Kovacliska - Dust To Dust Part 11

"Shh He kissed her again.The scarf fell to the floor. He trailed the kiss down her neck and slipped her coat off her shoulders.

"Sam ..."

"Amanda . . ." His lips brushed the sh.e.l.l of her ear." I want you." A delicate shiver ran through her. He felt it pa.s.s beneath his hands as he slid them down her back. She turned her head and her mouth found his. A trembling kiss..

Hesitant, but anxious. Needing, but afraid. She opened her eyes and looked at him through tears.

"I don't know what we can have," she said. "I don't know what I can give you."

"It doesn't matter," he answered, the truth of the moment. "We can have this.We can have now."

He could feel her heart beat against his chest, marking the pa.s.sing of time.

Even now he couldn't read her, didn't know what questions she asked or answered within herself He could feel the sadness in her, D U S T.

T 0.

D U S T 293.

the emptiness, the loneliness, the conflict. He recognized those qualities, responded to them, lost himself in them as they sank down onto the sofa.

They could have this. They could have now. Even if that was all they ever had, he didn't have anything else that was worth a d.a.m.n by comparison.

-1 CAN'T STAY," Savard said softly.

She lay in Kovac's arms, the pair of them on his sofa, covered by her coat.

His skin was warm against hers. She liked the feel of his body pressed to hers, of her legs tangled with his; the feeling of being wrapped up with him, the suggestion of being inseparable. But it was a suggestion she couldn't fulfill. That knowledge left her feeling empty, hollow, isolated.

He touched the back of her head and pressed his lips to her forehead. "You don't have to, but you can ... if you want. I might even have clean sheets."

"No," she said, forcing herself to move, to sit up. She pulled her clothes together and covered herself "I can't."

Kovac levered himself up on one arm and gently combed out the tangles he'd put in her hair. "Amanda, I don't care where the nightmares come from. Do you understand what I mean by that? It doesn't matter. It doesn't scare me that you have them."

It matters to me. It scares me, she wanted to say, but she didn't.

"You can share them with me if you need to," he said. "Believe me, there's

nothing I haven't heard."Of course, that wasn't true, but she didn't point that out to him either. Shehad learned long ago when to argue and when to be silent. Kovac sighed behindher. "The bathroom's down the hall on the right."K 0 V A C W A T C H E D A S she walked out of the room, half dressed. If thiswas all he could have of her, it was better than anything he'd ever dared hopefor. Let her keep her secrets. He was oh-for-two with deep relationships, whytry again? But he knew better. Amanda was a mystery, a puzzle. He would neverrest until he got to the heart of her.294 T A0 A 0As guarded as she was, she would resent the intrusion, and he would ultimatelydestroy what they did have.He pulled his clothes on, rubbed a hand over his hair, and sat on the arm ofthe couch, sipping at his scotch while he waited for her to emerge. She cameback into the room looking just as she had whenI isshe arrived. Beautiful, reserved, disgui ed."I don't know what to tell you," she said, addressing the -empty aquarium.'.'Then don't tell me anything. You bra.s.s types," he said, making a face."There doesn't have to be a master plan."She looked worried about that.He went to her and touched her face with the back of his hand. "Sometimes wejust need to follow a trail and see where it goes," he said. Sam Kovac, sage."Listen to me. Like I know what I'm talking about. I'm a two-time loser. Everytrail I take ends up in a dark tunnel With a train coming my way. I shouldstick to Just being a cop. I'm good at that."She found half a smile for him. It faded as her gaze fell on the coffee table.Her brows drew together."What's this?""The Thorne murder. Mike Fallon's shooting. Andy was looking at it. I'm justturruing over rocks, see what crawls out.""Follow the trail and see where it goes:'she said absently. She spread outsome of the pages, not picking them up,just looking at them. "Sad story.You're too young to remember.""Sad:'she murmured, staring at the bad copy of the photograph of Bill Thorne'swidow being consoled by her family."Life turns on a dime," Kovac said. "Yes, it does."She straightened and adjusted the velvet scarf, took a deep breath, lookingpast his shoulder again.11 Just say,'I'll see you around, Sam: " he told her. "It beats the h.e.l.l outof good-bye."She tried to smile but failed, then rose up on her toes and kissed his cheek,her hands tightening on his shoulders. "I'm sorry," she whispered.Then she was gone, and all he had left to keep him warm was a fifty-dollarbottle of scotch.

"You're not as sorry as me:' he said as he stood in the open door and watched her drive away.

Next door, the Saint-O-Meter was counting down the minutes. The phone rang, and he actually hurried to pick it up. It didn't even matter who it was.

"Lonely Hearts Club '" he said. "Join now. Misery loves company." "Do you take m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.ts?" Liska.

"Two for one if you Join with a s.a.d.i.s.t."

"What are you doing, Kojak? Sitting home feeling sorry for yourself?"

"I don't have anyone else to feel sorry for. My life is an empty sh.e.l.l."

"Get a dog:' she said without sympathy. "Guess who partnered with Eric Curtis until about a year before he was murdered?"

Kovac took a sip of the Macallah. "If you tell-me Bruce Ogden, I'm walking out of this movie,jodie."

"Derek Rubel:'she said. "And guess who was at HCMC yesterday having a bloodtest, then lying about it?""Derek Rubel." "Give the man a cigar.""I'll be d.a.m.ned," Kovac murmured."No," Liska said. "But I have a feeling Derek Rubel will be."C H A P T E S T E E L ES W A S T H E kind of gym where sweating and grunting wererequired. There were no jazz dance aerobic cla.s.ses, no yoga. It was all iron,hard-bodied hard-a.s.ses, heavy metal blasting from the stereo. It had theambience of a machine shop, and the stench of people with too muchtestosterone was enough to make a normal person's eyes water.Liska badged the bored biker chick working the desk and went into the mainweight room. She stood at the edge of the action for a moment, scanning thesmall crowd, secretly awestruck by the male bodies. Amazing to think what anordinary human could become through well-applied obsessive behavior and, insome cases, the miracles of modern chemistry. Every third guy in the gym wasbuilt like the Incredible Hulk. Rubel stood in a corner, spotting someone on a bench. He wore a black T-shirtwith the sleeves cut off to accommodate upper arms as thick as Virginia hams.The muscles were so perfectly defined, he could have been used as a live modelor a human anatomy cla.s.s.Liska wove her way through the maze of people pumping iron, knowing theinstant Rubel became aware of her, even though he didn't look right at her.She could sense the energy change in the air. She297 walked up to the bench and looked down into Bruce Ogden's ugly face. He wa.s.straiming beneath a barbell loaded with iron plates the size of truck wheels,red in the face, squawling.She cut a look at Rubel. "Does he make this much noise in bed?" "I wouldn't know." "I'd ask his girfriend, but he's never had one as far as I've been able tofind out." She leaned over Ogden again and made a face of apology. "Wh.o.r.esdon't count. Sorry-"Ogden let out a roar and shoved the barbell up."What do you want, Sergeant?" p.u.b.el asked. "We're in the middle of somethinghere." "I'll say you are," Liska said, deadly serious, showing some of her hatred forthese two men. "You're up to your necks in it. And note how I came here inperson to tell you to your faces. No anonymous call from a pay phone. Nophotographs in the mail. I've got bigger b.a.l.l.s than both of you put together."Ogden racked the barbell and sat up, grunting, sweat running off his face likerainwater. "Yeah? We heard that about you."Liska rolled her eyes. "Now with the lesbian innuendo.You're too much, Ox.Maybe if you stopped trying to make yourself look like a big bad heteros.e.xualmale animal and exercised your brain instead, you wouldn't be in this s.h.i.t.But it's too late for you to get smart now. You crossed the line when youdecided to involve my children. There's no going back from that. And, sinceit's not legal for me to rip your beating hearts from your chests and showthem to you while you die, I'm going to see you both in prison.""I don't know what you're talking about," p.u.b.el said without emotion.Liska looked him in the eye and made him wait. "I've got Cal Springer. He'smine. I turned him. And now the fun begins," she said with malicious relish."First one to the prosecutor gets the deal. Cal and I are sitting down withsomeone in Sabin's office tomorrow at noon." Ogden's mouth curved in a pout. "You're full of s.h.i.t, Liska. You don't haveanything or you'd be pulling out cuffi.""There's nothing to have," Rubel said, still cool. "There's no case." Liskasmiled up at him. "You keep thinking that, sweetheart. And why don't you also spend some time thinking about what happens in prison to good-looking boyslike you? I hear it gets rough. Then again, maybe you like it that way."298 T A M0 A 0She reached up and patted his cheek. "Too bad Eric's not alive to fill us in."Bang! Right between the eyes. p.u.b.el didn't flinch, didn't change his.e.xpression, but he felt the hit as surely as if he'd taken a bullet. Liskafelt the shock wave roll off him, and he knew she knew. She savored themoment. Maybe a thousand moments like that would make up for what she'd feltwhen she'd seen those photographs of Kyle and PJ. Maybe not.She turned to go and pulled up short. just for a heartbeat. p.u.b.el and Ogdenprobably didn't even notice. She doubted she faltered longer than a splitsecond. But in that split second, eye contact was made. Standing ten feetaway, taking a break from squats on the Smith machine, was Speed."A R E Y 0 U S U R E the voice activation thing works?" Springer whined. "Whatif it doesn't turn on?"Barry Castleton knelt on the floor in front of him, duct-taping themicroca.s.sette recorder to Springer's squishy midsection. As the lead on theIbsen case, Castleton had deserved a heads-up when Springer broke. Liskawanted the collar herself-for personal reasons more than for what it would putin her jacket-but she couldn't cut him out and live with herselfCastleton-forty-something, African American, a tendency to dress like anEnglish professor-was a good cop and a good guy. If she had to share, shedidn't mind sharing with him."Don't worry about it," he said to Springer. "It's foolproof." Kovac snorted."Nothing is foolproof to a talented fool."They occupied Springer's kitchen. Springer, Castleton, Tippen from theSO-because they were out of their j urisdiction and wanted to cover theira.s.ses with the county people--Liska, and Kovac. Mrs. Springer had gone to staywith a sister. Liska wondered if she would come back after this was all over.Probably. Then again, it remained to be seen if Cal would escape jail time andbe here for Mrs. Cal to come back to.Springer's first part in the drama had been to look the other way when Ogdenplanted evidence in Penaldo Verma's house. In doing that, Ogden had him on thehook. It was one thing for a uniform to do something stupid, but the leaddetective on a homicide investigationD U S TT 0D U S T 299 was a much bigger target and stood to lose much more. Cal Springer, with the high waters of his lifestyle already coming up around his head, couldn't afford to lose.

"I'm not feeling well",'Springer complained.

"Yeah, we can all smell that, Cal," Castleton grumbled, getting to his feet.

Liska broke the pattern of her pacing, went over to Springer, and kicked him.

"Ouch!" He bent over and grabbed his shin.

"A man might die because of you, and you're complaining you don'tftel well?"

she said with utter disgust. "My children were threatened because you weren't man enough to say no to Bruce Ogden."

"He could have cost me my job:' Springer defended himself. "And now you're going to prison. Great choice, Cal."

"You don't understand."

She stared at him, incredulous. "No. I don't understand. I will never understand.You let Ogden plant evidence so you could close a case and get a big one in your win column."

"What was the difference withVerma?" he argued. "The guy was a killer. We knew he did it! And-and-the vic was one of ours. We couldn't let him walk for that!"

"How dare you pretend an interest in Justice!" Liska spat the words at him.

"That wasn't your motivation, that's your rationalization. Your motivation tolook the other way on Verma was for your own advancement.""Oh, and you've never done anything to get ahead:' Springer sneered."I've never contaminated an investigation. Did it ever occur to you that maybeVerma didn't do Curtis-an HIV-positive gay cop who'd changed patrol partnersthree times in five years and had lodged formal complaints of hara.s.sment.""When I hadVerma cold on the Franz murder? No." "Hey, f.u.c.k that, Springer," Castleton jumped in. "Bobby Kerwin gotVerma onFranz.You weren't even in the picture."Springer clenched his jaw. "It was a figure of speech. Verma was good for anidentical murder and how many robberies?Why shouldn't I take him?""The fact that you didn't have any physical evidence might have weighed inthere:'Tippen suggested.300 T A M Springer scowled at him. "Why should I suspect another cop, for G.o.d's sake? Wespoke with all of Curtis's ex-partners. There were no red flags.""Then you weren't listening:' Liska said. "Curtis's last partner, Engle, toldme--and he doesn't know me from anyone-he thought something had gone onbetween Curtis and Rubel. He didn't tell you when you were looking intoCurtis's murder?" "It didn't pan out:'Springer said. "I mean, look at Rubel. He's not queer.And-and Why would he kill Curtis? They hadn't been partners for a long time.""Because of the HIV, you moron. If Curtis infected Rubel with an incurable,terminal disease, I would call that motive, wouldn't you?" Springer inhaledand exhaled. "And it didn't strike you odd that a couple of months after Curtis wasmurdered, Derek Rubel, who had been one of Curtis's partners, suddenly becamepartners with the guy who tampered with the evidence in the case?" Liskaasked. Springer looked ready to have a temper tantrum but was too afraid of Liska todo it. Red in the face. Shaking. "People get rea.s.signed all the time. Besides,the case was closed by then.""Oh, well, the case was closed. So what if you hung it on someone who didn'tdo it? He'd done something else just as bad. And you were already way on themeat hook, as far as Ogden was concerned. He could have sold you to IA in aheartbeat," Liska said. "Sure, it would have cost him. But it would have costyou more. So when Ogden and Rubel needed an alibi for Thursday night, allOgden had to do was pick up the phone.""Ogden would have ruined me.""Bad cops ruin themselves," Liska said quietly, remembering Savard telling herthat when she had gone into IA after Andy Fallon's body had been discovered.It seemed like a year ago."It didn't matter to you what they did to Ken Ibsen?" she asked. Springerturned his face away in shame. He hadn't cared enough to put himself on theline, and someone else had nearly paid with his life."I wish I could drag your sorry a.s.s to the hospital and make you stand next toKen Ibsen's bed when his doctors come to exami'ne hil"' she said. "I wish I could take his memories of what those two animals did to him in that alley,and permanently implant them inD U S T T 0 D U S T 301 your brain so that you would have to relive that attack over and over everyday of your miserable life."I'm sorry!" Springer shouted. 'Yes, you are."Kovac stepped between thern and took Liska by the arm. "Come onjinks.They'llbe here soon. Let's go hide for the surprise party." He led her into theSpringer pantry, a narrow closet of a roomlined with shelves of canned foods and extra china. Liska leaned back against one set of shelves, Kovac the other."You got 'em, Tinks," Kovac said quietly."They're on the hook, not in the net. I want them bludgeoned and on mystringer.""Then maybe you shouldn't chew the s.h.i.t out of the one person who's going toget them there for you.""He deserves worse." "He deserves exactly what you said-to relive Ken Ibsen's attack every day ofhis life. But we.'U have to settle for his career being ruined and his sorryb.u.t.t in jail.""They threatened my boys, Sam," she said, trembling again at the thought. "Youknow, I kept thinking all week, what h.o.m.ophobe would beat a gay man to deathin a manner that exposed him to so much blood? It didn't follow. Every guy Iknow like that is terrified of AIDS. They think they can get it from toiletseats, a handshake, breathing the air. It had to be someone who was eithercompletely ignorant of the risk, or someone who was already infected. Then Isaw Rubel at HCMC... * " "Rubel didn't hate Curtis because he was gay," Kovac said. "He killed himbecause Curtis infected him. Revenge.""And Ogden put the evidence onVerma to protect Rubel because they're lovers.""They're bad guys, Tinks. And you got 'em." He reached across and touched hershoulder. "I'm proud of you, kiddo.""Thanks." She looked away and chewed on her lip. "You think Springer can getthem to cop to Andy Fallon?""Maybe. If they did it."Tippen stuck his head in the pantry "The party guests have arrived. Places,everybody."Liska drew her weapon and checked it. Kovac did the same. The game faces wenton. They would stay where they were while Cal0 A G Springer tried to get Ogden and Rubel to incriminate themselves on tape. Whenthey'd heard enough, the trap would be sprung with Ogden and Rubel in thekitchen. Meanwhile, radio cars from the SO would roll in as backup.The doorbell rang. There was the sound of voices, though Liska couldn't makeout the words. She visualized Springer greeting his guests, inviting them in,a.s.suring them he was on their side. But the tone of the voices changedabruptly, and Cal Springer started to shout no! The word was cut short by agunshot."s.h.i.t!" Kovac yelled and bolted from the pantry. Liska was right behind him."Freeze, police!" Castleton shouted. Three more shots.Kovac dashed for the living room, crouching low.Liska went out the service door to the garage, and to the door that openedonto the driveway.Rubel and Ogden were running for Rubel's truck, a dozen feet in front ofLiska, guns out."Rubel!" Liska shouted, and discharged her weapon, then ducked back behind thedoor. Two quick shots answered her, one splintering the door frame at the top. Threeshots came from somewhere, and a man screamed. The truck engine roared to lifeand spun backward out ofSpringer's driveway. Liska swung the door open to see Rubel sticking an armout the truck window, and fire flashed from the end of his gun.Lights and sirens running, a pair of radio cars were screaming toward thebottleneck of the cul-de-sac. Rubel never slowed down, splitting the s.p.a.cebetween the noses of the cars. One clipped the rear pa.s.senger side of histruck with a bang! Rubel kept going, speeding away. as one of the sheriff'scars swung around to give chase.Bruce Ogden lay sobbing on the driveway, rolling like a beached seal, tryingin vain to grab at his back.Liska ran toward him, leading with her weapon, and kicked his gun out of reach. Kovac ran up from the sidewalk, cursing a blue streak. "Springer's dead!"

"Help me! Help me!" Ogden squealed. A dark stain spread on the ice-packed driveway beneath him. Liska stared down at him, thinking of Ken Ibsen.

D U S T.

T 0.

D U S T 303.

A radio car from the Eden Prairie PD roared up, and two uniforms bailed outand came running."Don't touch him without gloves:' Liska ordered, stepping back. "He's a healthrisk."W H 0 S E B R I G H T I D E A was this??'Leonard asked, looking right atKovac."We had to move fast, Lieutenant," Liska said. "We wanted Ogden and Rubel ontape before they had a chance to lawyer up."They stood in Cal Springer's living room with the cold fireplace and unlitChristmas tree. Cal was at that very moment being zipped into his own personalgift bag to be delivered to the morgue. He had taken a shot point-blank in themiddle of the chest."We sure as h.e.l.l never thought this would happen," Kovac said."I could see Rubel and Ogden trying to get him out the door," Castleton said."Probably to take him somewhere and make him disappear. Springer knew it. Hetried to pull back. Rubel shot him before I could do anything.""Jesus H." Leonard stared in disgust at the body bag on the gurney as the ME'speople wheeled it out the front door. "The press is going to have a field daywith this."And, oh yeah, Mrs. Springer, sorryfor your loss, Liska thought."Every cop in the metro area and surrounding counties has the BOLO onRubel," Castleton said."He'll probably ditch his truck and steal some wheels ," Kovac said."He's got nothing to lose now. We catch him and he goes down for two murdersand an aggravated a.s.sault. He'll never see the light of day."The Eden Prairie police chief stepped into the foyer from outside. "LieutenantLeonard? We have members of the press waiting." Leonard cursed under hisbreath and went away.Liska went into the Springers' kitchen, pulling out her phone to call andcheck on the boys. Speed came in through the laundry room, stopped in thedoorway, and stared at her.:, Are you okay?" he asked. 'No."Liska dropped her head and punched in Milo Foreman's phone number. Speedwaited, listening as she explained the situation brieflyand asked if the boys could stay until Sunday. She closed the phone anddropped it in her coat pocket."Id ask what you're doing here:'she said, "but-" "I heard it on the scanner.""Really? You didn't just follow Ogden and Rubel out here from that gym youdon't belong to?"He rubbed the stubble on his jaw and looked away. "What were you doing there,Speed?"The big sigh. "I've been on loan to Minneapolis narcotics. They were aware ofa steroid problem within the department. They needed an unfamiliar face.". "How long?" she asked, feeling the anger, the hurt, the frustration buildinginside her.He hesitated again before confessing. "The last two months." Liska laughed andshook her head. Why should it hurt this much? she asked herself She shouldn'thave even been surprised. Maybe she wasn't surprised. But she had to admit,there had been that sliver of hope, that tiny little spark.... After all theseyears, he still hadn't managed to kill it. She couldn't understand how ithadn't died of its own accord."So your sudden renewed interest in my life and the boys-" "Is genuine, Nikki."

"Oh, please." '

He moved toward her. "I knew you had run into Ogden and Rubel. They were at the gym that afternoon you caught the Fallon thing."

"And what was your purpose in watching me deal with that?" she asked. "And you never saying one f.u.c.king word to me :, I can't talk about a case, Nikki.You know that."

'Oh, but it's fine for you to pump me for information about my case:'she said.

Every question he'd asked her this week bubbled up in her memory. "You are such an a.s.shole."

He came toward her again, backing her toward the counter, trying to look sad and concerned and hurt by her low opinion of him. Liska ducked away, cringing away from any contact with him.

"Nikki, I was looking out for you, for the boys-"

"How were you looking out for us?" she demanded. "By not filling me in? By not letting me know you were there for us?"

"You didn't exactly ask me to stick around."

D U S T.

T 0.

D U S T 30S.

"Don't try to put this on me!"

He spread his hands and took a step back. "I thought I could keep an eye on you without compromising my investigation or yours." "So that I wouldn't blow your collar if imine didn't pan out:'Liska.

said. "Or were you planning to swoop in at the end, like Superman, and save the day for everyone? That would have been a nice feather in your cap, wouldn't it? Get the bad guys, get the girl-,, Speed was losing patience, as he always did when charm and false sincerity failed him. "If that's what you really think, Nikki . .

Liska took a deep breath and willed her own emotions down. "I think you need to go. I have a job to do."

He bit back another sigh, regrouped mentally, tried to come again with the concerned-friend routine. "Look, I know this isn't the time or the place. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Maybe I'll stop by the house later-"

"Don't do that."

"I can take the boys for the afternoon tomorrow if you want." "What I want,"

Liska said, pointing her gaze toward the laundry room because it was hurtifig her to look at him, "is not to see you for a while, Speed."

It finally sunk into him that he wasn't going to win this one. Charm and looks could take him a long way in his day-to-day world, but he had run out of disguises with her. At least until the next time she felt weak enough to believe in him.

"Take the boys tomorrow if what you want is to be with them. But don't do it to get to me.,, He hesitated for a moment, as if he had something more to say, but he didn't say it. He went back out the way he'd come.

Liska stood there, staring at the floor, trying to clear her rmind, get back to work mode, shake it off, suck it up, be tough.Again. She could see Kovac standing in the archway to the main part of the house.

"Why do I never learn?" she asked. "'Cause you're a hardhead." "Thanks."

"Takes one to know one." He came in and hooked an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on,Tinks. Unless you decide to run out and put a couple in that a.s.shole's head, our work here is done. Call it a night. Go home. I'll put a radio car in front of your house."

She made a face. "I don't need-"

306 T A M.

"You do need.You're the one who found Rubel out, kiddo. And he knows where you live."

A chill went down her back like an icy finger.

"You know," she said, putting her head on his shoulder, "some days I wish Iwas a waitress." U S T T 0 D U S T 307 C H A P T E B Y S I X A. M news of the manhunt for Officer Derek Rubel had brought inreporters from every major network. Minneapolis was crawling with cameracrews. Kovac, Liskaj1ppen, and Castleton had all been ordered to speak to noone regarding the murder of Cal Springer. Interviews were being handled byLeonard, the Hennepin County sheriff, and the Eden Prairie chiefThe FBI had been called in on the case, along with the Minnesota Bureau ofCriminal Apprehension. The Minnesota and Wisconsin State Highway Patrols bothhad helicopters in the air, doing a grid search for Rubel's black Explorer, atedious job sparking one false alarm after another. Minnesota was full ofblack Ford Explorers. None of the ones stopped and searched belonged to Rubel.Neighbors and known a.s.sociates of his were questioned as to his habits inorder to try to come up with a list of likely hiding places. Deputies weredispatched to eighty acres of hunting land in the scrub near Zimmerman,property owned Jointly by half a dozen officers. There was no sign Rubel hadbeen to the crude cabin. Ogden, who had taken two bullets in the shoot-out, had been airlifted bychopper to the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was listed as stableafter three hours of surgery. He had yet to be308 questioned, and already the union had staked out a lawyer at the door to hishospital room.Kovac worked KOD duty all night, preferring knocking on the doors of perfectstrangers to spending the night in his empty house. By morming, his socialskills were running on empty. He pa.s.sed the baton to Elwood and went home.The neighbor was out in the frigid sunshine wearing his plaid bomber cap,digging bits of snow from his yard with a spade. "G.o.dd.a.m.n dogs," Kovac heardhim grumble as he got out of thecar. At the slam of the door, the old man's head came up and he drew a bead onKovac through his c.o.c.keyed gla.s.ses."Hey, we heard about that manhunt!" he called, his excitement overriding hisdislike for Kovac. "A killer cop, huh? Are you in on that?""I'm the guy they're looking for," Kovac said. "Driven mad from sleepdeprivation caused by my neighbor's garish light display."The neighbor couldn't decide whether to show offense or pretend good humor."Quite a story, this guy," he said. "It's all over the television. They'reeven doing a special Crime Time on it.""Another good reason to read a book," Kovac grumbled.The neighbor paid no attention. "Best G.o.dd.a.m.n show on television." "Realityprograimming.""You know that guy? Ace? He's something. He's a real cop." "He used to be awoman," Kovac said, unlocking his door.The neighbor gave a little jolt of surprise. He narrowed his beady eyes to thesize of BBs. "You're sick!" he announced, and went back to the other side ofhis yard to hunt for dog s.h.i.t and yellow snow.Kovac went into the house. His gaze went directly to the couch, and he stoodthere for a moment before it hit him. Someone had been there. The articles he'd brought home from the library were strewn all over thecoffee table. His briefcase had been pried open and now lay on the floor, halfhidden behind a chair. The television screen had been kicked in. The air in the room seemed to thicken and crackle with electricity. Kovaccould feel it on his skin. His pulse jumped. He opened his coat and discreetlyreached inside, slipping his gun from the D U S T T 0 D U S T 309 holster. With his other hand, he dug his cell phone out of his pocket and hit 911. He reported the break-in as he crept through the house, room by room, takingin the damage, looking to see if the perpetrator was still in the building.The drawers had been pulled from his desk. His dresser had been gone through.Cash he had left on top of the dresser was gone, along with an expensive watchhe'd won in a raffle at a law id burglary. Probably a junkie lookenforcement conference. That saing for stuff to pavvrn.He checked his bedroom closet, relieved to find his old .38 in its shoe box onthe shelf Back downstairs, he found that the intruder had brokln in through the kitchendoor. A task that looked to have been embarra.s.singly easy. He would take someribbing for his lack of home maintenance, Kovac thought as he turned and sawthe bas.e.m.e.nt door ajar.He flipped the light switch and listened. Nothing. He descended the first fewsteps, then crouched down to look, still fairly well concealed by wall.The bas.e.m.e.nt wasn't finished s.p.a.ce. He kept a dehumidifier going to fight thedamp of the concrete walls and floor. There was no furmiture, nothing thatwould be of any interest to a thief, only half-empty paint cans and boxes andboxes of old case files. Boxes that had been pulled from the shelves and dumped all over the floor.His cell phone trilled in his pocket. "Kovac.""Llska.They've found Rubel's truck. In Lake Minnetonka.Went off the road, downan embankment and through the ice.""So he's dead?" "I said they found the truck. Rubel wasn't in it."T H E A T M 0 S P H E R E 0 N the banks of Lake Minnetonka was not unlike that on the first day of fishing season. Cars and news vans lined the narrow stripof road. People wandered up and down, waiting for something to happen.Deputies had established a perimeter beyond which only law enforcementpersonnel were allowed.just before that line, variousrepresentatives of themedia had staked out their territories. The largest of the sideshows, by far,was Crime Time. The same crew from the ice rink had set up as near to the yellow crime scene tape aspossible.Kovac stared. Ace Wyatt, bundled into a heavy parka, stood on his trademarkred carpet before a crowd of spectators. Beyond him, beyond the yellow tape,Derek Rubel's Explorer had been pulled ash.o.r.e by a tow truck and stood withall doors open as the crime scene unit from the Minnesota Bureau of CriminalApprehension went over every inch of it.They would look over here,at the scene, then the vehicle would be transported to their garage in St.Paul and every piece of hair and lint in the thing would be cataloged and heldunder a mi'croscope.Kovac took a moment to a.s.sess the scene, trying to imagine it without thecrowd. They were on a narrow finger of the lake that had been deemed beneaththe efforts of development. A couple of small houses were within sight, nearenough to walk to on a cold night, but not so near for a witness to see a manleaping from a vehicle as it ran into the lake.Tippen came over in his Dr. Seuss hat, hands stuffed in the pockets of a fatparka."They checked the houses. One is vacant. The other isn't, but n.o.body's homeand there's no vehicle. They're trying to track down somebody who nuight knowwhere the owner is-or rather, where the owner is supposed to be. No luck sofar." "Rubel's probably riding around with the owner's body in the trunk of the owner's Buick," Kovac said. "What a nightmare.""It's that. Minnesota hasn't gotten this kind of attention since AndrewCunanan." "Andrew Cunanan wasn't a cop. This has Hollywood written all over it."Kovac spotted the WB VPs just at the corner of Wyatt's carpet, right behindFat Donald, the director. The redhead had bought herself a parka that lookedmade from aluminum foil. Gaines came over to them and seemed to- be explainingsomething, pointing one arm toward the lake, where, in the distance, icefishing houses dotted the snowscape.Kovac looked around again, trying to get his bearing&--hard to do for a cityboy tossed out into the maze around Minnetonka. But he didn't think they werefar from Neil Fallon's place.Where Gaines was pointing rmight have been it,though one ice fishing hut looked pretty much like the next to Kovac.D U S T T 0 D U S T 311 I Wyatt was having his makeup done again while some toady held a light meternext to his head and called out numbers. "Can you believe this guy?" Kovac said."His people were here staking out that spot practically before we were:'Tippensaid. "It pays to have friends in high places, even at a freak show likethis." "Especially at a freak show like this. Reality programming."A gust of wind came up off the lake, blowing Wyatt's red m.u.f.fler across hisface.The director swore, then turned an swore again at the woman in the s.h.a.gcarpet coat, then announced everyone should take ten, and stalked off towardthe official Crime Time motor home parked on the road.The videographers dug out cigarettes. s.h.a.g Coat went onto the carpet to adjustWyatt's scarf, the WB VPs right behind her. Gaines paused en route to accept asteaming cup of coffee from another minion.KovacJoined the cadre, giving the eye to the bouncer who stepped toward him atthe edge of the carpet. The bouncer stepped back. "Johnny-on-the-spot here,aren't you, Ace?" Kovac said."Too bad we can't say the same for you, Sam." Wyatt stood perfectly stillwhile s.h.a.g Coat arranged the offending scarf in an artful and.clever way. "Iunderstand you and your partner were in on the fiasco last night.""Yeah, well, I'm a real cop, I don't just play one on TV As you know, in thereal world, with real bad guys, s.h.i.t happens.""And you step in it?" Gaines suggested as he put the coffee cup intoWyatt's hand."I swim through it, Slick. If that's what I have to do to get what I'mafter.You should know how that tastes, you being a professional kissa.s.s. Dothey give college degrees for that now?""We're very busy here, Sergeant:' Gaines said tightly."I understand, and I'll let you get back to finding the cure for cancer in a minute. I just have a question for Captain America here." Wyatt huffed asigh. "You're starting to get on my nerves, Sam." "Yeah, I have a talent:'Kovac said. "After our chat yesterday, I wascurious, so I went back and read over the articles from the Thorne murder.That's a h.e.l.l of a dramatic story, Ace. I'd forgotten.You ought to do aspecial on that. A movie of the week maybe. The network could run it to hypethe new show." 312 T A M 0 A G "The show will succeed on its own merits:'Wyatt said tightly. "I have nointention of capitalizing on that night."Kovac laughed. "You've done it your whole career.Why stop now?" "No!" Wyattbarked. "That was never my intent. What happened with my career at the timewas out of my hands."

He turned and snapped at the s.h.a.g coat woman, who was still fussing with hisclothes. "Leave the G.o.dd.a.m.n scarf alone!"The WI3 VPs looked at Wyatt, then at each other, then at Gaines, panicked athaving been left out of the loop."It's a tragic story," Kovac explained."Which is precisely why the captain doesn't want to bring it up:' Gaines said,putting himself between Kovac and Wyatt. He spoke to the VPs. "A friend of thecaptain's was killed, another was left a paraplegic.You can understand why hewouldn't want to dredge up the trauma." '"No, they can't:'Kovac said. "That night made the Ace here a hero. He savedanother cop's life. It's a story made for Hollywood. Ace makes it big with theshow, everybody in America's gonna want to hear it."I'm just wondering, Ace," he continued, c.o.c.king his head to look aroundGaines. "Have you kept in touch with Bill Thorne's widow over the years? Itoccurred to me she might appreciate hearing about Mike's pa.s.sing.""No," he said. "We lost touch."Kovac raised his brows. "As close as you stayed with Mike, you lost touch withEvelyn Thorne? After all you went through?""Because of all we went through," V?yatt murmured."When Andy Fallon talked with you about the case, did he mention if he'dspoken with her? Or with Thorne's daughter?""I don't recall.""Well, I'm sure it's in his notes:' Kovac said. "I just haven't found themyet. I'll let you know. In case you want to reach out.""We need -to clear the set, Sergeant," Gaines said, trying to back him away."We're airing this tonight. Trying to help bring this mess to a conclusion foryou.""That's big of you,junior," Kovac said. "Frees me up to concentrate onsomething else. Thanks."Kovac walked away, shooting a glance up at the bouncer. "You should have goneinto wrestling. Better cla.s.s of people."D U S TT 0D U S T 313 C H A P T E.

-ONCE AGAIN, CITIZENS, this is a photograph of the known murderer at the heart of this manhunt tonight."

Wyatt had what was often described as "the look of eagles." Steelyeyed. Hard-j awed. A face that inspired fear and trust.

"This is the face of Officer Derek Rubel. Known to have murdered a fellow police officer. Suspected in several more brutal crimes. This man is at large in our country tonight, and it's going to take the courage and diligence of citizens to bring this animal to justice.

"If you see Derek Rubel, do not under any circ.u.mstances approach him. This man is extremely dangerous. What do you do, Citizen Jane? " "Do go to the nearest telephone and call the police," the woman says. Another member of the audience is called on.

"Do write down a license number!"

On cue, the audience shouts in unison, "Be PROActive!"

The hot-line number andWeb site address appear on the screen. The television goes black.

Admirable. testament to the powers of redemption and penance.

service to the community Empowering to the powerless. The agitation returns.

A fear burning in the pit of the stomach and radiating outward. Fear of discovery.

Fear of death.

Fear of the inner knowledge of one's own capabilities when threatened.

There is the sense that the world is turning faster and faster, growing