璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第148章

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deceased。
‘So　after　all　the　men　who　hurt　her　or　used　her；　you　gave　her　something　that　nobody　else　did。‘　O‘Toole　paused；　waiting　for　a　reply　and　getting　none。　‘You　gave　her　love；　didn‘t　you？‘
‘Yes。‘　Kelly‘s　body　shuddered　for　a　moment。　‘Yes；　I　did　love　her。‘
‘Let　it　out；‘　the　nurse　told　him。　‘You　have　to。‘
First　he　closed　his　eyes。　Then　he　shook　his　head。　‘I　can‘t。‘
This　would　be　a　difficult　patient；　she　told　herself。　The　cult　of　manhood　was　a　mystery　to　her。　She‘d　seen　it　in　her　husband；　who　had　served　a　tour　in　Vietnam　as　a　lieutenant；　then　rotated　back　again　as　a　pany　mander。　He　hadn‘t　relished　it；　hadn‘t　looked　forward　to　it；　but　he　hadn‘t　shrunk　from　it。。　It　was　part　of　the　job；　he‘d　told　her　on　their　wedding　night；　two　months　before　he‘d　left。　A　stupid；　wasteful　job　that　had　cost　her　a　husband　and；　she　feared；　her　life。　Who　really　cared　what　happened　in　a　place　so　far　away？　And　yet　it　had　been　important　to　Tim。　Whatever　that　force　had　been；　its　legacy　to　her　was　emptiness；　and　it　had　no　more　real　meaning　than　the　grim　pain　she　saw　on　the　face　of　her　patient。　O‘Toole　would　have　known　more　about　that　pain　if　she‘d　been　able　to　take　her　thought　one　step　further。　
*　*　*
‘That　was　really　stupid。‘
‘That‘s　one　way　of　looking　at　it；‘　Tucker　agreed。　‘But　I　can‘t　have　my　girls　leaving　without　permission；　can　I？‘
‘You　ever　hear　of　burying　them？‘
‘Anybody　can　do　that。‘　The　man　smiled　in　the　darkness；　watching　the　movie。　They　were　in　the　back　row　of　a　downtown　theater；　a　1930s　film　palace　that　was　gradually　falling　to　ruin；　and　had　started　running　turns　at　9　a。m。　just　to　keep　up　with　the　painting　bill。　It　was　still　a　good　place　for　a　covert　meeting　with　a　confidential　informant；　which　was　how　this　meeting　would　go　on　the　officer‘s　time　sheet。
‘Sloppy　not　killing　the　guy；　too。‘
‘Will　he　be　a　problem？‘　Tucker　asked。
‘No。　He　didn‘t　see　anything；　did　he？‘
‘You　tell　me；　man。‘
‘I　can‘t　get　that　close　to　the　case；　remember？‘　The　man　paused　for　a　handful　of　popcorn　and　munched　away　his　irritation。　‘He‘s　known　to　the　department。　Ex…Navy　guy；　skin　diver；　lives　over　on　the　Eastern　Shore　somewhere；　sort　of　a　rich　beach　bum　from　what　I　gather。　The　first　interview　didn‘t　develop　anything　at　all。　Ryan　and　Douglas　are　going　to　be　working　the　case　now；　but　it　doesn‘t　look　like　they　have　much　of　anything　to　work　with。‘
‘That‘s　about　what　she　said　when　we　。。。　"；talked"；　to　her。　He　picked　her　up；　and　it　looks　like　they　had　a　mighty　good　time　together；　but　her　supply　of　pills　ran　out；　she　said；　and　she　had　him　bring　her　in　town　to　score　some　‘ludes。　So；　no　harm　done？‘
‘Probably　not；　but　let‘s　try　to　control　loose　ends；　okay？‘
‘You　want　me　to　get　him　in　the　hospital？‘　Tucker　asked　lightly。　‘I　can　probably　arrange　that。‘
‘No！　You　damned　fool；　this　is　going　on　the　books　as　a　robbery。　If　anything　else　happens；　it　just　gets　bigger。　We　don‘t　want　that。　Leave　him　bе。　Не　doesn‘t　know　anything。‘
‘So　he‘s　not　a　problem？‘　Tucker　wanted　to　be　clear　on　that。
‘No。　But　try　to　remember　that　you　can‘t　open　a　murder　investigation　without　a　body。‘
‘I　have　to　keep　my　people　in　line。‘
‘From　what　I　hear　you　did　to　her　…‘
‘Just　keeping　them　in　line；‘　Tucker　reemphasized。　‘Making　an　example；　like。　You　do　that　right　and　you　don‘t　have　any　more　problems　for　a　while。　You‘re　not　a　part　of　that。　Why　does　it　bother　you？‘
Another　handful　of　popcorn　helped　him　bend　to　the　logic　of　the　moment。　‘What　do　you　have　for　me？‘
Tucker　smiled　in　the　darkness。　‘Mr　Piaggi　is　starting　to　like　doing　business　with　me。‘
A　grunt　in　the　darkness。　‘I　wouldn‘t　trust　him。‘
‘It　does　get　plicated；　doesn‘t　it？‘　Tucker　paused。　‘But　I　need　his　connections。　We‘re　about　to　hit　the　big　time。‘
‘How　long？‘
‘Soon；‘　Tucker　said　judiciously。　‘Next　step；　I　think；　we　start　feeding　stuff　north。　Tony　is　up　there　talking　to　some　people　today；　matter　of　fact。‘
‘What　about　now？　I　could　use　something　juicy。‘
‘Three　guys　with　a　ton　of　grass　good　enough？‘　Tucker　asked。
‘Do　they　know　about　you？‘
‘No；　but　I　know　about　them。‘　That　was　the　point；　after　all　…　his　organization　was　tight。　Only　a　handful　of　people　knew　who　he　was；　and　those　people　knew　what　would　happen　if　they　got　a　little　loose。　You　just　had　to　have　the　stones　to　enforce　discipline。
‘Take　it　easy　on　him；‘　Rosen　said　outside　the　private　room。　‘He‘s　recovering　from　a　major　injury　and　he‘s　still　on　several　medications。　He‘s　really　not　capable　of　talking　to　you　with　a　full　deck。‘
‘I　have　my　job；　too；　doctor。‘　It　was　a　new　officer　on　the　case　now；　a　detective　sergeant　named　Tom　Douglas。　He　was　about　forty；　and　looked　every　bit　as　tired　as　Kelly；　Rosen　thought；　and　every　bit　as　angry。
‘I　understand　that。　But　he‘s　been　badly　hurt；　plus　the　shock　of　what　happened　to　his　girlfriend。‘
‘The　quicker　we　get　the　information　we　need；　the　better　our　chances　are　to　find　the　bastards。　Your　duty　is　to　the　living；　sir。　Mine　is　to　the　dead。‘
‘If　you　want　my　medical　opinion；　he‘s　not　really　capable　of　helping　you　right　now。　He‘s　been　through　too　much。　He‘s　clinically　depressed；　and　that　has　implications　for　his　physical　recovery。‘
‘Are　you　telling　me　that　you　want　to　sit　in？‘　Douglas　asked。　Just　what　I　need　…　an　amateur　Sherlock　to　watch　over　us。　But　that　was　a　battle　he　couldn‘t　win　and　wouldn‘t　bother　to　fight。
‘I‘ll　feel　better　if　I　can　keep　an　eye　on　things。　Go　easy　on　him；‘　Sam　repeated；　opening　the　door。
‘Mr　Kelly；　we‘re　sorry；‘　the　detective　said　after　introducing　himself。　Douglas　opened　his　notebook。　The　case　had　been　booted　up　the　ladder　to　his　office　because　of　its　high　profile。　The　first…page　color　photo　on　the　Evening　Sun　had　e　as　close　to　the　pornographic　as　anything　the　media　could　publish；　and　the　mayor　had　personally　called　for　action　on　this　one。　Because　of　that；　Douglas　had　taken　the　case；　wondering　how　long　the　mayor‘s　interest　would　last。　Not　very；　the　detective　thought。　The　only　thing　that　occupied　a　politician‘s　mind　for　more　than　a　week　was　getting　and　holding　votes。　This　case　had　more　spin　on　it　than　one　of　Mike　Cuellar‘s　screwballs；　but　it　was　his　case；　and　what　was　always　the　worst　part　was　about　to　take　place。　‘Two　nights　ago　you　were　in　the　pany　of　a　young　lady　named　Pamela　Madden？‘
‘Yes。‘　Kelly‘s　eyes　were　closed　when　Nurse　O‘Toole　came　in　with　his　morning　antibiotic　dose。　She　was　surprised　to　see　the　two　other　men　there　and　stopped　in　the　doorway；　not　knowing　if　she　should　interrupt　or　not。
‘Mr　Kelly；　yesterday　afternoon　we　discovered　the　body　of　a　young　woman　who　fits　the　physical　description　of　Miss　Madden。‘　Douglas　reached　into　his　coat　pocket。
‘No！‘　Rosen　said；　getting　out　of　his　chair。
‘Is　this　she？‘　Douglas　asked；　holding　the　photo　before　Kelly‘s　face；　hoping　that　his　proper　grammar　would　somehow　lessen　the　impact。
‘God　damnit！　‘　The　surgeon　turned　the　cop　around　and　pushed　him　against　the　wall。　In　the　process　the　photo　dropped　on　the　patient‘s　chest。
Kelly‘s　eyes　went　wide　in　horror。　His　body　sprang　upwards；　fighting　the　restraints。　Then　he　collapsed；　his　skin　pasty　white。　All　in　the　room　turned　away　but　for　the　nurse；　whose　eyes　were　locked　on　her　patient。
‘Look；　doc；　I　…‘　Douglas　tried　to　say。
‘Get　the　hell　out　of　my　hospital！‘　Rosen　fairly　screamed。　‘You　can　kill　somebody　with　that　kind　of　shock！　Why　didn‘t　you　tell　me　…‘
‘He　has　to　identify　…‘
‘I　could　have　done　that！‘
O‘Toole　heard　the　noise　as　the　two　grown　men　scuffled　like　children　in　a　playground；　but　John　Kelly　was　her　concern；　the　antibiotic　medication　still　in　her　hand。　She　tried　to　remove　the　photograph　from　Kelly‘s　view；　but　her　own　eyes　were　first　drawn　to　the　image　and　then　repulsed　by　it　as　Kelly‘s　hand　seized　the　print　and　held　it　a　scant　twelve　inches　from　his　own　wide…open　eyes。　It　was　his　expression　now　that　occupied　her　consciousness。　Sandy　recoiled　briefly　at　what　she　saw　there；　but　then　Kelly‘s　face　posed　itself　and　he　spoke。
‘It‘s　okay；　Sam。　He　has　his　job　to　do；　too。‘　Kelly　looked　down　at　the　photo　one　last　time。　Then　he　closed　his　eyes　and　held　it　up　for　the　nurse　to　take。
And　things　settled　down　for　everyone　except　Nurse　O‘Toole。　She　watched