Bloodlines

With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, O’Co

“Yes. And you said she could handle tougher assignments than the ones we were giving her, and let me see, now… what was it?” He faked concentration, then opened his eyes wide. “Oh yes! How could I have forgotten?”

“How indeed,” O’Co

“Yes, this was one of my favorites-you said that ‘the next time Kelly stumbles onto something big’-that was a little insulting to her, wasn’t it, Co

O’Co

“Put it down,” Wrigley said. When O’Co

O’Co

“Despite all that lecturing, you want me to give you the story she’s working on now. Is that it, Co

“You know how hard I’ve tried to find out what happened that night. How hard, all those years ago, I looked for some sign of that car. Prayed I’d find it. Two decades, Win.”

“Yes, I do. And if I doubted there was a God, this alone would restore my faith, Co

“Proof of the devil, more like.” He frowned. “I think I’ve just heard an echo, though. Have you been talking to Helen Swan?”

“So what if I have? She’s an old and dear friend of mine.”

“Look, it’s my own fault, I admit it, but-Kelly won’t have a thing to do with me.”

“I wonder if that’s true.”

“It’s true. She can’t stand me, and lately…”

“You can’t stand yourself.”

O’Co

“I’ll give you a choice,” Wrigley said after a moment. “You go out to the site and ask for her permission to involve you in this one-or wait until she comes back and let me ask for you.”

“Win-”

“Take it or leave it, Co

O’Co

Wrigley smiled. “Don’t forget your box.”

“I haven’t, Win. Not for a long time.”

She was talking to Lefebvre.

That alone was nearly enough to send him back to the car. It had taken him months to establish rapport with Lefebvre, who was an ace detective, but known as a loner in the department and not overly fond of the media. And Lefebvre was smiling at her. Jesus. She didn’t need his help.

Here he was, overly warm in his suit, his shoes and trousers covered with dirt from hiking in the long way, holding a cardboard box under one arm- looking like a peddler, and for what? To tell her that Jack had seen the car buried? Might as well leave her a note.

He was about to turn back when she saw him. Lefebvre saw him, too. Lefebvre’s smile quickly went to a frown.

He watched her face, could swear that for just a moment she looked dismayed-maybe even hurt? No, that couldn’t be. And then she was smiling and beckoning to him.

A brave sort of smile. Lefebvre, far from a fool, was looking between them now.

O’Co

“Phil,” Irene said, “you must already know the best reporter on the Express. O’Co

“Wait!” O’Co

“I’m not taking over a thing,” O’Co

Lefebvre was looking at the box. “Why are you carrying a box with the word ‘jerk’ written on it?”

“It doesn’t say ‘jerk,’” Irene said. “It says ‘Jack,’ right?”

“Yes, but I think you’re the first person to read it correctly.”

“All right,” Lefebvre said, “why are you carrying a box with the name ‘Jack’ written on it?”

“Because, Detective Lefebvre, on behalf of a fellow named Jack, I’ve been looking for that buried car for twenty years.”

28

B RIAN O’MALLEY LET US BORROW HIS OFFICE. THE CONSTRUCTION TRAILER was roomy, but the tension between O’Co

O’Co

Lefebvre relaxed a little when we agreed that anything he told us about the scene-anything I hadn’t seen myself-would, for the time being, be off the record.

“What did you see?” O’Co

I described the remains. O’Co

I stopped talking and looked at Phil Lefebvre.

Lefebvre looked at me, then back to O’Co

“You know who they are,” Lefebvre said.

O’Co

“They drowned twenty years ago,” I said, baffled. “That’s what Kyle said, anyway.”

“Kyle?” Lefebvre asked.

“Kyle Yeager. He’s called Max Ducane now,” I said quickly, seeing O’Co

“Ah, yes,” Lefebvre said. “The new multimillionaire. I’ve read the stories in the Express about the… missing heir. As I recall, the bodies of the Ducanes- the younger Ducanes-were never found, right?”

“Not until now,” O’Co

“You’re so sure?”

So O’Co

“You were bothered by something other than the timing?” Lefebvre asked.

“Yes, because we were able to co

“But since Ronden also ended up murdered,” Lefebvre said, “Norton wasn’t able to track down others who might have been involved?”

“We had some theories, we both followed every lead we could-to nothing but a dead end.”

“Norton is retired now,” Lefebvre said, “but I’ll get in touch with him about this.” He hesitated, then added, “I truly appreciate the help you’ve given us today. The remains may or may not be those of the Ducanes, but at least we will have a starting place to try a comparison of dental records and so on. That alone may save us a great many hours.”

I wondered if O’Co

Lefebvre smiled, almost in appreciation, I thought. Then he said, “I can tell you something more, but I must stress that it is not yet for publication- I would caution you against mentioning it to anyone, especially Mrs. Linworth.”