The Night Gardener

'You don't think-'

'No,' said Ramone. 'What's the motive? Terrance Johnson can be a class-A jerk. But there's no way he killed his son.' Ramone looked blankly through the windshield. 'This explains the Civil War stuff, all that.'

'Huh?'

'All those sites Asa visited, about the local forts and cemeteries.'

'Right. Prime locations for fag hookups.'

'I imagine two people would arrange the meet through the Internet. A teenage boy doesn't have his own place to go, and a lot of the older guys, I would think they don't want some kid being seen entering their house. Hell, a lot of these chicken-hawks are probably married.'

'Fort Stevens would be a good one. Thirteenth and Quackenbos? It's not far from the Johnson house. All those embankments and, what do you call 'em, parapets you can hide in.'

'They don't have a Lincoln-Ke

'Never heard of it. I mean, President Lincoln was fired on during that famous battle they had there. The only time he was on a live battlefield during the Civil War. But there's no memorial there for that, none that I can recall. Maybe in that national cemetery they got, up the road.'

'On Georgia Avenue?'

'The one that Venable Place backs up into. It's just a tiny graveyard. That's where they buried the soldiers who fell in that battle.'

'Bill, you're-'

'I know. You guys think I'm all about pussy and PBR. I like to read, is what it is. I'm telling you, I read my ass off when I'm at home.'

Ramone gathered his thoughts. 'You know what's bothering me, don't you?'

'What?'

'All right, Asa was gay. But what's that got to do with his murder?'

'You don't think we're any closer?'

'I do, but I'm not seeing it.'

'What about Rhonda's suspect?'

'That's the thing,' said Ramone. 'Dominique Lyons's girlfriend is in the process of fingering him for the Jamal White killing. But she says he didn't purchase the gun until the night he did Jamal. Asa got dropped the night before.'

'So we find the dude who sold Lyons the gun.'

'Rhonda's working on it as we speak.'

'Sarge?'

'Huh.'

'You said I was doing a good job on this.'

'You are.'

'I been putting in a ton of overtime on it.'

'Okay.'

'Will you sign my Eleven-thirty when we get inside?'

'Kiss my ass,' said Ramone.

He looked at his watch. It was past noon.

Ramone and Wilkins entered the video monitor room. Bo Green and Antonelli were seated, watching Rhonda Willis and Darcia on screen 2. On screen 1, Dominique Lyons was alone in the box, his head on the table, his eyes closed.

'What's going on?' said Ramone.

'Bo gave up on the shitbird,' said Antonelli. 'Rhonda got it all out of the girl, anyway.'

'What about the gun?'

'Dominique took the cylinder out of the revolver and tossed it over the rail of the Douglass Bridge. Then he doubled back and threw the rest of it over the rail of the Sousa. It's in pieces in the Anacostia River, forever. But the girl gave us a name and location on the seller. Guy by the name of Beano. Eugene's ru

'Look at Dominque,' said Green with disgust.

'Fucknuts is takin a nap,' said Antonelli.

'You know what the captain says,' said Wilkins. 'If they can sleep in the box, they're guilty. 'Cause otherwise they'd be screaming their asses off about how we made a big mistake.'

'Let him sleep,' said Green. 'Young man believes he's go

'What about the girl?' said Wilkins. 'They go

'We need to talk to the prosecutor,' said Green. 'But I imagine, what with all the cooperating she did, and her testimony, she's go

'Like that little ho is go

'Don't you ever shut up?' said Ramone.

As Rhonda recorded the time for the camera, Ramone and Wilkins left the room. When they were gone, Antonelli looked over at Bo Green.

'What the fuck did I do?'

'I guess he just don't like assholes,' said Green. 'Damn if I know why.'

Ramone and Wilkins met Rhonda Willis at her cubicle. She and Ramone exchanged a look, and then he lightly touched her arm.

'Nice work.'

'Thanks.'

'You've put in a full day.'

'Uh-huh. And you?'

'It's been interesting, so far. My son got bounced from his school. I went there and peed on the principal's desk, and then I questioned the assistant principal's manhood.'

'You're quite the diplomat.'

'Also, Bill here found some things on Asa Johnson's computer that pretty much prove Asa was gay.'

'You must have had a feeling.'

'I did.'

'But what's it got to do with his murder?'

'I don't know if it has anything to do with it. I'm hoping the two of us can find the dude who sold Lyons the gun and figure this shit out.'

Eugene Hornsby joined the group. He had run the name Beano through WACIES. The program had the ability to cross-reference the street name and bring up the given name, last known address, and priors. Hornsby passed out copies he had made after printing out the information. He had found two Beanos, but one was currently incarcerated.

'Aldan Tinsley,' said Hornsby. 'Our man has a sheet indicating a history of receiving and selling stolen property. Plus one recent arrest for driving while intoxicated.'

'Darcia said that she and Dominique met him in an alley behind a street off Blair Road,' said Rhonda. 'She didn't recall the cross.'

'The LKA is in the two-digit block of Milmarson,' said Hornsby.

'That's right near Fort Slocum,' said Wilkins. 'Where Jamal was found.'

'And a stone's throw from the community garden on Oglethorpe,' said Ramone.

'I gotta call my sons,' said Rhonda, 'make sure they're straight.'

'Meet you out in the lot,' said Ramone.

Ramone and Rhonda Willis drove uptown in a Taurus. They were on South Dakota Avenue, headed for North Capitol via Michigan, the best route north through Northeast. Ramone was forcing the Taurus up a hill as Rhonda applied lipstick using the vanity mirror behind the passenger-side visor.

'Shame about Asa,' said Rhonda. 'Shame his parents got to add that to their grief as well.'

'You don't know the half of it,' said Ramone. 'One of the many things Terrance Johnson did to his son was to call him a faggot. Wonder how he's go

'Do you think Johnson knew?'

'No. He was just being ignorant.'

Milmarson Place was a short block of well-tended brick and shingled colonials ru

Rhonda grabbed a walkie-talkie. She and Ramone got out of the Ford and were met by the uniformed patrolman, who had stepped from his car. He was young and blond, and had a crew cut with a cowlick. The name Conconi was on his chest plate. Rhonda had radioed ahead for assistance.