’m a sort of private investigator. Someone thinks you’re stalking him. He put me on the case.”
Andrea drew a slow breath. When she spoke, her voice was softer. “Who?”
“Congressman Jack Reynolds. You are stalking him, aren’t you, Andrea?” No answer. “I need to know why.”
“I’m not stalking anyone.” The denial was perfunctory, without conviction.
“You’re showing up at his public events. You have a list of them in your car.”