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Chapter 72
I WAS TOTALLY SURPRISED when Cindy appeared at my door at half past eleven. With a look of wide-eyed elation and pride, she blurted, "I know who Kathy Kogut's lover was." "Nicholas Jenks," I replied. "C'mon in, Cindy. Down, Martha." She was tugging at my Giants nightshirt. "Oh, God," she groaned, loudly. "I was so pumped up. I thought I had found it." She had found it. She had beaten McBride and Seattle. Two squads of trained investigators as well as the FBI. I looked at her with genuine admiration. "How?" Too restless to sit, Cindy stalked around my living room as she took me through the steps of her amazing discovery. She unfolded a copy of the news photo showing Jenks and Kathy Kogut at the movie opening. I watched her circle the couch, trying to keep up with herself: Bright Star… Sierra… Crossed Wire… She was hyper. "I'm a good reporter, Lindsay," she said. "I know you are." I smiled at her. "You just can't write about it." Cindy stopped- the sudden realization of what she had overlooked hitting her like a pie in the face. "Oh, God," she moaned. "That's like being in a shower with Brad Pitt, but you can't touch." She looked at me, half smiling, half like nails were being driven into her heart. "Cindy"-- I reached out and held her" you wouldn't have even known to look for him if I hadn't clued you in on Cleveland." I went to the kitchen. "You want some tea?" I called out. She collapsed on the couch and let out another wail. "I want a beer. No, not beer. Bourbon." I pointed to my small bar near the terrace. In a few moments, we sat down. Me with my Nocturnal Seasonings, Cindy with a stiff glass of Wild Turkey, Martha comfortable at our feet. "I'm proud of you, Cindy," I told her. "You did crack the name. You scooped two police forces. When this is over, I'm go
Chapter 73
THE FOLLOWING DAY we met after work for a drink at Susie's; it was Jill's introduction to our group. All day, I couldn't fix on anything other than the thought of confronting Jenks with what we knew and bringing him in. I wanted to accelerate everything- a face-to-face confrontation. I wanted to let him know we had him. Goddamn Red Beard. As we waited for drinks, I threw out a couple of new developments. A search of Kathy Kogut's home in Seattle had uncovered Jenks's name and phone number in the dead bride's phone book. A trace by Northwest Bell had turned up three calls to him in the past month- including one three days before the Cleveland wedding. It confirmed what Merrill Shortley had told us. "Right up to the very end," said Claire. "Creepy. Both of them, actually." We had run Jenks's photo by Marya