Forgotten Place (32 page)

True enough.  I wasn't sure I could
speak.

Johnny didn't give me a chance to
flounder.  "We're working a new case that could, if all goes
well, result in the arrest of Danny Datello on charges that not
even he can worm his way out of.  We need to know if the man
he hired to assassinate one of our officers of the court has ties
to the Marcos family.  It's a missing piece of information
that's important to how we proceed in the investigation."

"Of course.  What's the name?  If
I know it, I can get the information to you that confirms the
link."

"Southerby," Orion said.

"
Mitch
Southerby?"

Johnny and I stared at each other.  We
had our link, but no idea how damning it really was.

Chapter 28

My voice returned quickly enough. 
"You've heard of him?  In relation to Sully Marcos?"

"I should say so, Helen.  But I haven't
heard the name Mitch Southerby in years.  We presumed that his
disappearance had more to do with Sully finding out he had become a
confidential informant for the FBI.  This man is in Darkwater
Bay right now?  In your custody?"

"Oh my God," I breathed.  "Johnny
–"

"Now we know why he died, on whose command
Southerby met his fate, don't we?"

"What do you mean?  This man was killed
before you could apprehend him?"

"Oh no," Johnny shook his head.  "We
extradited him from New Jersey almost sixteen years ago, Agent
Levine.  He confessed to killing one of the assistant district
attorneys in Bay County, and promptly keeled over dead in an
interview room."

"Unbelievable.  How was his death not
known?  ViCAP had a number of cases that identified him as a
person of interest."

My hand crept to Johnny's thigh. 
"Lowe.  It had to be Lowe, Johnny.  Brighton Bennett's
case was never entered into ViCAP either.  He wasn't ignorant
of that database.  He simply did everything in his power to
make sure nothing that happened in Darkwater Bay made its way into
the system."

"I'm confused," David said.  "You're
working a sixteen year old case?"

"Yes and no," I finally found my voice and
spoke to David directly.  "His daughter was recently attacked
in a parking garage.  She survived, but the irony was too much
to be coincidental.  Her father was murdered in a parking
garage, by Mitch Southerby if his confession was to be believed,
sixteen years ago Monday, the same day his daughter was
attacked."

"Why?"  His forehead wrinkled
deeply.

"We believe that David Ireland was
investigating Datello, that he had some sort of incriminating
evidence against him.  As to the question of attacking Journey
all these years later, we're not sure, but Helen thinks that
Southerby didn't find this evidence sixteen years ago.  It's
complicated."

"Sounds like it," David looked at me. 
"Helen, do you think Datello is worried that the evidence still
exists?"

"That's the prevailing theory.  It
seems like the timing of this attack might be related to Journey's
decision to hang onto the family home.  Her mother is
chronically ill and running out of money.  If Datello believes
what Ireland had against him is in the house, he might be eager to
get his hands on it."

"Why not break in and steal it, or simply
burn the place to the ground?" David wondered.  "He can't
possibly believe the only option available is to purchase the
home."

"There's another possibility," Johnny
said.  "It's remote, but Journey might know something that she
doesn't even realize."

"Helen, have you asked her?"

"Well, that's another complication," I
said.  "She's suffering from conversion disorder. 
Whoever attacked her, slit her throat, and even though there's no
physiological cause for her inability to speak, she can't even
muster a whisper.  We tried asking questions and having her
write answers, but she's blanked out what happened that morning, at
least the part of what happened that would be of value to our
investigation."

"Are you sure?"

Johnny scooped up my hand again. 
"Helen prevented him from killing Journey outright.  She was
on her way home from physical therapy and intervened.  If you
think she looks rough tonight, you should've seen her Monday. 
A good puff of fog would've sent her airborne.  She didn't
hesitate, though."

David's mood turned paternal.  "You
lied to me, Helen.  For weeks you said your recovery was
progressing well."

"Let's not get bogged down in
semantics.  Tell me about Southerby's agreement to become a
confidential informant and what sort of information he passed on to
the bureau."

"Nothing of consequence as I recall. 
We started getting calls in November that year –"

"Which year?"

"Before Southerby died.  For
approximately thirteen months prior to his disappearance, the
cryptic messages were delivered.  We joked about them at
first, that this guy fancied himself some kind of deep
throat.  He claimed to have names and dates, coordinates in
latitude and longitude that would allegedly produce dozens of
victims who vanished at the hands of Sully Marcos and his
assassins."

"And somehow this led to Southerby?"

"Not at first.  He was very cagey,
calling from phone booths all over the country.  About a month
before he fell off our radar, he made the mistake of calling from a
cellular phone from Darkwater Bay."

"That must've been about the time Datello
decided to engage his services before making sure he stopped
calling to rat out Uncle Sully," Johnny muttered.  "Son of a
bitch didn't even know he was being set up."

"I'm sure he didn't.  Not if someone
managed to kill him before he could implicate Datello," David
said.  "May I ask how he died?"

All of Johnny's confident surety vanished on
a burst of restless frustration.  His knee started bouncing
and one fist hammered out a regular off beat rhythm.  "I'd be
happy to tell you if we knew the truth."  He explained the
events of Southerby's death on the heels of former Chief
McNamara's.  "We can't assume that Southerby met the same fate
as Harry," he concluded, "but it looks mighty damned
suspicious."

"And this medical examiner you believe was
complicit in the murder of Mr. McNamara, he's still in Darkwater
Bay?"

"We've got detectives looking for him," I
said.  "The last we knew, they hadn't found him in the usual
haunts, which I suspect might be my fault.  If I hadn't let
Jerry Lowe know that I wanted to talk to him, he would likely be
exactly where he's been for the past eleven months."

"This is a suspicion I haven't shared with
many, because evidence that Datello remains a favored member of
Sully's circle contradicts it, but you might want to consider that
there is bad blood between the two," David said.  "I found it
unusual that Danny would return to his roots in Darkwater Bay after
he finished his stint in college.  It appeared, with his
background in corporate law, that Sully was grooming him to
function in one of the many corporations he uses as a front for his
illegal activities.  Add to that that Danny never really
seemed to accept that a rival family assassinated his father, and
it seemed to make sense that his decision to defy what Sully
planned for his life might've been based on animosity and not the
true sense of independence."

"He has touted the fact that he has nothing
to do with his eastern brothers rather strongly," Johnny agreed,
albeit reluctantly.

I bit down on my tongue before the impulse
to share that Rick's murder would've only served to sever Datello's
loyalty to Marcos, particularly since it looked like Sully had his
main guy Franchetta kill Rick.  If David didn't know that my
ex-husband shared a family tie to Danny, it was best not to mention
it now.

"So by that token, if Southerby feared that
Marcos suspected him of luring the FBI into following evidentiary
breadcrumbs, it might explain why he showed up in Darkwater Bay as
well.  From what we know about Danny Datello, there is
absolutely no history of him reaching out to Sully for help."

Johnny drummed his fingers on his
knee.  "Do you remember specifically what cities these deep
throat tips came from, Agent Levine?"

"Sure," he nodded.  "A couple from
Chicago, three from Los Angeles, and maybe half a dozen from
Miami.  We were able to confirm sightings of Southerby in all
three cities, but nobody could or was willing to go on the record
and definitively state he was there.  At the time, and given
that we confirmed that the cell phone belonged to Southerby, it
seemed conclusive enough."

"Then there was never a true confidential
informant arrangement made?" he asked.

David chuckled.  "Like I said, the guy
seemed to fancy himself as a modern day version of deep
throat."  He turned to me.  "You know how these guys are,
Helen.  The bragging, the machismo, they're legendary if only
in their minds."

"Dare I ask how the case against Marcos and
Franchetta is progressing?"

"Legal wrangling," David said. 
"Whatever caused the explosion that revealed the gun that probably
killed Rick was a stroke of luck for the good guys, Helen.  I
doubt all the posturing in the world will stop the coming storm for
poor Sully.  When Homeland Security starts digging, they
simply don't stop, nor are they required to jump through the hoops
we must respect.  On the contrary, all of that flies out the
window when the dreaded terrorism threat is mentioned."

"So if we get close to Datello now, we
shouldn't expect Uncle Sully to send out the cavalry?" Johnny
asked.

"Assets frozen, bail denied, family out here
scrambling to distance themselves as fast as they can, no.  I
wouldn't worry about Marcos pulling a single string at all." 
David paused.  "I need to know if you're certain that this
Jackson drug and militia ring is separate from Datello.  If
there's even a remote chance of a link –"

"There isn't," Johnny said.  "The
Jackson's were homegrown nuts.  Delusional and grandiose, yes,
but they weren't connected beyond a nomadic biker gang that liked
to sell methamphetamine."

"Are you heading back west tonight?  I
thought we could have dinner, catch up a bit, Helen."

"I'm sorry, David.  We really need to
get back," I said.

"What I can give you is a few minutes alone
with Helen," Johnny offered.  "If, that is, you know if the
Asian restaurant has a takeout menu?"

David smiled.  "Excellent choice, and
yes, they do.  You'll wait about twenty minutes unless you're
ordering surf and turf.  I'll have Helen up the dock
shortly."

I stared at my hands and waited until
Johnny's footsteps faded away.  "So, how huge of a lecture am
I in store for now, David?"

"None at all.  I really am sorry that I
didn't see what was going on with you all these years.  I'm
glad Johnny blurted it out tonight, although I suspect you were
just as stunned by his insight as I was."

Sheer force of will strangled my tongue into
a silent knot.

"Helen, whatever made you angry with him,
you should seriously consider forgiveness.  It's clear to me
that he loves you very much."

"Maybe once.  I'm grateful for his
friendship."

"Honey," David reached over and clasped my
hands in his.  "Did you miss the part of the conversation
where he said he would love you for the rest of his life? 
Don't doubt him.  I'll admit, I was dismayed when I saw him
with you tonight, because frankly I was worried that he betrayed
you, going to see Wendell the way he did.  But it's something
that I'm glad someone did for you.  And honestly, there is no
reason under the sun that should prevent you from seeing your
father for yourself.  If I had known all these years how you
really felt, I would've facilitated it years ago."

"What Johnny said, about reconciling what he
did with the person I... I love, I'm not sure I've figured out how
to do that yet."

"I'm pretty sure you've got somebody to help
you figure out how to do that, Helen.  You know, when I found
out you relocated to Darkwater Bay, I was certain that the end of
the world had to be coming.  I thought your career was shot
for sure."

"I remember.  You said Darkwater Bay
was a career ender because nobody survives the corruption out
there."

"Uh-huh.  How Johnny Orion has stayed
off our radar all these years is a mystery."

"Are you implying that he's part of the
problem?"  The hairs on the back of my neck bristled.

"On the contrary, Helen.  I think that
if such a thing as fate truly exists, Darkwater Bay and Johnny
Orion were yours.  You mark my words.  He'll turn that
city around yet.  I would imagine that Datello is running
scared if he's got any inkling at all of what the two of you are
capable of accomplishing together."

Chapter 29

The cream cheese wontons, golden scallion
pancakes, spring rolls, egg fried rice and pad Thai noodles sautéed
to perfection in peanut oil provided a welcome excuse to avoid
conversation on the flight back to Darkwater Bay.  I convinced
myself that the roiling in my stomach was hunger.  The clammy,
trembling hands were the result of low blood sugar maybe, or the
need for more pain medication.  It had been three days since I
had even a sip of wine.  Alcohol withdrawal.  That's what
explained the tremors rippling through me.

Outwardly, I managed my chopsticks like a
pro.  Not one stray grain of rice wobbled away before reaching
my mouth.  I munched the crispy spring rolls and dipped
wontons in sweet plum sauce and pretended that there was no tsunami
whipping my guts to mush.