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“Nah, he’s dumped the Camaro.”
She desperately wanted him to leave, but Jeter took another sip of his tea, sat back. He said, “It seems to me Eliot Ness has more guts than brains. Did I tell you he dropped his cell phone at Oliveras’s property last night? I hope he has enough sense not to go back for it.”
Does he know? How? He can’t know.“Yeah, that would be dangerous. But what if Eliot Ness did manage to get the cell phone? If what he says is true, the recordings on it could help convict Oliveras and Ryman of murder and conspiracy. We’d all love to see that.” Please leave, Jeter, come on, you’ve got places to go, right? Visit Aldo’s mama, maybe?
“I’d like to tell Eliot Ness he needs to stop all this before he gets himself killed. I think he’s done enough, don’t you?”
“Sure. Right. He’s given us a lot.”
“Actually, I came here to tell you something else, something big.” He rubbed his big hands together.
“Come on, then, Jeter, you look like you’re bursting at your seams. Tell me.”
“Even with everything that’s gone down in the last twelve hours, I had to smile. You won’t believe what Hailstock’s done.”
Whatever Kirra wondered Jeter would say, that wasn’t even close. She stared at him. “Hailstock? I’m expecting the worst, but I see you’re grinning so it must be good. Lay it on me.”
“Your boss, Alec Speers, said Hailstock swaggered into the Homicide Unit and announced to everyone present he’d contacted the Commonwealth of Virginia’s attorney general, Susan Standish. Of course she’d heard all about Eliot Ness and Grissom. Hailstock asked if she would like to take over the Grissom case directly because he, Hailstock, doesn’t have the staff to handle such a complicated case. That’s right. He threw your unit under the bus. The attorney general agreed, probably jumped at the chance for a shot at the lead in such a high-profile case and all that media coverage. So the prosecution is out of our hands, but the best thing about it is that it’s now out of Hailstock’s hands as well. Then Alec said Hailstock raised his fist in victory, expecting applause, and so Alec gave everyone the stink eye until hands were clapping.”
Kirra said slowly, “I’ve got to admit Hailstock’s surprised me. That was well played, very well played indeed. Now Hailstock’s off the hook, tickled he’s saved his office and Porte Franklyn’s courts the cost of a complicated trial, and hoping the voters thank him for it. From what I’ve heard, Susan Standish and the commonwealth attorney general’s office is good. I bet they’ll cheer when they realize they won’t have to work their butts off for a conviction. Nope, they’ve got a slam dunk.” She shook her head, sighed. “Like you said, Hailstock threw the Homicide Unit under the bus, made us sound like a bunch of incompetent boobs, and that isn’t so, but I’m philosophical. Standish will get the max sentence for Grissom and I know he’ll die in prison.” Another sigh. “Still I’ve got to admit, Jeter, I’d have loved to be second chair to Alec at Grissom’s trial, it would have made my year. On the bright side, Hailstock won’t have any further involvement with what happens to Grissom.”
Jeter said, “I hope the bastard lives for decades.”
Kirra said, “I hope, too, Standish can find the necessary proof to tie him to Hildy Atwood’s and Josh Atwood’s murders and make it part of their case. I’d sure like to see the Atwoods get some justice.”
Jeter looked at his watch. “Gotta go. I want to oversee the search for Aldo Springer. Hey, when we get him and he rolls over on Oliveras, you might get to prosecute him.”
“Or maybe Hailstock will ship it off to Standish and she’ll be having dreams of being elected governor.” Kirra thought of her parents, of her father’s painting that put Grissom junior and senior in her sights. They’d prosecute Grissom, and maybe Aldo Springer would give up Oliveras and they’d get a guilty verdict on him, too. But it wasn’t enough. There was Ryman, and they had nothing on him except a garbled recording. It wasn’t time yet for Elliot Ness to stop.
Jeter gave her a long look, laid his hand on her shoulder. “You be careful, Kirra, you hear me?”
She patted his arm. “Of course. I’m always careful.”
Jeter said, “I’m having dinner with Pepper Jersik tonight.”
“What? Dinner with a federal prosecutor?”
He nodded. “I’m driving to Alexandria to her place. She lives with her son, Grant. She’s making Cajun, jambalaya, her mother’s recipe, she told me. Hey, I just might fall in love.”
“You’re moving fast here, Jeter. Hey, you want my advice on how to deal with a teenage boy?” Why won’t he just leave?
“Nah, got that wired. You know I’ve got half a dozen nephews, all of them hell-raisers. Even if Grant is taller than me, I’m more wily.”
“Good luck. You’ve got lots of good miles in you yet. You look good, Jeter, you’re still at your fighting weight, you’ve got a flat stomach, and you’re useful. Go for it.” She saluted him with her empty tea can.
All the while Jeter talked, he was watching her. She had the cell phone. She wanted him gone.
The instant Jeter left, Kirra leaned against the front door and closed her eyes. Did Jeter suspect? No, he couldn’t know, he couldn’t.
Kirra walked into her bedroom, her eyes going to her father’s painting above her bed. “Thank you for the painting, Dad. Even though I haven’t yet got the proof Grissom had you and Mom killed, he’s still going to jail forever. Now fingers crossed I can find something more on my cell phone before I ship it off to Agent Savich for his FBI techs to work their magic.”
She prayed hard as she punched up the video again, but there was still nothing, nothing at all. Even the FBI techs wouldn’t find anything when there was nothing at all.
