“Yes.” She touched her stomach. I wondered if she was in pain.
“Tell him that for your sake and the sake of your child he has to tell me everything he knows about Larson and Monica and Congresswoman Cooper. They all tie together.”
“Won’t Congresswoman Cooper tell you anything?” Then she frowned at me. “I should’ve told you I knew her, Mr. Conrad.”
“That’s all right.”
He looked at me again. “I’ll be talking to Dev about that while you’re in seeing Bobby. Now, you see that officer over there by the desk?” She nodded. “He’s waiting for you. He’ll take you back to see your husband.”
“I’m scared, Dev.”
“You’ll do fine.”
She walked over to the officer waiting for her.
“Listen, Dev, I’m due in court in half an hour, and I need to swing by my office before I go there. I’m not getting anywhere with Bobby right now, so that means you have to get somewhere with Susan. I don’t know what the hell’s going on here, but she’s involved somehow and that’s going to lose her the election. I’ll do this pro bono — tell her that — because that’s how much I want her to win. But, man, I have to know what I’m dealing with.” Then he caught himself and said: “They’ll probably bring Gwen back here. But Priya will grab her if she sees her and start asking questions. I don’t want that to happen before I get something from Bobby. Get Gwen out of here as fast as you can and hide her someplace.”
I was back sitting in the lobby again. A pair of wannabe Hell’s Angels came in sneering and giggling and giving the woman at the counter grief. They said they were waiting to see a Detective Walker. A female uniform walked by, and one biker nudged the other, then pointed to his groin and ground his hips. The other one laughed with teeth that would have done a caveman proud. Finally a male uniform the size of a beer truck and with the disposition of a crocodile came out and laid a manila folder on the reception desk. He had some business with the receptionist. She nodded to the bikers and rolled her eyes. They were making pistols of their fingers and aiming them at two detectives in a glassed-in office. The officer sidled over to them and said, “Why don’t you boys go over there and sit down? Darla here’ll call you when Walker’s available.” They gave him no problem whatsoever.
They walked over and sat down in chairs facing me. I was wearing a suit, which seemed to make them giddy. They did a lot of communicating with their elbows. A fun couple.
Gwen came slow and gray out into the open area in front of the reception desk. She didn’t seem to quite know where she was. I was out of my chair immediately.
She leaned against me. I wondered if she was going to pass out. I got my arm around her shoulder and we started to leave the station. The bikers said something and giggled again. I’d have to stop back and kill them later. I’d be bringing an Uzi. I hurried her down the steps as soon as possible. I was waiting for Detective Kapoor to shout at our backs that she wanted to question Gwen.
There was a concrete bench half a block down. I helped her over there and we sat down. She put her head against me. I hugged her. I could smell her hot tears. There was nothing to say for now, so I just sat there holding her.
Cars and people came and went. Smoky melancholy autumn was on the breeze briefly and it was jack-o’-lantern time for a moment. I imagined Gwen dressing her little boy or girl up to go trick-or-treating. She’d have a good time taking the little one around all got up in costume with a bag ready for plunder. And all this misery would be forgotten. Or so I hoped.
She gathered herself in a self-conscious way. She stood up, drew her hands down her cheeks to dry her tears, then walked around in tight little circles taking deep breaths. People going into the station gawked at her, of course, but if she noticed she didn’t seem to care.
Then she came back and sat down and said, “You need to talk to Susan Cooper. I wasn’t supposed to mention her name, but right now I don’t know what else to do. They usually send me out of the room when they talk. But I think I’ve pretty much figured out who she is.”
“She’s his mother.”
“How did you guess? They don’t look alike at all.”
“She’s taking a lot of risks. And hurting her campaign. She wouldn’t do that unless she was really involved with Bobby in some way.”
“One night Bobby was crying and she was holding him and rocking him back and forth like a little child. That was when I knew she was his mother. But he won’t talk about her to me. And he won’t talk about Craig, either.”
“Who’s Craig?”
“I’m not sure. But he scares me. And sometimes he gives Bobby money.”
“What’s he look like?”
“He has red hair for one thing. He’s big, too. And he always — I don’t know how to say it — it’s like he’s always ready to explode. That’s why he’s dangerous.”
“Do you know his last name?”
“I only heard it once. Craig Donovan, I think.”
“And Bobby won’t talk to you about either of them?”
“He just says we’re going to have some serious money pretty soon. That’s how he always says it, ‘serious money.’ But when I ask him, he says I’m better off not knowing and that I’d just worry if I knew.”
“C’mon,” I said.
“Where’re we going?”
“I’m going to find you a decent motel. I’m hoping Jim Shapiro can get Bobby out pretty soon.”
“Really?”
“Jim’s good. And if all they have on Bobby is that he was seen running from Monica’s room, I doubt they can hold him much longer.”
It was nice to see her smile.
Chapter 12
David Manning was climbing into his shiny, new silver Aston Martin convertible when I pulled into the headquarters parking lot. He wore tan slacks and a navy-blue blazer over an open-collared white dress shirt. He might have passed for dapper if his face wasn’t so drawn and his glance so tired. When he saw me he reversed course and came out of his car.
“Morning, Dev.”
“Morning, David.”
“Just stopped by to see if my wife had turned up yet.”
“She’s not inside?”
“No. And nobody seems to know where she is, either.”
The side door to the headquarters opened. Doris Kelly emerged and started walking toward us. Her pale blond hair caught the sun. In her shy way, she was a compelling woman, one of those quiet ones who become more interesting the longer you’re around them.
“Sorry I kept you, David. I just wanted to call and see how they were treating my mother at the nursing home. She just moved in yesterday.”
“That’s fine, Doris. How’s she doing?”
“Well, so far she likes it.” The shy smile again. “Of course, it’s just been twenty-four hours.” She turned to me. “I guess they’re having trouble finding Susan again.”
“That’s what David was saying. Was she home last night?”
“Got home late,” David said. “I waited up for her till about two and then just went up to bed.”
“You really need your sleep, David,” Doris said. “You work so hard.”
He laughed. “She not only helps me at the foundation; she’s also my substitute mother.” He touched a gentle hand to her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mom. I get plenty of sleep.”
“But Susan did come home, David?” I asked.