“She seemed better a little while ago when I left.”
“That’s good. That’s a relief.”
“But I want her left alone. And I’m afraid that prosecutor is going to come back today.”
“I wouldn’t count on it. They’re busy doing other stuff.”
“Well, if she does, I don’t see how I can keep her away from Amanda.”
“Like I said, nobody gets past Wild Bill.” He paused. “Look, don’t worry. You’re worrying too much.”
“You really think so?”
“Yes. Amanda will be fine. I’ll come over there and guard her myself if I have to. And as for Melanie Vargas, look, if you really feel Amanda’s not well enough to talk, she’ll have to accept that.”
“I don’t know. She doesn’t strike me as the type to just roll over.”
“Don’t worry. I have it under control.”
She sighed. “I guess I should go back to the hospital to keep an eye on things.”
“That’s not necessary. Flanagan is there.”
“Where else do I have to go? I took care of all the funeral arrangements yesterday.”
“Where are you now?”
“At Saks.”
“You went all the way to Saks just to use a pay phone? Man, you are under stress!”
“I wasn’t about to use one on the street. Besides, I always feel better here. It’s a very calming atmosphere.”
“That’s so you, Nell. No problem in life a little shopping can’t cure.” He laughed.
“I suppose, since I’m here, I could find Amanda something to wear to the funeral.”
“Really? She’s well enough to go?”
“We’ll see. I’m hoping anyway. I can only imagine how much she’ll resent me if I don’t find a way to get her there. Years of therapy.”
“Kids.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Okay, so do your shopping, and then I’ll come over and we’ll have an early dinner, order in room service or something. You shouldn’t be alone right now. What’s the name of that place you’re staying?”
24
WITH ALL THE GROUND THEY HAD TO COVER, THEIR best bet was to split up. Randall would go to the hospital and check on Amanda Benson. Dan would head to Brooklyn to hunt down informants who might know Slice’s whereabouts. And Melanie would return to her office. Her nominal assignment was to collect the records they’d subpoenaed and scour them for leads on Slice, but she had her own agenda, one she didn’t reveal to Dan and Randall.
The security breaches on the Benson case troubled Melanie greatly. First the intruder in the basement stealing her evidence, then Slice getting to Rosario. How had he managed it? How did he even know where to look? She had to worry there was a leak somewhere, maybe in her office, maybe among the cops or agents. Maybe a sloppy, careless leak-or maybe an intentional one. Dan and Randall pooh-poohed her concerns. Fine, let them. She’d investigate and get to the bottom of this without them if she had to. She’d reached out and grabbed this case for herself, and she’d see it through to completion no matter where it led or what it took.
But acting completely alone, she recognized, was not an ideal strategy. Ferreting out wrongdoing or negligence in her own office or in the FBI was bound to kick up resistance. She needed backing from someone with juice. Her boss was the obvious choice.
With that thought in mind, she buzzed herself through the bulletproof door and hurried straight to Bernadette’s office, not even stopping to put away her briefcase. Shekeya was sitting at her desk, eating a Big Mac and fries, reading a dog-eared copy of People.
“She back yet?” Melanie demanded, out of breath, “I need to see her right away.”
Shekeya dipped a french fry carefully into some ketchup and chewed it slowly.
“Nope. Went to Washington. She got a meeting at Main Justice.”
“I know, but wasn’t she supposed to be in by now?”
“She don’t inform me of her every move.”
“Well, you booked her flight, didn’t you? Can you check it for me, please?”
“Your panties in a twist, girl. Can’t you see I’m eating?”
“Shekeya, it’s important.”
“So’s my lunch.”
Melanie folded her arms in exasperation, glaring at Shekeya.
“Don’t give me that look. The boss ain’t gonna come back any faster because you standing there with your face all ugly. When I’m done with my burger, I’ll check it for you. Now, get your hiney back to your office.” Shekeya shooed Melanie with a ketchup-besmirched hand.
Melanie sighed dramatically, but she had no choice. She turned and walked out into the hall. She knew Shekeya well enough to be confident she’d get the correct information in Shekeya’s own good time.
AN HOUR LATER SHE WAS SITTING AT HER desk scanning Jed Benson’s telephone records and thinking about how to get her hands on the sign-in sheet from the security desk downstairs when Bernadette rapped loudly on her open office door.
“Shekeya said you were looking for me, hon,” Bernadette said.
“Oh, Bern, I’m so glad you’re back,” Melanie said, hopes brightening. She really needed Bernadette’s help; it was a relief that her boss sounded so nice for a change.
Bernadette walked in and sat down across from Melanie in the guest chair. She leaned forward, her features arranged in a look of motherly concern. “I heard your witness was killed. Are you holding up okay?”
“No, I’m not. I really need to talk to you.”
“Oh, hon, I’m sorry I wasn’t around earlier. I’m sure you could have used a shoulder to cry on.”
“It’s not that, Bern. I’m worried about the case. We had two major security breaches in the past twenty-four hours, and I’m beginning to think we have a leak somewhere. I really need some advice on how to handle it.”
“A leak? What are you talking about? I’m sure your witness blew it herself by telling some idiot neighbor where she was or something.”
“No, Bern, Rosario was completely terrified. She wouldn’t have given up her location to her own mother.”
“People are stupider than you’d think. Do me a favor, check the phone records from her hotel room-then come back and tell me I’m wrong. I’ll bet you ten bucks there’s some call on there to some cousin in Queens who blabbed to the whole planet.”
“I really doubt it. Besides, Rosario ’s murder wasn’t the only security breach. Somebody chased me in the basement last night, stole evidence from my purse-”
Bernadette laughed. “Yeah, I heard about that one. The security company complained, you know. I commend your nerve in going down to Dead Files so late at night. But next time be a little more careful with the emergency door, or we’re gonna have to start paying them overtime for investigating false alarms.”
“I didn’t just hear a noise and freak out, Bern. Somebody was down there. Valuable evidence is missing.”
“Melanie,” Bernadette said sharply, “the perpetrator removed cash from your wallet, right?”
“Yes, but-”
“So don’t give me partial information, miss, it’s misleading. The cash is key. Some janitor obviously stole your money, and in the process he took your evidence by mistake. He probably dropped it in a Dumpster last night on his way to score a few dime bags with your cash.”
“That’s it? You’re just explaining everything away without even investigating?”
Bernadette sighed. “Look, I understand you’re upset. It’s very traumatic when a witness gets killed. There’s a natural tendency to see it as bigger than it is, as the result of some wild conspiracy. But that’s just nerves talking. You want my advice? Calm down, do your work, and stop running off at the mouth with crazy theories.”
Melanie stared at Bernadette in dismay. She couldn’t believe that her boss wasn’t all over these security breaches, that she wasn’t helping her. Then it dawned on her that Bernadette had a huge conflict of interest here. Rommie Ramirez’s squad had taken responsibility for protecting Rosario last night. The crew-cut cop had left his post to respond to a drug call. Did Bernadette already know that? Did she fear that an inquiry might negatively affect her boyfriend, further damage his already troubled career? Would Bernadette allow personal feelings to influence her professional judgment like that? She was obviously head over heels for Rommie. But covering up something so significant would put her whole career at risk. Melanie respected Bernadette too much to believe that such a thing was possible. Yet she couldn’t deny that Bernadette was acting bizarrely nonchalant.