“Thanks.” Decker picked up Rina’s teacup and took a sip. “I appreciate the nice words. The big question mark right now is Manny; is he dead or alive?”

“And what do you think?”

“I think he’s dead. I don’t know who killed Beth, but I’m pretty sure that Belize killed Manny. Belize had no intention of going back to prison and his brother was just too much of a liability. When I talk to the parents, I’m going to imply that Belize killed Manny and Beth. Like I said, it won’t bring Beth back, but it might make them feel better to know that her own husband didn’t kill her. And as you said, Belize is guilty of something.”

Rina pushed her teacup in front of Decker. “Are you going to try to implicate Holmes in Roseanne Dresden’s disappearance?”

“I’d love to do it, but I don’t see how I can.” Decker sipped the herbal mixture, feeling warmth penetrate his achy body as the hot liquid slid down his throat. “All I have is Holmes’s last call to Roseanne three months before her disappearance.”

“Not enough for a warrant?”

“Not nearly. Besides, I’m not sure he had anything to do with Roseanne. Right before I left for San Jose, Wanda found a witness who saw Roseanne’s Beemer speeding out of the condo’s parking facilities on the morning of the crash.”

Rina nodded. “Do you think it was Roseanne speeding off to make the flight?”

“That’s one theory. The other is that someone else was speeding off in her car to dump her body. We’re trying to gather enough evidence for a warrant to search the car. If someone stashed her body in the backseat or the trunk, we might be able to pull up some forensic evidence.”

“But even if you dredge up something forensic, how would you know it wasn’t Roseanne’s hair from before?”

“We’re looking for large amounts of her blood. That’s the only thing that’s going to give us a warrant. If she bled out in the car, we’d have blood evidence in the crevices of the seats, not to mention all the carpets. If the hubby did some redecorating of the Beemer right after Roseanne died-things like reupholstered the seats or changed the carpets-then maybe, just maybe, it would look suspicious enough for a judge to give us a warrant to get into the car.”

“Any evidence that it happened?”

“We’ve got zilch so far.” Decker checked his watch. “But I’ve got six and a half hours before I show up at my desk. Who knows what the night will bring?”

FARLEY LODESTONE WAS livid over the phone. “You got this guy who was stalking my daughter in custody for killing some other lady thirty years ago, and you’re saying that you’re not charging him with my daughter’s murder?”

Decker said, “I would love to charge him in conjunction with your daughter’s disappearance, Farley, but I don’t have any evidence-”

“For Christ sakes, Decker, he already admitted to killing a lady. Ain’t that enough evidence?”

Raymond Holmes hadn’t admitted to killing anyone. He was still blaming Beth’s death on his missing brother, Manny. Holmes was keeping his story as consistent as a metronome. The subtle difference between being booked on murder and tampering with evidence was lost on the old man.

“Farley, I am committed to your daughter’s case. I will not rest until I have answers. And if Holmes is the answer, he’ll be charged. Right now we’ve got a classic catch-22. I have to have evidence to get a warrant to get evidence.”

“Well, then change the goddamn system!”

“I wish I could-”

“So this monster is gonna walk?”

“You mean Holmes?”

“Yes, I mean Holmes. Who the hell else would I be talking about? This bastard murdered my daughter and you’re sitting on your hands!”

Just a few days ago, Lodestone had been insistent that Ivan had murdered Roseanne. Of course Holmes’s arrest had changed all that. Although Farley still detested Ivan, he was now aiming his considerable wrath at the contractor. Ivan Dresden was also venting about Holmes to Decker. At last the two men had something in common. It seemed that everyone loved Ray Holmes as Roseanne’s killer.

Decker said, “Farley, no one has been ruled out.”

“And no one has been arrested, either.”

“That’s correct. We’re being very careful because we don’t want any of our hard work thrown out because of procedural errors.” Decker could hear grousing over the phone. “Look, Farley. The case that we’re working on now-the one that involves Raymond Holmes-is over thirty years old. We’re tenacious buggers. We don’t give up just because things are hard.”

Silence.

Decker said, “I’m making every effort I can to find out what happened to Roseanne. And I have no reason to think that we won’t solve the case.”

More silence.

“Are you there, Farley?”

“Yeah, I’m still here.”

Decker groaned inwardly. “I’m doing the best I can. I understand that my best isn’t always enough. I’m sorry about that. But I promise you, I’ll keep at it.”

Maybe we’ll get lucky, he thought to himself.

Lodestone finally spoke. “The parents of the dead girl that you found. Are they still alive?”

“Yes, they’re still alive.”

“How old are they?”

“In their seventies.”

“Nice people?”

“Lovely.”

“And they’ve been in the dark about their daughter for over thirty years?”

“Yes.”

“My, my, my. Now, that is humbling.” The old man’s voice had turned soft. “You gonna talk to them again? The parents?”

“Yes. I’m sure I’ll be talking to them quite a bit in the days to come.”

Lodestone was uncharacteristically quiet for a moment. When he finally found his voice, it cracked. “When you see ’em, send ’em my best.”

“I’ll do that, Farley.” Decker felt his throat swell. “I know they’ll appreciate your good wishes.”

The line disconnected. Decker rubbed his moist eyes and took a moment to simply breathe. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. The conversation had left his voice dry and he slugged down a bottle of water. Then he rolled up his shirtsleeves and went to work.

41

T HE OLD MAN’S memory was suddenly steeped in senility. Decker supposed that it was one thing to theoretically talk about screwing up one’s only living son. It was quite another thing for Martin Hernandez to face his own flesh and blood in a courtroom and condemn him to death.

“I didn’t say that Ray did anything,” Hernandez emphasized. “I just told you that Ray and Beth were arguing.”

“Actually, I have your exact words in front of me,” Decker countered. They were once again sitting in steel chairs, holed up in the luxurious interview room at Santa Fe Correctional. “You signed your statement, Martin. You specifically said that Ray told you that he pushed Beth, although you do say that it was an accident and that Ray said he didn’t mean for her to die.”

“I’m almost eighty, for Christ sakes! Maybe Ray told me that Manny pushed her.”

“Where is Manny?”

“How the hell should I know that?”

“I think you’d be curious about your own son.”

“Being curious is not a good thing in a penitentiary. You learn real quick how to mind your own business.”

Decker had no comeback to that. “I’m trying to help you get out of here early. I’m trying to help you with your dream of raising your dogs in all that beautiful, empty land in southern New Mexico. I’ve seen you work your animal magic and you have a lot to offer once you get out. There are lots of rescued dogs out there that can use rehabilitation.” Decker snapped his fingers. “Hey, maybe you can even get yourself a TV show like that Dog Whisperer guy.”

Hernandez rolled his eyes. “Lieutenant, I’m old, I’m forgetful, but I’m not stupid. Don’t be playing me for a fool.”

Decker nodded. “Scratch the TV show. But the rest is reality and that’s totally up to you. If you start forgetting things that you said, Martin, I can still use your statement for the grand jury. That’ll mean that you’re back to square one and you’ll serve out your sentence. All this talk will be for nothing. But that’s up to you.”