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A clip of Joseph Dial, talking head. “It’s hard to imagine such incompetence in this day and age,” he said into the camera. “We have one of the finest police forces in the nation, well educated, well paid, and virtually free of corruption. But because of the victim’s prominence in the community and the pressure on the Anchorage Police Department to hold someone accountable for the crime as soon as possible, there was a rush to judgment. My client is i
The scene shifted back to the anchor, who offered a brief recap of Charlotte’s death, with a mention of Victoria’s release, and moved on to the next story. Jim turned off the television.
Kate stared at the blank screen and saw Max’s face as he was recounting the story of Jasper Ba
She went to the phone and dialed.
“Erland Ba
“Kate?” Jim said ominously.
“May I ask who is calling?”
“Kate Shugak.”
“One moment, please.”
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Shugak?” Jim said.
“Kate,” Erland’s voice came smoothly on the line. “How nice to hear from you.”
“Hello, Erland. I just wanted to call and thank you for the invitation to your party. I had a lovely time.”
Kate felt the exhale of breath on the back of her neck.
“Why, thank you,” Erland said, “it was my pleasure entirely.”
“In fact, I’d like to take you out to di
He almost purred. “You mean we will see each other again after all? How nice. When and where?”
“Are you free this evening?”
“I’ll get free for you, Kate.”
Kate laughed, as low and as husky as she could make it. “Great. What’s your favorite restaurant?”
“It’s a beautiful afternoon. Let’s try the Crow’s Nest for the view. Do you know it?”
“I’ll find it,” Kate said.
“Seven o’clock? I’ll make a reservation.”
“Perfect,” Kate said, and hung up.
“Nice outfit,” Erland said, giving her the once-over. “I thought so the other night, too.”
“It’s the only dress-up outfit I’ve got,” Kate said, smiling.
“Stick with what works,” Erland said.
“I generally do.”
The waiter appeared and Erland ordered wine. Kate let him pour her a glass, touched the rim to her lips, and smiled at him over it.
They were at the top of the Hotel Captain Cook, with a view all the way down Cook Inlet to Redoubt, and Kate thought she might be able to see the peak of Iliamna, too. Their table was set with white linen, silver, and fine china.
Kate let Erland order for both of them, sitting back in her chair, and thought that there wasn’t a whole lot of difference between a man and a bull moose in rut. The moose had a bonus, the antlers with which he could fight off pretenders to his harem, but Erland’s competence with a menu and a waiter could not be denied.
He finished and reached for his wine. “A toast?”
She raised her glass. “To what?”
He touched his glass to hers. “How about to the begi
She laughed. “A Casablanca fan? Are you a closet romantic, Erland?”
“Oh, I’ve been out of the closet for years,” he said, and she laughed again.
“I was delighted when you called,” he said. “I didn’t know you were still in town.”
“Well, it’s like I told you, Erland,” she said, allowing her smile to fade into an appropriate mixture of sadness and determination. “Charlotte paid me in advance.”
“I understand that,” he said, leaning forward and letting his eyes drop to her neckline, “and I honor your work ethic. But surely…” His voice trailed away artistically.
She leaned forward, arms crossed on the table. Might as well give him the full view. “Surely?” she prompted.
“Well, certainly you have heard that my sister has been released from prison. The governor commuted her sentence to time served.”
“I had heard that,” Kate said. Their salads came. “Why, do you think?”
Erland’s eyes opened very wide. “Why, because of the extraordinary work she did, building an education department at her facility.” He dropped his voice. “Of course, I wouldn’t want this to get around, since our governor doesn’t like to appear as being soft on crime, but I think part of the reason was humanitarian.” He looked at Kate with dewy-eyed sincerity. “Victoria has just lost a daughter. I think that played a part in his decision as well.”
“Of course,” Kate said with equal sincerity. “The governor has always been on the cutting edge of humanitarian concerns.”
Her voice was i
“It would seem so,” Kate said, pretending again to sip at her wine. “Still…”
“Still?” Erland said.
Kate gave him a smile of pretty apology. “Charlotte did seem certain that Victoria did not set the fire that killed her son. I feel a certain…” She hesitated.
One of the better tricks in the interrogator’s toolbox was to entice the subject into eliciting information himself.
“Yes?” Erland said. “A certain what?”
“Obligation,” Kate said, and looked at Erland for reassurance.
He gave her a benevolent smile. “Your sense of duty does you credit, Kate, but really, there is nothing left for you to do in this case.”
“But if your sister is i
He sighed heavily. “It was all so long ago.” He paused, and asked almost casually, “Do you have any leads?”
Not by the flicker of an eyelash did he betray that he already knew of her interview with Ralph Patton, but Kate could feel his attention focused directly and unwaveringly upon her, as if she were a bug beneath a microscope. The act of observation changes the thing observed, she thought. Obviously, Erland had skipped that class in Physics 101. “A few,” she said dismissively. She smiled modestly. “As you say, it has been thirty years. It’s been difficult to track down the investigating officers and the witnesses who testified at your sister’s trial. Many of the people involved have died or moved Outside.”
He sat back and smiled at her, an intimate smile full of intelligence, a smile that knew women inside and out, a smile of power and assurance. “That’s a shame. I wish you luck.”
“You have no objection to my proceeding with the investigation, then?” Kate said, trying to infuse her question with a hint of anxiety, as if she required permission of the great and powerful Erland Ba
“None at all,” Erland said, waving a hand. “As you pointed out, if my sister is i
It was a bit of a change from the “Here’s your hat. What’s your hurry?” attitude the last time they’d met.
“You did know that the person who killed my niece has, in a travesty of justice, been set free on bail.”
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