Page 22 of Two Kinds of Stranger

With my cheek and my heart burning, I reversed out of the driveway and headed back to the city.

I called Bloch on my cell phone.

‘I need you to look into someone for me. Guy named Arthur Cross.’

‘Who is he?’

‘He lost a lot of money in an inheritance dispute. Looks like he shacked up with a little old lady who mysteriously fell to her death leaving him everything in her will. Turns out the will was no good and the family took the money. He’s stalking the lawyer who acted against him.’

‘Who’s the lawyer?’

‘It’s Kevin Pollock.’

‘Christine’s Kevin?’

‘The same. This guy Cross even made an appearance at Amy’s school this morning.’

There was silence on the other end of the line. I guessed Bloch was getting her anger under control.

‘Any explicit threats?’

‘A veiled threat in a letter left at the house. Kevin has got himself a revolver for personal protection. This guy Cross has a record. Did some time with a guy named Bruno Mont. There’s a suspicion Cross paid Mont to kill the old lady while Cross had an alibi. He’s a real piece of work, this guy.’

‘I’ll look into Cross.’

‘I wonder if you paid him a visit, if it might help cool things off. Stalkers work well when their targets are isolated. It would be good to let this guy know there are people looking after the family. Take Gabriel Lake with you. Justmake sureLake doesn’t shoot him.’

‘I’ll try. Kate’s looking for you, by the way.’

‘I’ll call her later. Thanks, Bloch.’

She hung up. I called Gabriel Lake. Ex-FBI Behavioral Analyst. Works with me and Bloch from time to time. When he’s not working cases for me, he catches serial killers.

He answered the call, and I filled him in on Arthur Cross. Told him Bloch would want him to ride along for a visit with Mr. Cross.

‘It’s just a hello,’ I said. ‘I want him to understand that Kevin has powerful friends, and he should back off. You’re an extra body. And you’re there tomake sureBloch doesn’t break any of his bones.’

There was a pause on the other end of the line. I heard rustling. Lake was one of those guys who was always fidgeting–especially when he was thinking. And he just happened to be someone who was almost constantly living inside his own head. So he made a lot of noise. Like a motorcycle idling.

‘I’ll try to keep Bloch from damaging him. Just out of interest, when you spoke to Bloch, did you tellherto make sureIdidn’t shoot the guy.’

‘I might have said something along those lines.’

Lake was just as smart as Bloch, but, where her mind didn’t fully comprehend the remits of human action and emotion, Lake was all about psychology.

‘I figured,’ he said. ‘I’ll keep Bloch on a leash. And I won’t shoot him. Happy?’

‘Ecstatic. Seriously, thank you. I owe you and Bloch.’

‘It’s fine. Kate is looking for you.’

I flicked a finger across the phone screen. I had two missed calls from Kate. Two from our office secretary, Denise.

‘I’ll call her. Any idea what it’s about?’

‘Nope, I’ll let you know how it goes with Cross.’

He hung up. I tried Kate’s cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail. That either meant she was in court, or she was somewhere with no reception. I called the office instead and Denise picked up.