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“Yeah. About last week… I was an asshole.”
Gary couldn’t hold back a second longer. “You’ve been an asshole since the day you walked into the precinct. Why should last week have been any different?”
Will turned his head to glance at Gary. “Okay, point taken.”
Yet another departure from Will’s usual barbed comments. Gary was starting to believe the Second Coming had been announced and he’d missed it.
“Look….” Will placed his hands on Dan’s desk, putting his weight on them. “The thing is you kinda shook me. That demonstration of yours.” He straightened. “I thought you were a fake, okay? But the stuff you came out with…. There was no way you could’ve known any of that. Becauseno oneknows. I never told a soul.” He stared at Dan. “But you knew. I don’t know how, but….”
Dan’s smile was warm. “Thanks for the apology. And as for what I saw, no one else will ever know, I swear.”
Will swallowed. “Thanks.” He peered at the coffeepot. “Can you spare a cup? I don’t think I’ve hit my caffeine level yet this morning.”
Gary found an empty cup and filled it. “Black okay?”
Will nodded. “There was another reason for me stopping by. Word is you’re investigating that headless body they found in the tunnel back in 2006.”
“That’s right. Cheryl Somers.” Gary handed Will the coffee.
Will cocked his head to one side. “Did you know there’s another headless body on record? In Boston?”
Gary frowned. “Really?”
“Yeah. The victim was one Kevin Donaldson. It wasn’t a cold case, though. The guy who did it is behind bars—a lifer. Guy named Frank Wyler. He went down for six murders.”
“When was this?” Dan inquired. “I mean, when did the body turn up?”
“In 2007.” Will shrugged. “Just seems like an awful big coincidence, having two headless bodies. I looked up the case. We questioned Wyler about the body in the tunnel, but there was no evidence to link him to it. But what if we got it wrong? This might not be a coincidence after all. Your killer could already be behind bars.” He grinned. “Worth a visit to check it out? Now we’ve got a little extra help.” He inclined his head toward Dan, then took a drink.
Gary stroked his beard. “Possibly. I don’t like coincidences either.”
“Wyler is serving time at FMC Devens.”
Dan frowned. “FMC?”
“Federal medical center,” Gary told him. “Don’t let the name fool you—it’s a federal prison. And it looks like we’re going for another ride once I clear it with officials there.” He glanced at Will. “Thanks for that.”
“You’re welcome.” Will held his hand out to Dan. “And thank you.” Dan took it, and they shook. Will held the cup up. “I’ll bring this back when I’m done with it, promise.” He left the office, closing the door behind him, and Dan expelled his breath.
“I’m glad he cleared the air. So that’s one more person around here who I can rely on.”
“Is that how it feels to you? That you don’t have enough support?” Gary had known it wouldn’t be easy, but apart from Will’s initial hostility, there’d been little sign of animosity toward Dan since Travers’s announcement.
Maybe that’s because it’s hidden.
He shivered.
Dan bit his lip. “It’s early days. Let’s get a few successes under our belts, and then people will come around.”
“Then you do feel something?”
Dan gestured to the door. “Out there it’s like wading through wave after wave of suspicion, fear, anger….” He got up from his chair and walked around the desk to where Gary stood. “You forget, though. I’ve been through this twice already. Theywillcome around. You should have seen the detectives in Chicago when I helped them stop Jackson Perrault. I could’ve started a fan club.”
“Yeah, but I’ll bet a lot of that was down to guilt.” Chicago PD had dropped the ball on that case, and Dan had ended up with a long, jagged scar across his chest when Perrault came after him.
Gary couldn’t let anything like that happen again.
Dan cleared his throat. “So when can we get to see this Frank Wyler?”
