Second Chance

Chapter 99

WE HAD A LINE on one of Coombs's prison cronies who had fled to Redwood City. I was waiting for a call back.

All morning, I had pushed the murder case forward while in the back of my mind I replayed the devastating scene with my father. Was I right to judge him for things that had happened twenty years before? More important, what was my father's involvement with Chimera?

I was finishing a sandwich at my desk when Karen stuck her head in. “Call on line one, Lieutenant.”

“Redwood City?” I asked as I reached for the phone.

Karen shook her head. “This person said you would know him. Said he was an old friend of your father's.”

My body stiffened. “Put it on four,” I said. Four was the common line shared by the office. “Start a trace, Karen. Now.”

I jumped out of my chair, urgently signaling to Jacobi in the outer room. I held up four fingers, pointing to the phone.

In seconds, the office exploded into a state of alert. Everybody knew this had to be Chimera.

We needed ninety seconds to get a solid read on the trace.

Sixty to narrow it down to a sector of town. If he was even calling from town. Lorraine, Morelli, and Chin all ran in, their faces tight with anticipation.

I picked up the phone. In the squad room, Jacobi picked up as well. “Boxer,” I said.... Anything to keep him on the goddamn line.

I looked at my watch; thirty-five seconds had gone by.

“Where are you, Coombs?”

"Always the departmental small talk, huh, Lieutenant?

I'm starting to lose some respect for you. You're supposed to be a smart chick. Make your Marty-boy proud. So tell me, how come all these people are dead and you still don't have it figured right?"

I could feel him sneering at me. God, I hated this man.

“What is it, Coombs? What haven't I figured out?”

“I heard your daddy ran out on you about the time I went to jail,” he said.

I knew what he was building up to tell me. Still, I had to keep him on the line. In the outer room, Jacobi was listening, but he was also watching me.

Coombs snickered. “You probably thought that the old man was jacking off some barmaid. Or that he left some bad markers out on the street.” Coombs put on a voice of mock sympathy. “God, it must've been tough when he took off and your mom died.”

“I'm going to enjoy nailing you, Coombs. I'll be there when they start the drip at San Quentin.”

“Too bad you won't have the chance, sweetheart. But I wanted to tell you something important. Listen. Your old man did leave markers. To me... I own them... I took the fall. For him. For the whole police department. I own them all. I did the time. But guess what, little Lindsay? I wasn't alone.”

Every fiber in my body tightened. My chest nearly exploded with rage. I glanced at Jacobi. He nodded to me as if to say, a Few more beats... Keep him on.

“You want me, Coombs? I saw the photo in your room. I know what you want. I'll meet you anywhere... ”

“You want the killer so bad, it's almost touching. But sorry, I have to pass on your offer. I've got one more date.”

“Coombs,” I said, glancing at the clock, “you want me, let's go at it. Can you beat a woman, Frank? I don't think you can.”

“Sorry, Lieutenant. Thanks for the fun talk. But it seems like, everything that happens, you're just a tad too late. I still don't think broads belong in the department. Just an opinion.”

I heard a click.

I ran out into the squad room. Cappy had a line going with Dispatch. I was desperately hoping Coombs hadn't used a cell phone. Cells were the hardest to trace. One -more date... I didn't know what the hell Coombs was threatening. What was next? What?

“He's still in the city,” Cappy shouted to me. He reached for a pen. “He's in a phone booth. They're trying to narrow it down.”

The detective started to write, then he looked up. His face was screwed in disbelief. “He's in a booth... at the corner of Ninth and Bryant.”

All of our eyes met, and then everybody in the room was moving.

Coombs was calling from a block away.