First Daughter - Eric van Lustbader [138]
Schiltz consulted his pad. "As per the MO, there were no fingerprints whatsoever except for the vic's, which leads us to the inescapable conclusion that the perp wore gloves of some sort. My friend found traces of a superfine powder on Calla Myers's coat, in the place under her left arm consistent with where someone who had his arm around her would place his hand.
"It took him some time to figure out what this powder actually was." Egon glanced up. "You'll like this, Jack. What was on Calla Myers's coat was logwood powder. Logwood is a heartwood extract from Haematoxylon campechianum, found in Central America and the West Indies. When mixed with a carrier, such as ethyl alcohol, glycerine, or Listerine, it becomes a black pigment used for tattooing." He snapped the pad closed. "And, by the way, Calla Myers had no tattoos."
Jack's heart leapt. "So the logwood powder came from the perp."
Schiltz nodded. "Whatever else this sonovabitch is, he's also a tattoo artist. But here's the best part. Almost all tattoo artists buy pre-mixed pigments. None of those use logwood as an ingredient. Your man mixes his pigments by hand."
I LIKED the white Continental better," Alli said as she slid into Jack's car.
He laughed as he put the car in gear. A moment later, he picked up the Secret Service detail in his rearview mirror. It was 11:20. The minutes were counting down to when he'd lose his access to her. It was now or never.
"Alli, there's something I've been wondering," he said. "Did the man who abducted you have a tattoo?"
Alli went rigid. She stared straight ahead.
"Alli, honey, it's all right for you to tell me."
"I only saw his arms." Alli slowly shook her head from side to side. "He didn't have any tattoos."
Jack, heading for the Carsons' house in Chevy Chase, did his best to keep to the minimum speed. He didn't want this drive to end yet.
"Alli, I know Ronnie Kray frightened you terribly, but it would be helpful if you could tell me something more about what you saw. Anything at all."
Alli, still sitting rigidly, said nothing.
"I want to catch him, Alli. You want that, don't you?"
She bit her lip, nodded.
"You're the only one who can help me."
Tears began to run down her cheeks. "I wish Emma was here. She could tell you what you want to know."
"You can, too."
Her eyes squeezed shut. "I'm not brave like she was."
Despite his best efforts, they'd entered Chevy Chase. This was it, then. The end. Jack relented. "Alli, your father has agreed to let me pick the detail guarding you."
"I want you," she said at once.
He nodded. "I'll be there, just not the whole time. But you can absolutely trust Nina and Sam. I know them, I've worked with them. They won't let you down."
He turned onto the Carsons' street, a cul-de-sac, saw more Secret Service agents in cars and on the sidewalk. They all watched him as he drove toward the large federal-style brick house at the end of the cul-de-sac.
"Home," he said.
"It doesn't feel like it." Alli shifted in her seat. "Nothing feels right."
"As soon as you get back to your routine, it'll all feel as familiar as it did before."
"But I don't want to get back to my old routine!" She sounded like a spoiled child.
Jack pulled into the driveway where Edward and Lyn Carson were waiting. He shut off the engine, opened his door, but Alli made no move to open hers.
"Alli . . ."
She turned to him. There was desperation in her eyes. "I don't want to leave you!"
"You have a responsibility to your parents. Tomorrow you'll be the First Daughter. From now on, you have to act like the First Daughter. The whole country will be watching."
"Please don't make me."
"Honey, it's what has to happen."
"But I'm afraid."
Jack frowned. "Afraid of what?"
"To leave you, to be here, I don't know."
By this time, the Carsons, concerned, had come up to the car. Lyn Carson opened the passenger's-side door, leaned in.
"Alli? Baby?"
Alli, still turned toward Jack, silently mouthed, Please help me.
Jack felt torn into a thousand shreds. He had failed Emma, he