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Lynch was correct. They only had to wait another fifteen minutes before they saw Carmack and Sara leave the building, get in the FBI van, and drive out of the parking lot.
“Mission accomplished.” Lynch turned to gaze at Kendra as she was driving out of the parking lot. “Okay, you found a pair of goggles. Is there something special about them?”
“Wait until we get to that park a few blocks up the road. I don’t want to be anywhere near Rollins and his officers. I still think they’d probably lock me up if they got the chance.”
“I promise I’d break you out.”
“Shut up. It’s not funny. That’s why I had to turn all of this over to Griffin and the FBI. I decided Rollins would be more difficult to deal with than Griffin. I thought Griffin would be bad enough. He’s eager to make this entire crime go away or at least delay any investigation until the media goes on to another story. I wanted to be able to prove that he can’t ethically do it before I let him have anything that he could stuff in file thirteen and forget.”
“Now you see why I couldn’t stay in the FBI,” Lynch said. “It can be extremely political.”
“When I ran into Rollins, I realized that he was cut from the same cloth as Griffin, but he’d be even worse to deal with. He definitely would have used any excuse not to let anyone in the world know that the story about Barrett’s suicide might not be totally true if it damaged his own political career. Griffin has at least a modicum of integrity where his job is concerned. If he were shown that his agents had been deliberately targeted, he’d go after the person who did it.”
“He definitely would,” Lynch said. “Whatever Griffin’s failings may be, there’s no denying that.”
Kendra pulled over to the side of the road. She turned off the car, reached into her jacket pocket, and pulled out her notebook. She rapidly made a sketch of the goggles. “This is what was tucked into Barrett’s pillow. They’re swim goggles. And after examining them I think the lenses might be prescription. At first, I wasn’t sure what they were or why he’d have them. But the styling of those rubber frames and those lenses…They look like high-performance swim goggles.”
He nodded. “The FBI lab will pull any DNA present on them. And they’ll also ID the company that made them.”
“That’s what I’m hoping. If those are prescription lenses, the manufacturer probably custom-made them. The company should be able to give us the name of the purchaser.”
“And then we contact the owner?”
“We can try.” She bit her lip. “I don’t know if the owner is still alive. It might be a souvenir of one of Barrett’s kills. But I don’t know how the goggles could have gotten into that cell. Barrett would have been searched thoroughly before being incarcerated and he had no visitors. It goes without saying that he couldn’t have made the kill after he was jailed.” She paused. “But I’m still leaning toward the idea that it was a souvenir.”
“Why?”
“The way he treated them.” She was still looking down at the sketch of the goggles. “His scent was on them.” She swallowed hard. “I couldsmellhim.”
“What?”
“I could smell him on that tiny feather I saw in the corner that led me to the pillow, but I wasn’t certain what it was. But after I had the goggles in my hands it was much more clear. He didn’t just keep them tucked away in that pillow. He took them out, he fondled them, he rubbed his thumbs and fingers over them in a kind of caress. He transferred his body oils when he did that.” Her voice was uneven. “It was as if he were in that cell with me today. He liked what he did to that victim. He wanted to always keep the memory. I could almost see him lying there and reaching into the pillow to bring out those goggles so the victim would have to be close to him again.” She took a deep breath. “We can check, but, as I said, I’m not sure what they’ll find.”
He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “Neither am I, but we’ll find out together.”
“No, we won’t. We’ll have to sit and wait and hope that Griffin will keep on those agents who are doing the work. It’s going to frustrate the hell out of me.”
He nodded. “I can see that. And you’ll probably be calling those agents and doing a little prodding yourself.”
She smiled reluctantly. “I might. I figure that since Griffin knows I’ll probably be harassing him until I get answers, he’ll put a rush on it. That means I might have what I need by late this afternoon or early evening.”
“And if you don’t, heaven help them. But no doubt the prodding will continue.”
“I have to know why those goggles were in Barrett’s cell. The rules concerning Barrett were very strict because of his background. Anything connected to him either would be evidence or could lead to another victim.”
“Which means that the answer was yes.”
She nodded. “But maybe it won’t be necessary.” She changed the subject. “I might not have had a chance to search thoroughly and find that damn thing if you hadn’t been able to distract Kopt and keep him from hovering over me and getting in my way. I meant what I said back there to Kopt. I’d almost forgotten how helpful you could be. I won’t do it again.”
“You hadn’t forgotten, you just blocked it out. Sort of a defensive measure. Now I’m on the scene and I’ll keep reminding you.” He took out his phone. “I’ll make some calls and talk to a few savvy people about how a prisoner in solitary might have been able to get his hands on those goggles. Sound okay?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “But right now, it’s time you took me to lunch. Somewhere outdoors, bright and sunny, overlooking the ocean. I think we both need to get away from dark corridors and the thought of jails, craters, and men like Barrett.” He snapped his fingers. “The Del Coronado. A golden-era hotel and restaurants with take-me-away allure. Plus, beautiful celebrities running around in bikinis. Perfect.”
“And why should we run away to a place like that just to eat lunch when we need to be working?”
“Because they have a fantastic buffet, and it’s great for people-watching.” He paused. “And it might be a way I can distract you from nagging those agents at the Bureau and keeping them from doing their work. It would also take the edge off, and make the afternoon pass faster for you.” He tilted his head. “Well, have I convinced you or pissed you off?”
“Let me think about it.”
“What’s to think about? As I said, it’s perfect. Shouldn’t I have mentioned the babes in bikinis?”
