The 9th Judgment - James Patterson [52]
Meanwhile, Jacobi was pressuring me to close the Dowling case, and that was okay. For the sake of our sanity and self-esteem, Conklin and I had to do it. The call from Kitty was our first and only break since Casey Dowling had been shot two weeks before. We finally had something to work with.
I said to Conklin, “Dowling told us he had sex with his wife before dinner, right? Now Kitty says they did it while she was looting the safe. That would be after dinner. So if that caller was for real”—I fit the pieces together as I talked—“we know why Dowling’s clothes were negative for gunpowder and blowback. Marcus Dowling was naked when he shot his wife.”
“You thought Dowling did it from the beginning,” Rich said miserably.
“Doesn’t matter. I dropped the ball.”
Chapter 74
I CROSSED THE floor to Jacobi’s office and stood in the doorway. He looked up, gray-faced, gray-suited, black-tempered. I told him about Hello Kitty’s call.
“We found her story believable,” I said.
“Did you put a trace on the call?”
“Warren, that’s going to get us nothing. I heard a coin dropping into the box. She was at a public phone.”
“Just do it, okay?” Jacobi growled. “What’s wrong with you, Boxer?”
“I dunno,” I said, throwing up my hands. “Stupid, I guess.”
I went back to my desk. Conklin was looking past me, rocking in his chair, and when I snapped my fingers and called his name, he said, “Okay, we know what to do. Bear down on Marcus Dowling. He won’t be expecting it.”
My phone rang, and Brenda said, “Line one, Sergeant. That woman again. Says she was disconnected.”
I stared at the blinking red button, then stabbed it and said, “This is Sergeant Boxer.”
“Sergeant, don’t write me off as a crank. I’m being falsely accused of murder. Do you know what was stolen from the Dowlings?”
“I have a list.”
“Good. Then check it out. I took two opera-length diamond chains, three sapphire-and-diamond bracelets, a large diamond brooch in the shape of a chrysanthemum, and some other stuff, including an ornate ring with a big yellow stone.”
“The canary diamond.” There was silence. Then…
“It’s a diamond?”
“What am I supposed to do with this information, Kitty? I need your statement, or I’ve got nothing.”
“You’re a Homicide inspector. Do your job and leave me out of it,” she said, and she hung up again.
Chapter 75
YUKI WAS PULLING into the garage under her apartment building when her mobile rang. The caller ID read “Sue Emdin,” the woman she and Casey Dowling had both known at Boalt Law. Emdin was the “tough beans” type, but when she spoke now, Yuki thought her voice was strained to cracking.
“Sue. What’s wrong?”
“Plenty. I saw Marcus having dinner with a woman in Rigoletto’s. It’s a dark, six-table Italian place on Chestnut, home-style cooking and not Zagat rated. They were in the back corner, laughing and canoodling. It wasn’t a consolation dinner. Not in my book anyway.”
Yuki nosed the car into her spot, turned off the engine, got out, and headed to the elevator. Sue was filling in her report with color commentary.
“I wish you could’ve seen this girl. Tight little skirt, V-neckline down to her navel, showing off her great big bouncy boobs.”
“Dowling had a hot date, you’re saying?”
“Hot and a half with whipped cream on top. My husband would kill me for doing this, Yuki. He would say it’s none of my business, but after the funeral? After that eulogy Marcus gave? Well, it was a performance, and ever since I swore to you that he didn’t do it, I’ve been worried that I was wrong about him. For God’s sake, what if he did kill Casey and I vouched for him? Makes me sick just thinking about it.”
“Okay, I understand. Still, Marcus having a date is poor form, but it’s not