Kay Scarpet - Cruel And Unusual Part 21

The telephone rang for a long time at the FBIas Behavioral Science Unit, located in the subterranean reaches of the Academy at Quantico. I could envision its bleak, confusing hallways and offices cluttered with the mementos of polished warriors like Benton Wesley, who had gone skiing, I was told.

aIn fact, Iam the only one here at the moment,a said the courteous agent who answered the phone.

aThis is Dr. Kay Scarpetta and itas urgent that I reach him.

Benton Wesley returned my call almost immediately.

aBenton, where are you?"

I raised my voice above terrible static.

aIn my car,a he said. aConnie and I spent Christmas with her family in Charlottesville. Weare just west of there on our way to Hot Springs. I heard about what happened to Susan Story. G.o.d, Iam sorry. I was going to call you tonighta aYouare breaking up. I almost canat hear you."

aHold on."

I waited impatiently for a good minute. Then he was back.

aThatas better. We were in a low area. Listen, what do you need from me?"

aI need the Bureauas help with a.n.a.lysis of some feathers.a aNo problem. Iall call Downey."

aI need to talk,a I said with great reluctance, for I knew I was putting him on the spot. aI donat feel it can wait."

aHold on."

This time the pause was not due to static. He was conferring with his wife.

aDo you ski?" His voice came back.

aIt depends on who you ask."

aConnie and I are on our way to the Homestead for a couple of days. We could talk there. Can you get away?"

aIall move heaven and earth to, and Iall bring Lucy."

aThatas good. She and, Connie can pal around while you and I talk. Iall see about your room when we check in. Can you bring something for me to look at?"

aYes."

aIncluding whatever youave got on the Robyn Naismith case. Letas cover every base and every imagined one."

aThank you, Benton,a I said gratefully. aAnd please thank Connie."

I decided to leave the office immediately, and offered little explanation.

aIt will be good for you,a Rose said, jotting down the Homesteadas number. She did not understand that my intention was not to unwind at a five-star resort. For an instant, her eyes were bright with tears as I told her to let Marino know where I was so he could contact me immediately if there were any new developments in Susanas case.

aPlease donat release my whereabouts to anyone else,a I added.

aThree reporters have called in the last twenty minutes,a she said. aIncluding the Washington Post."

aIam not discussing Susanas case right now. Tell them the usual, that weare waiting on lab results. Just tell them Iam out of town and unavailable."

I was haunted by images as I drove west toward the mountains. I pictured Susan in her baggy scrubs, and the faces of her mother and father as Marino told them their daughter was dead.

aAre you feeling okay?"

Lucy asked. She had been looking at me every other minute since we left my house.

aIam just preoccupied,a I replied, concentrating on the toad. aYouare going to love skiing. I have a feeling youall be good at it."

She silently gazed out the windshield. The sky was a washed-out denim blue, mountains rising in the distance dusted with snow.

aIam sorry about this,a I added. aIt seems that every time you visit, something happens and I canat give you my full attention."

aI donat need your full attention."

aSomeday youall understand."

aMaybe Iam the same way about my work. In fact, maybe I learned from you. Iall probably be successful like you, too."

My spirit felt as heavy as lead. I was grateful that I was wearing sungla.s.ses. I did not want Lucy to see my eyes.

aI know you love me. Thatas what counts. I know my mother doesnat love me,a my niece said.

aDorothy loves you as much as she is able to love anyone."

aYouare absolutely right. As much as she is able to, which isnat much because Iam not a man. She only loves men."

aNo, Lucy. Your mother doesnat really love men. They are a symptom of her obsessive quest of finding somebody who will make her whole. She doesnat understand that she has to make herself whole."

aThe only thing awholea in the equation is she picks a.s.sholes every time."

aI agree that her batting average hasnat been good."

aIam not going to live like that. I donat want to be anything like her."

aYou arenat,a I said.

aI read in the brochure they have skeet shooting where weare going."

aThey have all sorts of things."

aDid you bring one of the revolvers?"

aYou donat shoot skeet with a revolver, Lucy."

aYou do if youare from Miami."

aIf you donat stop yawning, youare going to get me started."

aWhy didnat you bring a gun?" she persisted.

The Ruger was in my suitcase, but I did not intend to tell her that. aWhy are you so worried about whether I brought a gun?"

I asked: aI want to be good at it. So good I can shoot the twelve off the dock every time I try,a she said sleepily.

My heart ached as she rolled up her jacket and used it as a pillow. She lay next to me, the top of her head touching my thigh as she slept. She did not know how strongly tempted I was to send her back to Miami this minute. But I could tell she sensed my fear.

The Homestead was situated on fifteen thousand acres of forest arid streams in the Allegheny Mountains, the main section of the hotel dark red brick with white-pillared colonnades. The white cupola had a clock on each of its four sides that always agreed on the time and could be read for miles, and tennis courts and golf greens were solid white with snow.

aYouare in luck,a I said to Lucy as gracious men in gray uniforms stepped our way. aThe ski conditions are going to be terrific."

Benton Wesley had accomplished what he had promised, and we found a reservation waiting for us when we got to the front desk. He had booked a double room with gla.s.s doors opening onto a balcony overlooking the casino, and on top of a table were flowers from Connie and him. aMeet us on the slopes,a the card read. aWe scheduled a lesson for Lucy at three-thirty."

aWeave got to hurry,a I said to Lucy as we flung open suitcases. aYouave got your first ski lesson in exactly forty minutes. Try these."

I tossed her a pair of red ski pants, which were followed by jacket, socks, mittens, and sweater flying through the air and landing on her bed. aDonat forget your b.u.t.t pack. Anything else you need weall have to get later."

aI donat have any ski gla.s.ses,a she said, pulling a bright blue turtleneck over her head. aIall go s...o...b..ind."

aYou can use my goggles. The sun will be going down soon anyway."

By the time we caught the shuttle to the slopes, rented equipment for Lucy, and connected her with the instructor at the rope tow, it was twenty-nine minutes past three. Skiers were brilliant, spots of color moving downhill, and it was only whet, they got dose that they turned into people. I leaned forward in my .boots, skis firmly wedged against the slope as I scanned lines and lifts, my hand shielding my eyes. The sun was nearing the top of trees, the snow dazzled by its touch, but shadows were spreading and the temperature was dropping quickly.

I spotted the man and woman simply because their parallel skiing was so graceful, poles lifted, like feathers and barely flicking snow as they soared and turned like birds. I recognized Benton Wesleyas silver hair and raised my hand. Glancing back at Connie and yelling something I could not hear, he pushed off and schussed downhill like a knife, skis so close together I doubted you could fit a piece of paper between them.

When he stopped in a spray of snow and pushed back his goggles, it suddenly occurred to me that if I did not know him I would have been watching him anyway. Black ski pants hugged well-muscled legs I had never known were beneath the trousers of his conservative suits, and the jacket he wore reminded me of a Key West sunset. His face and eyes were brightened by the cold, making his sharp features more striking than formidable. Connie eased to a stop beside him.

aItas wonderful that youare here,a Wesley said, and I could never see him or hear his voice without being reminded of Mark. They had been colleaguesa and best friends. They could have pa.s.sed for brothers.

aWhereas Lucy?" Connie asked.

aConquering the rope tow even as we speak." I pointed.

aI hope you didnat mind my signing her up for a lesson."

aMind? I canat thank you enough for being so thoughtful. Sheas having the time of her life."

aI think Iall stand right here and watch her for a while,a Connie said. aThen Iall be ready for something hot to drink and I have a feeling Lucy will be, too. Ben, you look like you havenat had enough."

Wesley said to me, aYou up for a few quick runs?"

We exchanged remarks about nonessential matters as we moved through the line, and then were silent when the lift swung around and seated us. Wesley lowered the bar as the cable slowly pulled us toward the mountaintop. The air was numbing and deliciously clean, and filled with the quiet sounds of skis swishing and dully slapping hard-packed snow. Snow from snow machines drifted like smoke through the woods between slopes.

aI talked to Downey,a he said. aHeall see you at headquarters just as soon as you can get there."

aThatas good news,a I said. aBenton, what have you been told?"

aMarino and I have talked several times. It appears you have several cases going on right now that arenat connected by evidence, necessarily, but by a peculiar coincidence in timing."

aI think weare dealing with more than coincidence. You know about Ronnie Waddellas print turning up in Jennifer Deightonas house."

aYes."

He stared off at a stand of evergreens backlit by the setting sun. aAs Iave told Marino, Iam hoping thereas a logical explanation for how Waddellas print got there."

aThe logical explanation may very well be that he was, at some point, inside her house."

aThen weare dealing with a situation so bizarre as to defy description, Kay. A death row convict is out on the street killing again. And weare supposed to a.s.sume someone else took his place in the chair on the night of December thirteenth. I doubt there would have been many volunteers."

aYou wouldnat think so,a I said.

aWhat do you know about Waddellas criminal history?"

aVery little."

aI interviewed him years ago, in Mecklenburg." I glanced over at him with interest. aIall preface my next remarks by saying that he was not particularly cooperative in that he would not discuss Robyn Naismithas murder. He claimed that if he killed her, he didnat remember it. Not that this is unusual. Most of the violent offenders I have interviewed either claim to have poor recall; or they deny that they committed the crimes. I had a copy of Waddellas a.s.sessment Protocol faxed to me before you got here. Weall go over it after dinner."

"Benton, Iam already glad Iam here."

He stared straight ahead, our shoulders barely touching. The slope beneath us got steeper as. we rode in silence for a while. Then he said, aHow are you, Kay?"

aBetter. There are still moments."

aI know: There will always be moments. But fewer of them, I hope-. Days, perhaps, where you donat feel it."

"Yes,a I said. aThere are days when I donat."

aWeave got a very good lead on the group responsible. We think we know who placed the bomb."

We raised the tips of our skis and leaned forward as the lift eased us out like baby birds nudged from the nest. My legs were stiff and cold from the ride, and trails in the shade were treacherous with ice. Wesleyas long white skis vanished against the snow and caught light at the same time. He danced down the slope in dazzling puffs of diamond dust, pausing every now and then to look back. I waved him on by barely lifting a pole as I made languid parallel toms and floated over moguls. Halfway into the run I was limber and warm, thoughts flying free.

When I returned to my room as it was getting dark, I discovered Marino had left a message that he would be at headquarters until five-thirty and for me to call ASAP.

aWhatas going on?"

I said when he answered..

aNothing thatas going to make you sleep better. For starters, Jason Storyas badmouthing you to anyone who will stand still long enough to listen - including reporters."

aHis rage has to go somewhere,a I said, my mood darkening again.

aWell, what heas doing ainat good, but it also ainat the worst of our problems. We canat locate ten print cards for Waddell."

aNot anywhere?"