First to Die

Chapter 72

I WAS TOTALLY SURPRISED when Cindy appeared at my door at half past eleven. With a look of wide-eyed elation and pride, she blurted, "I know who Kathy Kogut's lover was." "Nicholas Jenks," I replied. "C'mon in, Cindy. Down, Martha." She was tugging at my Giants nightshirt. "Oh, God," she groaned, loudly. "I was so pumped up. I thought I had found it." She had found it. She had beaten McBride and Seattle. Two squads of trained investigators as well as the FBI. I looked at her with genuine admiration. "How?" Too restless to sit, Cindy stalked around my living room as she took me through the steps of her amazing discovery. She unfolded a copy of the news photo showing Jenks and Kathy Kogut at the movie opening. I watched her circle the couch, trying to keep up with herself: Bright Star… Sierra… Crossed Wire… She was hyper. "I'm a good reporter, Lindsay," she said. "I know you are." I smiled at her. "You just can't write about it." Cindy stopped- the sudden realization of what she had overlooked hitting her like a pie in the face. "Oh, God," she moaned. "That's like being in a shower with Brad Pitt, but you can't touch." She looked at me, half smiling, half like nails were being driven into her heart. "Cindy"-- I reached out and held her" you wouldn't have even known to look for him if I hadn't clued you in on Cleveland." I went to the kitchen. "You want some tea?" I called out. She collapsed on the couch and let out another wail. "I want a beer. No, not beer. Bourbon." I pointed to my small bar near the terrace. In a few moments, we sat down. Me with my Nocturnal Seasonings, Cindy with a stiff glass of Wild Turkey, Martha comfortable at our feet. "I'm proud of you, Cindy," I told her. "You did crack the name. You scooped two police forces. When this is over, I'm gonna make sure you get a special mention in the press." "I am the press," Cindy exclaimed, forcing herself to smile. "And what do you mean, "When this is over'? You have him." "Not quite." I shook my head. I explained that everything we had, even stuff she didn't know- the vineyard, the champagne- was circumstantial. We couldn't even force him to submit a hair. "So what do we need to do?" "Tie Nicholas Jenks solidly in to the first crime." Suddenly, she began pleading, "I have to run with it, Lindsay." "No," I insisted. "No one knows. Only Roth and Raleigh. And one more…" "Who?" Cindy blinked. "Jill Bernhardt." "The assistant district attorney? That office is like a colander trying to sail across the Pacific. It's nothing but leaks." "Not Jill," I promised. "She won't leak this." "How can you be so sure?" "Because Jill Bernhardt wants to nail this guy as much as we do," I said with conviction. "That's all?" groaned Cindy. I sipped a soothing mouthful of tea, met her eyes. "And because I invited her into our group."