Most Wanted

27

WHEN IT CAME TO ANTICIPATING WHERE SLICE would strike next, Amanda Benson was the obvious choice. The only choice, in fact. Anybody else they could think of who he might go after was already dead. Except Melanie, of course, but she tried not to think about that.

Dan dropped Melanie at the hospital entrance and went to park the car. Riding up in the elevator, she realized she’d been here just about this time yesterday. Seemed like light-years ago.

Amanda’s hospital room was situated approximately halfway down a long hallway. As Melanie turned the corner, it popped into view, its door unattended, gaping open. No crew-cut cop, no private guard, no Randall. Wasn’t he supposed to be here checking on Amanda? Astonished, Melanie broke into a run, terrified she’d find yet another dead body. But when she reached the door, she saw Amanda lying in bed, alone and unharmed, sleeping peacefully as a soap opera played with no volume on the television set affixed to the wall.

The open door, the missing guard, the vulnerable, sleeping girl. Melanie’s scalp prickled with fear, and she turned uneasily to look over her shoulder. Was somebody else using Amanda as bait to lure Slice? Or was she-Melanie-the target? Because this sure felt like a trap, and here she was, standing inside it, right in the bull’s-eye. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Dan’s pager with trembling fingers, putting in all sevens. Let him come as fast as he possibly could. She had a bad feeling about this. She found a buzzer attached by a cord to Amanda’s hospital bed and pressed it repeatedly, hoping she’d attract somebody’s attention. She needed reinforcements. A nurse, an orderly-anybody who would improve the odds and make an attack less likely.

The buzzing noise roused Amanda. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes bleary and bloodshot, but a startling green against her pale waif’s face. When she saw Melanie, she floundered against her pillow, struggling to sit up.

“Are you the nurse?” she asked, sounding disoriented, even frightened.

“No, I’m a prosecutor. Melanie Vargas. I’m working with the police to catch the people who hurt you. How are you, Amanda? I’ve been worried about you.” She kept her voice calm so she wouldn’t alarm the girl further.

Amanda’s eyes darted around the room anxiously. “Where’s my mom?” she asked.

“Nobody was here when I came in a minute ago. Let me help you with the bed,” Melanie said. She played with the electronic controls on the side panel and raised Amanda to a sitting position.

“Thanks,” Amanda said thickly. “Painkillers. You know, I’m so…uncoordinated.” She gestured vaguely with her unbandaged left hand.

“What happened to your bodyguard?” Melanie asked.

“That guy? I don’t know. He was skeevy, though. I’m glad he’s gone.”

“It worries me that you’re left unattended like this, Amanda.”

Amanda looked confused. “Do you have a cigarette?” she asked.

“A cigarette? No, sorry.”

“It might help me, like, wake up. Clear my head.”

“I honestly don’t have one. I don’t smoke.”

“Oh.”

“So your mother was supposed to be here, but she left?” Melanie asked.

“I guess so.” Amanda shrugged feebly, but she was obviously upset.

“I’m sure she never would have left unless something really important came up. She was so protective of you when I was here yesterday.”

Melanie looked toward the door again. She was beginning to wonder why Dan was taking so long, and why the hospital staff hadn’t responded to her buzzing.

“My mom tried to protect me?” Amanda asked, eyes wide and vulnerable. She was still just a kid, a kid going through a terrible ordeal.

“Oh, yes. She wouldn’t even let me near you to talk about…about what happened.” Melanie glanced involuntarily at Amanda’s right hand, swathed in bandages.

“Oh, you mean when she wouldn’t let you interview me and stuff?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, I heard that. I was kind of, like, half asleep.”

“I apologize for being so aggressive with your mother.”

Amanda flushed, shaking her head bitterly. “Don’t apologize to me about her,” she said with sudden vehemence. “My mom’s a total witch. I hate her guts.”

“Oh, don’t say that, Amanda. I know you’re upset, but I’m sure she had a very good reason for leaving.”

“It’s not about that. You have no idea. She doesn’t care about me at all. First she ships me off to the loony bin to get rid of me, then she abandons me here when I’m, like, in majorly bad shape.” Amanda’s voice cracked. Tears welled up in her eyes and brimmed over. Melanie handed her a tissue from the box on the nightstand. Amanda mopped at her tears, but they kept coming and coming, rolling swiftly down her cheeks. This poor girl was a mess. Who could blame her?

“I’m sure your mother loves you very much, sweetie,” Melanie said gently.

“No, she doesn’t!” Amanda insisted, breaking into sobs. “You’re not listening. Only my dad loved me, and now he’s dead. I’ll never see him again. Do you have a fucking clue what that’s like?”

“Yes,” Melanie said, hearing echoes of another time. “Yes, I do.” “The bullet is lodged in the right frontal lobe,” she heard the doctor tell her mother. “If we try to operate, we risk destroying sensitive speech centers.” “Will he ever walk again?” “The paralysis on the left side may resolve with time. But I have to be frank, Mrs. Vargas. It could take years.”

Melanie moved closer and began to stroke Amanda’s shoulder. “I hate my mom,” Amanda choked out. “She had my dad killed, I know it!”

“Amanda, you’re distraught, and you’re on painkillers. You don’t know what you’re saying. Gang members killed your father. It had nothing to do with your mother.”

“You’re wrong. Why do you think she won’t let you talk to me? It has nothing to do with protecting me. She’s afraid I’ll blab.”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Get away from her!”

Melanie spun around. A large man in a rumpled suit loomed in the doorway. She hadn’t heard him come in, so intent was she on Amanda’s words. He advanced toward her, his features contorted with fury, tiny red veins popping out on his nose and cheeks. The smell of alcohol rolled off him in waves, filling the room.

“I’m from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This is official business. Who are you?”

“I’m her bodyguard, and I don’t give a shit if you’re the queen of England, lady. Nobody talks to her without my permission. Now, get outta here!” He closed the gap between them and grabbed Melanie’s arm. Amanda cowered in her bed.

“Get your hands off me, or I’ll have you arrested for interfering with a federal officer!” Melanie shouted, trying to twist out of his grasp. His fingers closed tight as a vise, pulling her toward the door.

“Yeah, just try it and see how far you get. I got friends in high places.”

“Get your hands off her, Flanagan!” Dan yelled, charging into the room.

“Fuck off, O’Reilly. This is my gig.”

“I said let her go!” Dan lunged for him and shoved him hard, pinning him against the wall next to Amanda’s bed. Melanie leaped out of the way, rubbing her throbbing arm. The two men were about the same size, but Dan was much stronger. As Flanagan struggled, Dan slammed him back against the wall.

“Touch her again and I’ll fucking kill you,” Dan said, his voice shaking, holding Flanagan immobile until he stopped thrashing and went limp in Dan’s grasp.

“All right! Jesus Christ, I wasn’t gonna hurt her or nothing. I asked her to leave, and she wouldn’t listen. Let me go already-I won’t touch her.” After a second, Dan released him and backed away, saying nothing, breathing hard.

Flanagan brushed off his jacket angrily. “You’re lucky I didn’t go for my gun,” he said.

“You carry? That just shows how fucked up our system is,” Dan said.

Flanagan jerked his head toward Melanie. “What is she, your girlfriend? Nice tits, but she’s a snotty little bitch.”

Dan made a move toward Flanagan, but Melanie grabbed his arm. “It’s okay,” she told him. “It doesn’t matter.”

“You’re right. Who cares what this scumbag says? He was a disgrace to the badge until they booted him, and now he’s hanging around like some disease,” Dan said.

“A self-righteous prick just like your old man, Danny Boy,” Flanagan spat.

“Please, enough already!” Melanie said. “Let’s start over, okay? Let’s just pretend this never happened so we can get something accomplished here. Mr. Flanagan, is it? Melanie Vargas, U.S. Attorney’s Office. So now that you know who I am, I’m sure you won’t object if I speak with Miss Benson.”

“Fucking right, I object! I work for Nell Benson, and she told me nobody talks to her daughter without going through her first. That’s why I was hired.”

“Really? I thought you were hired to protect Amanda from her father’s killers, not to obstruct a federal investigation,” Melanie said.

“Show me a subpoena, lady. Then we can do business.”

That stopped Melanie cold. She hadn’t planned to come here, so she hadn’t brought a subpoena with her. There was no way she could force Flanagan to let her speak to Amanda without one. As an ex-cop, he knew that.

“I hoped we could resolve this without resorting to a subpoena,” she said coolly.

“Talk to my boss. If she says it’s okay, it’s fine by me.”

“Where is she?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“She left her daughter all alone here, without giving you so much as a phone number?” Melanie didn’t believe him for a minute. He could get in touch with Nell if he wanted to.

“What am I, Child Welfare? She hired me to sit here, I sit here. I don’t question how she treats her kid.”

“Amanda, how can I reach your mother?” Melanie asked, turning to the girl.

“Don’t answer that!” Flanagan shouted, flushing an even deeper shade of crimson. He turned to Melanie. “You don’t listen too good. I said nobody talks to her. Now get out, the botha youse. You got no subpoena, you got no right to be here, and I’m instructing you to leave. You don’t listen, I’m going straight to Mrs. Benson. Then, I can promise you, you won’t get within a hundred miles of this girl ever again.”

“Mr. Flanagan, please,” Melanie said, “can’t we work this out? I understand you’re trying to do your job and follow Mrs. Benson’s wishes. If we could just get in touch with Mrs. Benson and-”

“Mrs. Benson doesn’t want to get in touch. Mrs. Benson just wants you to stop harassing her daughter and get your snotty little ass out of here.”

“I’ll get a subpoena and be back here in an hour. Let’s see how happy Nell Benson is with you then.”

“Fine!” Flanagan said.

“Fine!” Melanie shot back. Then, having painted herself into a corner, she had no choice but to march defiantly out of the room, leaving Dan to follow.

“YOU’RE SOME HELLCAT!” DAN SAID, SMILING, as he caught up with her. “I’m very impressed.”

“Oh, come on, I completely screwed that up. I lost my temper when I should’ve just swallowed my pride and backed down, so we could get what we needed.”

“And let that drunken bum Bill Flanagan walk all over you? I wouldn’t stand for it.”

“You know him?”

“My dad was the lieutenant who took away his gun.”

“No kidding, your father’s a cop?”

“He was. He’s retired now. I’m from cops on both sides. My father and grandfather were on the job, a bunch of uncles on my mother’s side, some cousins. Everyone else is a rubberman.”

“Rubberman?”

“Fireman. Firefighter I guess is what you say now.”

“Wow. You must have felt so solid growing up with all that behind you,” Melanie said wistfully. How cozy, to come from a nice middle-class background, and just stay there. Unlike Melanie, who’d come up so far in the world that she didn’t fit in her own life.

“I guess. I liked that I could walk into any precinct in the city as a kid and find somebody to buy me a Coke anyway.”

“Speaking of, I could sure use one right about now. Do you have a dollar? Because I only have a twenty,” Melanie said as they walked past the soda machine.

Dan dug into the pocket of his khaki pants, pulling out two crumpled dollar bills. He smoothed them between his fingers and handed them to her.

“Here. Get me one, too, wouldja?” he said.

“Is this all the money you have?”

He grinned sheepishly. “At the moment, but I get paid Friday.”

“It’s only Wednesday.”

“Yeah, but you’re thirsty now.”

She shook her head and gave the bills back to him. He walked right over and fed them into the soda machine. “Regular or diet?” he asked, looking over his shoulder.

“Diet.”

Two sodas plunked out. Dan came back and pressed an ice-cold can into her hand.

“You shouldn’t walk around this town with no money in your pocket, you know,” she said.

“What do I need money for? I got a gun.”

She smiled, popping the top and taking a sip, aware that he was watching her.

“I’ll never be a rich man, but whatever I have is yours, sweetheart,” he said.

“What is that, a marriage proposal?”

“Is it too soon?” he asked with an easy smile, looking down into her eyes.

“No, it’s too late.” She waved her left hand at him. She’d forgotten she wasn’t wearing her rings. The empty space on her finger was conspicuous because of the tan line.

“Huh,” she said involuntarily.

Dan stared at her hand and then back at her face. He looked like he’d just been shot through with a jolt of electricity.

“Did you…?” he began.

“Guess I was in a rush this morning,” she said quickly.

“Oh.” He nodded slowly, not even trying to hide his disappointment. He was standing close enough that she felt the heat of his skin, but he didn’t move away. She noticed that her knees were trembling. She sighed and went to sit in one of the orange plastic chairs next to the soda machine. He followed and sat down beside her.

“I’m sorry. Am I out of line?” he asked.

“No, whatever, we’re just joking around. But let’s talk about work, okay?”

“Okay.”

They both sipped their sodas for a moment.

“Where do you think Randall went?” she asked after a pause.

“Good question. He was supposed to be here, wasn’t he? I’ll beep him.” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed but got no immediate response. “Sometimes it takes him a while to answer a page.”

“I can’t believe I got us kicked out of there,” she said, shaking her head.

“It wasn’t your fault. I know that guy from way back, and he’s a total prick. Plus, it sounds like Nell Benson told him to keep us away.”

“Oh, yeah, that reminds me. You know what Amanda told me before Flanagan showed up?”

“What?”

“She thinks her mother had her father killed.”

“What, for cheating on her?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Melanie said. Not like she hadn’t thought about it herself with Steve.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t add up with gangbangers whacking Benson. How many socialites you know could contract a hit with the Blades?”

“True. Good point.”

“Hey, speaking of Benson cheating, you ever watch the video you pinched from that girl’s house?” he asked.

“I wouldn’t dream of doing that without you.”

“You got the wrong guy, sweetheart. It’s Randall who likes dirty movies. The brothers trained me good. They used to smack the shit out of us with a ruler if they caught us looking out the windows at girls.”

“Oh, so Catholic school turned you off sex?”

“No, not at all. Sex is the greatest thing in life. But only when there’s true love.”

He looked at her intently, and this time she looked back, trying to figure out if he was for real. She was half falling for him and half convinced he was manipulating her.

“You’re full of shit,” she said finally.

“Am not. I’m serious.”

“You expect me to believe you never slept with a woman you weren’t in love with?”

“No, I’m not saying that. I mean, I’m human. But if I did, I felt really bad about it.”

“Can we get back to talking about work, please? I can’t even remember where we were, the way you’re distracting me.”

“You were saying Amanda says Mrs. Benson had her husband whacked.”

“Right. I’m thinking we should take a closer look at our victim,” she said.

“Yeah, in all our spare time. Look, so the guy wasn’t a saint. It’s an angle, but your other idea was better. Setting up on her room, I mean.”

“We’re still doing that. Flanagan can kick us out of a private room, but he can’t keep us out of the public hallways.”

“Okay, so I’ll go scout a nice observation post. Someplace I can see Amanda’s door without being seen.”

“And I’ll go back to my office and get a subpoena so Flanagan has to let us talk to her.”

“Sounds like a plan. Who knows, maybe our man Slice makes an appearance while you’re gone, and I wrap the whole thing up before you even make it back here.”

“That would be nice. Although I’d hate to miss the fireworks.”