The Guilty - Jason Pinter [12]
shut him up. According to Jack, any music created after 1986
should never be heard through my (or any other) speakers
again. He said if not for the Dylan and Springsteen, he would
have thrown the entire thing in the garbage.
"Henry," Jack said, his voice now without any condescension. "If you don't think this case will go to trial you're an
idiot. Someone's getting prosecuted, even if it takes a few
cases to get the right suspect. Costas Paradis's private jet is
on its way to the city as we speak, and I can promise that he's
bringing hellfire and brimstone and a savings account large
enough to be a continent unto itself. Whether it's Shawn
Kensbrook, the security staff at the Kitten Club, the killer
himself, or Lord Zeus up on high, somebody's getting locked
away while the key is thrown in the ocean. Half a dozen
tabloid hacks are writing first drafts of quickie books that will
be on sale in your local grocery store within the week."
"Cynical much?" I said.
Jack dismissed the question. "If you want to last in this
business as long as I have, you'll have the cynical alarm on
High 24/7. Question everything. You wouldn't be here right
now if you hadn't done that last year."
"So why did a line I wrote end up at a crime scene?" I
asked. "That's my question."
44
Jason Pinter
"Let's hope it's an eerie coincidence," Wallace said. "That
it doesn't have some sort of meaning that plays into why
Athena was killed."
"If this goes to trial," Jack added with a smile, "we can always
claim libel, say the killer used Henry's quote out of context."
I absently scratched my ribs.
"Now the question for you both is," Wallace said, "where
do we go from here? We've got the killer's message. Jack,
you check with the NYPD, see if Chief Carruthers has any
suspects or leads."
"I want to talk to the ballistics department," I said. "Jack,
do you know anyone there you can hook me up with?"
"Why ballistics?" Wallace asked.
"Athena was killed by a high-powered rifle shot from a
rooftop three blocks away, and the killer left a message he
wanted to be found. This is as premeditated as it gets, and was
executed with careful consideration. No doubt the murder
weapon will fit into that. Then we can run a check on the gun,
find the store he bought it at, go from there."
"Jack?" Wallace said. Jack scratched his beard. It looked
a little darker than it had the last few days, the brown a little
more, er, not gray. With our coverage of the Paradis murder,
we were going to sell a lot of papers. Jack wanted to look his
best in case there were any photo ops or interviews. And who
was I to question the omnipotence of Just For Men?
There was a beep alerting Wallace to an incoming e-mail.
He clicked the mouse, eyes narrowing as he read.
"Mayor Perez called a news conference for noon today.
Costas Paradis will be in attendance."
I looked at Jack, who was staring at the screen, thinking.
The fire was just starting to burn, and I felt it, too.
"I want you both there," Wallace said. "And I don't care
The Guilty
45
what you do or how you do it, get something different to run
with tomorrow. I need angles here that won't be covered by
the other papers."
"Angle is my middle name," Jack said.
"Yesterday you told me it was Glenfiddich," replied Wallace.
"Mine is Shane," I said proudly. They both looked at me.
I wasn't proud anymore. "I mean it's Angle, too."
Jack shook his head. "Wine cooler. That's your middle
name. Get a good story and I'll promote you to Zima."
"And Henry," Wallace said, "if anyone asks about the quote
the killer used, you have your 'no comments' at the ready. Am
I correct in assuming you're not hiding anything? That you have
no reason to think this is anything but an awful coincidence?"
"I swear I have no idea," I said honestly. "Trust me, after last
year I'd just as soon stay out of the spotlight as much as
possible."
"Then let's keep it that way. We have to assume the suspect
used it simply because the quote was relevant, or that he has
some serious bats