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Still, he was uneasy.
And then he saw a shadow. Just a faint image of something beyond the veil of snow. His gut clenched and he reached into his pocket, his fingers curling over the butt of his gun, but the image vanished as quickly as it had appeared and he told himself it was nothing.
Right?
Squinting, he decided it was a trick of light.
“Hello? Are you there?” demanded the voice on the other end of the line. “I asked you when you will get back here?”
“Never,” Ryder replied, finally responding.
“What? I can’t hear you. Are you outside? I asked when you were coming back!”
The wind screamed as it raced around the corner of the house and the icy, snow-laden branches of the trees danced, shedding pieces of their white mantles.
“And I said ‘never!’ ” he repeated, a little more loudly. Then added, “Oh, and by the way?”
“Yeah?”
“Go fuck yourself.”
Chapter 28
“The cell phone company should get back to us soon,” Alvarez said as she stood. She and Pescoli were still in Blackwater’s office, getting ready to hit the road again. “Hopefully they’ll have information on Ryder’s position.”
“If his phone isn’t turned off,” Pescoli reminded her.
“My guess is, he’s made some calls, and if he has, we’ll have a place to start,” Alvarez said. “We’ll take the position of the last ping, wherever it comes from, and work from there. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“Maybe,” Pescoli said, not willing to bet on it as she recognized the quick staccato tap of Joelle’s high heels in the hallway. From the sound of it, the receptionist was nearly sprinting and stopped abruptly at Blackwater’s office.
“Sorry,” she said, sticking her head inside, her heart-shaped earrings still swinging in her earlobes. “But I’ve got a news crew here from KMJC. And Nia Del Ray, the reporter, is being very insistent that someone make a statement. To her.” Clutching the doorframe in one hand, Joelle let her gaze skate over the detectives to land on Blackwater. “Apparently someone over at the station heard that you already talked to the Mountain Reporter, and now she wants equal time. At least, I think that’s how she put it. Any way around it, she’s in the reception area and not budging.”
“You talked to Manny Douglas?” Pescoli asked her boss. She had no use for the wormy little reporter for the local newspaper. The guy was always crawling around, poking his pointy nose in where it didn’t belong, getting himself and the department into trouble.
“I did. It was a good move.” Blackwater was making no apologies. “The public might be able to help us locate Anne-Marie Calderone, and now, the others involved in the case. We can use the press to our advantage.”
“Or your advantage,” Pescoli said, and caught a warning glare from Alvarez.
Blackwater said softly, “My decision.” He looked to Joelle, still waiting in the doorway. “Tell her to hold tight. I’ll talk to the public information officer, and we’ll organize a press conference later today.”
“Today?” Pescoli repeated. “You’re not going out with what we’ve got, are you?” She was horrified
. “We have to hold all this close, or we could spook Calderone and Ryder, maybe compromise the case.”
“I said, ‘later.’ ” He was firm.
Pescoli said, “This is a bad idea.”
“Maybe, but mine.” Even seated at his desk while she was standing, Blackwater still held the upper hand, was still in command. “Just wrap it up, Detective.”
So there it was. Obviously, he couldn’t give up another shot at the spotlight.
Joelle clarified. “You want me to ask Nia Del Ray to wait for the press conference?”
“She can damn well cool her jets,” Pescoli said.
But Blackwater held up a hand to silence her. “I’ll speak to Ms. Del Ray,” he said to Joelle. “Give me five minutes, then send her in.”
