Bonnie - Iris Johansen [6]
“Shit. You mean because Gallo had been having mental problems? You said he was experiencing blackouts.”
“Yes. Gallo thought he might have had one at that time and killed his daughter. He almost went crazy. He took off into the woods after he killed Black. Catherine went after him, hunted for weeks, and tracked him down.”
“But you said she changed her mind about Gallo’s killing the kid. Why?”
“How do I know? It was a judgment call. She just said that Eve and Gallo had been stupid to take the word of a murderer even if every instinct told them that he was telling the truth. They should have looked in another direction. The other direction was Queen and Jacobs. Black had been hired as a contract killer many times before by them. It wasn’t logical that they wouldn’t have known his intention to kill the little girl. Queen and Jacobs were regarding Gallo as a threat, and he had a history of mental problems. Kill the child and send him over the edge? There was a possibility that they’d been involved or hired someone else to kill Bonnie. So they went after them.”
Venable could almost feel Dickson’s frustration and impatience at the other end of the line. Well, suck it up, big man. He was almost finished.
“Nate Queen was killed over a week ago, and that left Thomas Jacobs. Catherine and Gallo tracked him to New Orleans, and she’s hoping either to force Jacobs to confess or get info from him about who did kill Bonnie Duncan. Gallo has rented a house on the bayou across the Mississippi, where they’re going to take Jacobs to interrogate him.”
“Then she should be able to tie this up soon,” Dickson said. “How soon?”
“I don’t know. The last I heard, Catherine had told Eve Duncan and Joe Quinn about Thomas Jacobs, and they were on their way to join Catherine and Gallo in New Orleans.”
“You don’t know?” Dickson asked. “Give me an estimate.”
Screw this. “I don’t have a crystal ball, dammit. It will be done as quickly as she can do it. When she gets the information, she’ll call me. As you can see, I’m not totally out of the loop.”
“That’s not good enough. Get into the middle of the loop,” Dickson said. “You take as many men as you need and go down to New Orleans and wrap this up. Keep me informed.” He hung up.
Venable pressed the disconnect and turned to Harley. “It seems we’re going to New Orleans. Now. Get me a pilot and plane. And check the weather. Catherine said the entire Gulf Coast has been fogged in for the last couple days.”
Harley reached for his phone. “Are you calling Catherine and telling her you’re coming?”
Venable thought about it. Catherine wouldn’t appreciate the interference and might react in a way that would make Dickson even angrier. It would be smarter to confront her face-to-face than long-distance. “I’ll call her when I get on the ground in New Orleans.”
“Which may not be any too soon.” Harley looked up from the weather app on his iPhone. “The fog has lifted over Mississippi, but it’s still blanketing Louisiana. We may have to take ground transportation out of Mobile.”
Venable muttered a curse as he got to his feet. “Then let’s get moving.”
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
“THEY’RE COMING.” CATHERINE turned away from the window where she’d seen what she’d thought were Eve and Joe’s headlights. “At least I think they are. I can barely see the headlights in this fog. They should be here in a couple minutes.” She leveled a glance at Gallo. “And no matter what Joe says or does, you’re not to respond with any antagonism, do you understand?”
“I understand that you’re expecting a lot from me.” He got up from the chair and crossed to the window. “I believe you’re talking about diplomacy. We both know that’s not my forte.”
No, it wasn’t, and she could already see that familiar trace of recklessness in his face. “I’m not having it, Gallo. Joe was caught in the middle before when we were trying to find Bonnie’s killer and ended up almost dying. He’s just out of the hospital. Joe was the victim, and you can be patient if he’s pissed at you.”
“And if I’m not, then you’ll go after