I shook Lundquist’s hand.
He was a sturdy man who looked as if he’d just stepped off a farm in the Midwest. He had reddish apple cheeks and clear blue eyes. His red hair had been recently shaved into a crew cut. The clothes were plain: gray slacks, white shirt, and glen plaid sport coat.
“Transfer?” I said.
“Promotion,” he said. “Healy signed off on it. Said it was time.”
Cristal’s sobs developed into wails, face in hands, shoulders shaking. Lundquist looked back at her with mild annoyance.
“I tried to help,” she said. “But I froze. God, why did I freeze like that? I stopped at a light and these two men opened the door. They had guns. They said they were going to blow my fucking head off if I moved an inch.”
Kinjo looked at the floor. His large hands were clasped in front of him as he took a deep breath.
“They just threw him inside and sped off,” she said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Lundquist said. “We’ve been through all this.”
“I tried,” she said. “I swear to Christ. I really tried to follow them. But they were too fast and I got lost.”
Kinjo continued to look at the floor. His jaw muscles flexed. He rubbed his mustache and goatee with nervous energy.
“We’re looking for the vehicle,” Lundquist said. “Sounds like an old Crown Vic. Dark green. And we’d like you to check out some photo packs. See if you recognize them.”
“Sure,” Cristal said. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
In the harsh light, Lundquist’s cheeks were reddened and chapped. Small acne scars ran down his cheeks and across his neck. His eyes flicked on mine. “Spenser’s been working for you?” Lundquist said.
Kinjo nodded.
“Because you’d been recently followed?” Lundquist said. “And thought someone might want to do you harm?”
“Yeah.”
“Any ideas?”
Kinjo looked up at me. I shook my head.
His eyes trailed away and studied the floor. “I thought maybe I’d gone crazy,” he said. “Got followed that one time and I pulled a gun. I thought they were on me, not my son. I thought it was somebody wanted to take me out. Something personal. What kind of coward comes for a child? He’s a kid, man. He’s just a fucking kid.”
Cristal cried harder and snuffled some. I did not look back, leaning into the doorjamb, hands in my jacket pockets, letting Lundquist take the lead.
“We have people at the school and in the neighborhood where you stopped,” Lundquist said. “We hope someone saw something.”
“What time?” I said.
“Nine-one-one call was made about eight-twenty.”
“God, he was running late to school,” Cristal said. “What will Nicole say?”
Kinjo looked up, eyes sleepy, and looked at her. “Not your fault,” he said. “I should’ve taken him myself. He’s my child. Never thought it was about him. Got my goddamn head up my ass.”
“I’m sorry,” Cristal said. “I’m so sorry.”
The Pats’ security chief, Jeff Barnes, walked into the study, looked to Lundquist and then looked to me with clenched jaw. “You, out of here,” he said, jerking a thumb. “This has nothing to do with you. Go.”
“I called him,” Kinjo said. “I want him here.”
Barnes wore a tight-fitting blue suit, a crisp white shirt, and no tie. He reeked of aftershave and breath mints and kept on shaking his head, eyes fixed on mine. “Did you bring some Mexican guy with you? Police can’t get him to move his car, said he was with you.”
“He’s Cree Indian,” I said. “And yes, he’s with me.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck if he’s the king of Siam,” Barnes said. “You need to get out of here. This is mine. I’m in charge.”
I looked to Lundquist and raised my eyebrows. I had not moved a millimeter from the doorjamb. I felt inside my pocket and found some gum. I took some out and started to chew it. That’ll show ’im.
Lundquist stood up and faced Barnes, hands on hips and dead-eyed. “I’m Detective Lieutenant Brian Lundquist of the Mass state police. And who the hell are you?”
Barnes reached into his tight-fitting coat and pulled out a business card with the Pats logo. Lundquist read it and handed it back to him.
“I’m speaking to Mr. Heywood right now,” Lundquist said. “Wait in the next room and we’ll talk.”
Barnes looked at me and said, “And what about Spenser?”
“He works for Mr. Heywood,” Lundquist said. “He can stay as legal representation. And he can also stay because he’s not acting like a horse’s ass and giving me a migraine. Now wait for me in the next goddamn room, Jeff.”
I did not react as Barnes passed me and walked into the kitchen. No reason to be smug.
“You need to stick here,” Lundquist said, turning to Kinjo. “I don’t want you or your wife to leave. Not for a while. I don’t want you to make any calls or talk to anyone that isn’t crucial.”
“I can’t just sit here on my ass and wait for y’all,” Kinjo said. “Some shitbags just snatched my child. How can I just sit down here and wait to see what happens?”
“We can connect with both your landline and your cell phone,” Lundquist said. “You need to let us know about all your e-mail accounts, Facebook, Twitter, or whatever you use.”
“Why?”
“These days, it’ll be their easiest way to connect if there’s a ransom.”
I left the doorjamb and sat down with Kinjo. I realized I had left on my Brooklyn Dodgers cap and removed it. “They want to wait a bit. Make you sweat.”
Kinjo nodded. I turned back to Lundquist.
“I’ll talk to numb-nuts about the press,” Lundquist said. “We don’t want this broadcast on sports talk. But, shit, look at the circus outside. How long do you think we can keep a lid on it?”
“Not sure,” I said, shrugging. “Maybe five minutes?”
11
I found Z leaning against the hood of my Ford Explorer. He was wearing Oakley sunglasses like an outfielder and staring down the hill to the Heywood mansion. I walked up to meet him.
“I need you to go back to the health club,” I said. “Find Hawk. Tell him to hang loose. I may need him, too.”
“Is Hawk good at hanging loose?”
“Not very.”
“And me?”
“You stick close to Hawk,” I said. “I’ll call if I need you. Right now I’ll stay here and wait.”
“What’d they say?”
“Lundquist thinks we’re waiting for a ransom,” I said. “Staties are wiring the house for a phone call or e-mail messages.”
Z nodded.
“Revenge?”
“Don’t know,” I said. “Some people in New York that I may have to meet. Other than that, it could really be anything or anyone.”
Z nodded. “A man with a ten-million-dollar contract makes for a good target.”
“You came close to that life,” I said.
“One season away,” Z said. “But one season at that level is forever.”
“And you’d never have met me,” I said. “Potential as a crime buster untapped.”
“They okay inside?”
“Nope,” I said. “A lot of crying and worrying and general shock. Kinjo is trying to make sense of things while trying to calm down Cristal. Cristal is a mess.”
I handed Z the keys to the Explorer.
“How will you get back?”
“I’ll get one of the cops to drive me,” I said. “It’s going to be a long night.”
“I hope it is a kidnapping,” Z said. “I hope all they want is money. At least that’s something.”
The first leaves of fall left their branches and twirled about. Smoke drifted from chimneys along the street as the day grew colder. The road was crooked and never-ending down the hill.