‘Nothing on the Hell Gate case,’ Jarvis admitted, ‘but Aaron Lymes was murdered in his own apartment. Donovan’s investigation concluded that he let his attacker in, believe it or not. If it was Joanna, she might have been able to win his confidence before overpowering him. Lymes was in his late fifties when he retired from the agency, so it’s plausible.’
‘What was the cause of death?’ Ethan asked.
‘Blunt force trauma followed by asphyxiation,’ Jarvis replied. ‘Where are you?’
‘Been busy,’ Ethan replied by way of an explanation. ‘You remember what Major Greene said, about crisis-apparitions?’
‘Sure,’ Jarvis replied. ‘Nothing I’d worry about. The CIA may have taken them seriously but, then again, they dropped oversized condoms on the Vietcong to try to intimidate them into thinking American soldiers were more manly.’
‘I wouldn’t write them off so quickly,’ Ethan said. ‘Something just showed up at Karina’s apartment and near scared the life out of her.’
‘Seriously?’ Jarvis replied. ‘What happened?’
‘She spooked,’ Ethan said, ‘then came running over to her friend’s apartment, the one who lost his family the other day. We found him lying on his sofa, overdosed on pain medication.’
‘Jesus,’ Jarvis replied. ‘Maybe there’s more to her than meets the eye. Stay close, Ethan, see what turns up.’
‘We’re staying at her apartment for now,’ Ethan said. ‘She and Lopez hit it off pretty good.’
‘Perfect,’ Jarvis replied. ‘How’s her partner?’
‘Alive,’ Ethan said. ‘I’m heading down after them right now.’
‘Let me know what happens,’ Jarvis replied. ‘Maybe one of them has something to do with MK-ULTRA. It would make sense. You followed Joanna’s trail to New York and the killings certainly point in that direction.’
‘Not necessarily,’ Ethan pointed out. ‘We’re assuming that Joanna’s responsible for them but there’s no hard evidence for that. It could even be a CIA set-up itself, using Joanna’s name to cover their own clean-up operation.’
‘It’s possible,’ Jarvis admitted. ‘But I saw DCIA’s face in that meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Something was making the fat asshole nervous, and, as much as I enjoyed seeing it, it’s unlikely to be orchestrated by him.’
‘And what about Joanna?’ Ethan asked. ‘What if we do find her here?’
‘I can’t do much until she shows up,’ Jarvis insisted. ‘Let’s do this one step at a time, Ethan. Right now, just concentrate on solving this homicide case. I’ve got you both a visit to Rikers Island in the morning, to see if the two thieves Donovan’s team arrested on Williamsburg Bridge will identify their accomplices. The police didn’t get anywhere. See what you can get out of them, because it will help your standing with the NYPD. We might need their help to locate Joanna before the CIA do, if she’s in the city.’
Ethan hesitated for a moment, before finally deciding that there was no real use in arguing further. If Jarvis had a solution up his sleeve to this whole damned mess, then he probably wouldn’t reveal it until the last possible moment.
‘I’ll let you know what we find out,’ he said.
Ethan put the phone back in its cradle, and was about to leave when he felt a tingling sensation creep across his shoulders, as though a gossamer web had settled on his skin. He turned, looking around the silent apartment for a long moment, before he finally shook himself out of it and shut off the lights. He closed the door to the apartment behind him, pursued by a strange and unsettling feeling.
17
Lopez had never been a fan of hospitals, the clinical odour reminding her of the one time when she had been taken into an emergency room as a young girl, way back in the mountains of Guanajuato, Mexico. The experience had not been pleasant.
She sat on a bench alongside Karina, as orderlies, doctors, nurses rushed back and forth between the patients who shuffled or were being wheeled between wards. Karina remained silent, staring at the tired-looking floor tiles with her hands clasped together in her lap. Lopez watched her for a long time, before choosing her words carefully.
‘How long have the two of you been working together?’ she asked.
Karina blinked awake, as though emerging from a daydream, and looked across at Lopez.
‘Just over a year,’ she replied. ‘Donovan hand-picked Tom to work with me.’
‘He controls every aspect of your unit?’ Lopez asked.
‘Sure,’ came the response. ‘We work mostly homicide and each of us is a specialist. I work forensic and trace evidence. Glen handles firearms, Jackson’s attached from vice, Tom usually covers victim and perp’ histories and sometimes profiles. Donovan oversees and reports to the commissioner.’
‘Tight unit,’ Lopez guessed. ‘Good idea in a big city. Should’ve tried it back in DC.’
Karina nodded slowly.
‘It works well to have teams rather than just partners,’ she replied. ‘We have our own strengths and weaknesses, but the total is greater than the sum of its parts. We’ve cracked every case we’ve been handed except one since we formed — that’s better than any other single unit in the city.’
Lopez nodded. ‘Probably in the country,’ she pointed out. ‘There are always unsolved cases. Which one got the better of you?’
‘Homicide in downtown, a gang-slaying between Crips and Surenos. We know who did it but we couldn’t provide enough evidence to place them at the crime. Perpetrator got bail and took off into Mexico. Hasn’t been seen since.’
Lopez took a chance and gave Karina a playful nudge. ‘Should’ve called Warner & Lopez, Inc. They’re amazing, apparently.’
Karina stared at the tiles for a long time. Lopez cursed herself inwardly. Then Karina spoke softly. ‘I heard they were crap.’
Lopez looked at her as a tiny smile flickered briefly across Karina’s lips.
‘Miss Thorne?’
Lopez and Karina bolted upright from the bench as a doctor approached them. A warm smile told them all they needed to know before the doctor even spoke.
‘He’s in recovery,’ she said. ‘You got to him just in time.’
Lopez heard Karina let a sigh of relief spill from her chest as she reached across and hugged her. Karina returned the embrace briefly and then looked at the doctor.
‘Is he okay? Awake?’
‘He’s conscious,’ the doctor replied. ‘Given what he’s attempted, I’d suggest you go and see him now. In my experience, people who have tried to take their own lives feel extremely isolated and often embarrassed. The sooner that notion is taken from him, the sooner he can begin healing.’
Karina nodded, and Lopez guided her toward the nearby ward. A private room had been set aside for Tom, his standing as a police officer and the terrible loss he had endured warranting him special treatment until he was on the road to recovery.
Lopez followed Karina into the room and closed the door behind them.
Tom Ross sat on his reclined bed, his eyes open but drooping with fatigue as he looked at them both.
‘Tom?’ Karina asked in a whisper. ‘You hear me okay?’
Tom Ross stared at Karina for a long moment and then replied with a barely perceptible nod.
‘You’re doing fine,’ Karina said, perching on the side of Tom’s bed and reaching out for his hand. ‘We’ll get through this, okay? I’ve got your back.’