Hell Gate

FORTY

“You want to come up?” I asked Mike. “I can order in a Peking duck from Shun Lee.”

We were parked in the driveway in front of my apartment. It was almost nine P.M.

“No, thanks. I overdosed on junk food. And you need to get some rest.”

“You going home?”

“Making a stop first.”

He had blown up his date with Fanny Levit last night to hang out with me at Vickee and Mercer’s. I had it in my head that he would stop by her place tonight. It was none of my business and I tried to push my curiosity out of mind.

“You have any thoughts on how Jane Doe got her hands on such expensive makeup?” I asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine. Who knows what the snakeheads did to lure those girls to make this trip? Ask Olena when you see her on Monday.”

“I will, but she didn’t seem to have anything more than the shirt on her back.”

“I’ll talk to the guys who searched the ship. Find out what was left on board. Maybe the baggie was in Jane Doe’s pocket when she washed up.”

“I’ll give you that one. She had on a sweat jacket, right?”

“Yeah,” Mike said.

“Now, how did it get from the beach to the front doorstep of City Hall?”

We were both stumped by that one. Mike started ticking off the names of people who’d been at both the beach and the mayor’s office.

“The mayor choppered in after we left, and both his bodyguards-Rowdy Kitts and Dan Harkin-were there. Commissioner Scully. Donovan Baynes and most of the JTTF crew. You and Mercer and me. And Lord knows how many cops and rescue workers who’ve been in contact with Ethan Leighton and Kendall Reid. Lots of people coming and going from City Hall.”

“I feel bad making Patty and the DNA techs go through so many hoops for us,” I said. “Could be an innocent explanation.”

“Like somebody picked up some flotsam and jetsam at the scene of the wreck, and didn’t think it was connected to the case? Just tossed it out in a ditch at City Hall?”

I smiled at Mike. “You’ve been looking for the cross-dresser in this case from day one. Maybe that’s all it was-debris on the beach, so far as anyone knew. Somebody grabbed it and forgot to throw it away. Whoever had it in his pocket didn’t want to be embarrassed getting caught with makeup going through the metal detector.”

“Good for you, Coop. At least you’re not seeing the bogeyman everywhere. Maybe we just wasted the last few hours. Show me Donny Baynes in lingerie and makeup and I’ll be satisfied.”

“All worth the time just to meet Patty,” I said. “Maybe the puzzles will unravel in my dreams.”

“Do me a favor?” Mike asked as I opened the car door.

“Sure.”

“Double down on that Dewar’s tonight. I want you to sleep like a baby.”

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Thanks for pushing them on that touch DNA rush,” Mike said.

“Sure.”

We had dropped the plastic bag off at the lab on our way here, causing no small annoyance to the terrifically overworked staff.

“You got plans or you staying home tomorrow?”

“The Sunday morning newspaper, a pile of bills, Christmas correspondence that stacked up while I was away, and a long afternoon nap. I promise not to cause any trouble.”

One of the doormen came to help me out of the car and escort me inside.

I went upstairs and let myself into the apartment. The quiet of my own space was comforting after the day’s unexpected encounters.

I undressed and pulled back the comforter just far enough for me to slide into bed. I didn’t even feel like a drink. I pressed the button and listened to messages from friends. Joan and Jim had flown in from D.C. and tried to find me for dinner, and the office team was eager for updates. My parents were urging me to join them for a warm weekend in the Caribbean sun later in the month, and I hoped they were blissfully unaware, at that very long distance, of the turmoil that had enveloped my professional life.

Luc’s voice was warm and loving. I put my head on the pillow and replayed his message several times. His day had started at dawn, at the market in Cannes; then he took his kids to the museum in St. Paul de Vence for the afternoon; and described in detail the feast he enjoyed with two other couples I knew at his restaurant in Mougins. A little too much champagne, it sounded, infused his words with a slight slurring of affection, but it was a calming way to end the evening.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d turned my lights out this early.

Sleep washed over me and I gave in to it without resistance.

The phone rang shortly before four A.M. I sat up, pleased I hadn’t anesthetized myself with alcohol.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Alex.” There was no mistaking Mercer’s voice. “I’m just through the tunnel on my way uptown. I think you might want to tag-team me.”

“On what?”

“The Three-three just broke up what they thought was a domestic. Not quite the usual thing. A guy in a Jaguar arguing with a woman.”

“A Jag in the Three-three? The jerk might as well have lit himself up in neon.”

“It gets better. She’s standing out on the sidewalk screaming bloody murder but took off on a fast trot when the cops appeared. She left something behind in the car that might interest you.”

“I’m all ears, Mercer.”

“A perfectly healthy little girl, around nineteen months old. She’s got a gold locket around her neck, engraved with the name Ana.”

I was out of bed, reaching for my clothes. “They get the driver, or did he run too?”

“He’s sitting in the station house, waiting for you. It’s your friend Ethan Leighton.”