Hothouse Orchid (11 page)

27

T
eddy Fay went busily about preparing for Lauren Cade’s dinner visit. He put the duck into the preheated oven and laid out the ingredients for their first course, then he cleaned up the mess he had made during his preparations and adjusted the light in the kitchen to a more welcoming level.

He set the table in the living room for two and put new candles into their holders, then he opened the bottle of cabernet he had selected and left it on the table to breathe.

Teddy enjoyed not just cooking but all the preparations that went into having a woman over for dinner. When she arrived, he wanted to look well prepared and have everything go smoothly.

An electronic chime sounded from his study; a car had turned into the driveway, the first time that had happened since he had installed the warning system. He was happy to know it worked. He took off his apron and hung it next to the stove, then went to the door to greet her. She was just getting out of her car with a bottle of wine in her hand.

“Good evening, Lauren,” he said and pecked her on the cheek. “Come in.” He opened the screen door for her.

“I thought this might be useful,” she said, handing him the wine.

It was a very nice French burgundy. “Thank you so much,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind if we don’t drink it this evening; I’ve already opened a bottle. Can I get you a drink?”

“Scotch, if you have it,” she said.

“I’ve got Johnnie Walker Black or a single malt, Laphroaig.”

“Johnnie Walker would be lovely.”

He seated her on the couch and poured them both a Scotch.

“Something smells good,” she said.

“I hope you enjoy duck.”

“I do.”

They chatted idly for a few minutes, and he poured them a second drink.

“Why don’t you come into the kitchen while I prepare our first course,” he said, and she followed him. He put her on a stool at the kitchen counter, then proceeded to dust the sweetbreads with flour, drop them into a pan with hot clarified butter and sauté them. When they were ready, five minutes later, he transferred them to a small platter and led her to the table. He lit the candles, then poured a little wine into his glass, tasted it, and then poured them both a full glass.

She tasted the wine. “Oh, this is better than what I brought,” she said.

“You chose well, and it would have been just as good with our dinner as mine.”

Teddy sat down and watched for her reaction as she tasted the first course.

“Delicious!” she said. “But I don’t know what it is.”

“Sweetbreads,” he said, stopping himself from telling her that they were the thymus gland from the neck of the calf.

“I’ve never had them, but I like this.”

“I’m glad.”

They ate the first course slowly, sipping their wine. When they finished, Teddy glanced at his watch: perfect timing. He cleared away their dishes, put them into the dishwasher and then removed the roasting duck from the oven, crisp and juicy. He cut the duck expertly into pieces and arranged them on two plates, leaving room for the small potatoes and haricots verts he had already prepared, then he served them.

“It looks wonderful,” she said.

“I hope you think so when you’ve tasted it.”

She signaled her approval with her first bite. “No one has ever cooked me a dinner as good as this,” she said. “Certainly not a man.”

“Cooking is one of my pleasures,” Teddy replied.

“What are your other pleasures?” she asked.

“Shooting, building technical things and . . .” He stopped.

“What?”

“I was about to go too far,” he said.

“You were going to say sex, weren’t you?”

Teddy laughed. “You don’t know me well enough for that, yet.”

“I like shooting, too,” she said, “and . . .” She stopped, and they both laughed.

She reached over and touched his hair. “This isn’t original equipment,” she said.

Teddy laughed. “I’m vain, and I look better with hair, even if it isn’t original equipment.”

“It looks good on you,” she said, “but my guess is you’d look just as good without it.”

“You have a liking for bare scalp, do you?”

“On some men it looks good.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Teddy said, “but I’ll keep my hair on, at least in public.” Especially while he was in the same town as Holly Barker, he reflected.

He took their dishes away and brought them both ice cream, then he put a coffeepot and cups on the living room coffee table.

She took a seat on the sofa, near the center, and he sat close to her. They were both warm with the Scotch and the wine, and it didn’t take long before they were kissing.

“It’s been a long time for me,” she said.

He knew from his research that she meant since Bruno had raped her.

“I won’t rush you,” he said.

She kissed him again. “I think I’d like to be rushed.”

Teddy picked up the tempo.

W
hen he awoke the following morning she was in the shower, and she came back to the bedroom toweling herself, but naked. He liked it that she wasn’t modest about what was a very beautiful body.

She lay down next to him for a moment. “I’d really like to make love to you again,” she said, “but I have an early staff meeting that I can’t be late for.”

“I understand,” he replied. “Is this about the rapist/murderer you’re looking for?”

“Yes. We’re having everybody sit down together at the same table: the local cops, the medical examiner, the forensics people. Maybe we can get a little synergy going.”

“I hope so,” he said. “I’d like to see you clear this thing and get it off your mind.”

“It’s constantly on my mind,” she said. “Sometimes I’d just like to go out and shoot Bruno. No trial, just execution.”

“I read about his court-martial on the Internet,” Teddy confessed, “so I know what he did to you. You won’t have to have the burden of explaining.”

“I’m glad you read about it. The newspaper accounts were accurate and pretty much told the whole story.”

“There was another woman who was a witness against Bruno,” Teddy said.

“Yes. Her name is Holly Barker. She managed to fight him off, and she was a good witness, but the deck was stacked against us.” She got up and began dressing.

“I hope you get him,” Teddy said.

“We will,” she replied. “This time we’re playing with a new deck.” She kissed him, said goodbye and, telling him to stay in bed, left.

Teddy lay there, thinking about how he would like to end this whole thing for her.

28

L
auren arrived at work early and went to her cubicle to pick up a legal pad for use in the weekly staff meeting. She had been there for only a moment when Hurd Wallace came in and sat down in the chair next to her desk.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning, Hurd,” she replied.

“I’ve got some difficult news: Jim Bruno is here, and he wants to attend our morning meeting.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Lauren replied.

“I know this is awkward for you, Lauren.”

“It’s not that it’s awkward for me,” she said, “even though it is. It’s that he’s our only suspect, and we can’t have a suspect attending a meeting at which we’re going to discuss the crimes we suspect him of.”

“That’s a very good point,” Hurd said. “How would you suggest I disinvite him?”

“Tell him we’re not talking about the murders. Tell him we’re discussing something from another jurisdiction that’s confidential.”

Hurd thought about that for a moment. “All right, that’s what I’ll do. But Jimmy Weathers is here, too, and he’s the lead detective on the case. What do I do about him?”

“I’ll call Jimmy later and bring him up-to-date.”

Hurd stood up. “I’ll go talk to both of them, then.”

H
urd went back to his office and found James Bruno and Jimmy Weathers waiting for him.

“Morning, gentlemen,” he said, shaking both their hands. “My secretary tells me you want to attend my staff meeting.”

“That’s right,” Bruno said. “I think it’s best if we know your thinking on these murders, so we can be of more use.”

“I’m afraid the murders are not on our agenda for the meeting. I mean, they may come up, but for the most part we’re dealing with investigations in other jurisdictions, and we have to hold those details in strict confidence, just as you hold the details of the crimes in your jurisdiction in confidence.”

Bruno appeared to be trying not to seem annoyed. “I think it’s important that we share knowledge on these murders,” he said.

“That’s exactly what we’ve been doing, Jim. At least, I thought that’s what we’re doing.”

“Well, maybe you’ve been sharing with Jimmy, but not with me.”

“Jimmy is your lead detective, Jim. Jimmy, do you feel left out of the case?”

“Well, no, Hurd. I can’t say that I do.”

“But
I’m
left out of the case,” Bruno said.

“If that’s true, Jim, it’s because you haven’t expressed much interest in it.”

“I’m
very
interested in it,” Bruno said.

“Then I’m sure Jimmy will be glad to brief you on all the details of the investigation,” Hurd said.

“Jimmy has already briefed me,” Bruno replied hotly.

“In that case, I don’t know why you’re here, Jim,” Hurd said. “It’s not as though we’re keeping information from Jimmy. In fact, he’s the one who’s been keeping us abreast of his own investigation. We’re not hiding anything from him.”

“Why won’t you let me attend the meeting?” Bruno demanded.

“Jim, I’ve already explained that we’ll be dealing with other cases in our meeting, cases you have no reason to be privy to.”

“I see,” Bruno said, getting to his feet. “Let’s go, Jimmy; we’re apparently not wanted here.”

“I don’t think it’s like that, Chief,” Jimmy said.

“I said, let’s go!” Bruno retorted.

“I’ll certainly keep you posted if we get anything new, Jim,” Hurd said.

Bruno walked out of the office without another word.

“I’m sorry about this,” Jimmy said.

“Lauren will call you later,” Hurd replied. “Keep that to yourself.”

Jimmy looked puzzled. He shook hands and left.

Hurd watched to see that they were out of his office, then he walked next door to the conference room, where Lauren, the medical examiner and the forensics guy were waiting. Everyone sat down.

“I’m sorry to be late,” Hurd said, “but I had to ask Chief Bruno of Orchid Beach not to attend our meeting.”

“Why?” the ME asked.

“Because he’s our only suspect in the case,” Hurd explained.

The ME looked shocked. “What evidence do we have against him?”

“He has a history of being accused of rape,” Hurd explained. “We have no material evidence at this point, but I think it’s best if we keep him out of the loop until we can exclude him as a suspect.”

The ME shrugged. “If you say so, Hurd.”

“This is confidential, of course.”

“Of course.”

J
immy and Bruno were driving back to the Orchid station with Jimmy at the wheel.

“What was that about?” Bruno asked.

“Chief, I don’t think it was about anything,” Jimmy replied. “Hurd explained himself, and I think we have to accept his explanation.”

“Why would he want to keep information from me?” Bruno asked.

“I don’t think he does. Sergeant Cade has been in touch with me on a daily basis, and I’ve called her a lot, too. I think I’m fully briefed on the case.”

“Well, I don’t feel fully briefed,” Bruno said.

Jimmy pulled into the station parking lot, and they got out of the car.

“I’ll get the case file and go through it with you,” Jimmy said.

Bruno slammed the car door. “Oh, fuck it!” he spat. “You handle the goddamned thing any way you like. I’m out of it.” He stormed off and went into the station.

J
immy went back to his desk, and he was reading the file again when his phone rang. “Detective Weathers.”

“Jimmy, it’s Lauren.”

“Hi, Lauren.”

“I’m sorry you were kept out of the meeting this morning, but we didn’t want Bruno there.”

“How come?” Jimmy asked.

“Because he’s the only suspect in the case.”

“Bruno?”

“Yes. He has a past history of rape.”

Jimmy took a deep breath. “Lauren, I think you should know that I read the stuff on Bruno’s court-martial, so I know about your involvement.”

“It’s just as well,” she said. “I would have told you eventually. I hope you don’t think I was keeping anything from you.”

“Well, you kept the fact that Bruno is a suspect from me.”

“We don’t want him to know, and I think you can see how important it is that you don’t tell him.”

“That puts me in kind of an awkward position,” Jimmy said.

“I know it does, but I can’t do anything about that. For the integrity of the investigation you have to keep this from him.”

“And what happens when he finds out and I get fired? Are you folks going to give me a job?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll see that it doesn’t come to that. Either Bruno will find out when we get enough evidence to arrest him, or he won’t find out at all.”

“All right, Lauren, I’ll play along, but please don’t get my ass caught in a wringer.”

“I won’t, Jimmy. I’ve got to run now. Bye-bye.” She hung up.

Jimmy hung up, too. “God in Heaven,” he said aloud to himself.