Chapter 79

    Inthe Loss Prevention office Jessica stood behind John Shepherd. He rewound thevideo files. The recordings shuttled between different views, so there was asix-second rotation between each of four cameras on the twelfth floor. Even ina hotel as pricey and profitable as Le Jardin, they did not have the resourcesto devote a hard drive to each of the scores of cameras in and around theproperty.

    Shepherdrewound the recording to when Jessica and the other detectives came to Room1208, then kept going. A handful of people backed up to their rooms, as well asthe stairwell at the end of the hallways. Shepherd carried on until he saw oneof the room attendants exit the room backward, then retreat down the hall. Hestopped, played it forward.

    Innormal time the view showed the room attendant walking down the hall, towardRoom 1208. The attendant was female, petite and slender, with her light-coloredhair in a braid. Here the view began its rotation, shifting to the area nearthe guest elevators.

    'Doyou know who this is?' Jessica asked.

    'Hardto tell,' Shepherd said. 'I know a lot of the room attendants - most of them,in fact. But from this angle it's difficult.'

    Whenthe view returned to the eastern hallway, they saw the attendant stop in frontof 1208 for a few seconds. She didn't knock, she didn't try the door. She juststood there, perhaps listening. The camera then cut away to another view, againto the elevators, where it stayed for six seconds. No one came or went. It thencut to a view of the other end of the hallway, the western wing. Two women cameout of a room there. The next cut was to the service elevators. Empty. Back tothe young woman in front of 1208. The recording caught up with her as sheknocked on the door. There was no audio, but Jessica could see her lips move.In the split second before the cut-away she lifted her hand, and appeared toswipe a card in the electronic lock.

    Therecording moved again to its other locations. No other people were visible.

    Theywatched the rotation for the next minute and saw no activity. When theyreturned to the eastern hallway they saw a man heading away from the camera. Hewas in costume, a wizard's costume. He moved slowly, so that by the time hereached 1208 the camera had rotated. When the camera returned he was gone, andthe door to the stairwell was just closing.

    'Shit,'Shepherd said. He rewound the recording with the joystick, and toggled it backand forth. There were no details visible. It was impossible to tell if the manhad entered the room or just passed by. With his hat, long coat and whatappeared to be gloves on his hands, there were no identifiable details.

    Shepherdpointed to the time code in the lower right-hand corner of the frame.

    'Rightaround here is when we went up,' he said.

    Aminute later Jessica saw herself and Josh Bontrager walking down the hall. Afew seconds later Shepherd joined them. They went inside the room.

    'I'mgoing to interrogate these locks,' Shepherd said. 'I'll be right back.'

    WhileShepherd was gone Jessica toggled the video back and forth. She saw nothingnew. She looked at the menu down the right side of the screen. She saw that oneof the selections was the rear loading dock. She clicked over. It was a staticshot from above one of the three docks behind the hotel, showing the loadingbay, a pair of Dumpsters, and the hotel's shuttle bus parked in a space. Therewas no movement. In the upper right-hand corner she could see a sliver ofSeventeenth Street.

    Shewas just about to click back over - she was certain that John Shepherd didn't wanther messing around with the computers - when she saw a view that she had notseen before. It was above the side door to the loading dock, the man door, notthe huge corrugated steel door. The view cut away, but before it did she sawsomething. She ran it back.

    Therewas no mistake. It was Kevin Byrne standing near the mouth of the alley.

    Jessicachecked the time code.

    Wasthis when Byrne dropped off the package with the concierge? If so, what was hedoing at the rear of the hotel?

    Jessicaheard the door open in the outer office. She clicked back to the pausedrecording at the beginning of the clip of the twelfth floor. Shepherd reenteredthe office.

    'Iinterrogated all four locks along the path,' Shepherd said. 'The lock on 1208,the service elevator, the security door leading out to the loading dock, andthe door on the dock itself. All four locks register the same card. It issigned out to one of the room attendants. Lucinda Doucette.'

    Whyis that name familiar? Jessica thought. 'Do you know her?'

    'Ohyeah,' Shepherd said. 'Sweet kid. Shy.'

    'Doyou have a photograph of her?'

    'Sure,'Shepherd said. He moved to another computer terminal, tapped a few keys. Heinput Lucinda's name and a few seconds later her ID page came up. He hitprint and the color printer began to cycle. Seconds later, Jessica waslooking at Lucinda Doucette's young face. Jessica knew her. She was the youngwoman at the Hosanna House, the one who'd been sitting at the little table withCarlos.

    Jessicahad no choice. She called in an all-points bulletin on the girl.

    Shepherdhit a few keys, printing off one hundred copies of Lucinda Doucette'sphotograph. 'We need to get this to all the sector cars in the area.'

    WhenJohn Shepherd grabbed the printed photos and left the office, Jessica'scellphone rang. It was Nicci Malone.

    'Nicci.Why aren't you on channel with this?'

    'I'mnot in the hotel anymore.'

    'Whatdo you mean? Where are you?'

    Niccigave her the location. It was a few blocks away.

    'What'sgoing on?' Jessica asked.

    DetectiveMalone hesitated. 'You better get over here right away.'

Chapter 80

    Lucywalked up Sansom Street in a fog, stepping from shadow to shadow. Everyone whopassed her was a danger. They all knew what she had done. She could see it intheir eyes. There was traffic, conversations, street sounds all around her, butshe didn't hear the sounds. All she heard was the white noise in her head,raised to an insane volume, the static of her impending madness.

    Whathad she done?

    Allshe remembered was the bell. It had rung twice.

    Whatdid it mean?

    Shekept walking. Block after block passed. Walk. Don't Walk. Red light. Greenlight. There were people all around her, but they were ghosts. The only personwho lived in her world right now was a dead man. A man lying under the sheets,soaked in blood.

    Allthat blood.

    At22nd Street her legs felt as if she could not take another step, but she forcedherself, she knew she had to keep moving.

    Whenshe reached the corner of Sansom and 23rd something jolted her out of her darkreverie. There were police cars all up and down the streets, their lightsflashing on the walls of the buildings. Groups of people were gathered on thecorners, chatting with each other, pointing at the church. Lucy had walked thisway many times.

    Shewas pretty sure that there was a small cemetery next to the church. What wasgoing on?

    Itdidn't matter. It had nothing to do with her. She knew what she had to do. Sheknew who she had to call. She crossed 23rd Street. There was a policemanstanding in the middle of the street, directing traffic away from the church.Lucy pulled up the collar on her coat, angled her head away from him. As shepassed, she chanced a glance. He was looking right at her. She quickened herpace, made it across the street. When she had gone half a block she steppedback into the shadows, glanced back. The cop was still looking in herdirection.