Mobley was reading something else.

“And we’ve got a phone call from Duvall to Scott’s direct line in the Brenner law office that afternoon, just after Cade left.”

Louis waited, while Mobley read more.

“And get this. . that old trial Redweld that we thought was taken by Duvall’s killer? Guess where we found it?”

“Scott’s office?”

“Yup, in a search we did this morning of Scott’s office. Scott’s prints are all over it and on damn near every paper inside it,” Mobley said. “Plus, that AB-negative report you were looking for was found in his desk drawer.”

Mobley was grinning.

“What else?” Louis asked.

“Our homeless witness, Quince? He was shown a photo line-up this morning. He identified Scott as someone he saw going into Duvall’s building just before nine P.M. Said he remembered him because Scott gave him a buck.”

Louis was dumbfounded. “How’d you get all that together?”

Mobley closed the folder. “After I left you at O’Sullivan’s, I got to thinking. So I asked Jensen to poke around, see if he could connect Brian to Duvall’s murder. We got Scott instead.”

“They can’t suppress that, can they?” Louis asked.

“Not a chance. This was information we had all along, none of it came from you.”

Louis looked up at him, knowing that wasn’t entirely true.

“At least that’s how I remember it,” Mobley added.

“Did you find the Tokarev?”

Mobley shook his head. “We’re still looking. When they sold off the gun collection after the senator died, the old guns got scattered across the country through antique dealers. It would be nice, but we don’t need it. We know Charles Brenner had a collection, we can put Scott in Duvall’s office and we know he had motive to protect his brother.”

“Scott shot Spencer Duvall,” Louis said quietly. “Jesus.”

Mobley nodded. “Guess Scott isn’t going to make his plane.”

A strange feeling came over Louis, something faintly resembling satisfaction, but it was dull. He had found Duvall’s killer, brought Bob Ahnert home his lost daughter and he even knew what happened to Kitty. But there was one thing missing.

“It’s not enough, Lance,” he said quietly.

“It has to be.” Mobley closed the file. “Scott’s still in there with Brian. I think I’ll arrest him while he’s here. Want to watch?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Mobley rose and opened the door. Scott was just coming out, Brian trailing. Scott’s face was purple and patched with two butterfly bandages. He had a thin red split in his lower lip.

“We’re going now,” Scott said.

“You’re under arrest,” Mobley said.

Scott’s swollen eyes moved from Mobley to Louis. “You’re kidding, right? What for?”

Mobley turned Scott around. Scott didn’t resist as he looked back over his shoulder.

“Hey, come on, Lance. What’s this about?”

“Scott Brenner, you’re under arrest for the murder of Spencer Duvall.”

Scott tried to spin around, but Mobley jerked him back, pressing him against the wall.

“Christ, Lance,” Scott said. “Ease up here. I barely knew Duvall. I had no reason to shoot-”

Mobley spun Scott around to face Louis. Louis expected to see at least some flicker of fear on his face, but there was nothing.

“Tell me what you got,” Scott said. “The old file, right? Okay, I had it. Duvall called me over there after Cade’s visit. He wanted me to take a look at what he was up against-”

Mobley yanked on the cuffs.

Scott’s face suddenly went cold. “Hell, I’ll be out in an hour.”

Mobley reached in Scott’s jacket and pulled out the Air France ticket. “No, you won’t. You’re a flight risk.”

Scott jerked his face toward Louis. “You just won’t let it go, will you?”

Mobley stepped between them quickly. “Wait outside, Louis.”

Louis didn’t move.

“Outside. Now.” Mobley said.

Louis walked stiffly down the hall to the lobby. He shoved open the door and stepped into the sunlight.

He stood for a minute, forcing himself to breathe slowly. Then he walked over and sat down on the edge of a concrete planter. He looked down at his hand, flexing it slowly.

It wasn’t near enough, but it was all he had.

A strange image to came to him. A child killer cornered in the dark and his friend, Dan Wainwright, pulling a trigger, making his own kind of justice.

It was the only way I knew it would happen.

A few weeks ago, Louis had condemned Wainwright for it. Cops didn’t make their own justice. Not good cops. But sitting here now, knowing Scott would never be punished for what he did to Kitty and Lou Ann, he understood. And he wondered, had he known last night what he knew now, would he have been able to walk away from the graveyard?

“You okay?”

Louis looked up. Mobley was standing over him, a silhouette against the sun.

Louis nodded. “Just thinking.”

“Sorry I threw you out. One dead prisoner a month is enough.”

Louis suddenly remembered the Haitian prisoner. “You ever find out who killed that Haitian guy?” he asked.

“Yeah, another prisoner. They were fighting over cigarettes. The guy admitted it.”

Louis was staring at the ground. Another assumption about Cade he had gotten wrong.

“The Duvall charges will be dropped against Cade,” Mobley said.

Louis still said nothing.

“Why don’t you go get some sleep.”

Louis shook his head slowly.

“Then go call Tonto. Give her the good news.”

Louis looked at Mobley. “Yeah, okay.”

Mobley was standing there, hands in his pockets. Louis wanted to say something to him, to thank him for coming along on this, for putting his ass on the line. But they both turned at the sound of a van pulling up to the curb. The side read WINK-TV FORT MYERS.

Mobley watched the cameraman get out. He reached in his pocket and pulled out an Altoid tin. “I guess I better go do my thing,” he said.

Louis nodded.

Mobley started toward the van, then turned back to Louis. “Next time you’re in O’Sullivan’s, I’ll buy you a drink.”

Chapter Forty-Five

He let Susan drive, not sure he could handle the roads as tired as he was. She was quiet, but he sensed she was happy. This miserable case was over and her client was absolved of murder, including Kitty’s.

Susan pulled up in the drive of J.C. Landscaping and cut the engine. “By the way, thanks for coming with me,” she said. “I hate coming out here alone.”

“I don’t blame you.”

He followed her to the trailer door and waited while she knocked. He didn’t see anyone working in the yard, but Ronnie’s truck was parked near the shed. Eric opened the door and let them in.

Jack Cade was sitting in a worn chair, dressed in his boxers and a T-shirt. A beer can sat on the table next to him. Ronnie was in the kitchen and Louis could smell hamburger cooking. Eric slumped back down into the couch and trained his eyes on the television. They were watching an old version of Star Trek.

“Jack,” Susan said. “We have some good news.”

“Don’t tell me,” Cade said. “You got me off.”

Susan glanced at Louis. “Yes. They’ve dropped the murder charges for Spencer Duvall. They’re charging Scott Brenner.”

Cade’s eyes jumped to Louis. “My lawyer? Fuck, don’t that beat all? What about my new trial thing and the money? Who’s going to handle that?”

Louis came further into the room. “Brian Brenner has been arrested for killing Kitty Jagger. When he’s convicted and the story comes out of how they set you up, lawyers will be beating down your door to represent you.”

Cade stood up slowly, the beer can in his hand. “That snotty little bastard. .”

Eric and Ronnie looked at Cade.

“You mean to tell me that piece of shit killed that girl,” Cade said. “And he stole my fucking tool? And then put the panties in my truck? Those cocksucking bastards!”