The Last Precinct - Cornwell Patricia (читаем книги онлайн TXT) 📗

"Could be. Could also be that the Chandonne family's organized crime ties have led him to their son, or hell, maybe Rocky is already connected to them. It may be a combination_personal and Rocky's own connections. But it does smack a little of throwing father and son into the Colosseum. Patricide in front of the world, albeit indirectly. Marino won't necessarily be testifying in Chandonne's trial in New York, but it could happen, depending on how this all unfolds."

I know how it will unfold. It is all so clear to me. Berger came to Richmond fully intending to insert these cases into the one in New York. I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't somehow manage to get the Paris cases included, as well.

"But regardless," she says, "Chandonne will always feel like Marino's case. Cops like him care what happens. And Rocky's representing Chandonne puts me in an unfortunate position. If the case were in Richmond, I would go marching up to the judge ex parte and point out the very obvious conflict of interest. Probably get thrown out of his chambers and reprimanded. But at the very least, I might be able to get the His or Her Honor to request a co-counselor on the defendant's legal team so son doesn't actually cross-examine father."

I push a button and more steel doors open.

"But I would create a storm of protest," she goes on. "And maybe the court would rule in my favor, or if nothing else, I'd use the situation to get sympathy from the jury, show what bad guys Chandonne and his counsel are."

"No matter how your case unfolds in New York, Marino won't be a fact witness." I see where she is going with this. "Not in the Susan Pless murder. So you aren't going to have any luck getting rid of Rocky."

"Exactly right. No conflict. Nothing I can do about it. And Rocky's poison."

Our conversation continues into the bay, where we stand in the cold by our cars. The starkness of the bare concrete around us seems a symbol of the realities I now face. Life has turned hard and unforgiving. There is no view, no way out. I can't imagine how Marino will feel when he finds out that the very monster he has helped apprehend will be defended by Marino's estranged son. "Clearly, Marino doesn't know," I say.

"Maybe I've been remiss in not telling him yet," she replies. "But he's a big enough pain in the ass already. I thought I'd wait and drop this bomb tomorrow or the next day. You know he wasn't happy about my interviewing Chandonne." She adds this with a glint of triumph.

"I could tell."

"I had a case with Rocky several years ago." Berger unlocks her car door. She leans inside to start it and get the heat going. "A wealthy man on business in New York is accosted by a kid with a knife." She straightens up and faces me. "The man struggles and manages to wrestle the kid to the ground, bangs the kid's head on the pavement, knocking him out, but not before he stabs the man in the chest. The man dies. The kid is hospitalized for a while but recovers. Rocky tried to turn the case on self-defense but fortunately the jury didn't buy it."

"I'm sure that made Mr. Caggiano a fan of yours for life,"

"What I couldn't prevent was him then representing the kid in a civil suit, asking ten million for alleged permanent emotional damage, yada, yada, yada. The murdered man's family finally settled. Why? Because they just couldn't take it anymore. There was a lot of shit happening behind the scenes_harassment, weird events. They were burglarized. One of their cars was stolen. Their Jack Russell puppy was poisoned. On and on, and all of it I'm convinced was orchestrated by Rocky Marino Caggiano. I just could never prove it." She climbs up into her Mercedes sport utility vehicle. "His modus operand! is pretty simple. He gets away with anything he can and puts everybody on trial except the defendant. He is also a very poor loser."

I remember Marino telling me years ago he wished Rocky were dead. "Might that be part of his motivation then?" I ask. "Revenge. Not just getting the father, but getting you? And doing so very publicly."

"Might be," Berger says to me from the high perch of her SUV. "Whatever his motive, I do want you to know I plan to protest anyway. Just can't tell you how much good it will do since this really doesn't constitute an ethical violation. It's up to the judge." She reaches for her seat belt and pulls it across her chest. "How are you spending Christmas Eve, Kay?"

So now I am Kay. I have to think for a minute. Christmas Eve is tomorrow. "I need to follow up on these cases, the ones with the burns," I reply.

She nods. "It's important we go back to Chandonne's crime scenes while they still exist."

Including my house, I think.

"Might you find some time tomorrow afternoon?" she asks. "Any time you can give me. I'm working through the holidays. I don't mean to ruin yours."

I have to smile at the irony. The holidays. Yes, Merry Christmas. Berger has given me a gift and doesn't even know it. She has helped me make a decision, an important decision, maybe even the most important decision of my life. I am going to quit my job and the governor will be the first to know. "I'll call you when I'm finished in James City County," I tell Berger. "We can try for two o'clock."

"I'll pick you up," she says.

Chapter 17

IT IS ALMOST TEN WHEN I TURN OFF 9TH STREET into Capitol Square, cruising past the up-lit statue of George Washington astride his horse, and winding around the south portico of the building Thomas Jefferson designed, where a thirty-foot lighted tree decorated with glass balls rises behind thick white columns. I recall that the governor's party was a drop-in and not a dinner and am relieved at signs that his guests have left. I find not a single car in spaces designated for legislators and visitors.

The early-nineteenth-century executive mansion is pale yellow stucco with white trim and columns. According to legend, it was saved by a bucket brigade when Richmonders burned their own city at the end of the Civil War. In the understated tradition of Virginia Christmases, candles glow and fresh wreaths hang in every window, and evergreen swags decorate black iron gates. I roll down my window as a capitol police officer steps up to my car.

"May I help you?" he asks with an air of suspicion. "I'm here to see Governor Mitchell." I have been to the mansion a number of times, but not at this hour or in a big Lincoln SUV. "I'm Dr. Scarpetta. I'm a little late. If it's too late, I'll understand. Please tell him I'm sorry. "

The officer brightens. "Didn't recognize you in that car. You get rid of your Mercedes? If you could just wait right here for a minute."

He gets on the phone inside his booth as I look out at Capitol Square and am touched by ambivalence, then sadness. I have lost this city. I can't go back. I can blame it on Chan-donne, but that isn't all of it, if I am honest with myself. It is time to do the harder thing. Change. Lucy has inspired courage, or maybe she has made me see myself for what I have become, which is entrenched, static, institutionalized. I have been the chief medical examiner of Virginia for more than a decade. I am edging close to fifty. I don't like my only sister. My mother is difficult and her health is bad. Lucy is moving to New York. Benton is dead. I am alone.

"Merry Christmas, Dr. Scarpetta." The capital police officer leans close to my winnow and lowers his voice. The name on his brass tag is Renquist. "Just want you to know I hate what happened, but I'm glad you got that S.O.B. That was real quick thinking on your part."

"I appreciate that, Officer Renquist."

"You won't be seeing me down here anymore after the first of the year," he goes on. "They've switched me to plainclothes investigations."

"I hope that's good."