by Lee Doty
He wondered what it must be like for Laney. It was only twenty-four hours since she’d been rescued. She looked dazed, and why not? She’d lost her mom and dad in a matter of days. He wasn’t sure whether never having known her dad made the loss easier or harder to bear. She was luckier than some, though. Still had family, her grandmother, for one, and having Norma on her side was no small bonus.
Norma may have thought he asked her to join them for ice cream so the girls would feel at ease, but he also needed her insights. If not for her, they might not have found Laney in time.
At first she’d declined the invitation, saying she had something else important to look into. He assumed it had to do with the lawsuit against her. In the end she changed her mind and came along.
He couldn’t help noticing, ever since the rescue, Norma’s attitude toward him had changed. It wasn’t that she’d warmed up. He wasn’t deluded enough to think she’d ever actually give him a chance. But rather than the abrasive bull dog he’d come to know and love, she acted puzzled.
As for what Norma had done at the high school, she’d gone beyond the pale in recklessness, no question about it. But she was sorry. He doubted she would walk the straight and narrow ever after and a part of him hoped to God she wouldn’t. He’d had plenty of explaining to do to the district attorney, but finding Laney safe, and convincing the DA Norma had been vital to that outcome, saved Coigne’s neck and hers.
Norma was talking with the girls, not as though she were their age, but as though they were hers. They laughed, enjoying her company. Even beside their flowering prettiness, Norma’s character and beauty left them in the dust. Something about her looked different today. He’d had no idea she had nice legs until she came through the door of Postal I Scream in a knee-length skirt. Not that he was into fashion, but on her, the skirt, a sort of poodle skirt without the poodle, worked with her Bite Me shirt. And her hair. She was wearing it loose, not bundled under that hat. It was that golden color of beach grass in the fall.
He was not so smitten as to be blind to her physical quirks. Like when she was trying to make a decision, she’d make quick jerks with her head like a little bird. But such a flaw, on Norma, was adorable. Maybe he was too smitten.
The girls opted for scoops in cups rather than cones, probably because they’d ordered four scoops apiece. They were having fun and the whole scene jarred with the questions Coigne needed to ask. He got started.
Laney answered his questions, taking them through the chase on the bike path, to the cottage in the woods, then the fish pier and finally the high school. Much of what she said he already knew, but was hoping he’d missed something.
“When I got to the high school,” Laney said, “I was all out of ideas. If it hadn’t been for Isabella—”
“I’m just glad I got there in time.” Isabella beamed in the limelight. “When Ms. Bergen asked me about sharks and I told her about the high school mascot, I let it go at that, at first. But after she left, I started thinking about what I would do in Laney’s place. How would I get away from a kidnapper? I knew Coach Cummings opened the school early in the summer. I’ve been taking biology in summer school so I don’t have to take it in the fall. So I hid outside at the school until he arrived.
“Did your parents let you go there by yourself?” Laney asked.
“Well, not exactly.”
Coigne knew Isabella had snuck out without her father’s knowledge because he later caught a raft of shit from Miller for “inducing my daughter to risk her life.”
“But Isabella, I still can’t figure out how you turned on the public address system,” Norma said.
“I didn’t turn it on. When I saw Coach Cummings go into the building, I called the school with my cell phone. I got lucky. He picked up. I told him I’d just seen Laney and a man go into the building and he could be the kidnapper. Good thing he’d seen on the news that Laney was missing or he would have thought I was nuts. He left his gym office and went to look at the security cameras. He got back to the phone and said he’d seen Laney and a man right outside the gym and he’d call the police and I was to go right home. But I had an idea. I told him about the half-time cheer.”
“But why did he play the cheer? Why wouldn’t he just wait for the police?” Coigne knew the answers from his interview with Cummings but wanted Isabella’s version.
“I had the idea in the first place because I thought it would be better if Laney were not so close to Mr. Singh when the police came. What if he used her as a hostage so he could get away? I was hoping she’d run when the strobe lights started. Coach Cummings agreed with me.”
“Right. Oh, Iz. You were so right!”
Laney’s love for her new friend reminded Coigne of the name of the church he grew up in, Our Lady of Perpetual Adoration. If Isabella ever needed someone to lay down her life for her, Laney would be first in line.
Isabella licked the ice cream off her spoon, turning it upside down. “At first Coach was worried the noise might frighten Mr. Singh into hurting Laney, but we figured we had no choice. He was going to hurt her anyway.”
“Right!” Laney said again, nodding. Laney’s color was now high, any trace of worry erased by the warmth of friendship.
It made Coigne smile, whether at the resilience of youth or the image of Singh startled by the noisy cheer, he wasn’t sure. He took a few bites as Isabella continued.
“I couldn’t help myself. I had to come in and see if I could help. As soon as I walked down the hall I heard the cheers. I flattened myself against the wall and crept down to the gym. I guess Laney had already hidden behind the bleachers because Mr. Singh was darting back and forth trying to figure out where she’d disappeared to. Somehow in that strobe light I made it to Coach Cummings office, but Mr. Singh got off a shot. I don’t know if he was aiming at me or what. Anyway, Coach Cummings saved the day. When that shot was fired he came tearing out of his office fully armed. You should have seen him. He had this storage bin full of basketballs and he started pelting Mr. Singh. Boom! Boom! His head, his feet, one right in his face. It was beautiful. Knocked him flat on his back. That’s when he lost his gun and ran.”
“All three of you were heroes,” Coigne said.
Before long, the conversation turned to summer plans, new movies, and the cataclysmic break-up of Skyler and Amelia, whoever they were.
He needed to tax Laney with a question more difficult than the preceding ones. When the girls had finished their ice cream and wiped their mouths, they looked up. “What we don’t know, Laney, is what became of Mr. Singh. It’s important we find him. Very important that—”
“Because you think he’ll come after me again?”
No more face aglow. He’d blown it.
Norma pushed her dish aside. “No, not likely at all he’ll come after you. Listen, kid. He knows you’ll be watched round the clock. He’s not going to try anything. Am I right, Coigne?”
“Right!” he said. They all laughed because he sounded like Laney. But the truth was, Singh could still be after the letter and Laney. She was an eyewitness he couldn’t afford to leave alone, but Coigne wasn’t going to say so. “We’re trying to find him because he may have been directly involved in two murders and—we know he was in part responsible for a third.” He didn’t want to bring up her mother, but she was too perceptive for him to sugarcoat realities. Norma helped him out again.
“Under the law, Rahul Singh is as guilty of your mother’s murder as if he pulled the trigger himself.”
“When we catch him,” Coigne said, “we’ll have him put away forever. So whatever you remember, anything he might have said about where he was headed will help.”
Laney looked wary, but seemed calm enough for him to continue. He explained that Singh had left on foot, but the canine unit lost his trail as soon as he made it to Route 28, about a mile from the school. Police officers waited at Red River Resort, but Singh was a no-show. BOLOs, or Be-on-the-Lookout alerts, were cast wide, as Singh had lots of connecti
ons. All modes of transportation for getting off the Cape were under close watch.
“He just wanted to talk about the letter and where it was hidden,” Laney said. “He never raised his voice or hit me, not like that nutcase, Varn, but he was even more of a maniac. Like he’d die if he didn’t get that letter.”
Coigne tried to keep it light, but the questions he needed answered didn’t help. “Did you suggest to him any possible hiding place other than the high school? If you did, it’s conceivable he’d head there—”
“Why would Singh still be looking elsewhere for the letter?” Norma crushed her empty ice cream cup. “He obviously bought Laney’s story that it was hidden in the high school, or they wouldn’t have gone there.”
She had a point, but Coigne had one, too. “Maybe he’s in the same spot we’re in, ‘eliminating a multitude of locations.’” He looked sideways at Norma to see if she recognized the reference. She rolled her eyes to say she did. “And he may be hoping Laney lied about the high school, to stall for time, which she did. A brave and brilliant move, I might add.”
Laney smiled.
“He’s right, Laney,” Isabella chimed in. “I never would have thought of it, especially if I were scared.”
“We have no promising clues on his whereabouts, so we take what we’ve got and run with it.”
“You’re ever the optimist, Coigne,” Norma said. “But it seems like a colossal waste—”
“I think he did figure out I was bluffing, Aunt Norma.” Laney spoke slowly, as if mentally replaying a scene. “Right before the cheer began, when we were standing in the doorway to the gym, I was out of ideas and gave up. Mr. Singh knew I had given up.”
Coigne gave her a moment. “What makes you say that?”
“He had me by the wrist.” She gripped her wrist to demonstrate. “And even though I wasn’t pulling away, his grip kept getting tighter and tighter, not because he was trying to hold onto me, but to punish me for fooling him. And to answer your other question, Lieutenant Coigne, I never suggested any other hiding place. And my mom didn’t either, even though they tried to make her.” She closed her eyes. They all waited, and Coigne wished they could erase her dark memories. When a tear rolled down her cheek, Isabella placed an arm around her shoulders.
Coigne looked around, worried he’d caused customers to stare at Laney and she’d be self-conscious once she looked up, but the tables were full of people 100 percent absorbed in their own dramas. “What you’ve told us is very helpful, Laney. Rahul Singh has no leads from you or your mom, so he’ll use the same tools for finding the letter that we’ll use for finding him—logic. Right now he’s wondering where you might have hidden it. We’re a step ahead of him, because we know you’d never even heard about it, much less hidden it. But he doesn’t believe that. From what you’ve told us, he believes you know exactly where it is.”
Laney nodded and wiped her cheek with her napkin.
“Now. Everyone. Who has a suggestion?” Coigne looked from face to face. “Where would Mr. Singh think Laney hid the letter?”
Isabella said, “You mean we have to get inside Singh’s head? That’s foul.”
Laney said, “It’s revolting!” The girls burst out laughing and Laney’s bad moment evaporated.
Norma leaned forward, both elbows on the table. “The obvious place she’d hide it….” She sat back and caught Coigne’s eye. “Well, there is no obvious place. Let’s stop playing this dumb game.”
He knew what she was thinking and could have kicked himself for starting down this path. The obvious place was in Laney’s home. You hide things where you can get at them but where no one else can. And he also knew why Norma stopped. Yes, they were only speculating, but the last thing Laney needed to worry about was Rahul Singh invading her home and disposing of her and her grandmother while he ransacked the house.
“Norma’s right. It’s my job to figure this out. The only job these girls have right now is to enjoy the rest of their summer.” He tapped the side of his head with one finger. “I have a thought. I don’t suppose you two would like a boat ride with the harbormaster? I mean, speaking of sharks, I hear some have been spotted off Monomoy.”
“Are you kidding?” Isabella said. “Could we?”
“I could find out. The harbormaster is an old buddy of mine and he owes me.”
“Good idea, Coigne. Ladies, go use the restroom. This may be your last chance for a stationary ride, if you know what I mean.”
“Aunt Norma—you’re bad.”
“So they say.”
Once the girls left, Norma tossed her napkin on the table and searched her purse for car keys.
Coigne said, “I’ll see if my buddy will keep the girls occupied while we bring Anne Sager up to speed and tighten security at her house. You going on the boat ride?”
“I would, but I have a little breaking and entering to do.”
“Please don’t tell me.” Coigne started to rise, but Norma grabbed his arm.
“Do you really think Singh is still looking for Laney and that damn letter?”
Coigne studied Norma’s eyes, assessing whether to confide in her his worst fears. “Yes, I do. Our intel is that Singh is the big boss, but he’s by no means the biggest boss. Anyone else would drop the hunt at this point, but Singh has to keep the search going, or face the consequences.”
“Just be careful, Will.” Norma jumped up, overturning her chair and making a cacophonous racket. Everyone stared. She stared back. “Gotta problem?”
40
Having just paid a visit to Dunscombe and Dohnan, Norma had no trouble remembering directions to the law firm. At least she wouldn’t meet up with Dohnan’s obsessive timekeeping receptionist—Carl Somebody— although she did feel sorry for getting him fired on account of her last visit.
The parking lot was empty but for one car, Dohnan’s. She’d never actually seen his car, but she knew this was his. A lawyer on the Cape with any sense would strive to avoid driving around town in a flashy car. Forget Lincoln Lawyer. And forget what goes on in the big cities like New York. Around here, flaunting wealth only serves to remind everyone how outrageous lawyers’ rates are. No one should make so much money by simply getting into arguments. Obviously, the red Viper in the lot belonged to Mr. Indiscretion himself. And if the car’s conspicuousness didn’t give Dohnan away, the vanity plates, “THRLRBLS,” were proof positive.
With Dohnan on the premises, Norma’s hopes of sneaking in undetected were thwarted, but she stuck with her plan. What she was about to dish out, Dohnan had coming to him. She rattled the front door knob. Locked. She knocked. No one came, so she removed her shoe and started banging.
“…break the door down or what?” Dohnan had started yelling before he’d opened the door. He looked like he’d been working out. His forehead shined like it was coated in baby oil and he wore a white clingy V-neck, exposing moist fur and a hint of cleavage.
“I’m tied up, Norma.”
“I wish you were.”
“I thought our business had concluded. Make an appointment with my receptionist on Monday. I believe you’ve met him.”
“Oh, Carl is back? I thought you’d fired him.”
“Goodbye, Norma.” Dohnan got ready to slam the door, but Norma was an expert at getting a foot in the door, literally. She’d worked her way through college selling magazines. The technique gave her enough time to say, “I know about Bradford Todd’s letter.”
Dohnan took his bluster down a notch. “Let’s make this quick, Norma. I told my wife I’d be home in an hour.” They headed down the hall and he opened the door to his office. As she’d remembered, there was a treadmill in the corner and the room smelled like B.O.
“I’m sure your wife’s used to your prolonged absences, although it saves time having Bitty Booty’s law office right down the road.”
Dohnan spun around. “What the hell are you talking about? I thought you wanted to discuss—”
“Calm down, Thriller Balls. The
fact that your wife made the sad mistake of marrying a pig isn’t my problem.”
Dohnan slammed his fist on his desk. “Just say what you have to say and get out.”
Spit bubbled in the corners of Dohnan’s mouth. It was time to get to the point. She avoided taking a seat in front of his desk and opted for the round conference table by the window, where he joined her. She figured she may as well give passersby a good look at them both in case he slugged her and she needed a witness.
“I thought you were trying to squeeze me for damages with that frivolous lawsuit,” she began, “dreamed up no doubt while helping your nephew, Carl, hone his creative notary skills. Yessiree, it does pay to have a notary in the family when your lawsuit hinges on the fraudulent signature of a dead person. Don’t deny it. I’ve already checked it out.”
“How dare you insinuate I was guilty of malfeasance when you’re the one—”
“Even your attempt to have me perjure myself wasn’t the real reason you threatened me with that lawsuit. I’m ashamed to say I missed the real reason. It was so simple.”
“All right, Norma. I’ll play the game. Anything to get you out of here. Why did I threaten you with a lawsuit?”
Norma let him twist in the breeze. She was comfortable, seated in a swivel-tilt leather chair, the kind that starts at about four grand. She rocked back and forth, a girl with all the time in the world. “You’ll be glad to know that Bradford Todd’s granddaughter, Laney, was found alive and well and talking about a letter written by her grandfather, Old Man Todd. It seems young Laney was to inherit valuable property that somehow got sold to those nice felons at Red River Resort. Say. Isn’t that the same property you sold on Old Man Todd’s behalf to the resort? I seem to remember reading something about that in your files. I ask myself, ‘Why would Old Man Todd sell property to Red River Resort when he’d intended it for his granddaughter?’ And then I figured it out. He didn’t sell it. You did. And he didn’t even know you’d sold it. According to this letter everyone’s wild to get their hands on, he intended the property for his grandchild. You are clever, Dohnan.”
