Cemetery Dance

Chapter 3

D'Agosta entered the security nook of 666 West End Avenue, followed by the spectral figure of Pendergast. The doorman, a plump gentleman from the Dominican Republic named Enrico Mosquea, sat on a metal stool, hammy legs spread. He sported a pencil mustache and a marcel wave. The man sprang to his feet with surprising nimbleness as they came in.

"You find this son bitch," he said passionately. "You find him. Smithback, he was a good man. I tell you—"

D'Agosta gently laid a hand on the man's neat brown uniform. "This is Special Agent Pendergast of the FBI. He's going to help us out."

His eyes took in Pendergast. "Good. Very good."

D'Agosta took a deep breath. He hadn't quite absorbed the ramifications of the document Pendergast showed him. Maybe they were dealing with a twin. Maybe there were two Colin Fearings. New York was a big city, and half the Brits in town seemed to be named Colin. Or maybe the M.E.'s office had made a hideous mistake.

"I know you've already answered a lot of questions, Mr. Mosquea," D'Agosta went on, "but Agent Pendergast has a few more."

"No trouble. I answer questions ten times over, twenty times, if it help get this son bitch."

D'Agosta pulled out a notebook. What he really wanted was for Pendergast to hear what the man had to say. He was a very credible witness.

Pendergast spoke softly. "Mr. Mosquea, describe what you saw. From the beginning."

"This man, Fearing, he arrive when I was putting someone in a cab. I saw him come in. He didn't look too good, like he been in a fight. Face swollen, black eye maybe. Skin a funny color, too pale. He's walking kind of funny, too. Slow."

"When was the last time you saw him — before this?"

"Maybe two weeks. I think he been away."

"Go on."

"So he walk past me and into the elevator. A little later, Ms. Kelly come back to the building. Maybe five minutes pass. Then he is coming back out. Unbelievable. He all covered with blood, holding knife, lurching along like he been hurt." Mosquea paused for a moment. "I try to grab him, but he swing at me with knife, then turn and run. I call police."

Pendergast slid an ivory hand across his chin. "I imagine when you were putting the person in the cab — when he came in — you got a fleeting glimpse of him."

"I get good,

long

look. Not fleeting. Like I said, he was walking slow."

"You said his face was swollen? Could it have been someone else?"

"Fearing live here six years. I open door for that son bitch three, four times a day."

Pendergast paused. "And then, when he came back out, his face was covered with blood, I imagine."

"Not face. No blood on face, or maybe just a little. Blood all over hands, clothes. Knife."

Pendergast was silent for a moment, and then said, "What if I were to tell you that Colin Fearing's body was found in the Harlem River ten days ago?"

Mosquea's eyes narrowed. "Then I say you wrong!"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Mosquea. Identified, autopsied, everything."

The man drew himself up to his full five foot three inches, his voice assuming a grave dignity. "If you don't believe, I ask you: look at the tape. The man on that tape is Colin Fearing." He stopped, giving Pendergast a challenging stare. "I don't care about any body in river. The murderer is Colin Fearing. I know. "

"Thank you, Mr. Mosquea," said Pendergast.

D'Agosta cleared his throat. "If we need to speak to you again, I'll let you know."

The man nodded, keeping a suspicious eye on Pendergast. "The killer is Colin Fearing. You find that son bitch."

They stepped out into the street, the crisp October air refreshing after the sickening confines of the apartment. Pendergast gestured toward a '59 Rolls — Royce Silver Wraith idling at the curb, and D'Agosta could see the stolid outline of Proctor, Pendergast's chauffeur, in the driver's seat. "Care to take a ride uptown?"

"Might as well. It's already half past three, I won't be getting any sleep tonight."

D'Agosta climbed into the leather — fragrant confines, Pendergast slipping in beside him. "Let's have a look at the security tape." The agent pressed a button in the armrest, and an LCD screen swung down from the ceiling.

D'Agosta removed a DVD from his briefcase. "Here's a copy. The original already went down to headquarters."

Pendergast slid it into the drive. A moment later, the lobby of 666 West End sprang into wide — angle view on the screen, the fisheye lens covering the area from the elevator to the front door. A time stamp in the corner ran off the seconds. D'Agosta watched — for perhaps the tenth time — as the doorman went outside with one of the tenants, where he presumably flagged down a cab. As he was outside, a figure came pushing in through the doors. There was something ineffably chilling about the way he walked — strangely shambling, almost rudderless, heavy — footed, with no trace of hurry. He glanced up once at the camera, his eyes glazed, seemingly sightless. He was wearing a bizarre outfit, a gaudy, sequined garment over his shirt, multicolored designs on a field of red, with curlicues, hearts, and rattle — shaped bones. His face was bloated, misshapen.

Pendergast fast — forwarded it until a new person entered the camera's field of view: Nora Kelly, carrying a cake box. She walked to the elevator, disappearing again. Another fast — forward, and then Fearing lurched out of the elevator, suddenly wild. His outfit was now torn and smeared with blood, the right hand clutching a massive, ten — inch scuba knife. The doorman came forward, tried to grab him; Fearing slashed at him instead and shambled through the double doors, disappearing into the night.

"The bastard," D'Agosta said. "I'd like to rip his nuts off and feed them back to him on toast."

He glanced at Pendergast. The agent appeared to be deep in thought.

"You have to admit, the tape is pretty damn clear. You sure the body in the Harlem River was Fearing?"

"His sister identified the corpse. There were a couple of birth — marks, tattoos, that confirmed it. The M.E. who handled the case is reliable, if a bit difficult."

"How'd he die?"

"Suicide."

D'Agosta grunted. "No other family?"

"The mother is non compos mentis, in a nursing home. No one else."

"And the sister?"

"She went back to England after identifying the body." He fell silent, and then D'Agosta heard him murmur, sotto voce: "Curious, very curious."

"What?"

"My dear Vincent, in an already puzzling case, there is one thing about that tape that strikes me as especially baffling. Did you notice what he does when he enters the lobby for the first time, on his way in?"

"Yeah, what?"

"He glances up at the camera."

"He knew it was there. He lived in the building." "Precisely." And the FBI agent lapsed once more into contemplative silence.