Page 87 of Two Kinds of Stranger

‘Son of a bitch,’ I said, loud enough for Amy to drag her eyeballs from her phone to stare at me through the window of the conference room.

‘We can stall him, no problem. Christine and Kevin can waive their right to a speedy trial, and we can hold him up with dozens of motions. It doesn’t have to be this way. Kate and I will handle Castro, and Christine and Kevin’s defense. You take Elly’s case. Between us, we’ve got it covered.’

‘Christine will want this over with. She won’t want to delay, even if it means our team is split across two trials.’

‘That’s his tactic,’ said Harry, ‘divide and conquer.’

Bloch, who had hung back and characteristically said nothing during this exchange, got up from the desk with a wild look in her eyes.

‘What did you say just now?’ she asked Harry.

‘That Kate and I will handle—’

‘No, after that.’

‘That Castro hates Eddie?’ asked Harry.

‘After that.’

Harry thought for a moment, said, ‘Oh, Castro’s tactics. Divide and conquer.’

‘That’s it,’ she said. ‘What if it’s not just Castro using those tactics?’

‘What do you mean?’ I said.

‘Elly had a ready-made motive to kill her husband and best friend–they were having an affair. The stranger who tried to kill her knew that. Maybe that was why he targeted her. He could use her. If the same man is following Elly’s case, he’ll know you’re representing her. He could have found out about Arthur Cross–those restraining orders are public record. Christine and Kevin were being threatened by Cross, and he alleged they arranged for him to be attacked so he got his own restraining order. For protection. If something happened to Cross, Christine and Kevinare prime suspects. He could have framed them both. Same MO. It fits.’

My fingers searched for the Saint Christopher’s medal at my throat.

Not for hope. For strength. Because, right then, I was afraid.

Thunder rolled over the skyscrapers, and rain began to beat at the office windows.

I said, ‘Bloch, did you ever get hold of the landlord for the apartment where Elly was poisoned?’

‘Not yet.’

‘Ask your forensics contact to meet you there tonight. We can’t waste any more time. Kate, can you make sure all the paperwork is ready for Christine and Kevin’s bail hearing? Harry, you’re with me.’

‘Where are we going?’

‘My ex-wife’s house. Amy has her book bag, but she needs clothes and everything else. And I want to look at that house. If I’m right, it’s a crime scene.’

31

Eddie

By the time we got onto the 495 headed east to Riverhead, Amy was asleep. She had curled up in her coat and lain down in the back seat of my Mustang. Harry was in the front passenger seat.

He had started snoring before we cleared the Midtown tunnel.

The rain made it slow going at first. The roads were washed out and the traffic heavy for this time of night. The expressway, headed east, was quieter and as soon as we passed through Queens the rain and the traffic eased.

Harry sat forward with a jolt, the back of his head coming off the head-rest.

‘Wha—? Where are we?’

‘We’ve got another forty-five minutes before we get there.’