“That’s right,” said Margaret. “Now, if we can get back to-”
“Wait a minute, Margaret-”
“Dr. Bowers, might I remind you that I’m-” “Sure,” I said. “Tomorrow.” As Margaret opened her mouth to respond, my thoughts zoomed back to the previous night, and before she could lay into me, I said, “Ralph, at the warehouse, Lien-hua and I were by the tank, you were sweeping the north side of the building. The door that Lien-hua kicked open was between us. Melice could have left, could have slipped out the door, but he didn’t. He doubled back. Why didn’t he just leave?”
“You think Melice wanted to get caught?” Lien-hua asked.
“Maybe,” I said. “His lawyers stalled until this afternoon.
Why?”
Melice decided when the interrogation would end by biting off his finger…
Timing, location. Timing, location.
I stood, started for the door. “The infirmary, Ralph. He wanted to go there.”
“Why?”
Psychopaths only care about getting their way… exerting power.
“They would have to take off his cuffs to treat his finger,” I said.
“He planned this all along.” At the end of the interrogation Melice looked at the clock… I glanced toward Ralph. “Do people with CIPA itch? Did you find out?”
“They don’t itch.” Ralph saw me throw open the door, and he rose as well. “What’s going-”
“Move.” I bolted down the hallway. “Shift change, 5:30. He’s going to try to escape-”
And that’s when the police headquarters’ intruder alarm began to squeal through the halls.
87
I raced down the stairs to the second floor, took a quick glance through the infirmary doorway, and saw that, although there was at least one officer down, five people had already come to his aid.
But that’s not where I expected to find Melice anyway. No, he had another destination in mind.
I ran to the evidence room, whipped out my SIG, and kicked the door open. “Riley?” I said. No one at the counter. “Are you here?”
No reply.
“Creighton, you’re not going to get out of the building,” I called.
“I know what you’re after.”
Amidst the wails of the intruder alert, I swept the series of tightly packed rooms just like I’d been taught at the Academy, letting my gun lead me around each corner.
Run the walls, dig the corners.
Clear.
It’s never like you see in the movies. You don’t blaze into a place waving your gun in the air.
Run the walls, dig the corners.
Clear.
Any moment someone might shoot you, rush you, attack you.
Not knowing what lies around the corner is the most frightening thing of all.
Heart beating. Heart beating. The last room. I stepped in, scanned it. Saw my computer in the corner, the duffel bag missing. No other people.
Clear.
Then a moment to breathe.
So, Melice was gone. So was Kernigan.
How did Melice know the device was here?
Shade must have told him.
Shade. Shade.
Dunn? Kernigan? Melice’s doctor? Well, whoever Shade was, if Melice did get away, the two of them would be getting a little surprise when they opened their duffel bag. After all, before I exited the evidence room earlier today, I left my card wrapped up with my lovely makeshift contraption, along with a note scribbled on the back of the card: “If this one doesn’t work, give me a call and I’ll let you play with mine.” I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before either Shade or Melice contacted me The tables were beginning to turn.
I saw the duct tape I’d used still laying on the counter. Wait. The custodian’s closet. One more door.
I steadied my gun and edged to the closet. “Creighton? Are you in there? Come out.”
No response.
My heart beating and my gun ready, I threw open the door.
Inside, I found Officer Kernigan alive but unconscious. His uniform was missing.
Melice is dressed as an officer.
Even if the clothes didn’t fit well, even with his bloodied face and hand, Melice might still be able to slip away in the confusion.
I rushed to the hallway and pulled a sergeant to the side. “Don’t let anyone leave the building. Melice has an officer’s uniform. Make the announcement over the PA system. Do it now.” She looked at me quizzically for a moment. “Go,” I said, and at last she hurried off. I ran back to help Officer Riley Kernigan and found he’d been pistol-whipped. Probably had a concussion, but he looked like he’d be all right. He was stirring, so I helped him sit up and lean against the door. “You’re going to be OK, Riley,” I told him. He nodded.
After making sure he could sit up by himself, I verified that the actual device was still hidden safely behind twenty-five years of evidence, then I located an officer who’d been trained as an EMT, and I asked him to attend to Officer Kernigan.
Before leaving the evidence room, I went to the log-in forms to see if anyone had stopped by to look at the “video camera” since I’d first visited the room. After Lien-hua’s suggestion that Dunn might be Shade, I wondered if I might find his name.
But I didn’t.
I found Margaret’s.
And the facts of the case began to spin apart once again. I retrieved my computer. I could review the video in a few minutes to see if Margaret knew more about the device than she was letting on. But first, I needed to stop by the infirmary to see the extent of the pain Melice had succeeded in causing.
88
The second floor hallway of police headquarters was filled with scurrying officers, shouted vows of what would happen to Melice when they got their hands on him, and the incessant whine of the intruder siren.
I found the exam room overflowing with police officers, FBI agents, and medical personnel, so rather than crowd them any more, I stood beside the door and surveyed the scene. One of the downed officers appeared to have been stabbed in the neck, and since the paramedics weren’t working on him, I realized that, tragically, his wounds had been fatal. The other man was fading into and out of consciousness and had a thick bandage with a stain already spreading across it wrapped around his left eye.
Only after the siren finally stopped did I hear the announcement that the suspect was wearing an officer’s uniform, but I suspected the announcement had come too late. Too much time had passed, and Melice’s escape had been too well planned.
I saw Graysmith and approached him. “What do we know about Melice?”
“We’re sweeping the building,” he said between clenched teeth.
“We set up a six-block perimeter.”
“Video?” I asked.
“No, not in the exam rooms. Privacy concerns.” His voice became taut with resolve. “This is a police matter now. He killed one of my men. We’ll take it from here.”
“No,” I said. “We’re all on the same team, Lieutenant. I don’t care who gets the credit, let’s just nail this guy. Once we have him, I’ll have Ralph do all he can to give you full custody.”
He hesitated.
“Trust me,” I said. “I keep my promises.”
After a moment he gave me a tight nod. “All right.”
He began to step away, but I called him back. “Just a second. Can you tell me why Dunn was at the site of John Doe’s suicide the other night? It might help us out. It’s one piece that still doesn’t fit.”
Graysmith took a cautious breath, then said softly, “We’ve had more and more suspicious suicides near trolleys over the last year.
I started wondering if there was someone out there who likes tossing homeless people to their deaths. I wanted Dunn to look into it.” Graysmith’s explanation didn’t resolve all my questions, but considering the circumstances, it did seem plausible. Then he added, “Now, let’s get this creep.”
He left to find Margaret to coordinate the search for Melice, and Ralph’s eyes found me from where he stood in the middle of the room. “Pat, what do you think?” He stepped closer to me. “Melice waited until he was in here because it was easier to escape? Less security?”