Only one person would have the answers, but Connie wasn’t at her desk. Where in the hell was she?
Rounding the corner, Delta ran headfirst into her answer.
“Where in the hell have you been?” Connie rasped, pulling Delta into the women’s locker room.
“I could ask the same of you.”
“I’ve been working my tiny ass to the proverbial bone all afternoon in the basement. In between potty breaks, I’ve left a hundred messages for you. Have you heard?”
Delta nodded. “I’ve been at the library all afternoon.”
Connie’s eyebrows raised. “The library?”
“Long story. Why were you in the basement?”
The basement, which was really a room full of a decade’s worth of microfilm, was where many detectives and would-be sleuths went to solve old crimes. There were microfilm machines, an ancient Xerox machine, and a dinosaur computer, along with hundreds of mug shot books. It was a dark, windowless, musty smelling room which justly deserved the title, “the basement.”
“I’ve been looking to see who’s been paroled in the last month that Alex put away. I’ve also been assigned the unenviable job of locating every perp she put away before she made DA. Goddamn, that woman’s been successful.”
“Where is she now?”
Connie shrugged. “No idea. They’re keeping quiet as to her whereabouts until they get a better handle on it. I think it surprised the hell out of her people and they’re running scared.”
“Had she received any death threats or anything like that?”
Connie nodded. “Her aide received three death threats, but felt it was his job to keep them from her.”
“Of course. If Alex had received death threats, she would have told me about them.”
“Instead, her people felt it more prudent to view them as harmless and just ignore them. They felt death threats might harm her re-election.”
“Damn fools!” Delta raged, shaking her head. “How could they be so stupid?”
“It’s an election year, Del. People lose all common sense when it comes to this kind of stuff.”
“That’s not all they might lose; their damn jobs should be on the line. Can you find out where they’re keeping her?”
Connie shook her head.
“Any idea of how this played out?”
Connie nodded. “She was coming out of the courthouse this afternoon, when some shithead took three shots at her. All three rounds missed.”
Delta’s muscles tightened as she listened.
“We’ve recovered the rounds. They’re from a .44 Magnum, Model 29, eight-inch barrel.”
“The Dirty Harry,” Delta remarked, offhandedly.
“With a hunter ’s barrel. Still, he missed.”
“Thank God for that. And he got away...”
“Eye witness reports are so varied. He could be a six-foot-tall
Iranian, or a five-foot-two Asian.”
“Great. So, where does that leave us?”
Connie walked over to the door and glanced around. “I can see that you’re getting ready to go to the stables to retrieve your white charger, and I know there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it. Let me at least remind you that Alex is a public figure and this is a very public campaign. Everything must be done by the book. She cannot appear to receive preferential treatment just because she was a potential victim. You could do her more harm than good by galloping to the rescue.”
Delta fiddled with a lock on one of the lockers. “How can I do that, when I don’t even know where she is?”
A sly, incriminating grin slid slowly across Connie’s face. “So, is that my first assignment? To find out where she is?”
Delta looked up from the lock and grinned. Connie knew her better than she knew herself. Maybe she couldn’t ride up on her white charger right now, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t lend a helping hand. “Can you?”
Connie’s grin slid into a smile. “Already have. Well...sort of. I don’t know where she is right now, but I know where she’ll be at 10:00 tonight.”
Delta stepped closer. “Tonight?”
Connie nodded. “The aide followed me to the basement and left a message for you to meet her at Pauline’s tonight at 10:00.”
Delta nodded. “Pauline’s at 10:00?”
“Yep, and just you. She needs the shooter found ASAP so it doesn’t appear to the public that the DA can’t take care of herself. How will the public view her if she doesn’t come up with a suspect?”
“But I thought you said—”
“I did. She needs everything done publicly by the book. The media, the press, and the public must not think she’s getting special treatment. But she needs a suspect, Storm, and I’ll bet a month’s salary she needs you to help find one.”
Suddenly, the political ramifications of the shooting hit Delta head- on. “Without a suspect, Alex will look incapable of defending herself.”
“Exactly. That will give Wainwright the perfect opening to attack her publicly.”
“Which could kill her chances of reelection.”
Connie unlocked the door. “Either way you cut it, Alex is in trouble, Del, and she needs us. Only this time, we have to keep our involvement under wraps, or we could seriously jeopardize the election.”
Delta thought about this for a moment. She couldn’t imagine life without Alex as the district attorney. “Then let’s not do that. I’ll find out how she wants to handle it. No matter what, we’ll play it her way.”
Connie made as though to open the door, but stopped. “Del?”
“Yeah?”
“You can’t afford to get caught with your hand in the cookie jar this time.”
Delta’s left eyebrow raised. “Are you speaking personally, or professionally?”
“Both. Don’t get busted putting your nose where it doesn’t belong, and don’t let your hormones run your body.”
“Connie!”
Connie closed the door and stepped right up to Delta. “Don’t play that game with me. You’d have to be in a coma not to see the flames that fly between you two. With Megan out of town, I don’t want to see you do anything you might regret.”
“Consuela Rivera, have you any idea how much I love Megan?”
“Yes. I also know an attraction between two women when I see it.” Connie held up her hand to stop Delta’s response. “Deny it all you want, Delta Stevens, but there’s something deep between you and our DA, and it’s my job as your best friend to keep you from sinking in it. Capisce?”
Delta nodded and grabbed the door handle. “Think what you want, Con, but I am not about to risk my relationship with Megan for a fling with Alex.”
“Good. You call me after your meeting with her, okay?”
Delta started out the door. “You know, sometimes, you’re worse than my mother.”
Delta looked at her watch. It was four minutes to ten, and the flashing blue neon sign to Pauline’s was reflecting off the hood of the patrol car. “I need to check in on a friend of mine, Carducci. Mind waiting?”
Tony shook his head. “Nah. Just don’t be too long. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
Delta nodded as she got out and entered the building next to the restaurant. It was one of those old plazas where the shops were linked together by tiny halls and indoor alleys. Anyone watching would not be able to see where she was really headed.
Walking quickly past a tennis shop, a jewelry store, and a Chinese restaurant, Delta stepped through a side entrance next to the service elevator. When the door closed behind her, Delta’s eyes quickly adjusted to the candlelit restaurant. Pauline’s was a very dark, very private place, where booths had high backs and the only lighting came from the fat, round candles sitting on the tabletops. Other than the light behind the expansive antique bar, the place was incredibly dark. The ambiance was half the reason people came; Pauline, herself, was the other half.
Pauline was a grandmotherly woman, stout in build, with salt and pep
per curls. Everyone who knew her adored her, and it seemed as if everyone within ten blocks knew her. During World War II, she had been a riveter and supervised the building of more than fifty battleships. One of her dearest friends was Gloria Steinem, and Pauline had submitted numerous articles when Ms. Magazine was just a fledgling monthly. Because of her varied acquaintances, the crowd at Pauline’s was just as mixed.
When Pauline’s husband died some twenty years ago, she took the inheritance and opened her own restaurant. She’d been prospering ever since.
“Hey there, good looking!” Delta said, embracing the older woman.
“You’re such a smooth talker, Delta Stevens. Where the hell have you and your lady friend been?”
Delta pulled away and straightened her tie. “She’s been out of town awhile, but the moment she gets back, we’ll be in for some of your homemade dessert.”
Pauline raised her eyebrows and grinned. “So, while the cat’s away, eh?”
Delta followed Pauline’s gaze toward the back room. “Oh. It’s not what you—”
“Say no more, love,” Pauline interrupted, touching her fingers to Delta’s lips. “It’s not my place to judge you, honey. And if I did, I’d have to give you a ten on your choice of companions. Even with that silly wig on, I can tell she’s beautiful.”
A hot flush spread up Delta’s neck and to her cheeks. “Pauline, I--”
“Never keep a lady waiting. Now get going before you make the other customers nervous.”
Smiling her thanks, Delta pushed aside the black curtain leading to the back room and found Alex sitting in one of the booths with her hands around a mug of coffee. Delta barely recognized her with the dark wig on.
Sliding across the booth, Delta wrapped her large hands around Alex’s, which were warm from the heat of the mug. “You okay?” The candlelight flicked and danced from the air movement.
Taking off the phony glasses, Alex smiled weakly. “I’m fine. He missed.” There was a hint of fear in her gray green eyes as she locked stares with Delta.
“He? You sure it was a male?”
Alex nodded. “I saw him as clearly as I’m seeing you.”
Delta pulled her small pad from her breast pocket and clicked her pen on the table. “Description?”
Reaching across the table, Alexandria laid her hands on Delta’s. “You’re such a sweetheart, but you’re already on overdrive, and I’m not sure you’re in any position to help me this time.”
Delta leaned back, away from Alexandria’s intense gaze.
The black wig covering her long auburn hair did not hide the real beauty behind the disguise. Her lavender blouse was accentuated by dangling purple and silver earrings which rocked gently whenever she spoke. Her jawline was long and strong, framing well her sturdy Roman nose. There was a beauty in her strength and strength in her beauty few women could carry off as well as Alexandria did; Delta admired both qualities.
When they first met, Alexandria was investigating Delta’s involvement in bringing down the men who had killed Miles Brookman, her partner and best friend. Alexandria had dug, pulled, twisted, and cast all manner of light on Delta’s story about that night when Delta fired a fatal bullet into a man sent to kill her. Alexandria did her job, and she did it better than anyone Delta had ever seen. What Alexandria discovered in her search for the truth was how honest Delta Stevens really was. When the trial was over, the two became instant admirers of each other’s integrity.
“You know I’ll do whatever I can, Alex. Just say the word.”
Alex smiled warmly, displaying thousands of dollars worth of perfection. “You know, for someone who prides herself on her unpredictability, you can be awfully predictable sometimes.”
“Only my hairdresser knows for sure. I’m a little partial to the current DA. I’m not ready to break in a new one.”
Alexandria finished her coffee and set the mug on the table’s edge. “That’s good to hear because...,” Alex’s smile disappeared, “because I’m not ready to give it up. At least, not quite yet.”
Delta shifted her body weight and folded her hands on the table. “Explain.”
“This could really turn the tide in Wainwright’s favor, Delta. When this hits the news tonight, I’m not going to be looking so swell.”
“Because?”
“First off, it happened right outside the courthouse and the press were everywhere. Flashbulbs popped all over the place. God, how I dread tomorrow’s papers.”
The waitress came over and filled Alexandria’s mug and offered to serve Delta, who declined.
“Anyway, my people obviously got right on it. We’ve spoken to the chief, and he believes it could be someone I put away who’s now out on parole.”
Delta studied Alexandria’s face as she spoke. She seemed incredibly calm for a woman who had just survived an assassination attempt, but something behind the words that bothered Delta.
“I get the feeling there’s a ‘but’ in the air. You don’t buy the chief’s scenario?”
Alexandria shook her head. “I saw him so clearly, Del. As clearly as I’m looking at you. I spent hours with Jonesy at the computer drawing up his picture. We have a good likeness of the shooter.”
“And?”
“And I have a photographic memory where people are concerned. I never forget them. That man wasn’t anyone I’ve ever convicted.”
“You’re sure?”
Alex nodded. “Positive. Even if the beard is fake or he shaves it off, I’ve never seen that man before today.”
Delta watched as Alex poured cream from a little white carafe. “I’m sure you’re great with faces, Alex, but when a guy’s pointing a gun at you—”
Alexandria held up her hand. “That’s just it, Del. That’s the reason I called you. I saw his face because he moved the gun.”
Delta shook her head. “I don’t follow.”
Looking at the cream as it disappeared into the coffee, Alexandria struggled with the words. “I haven’t told this to anyone else, Delta, but I swear, I think he intended to miss me.”
“What?”
Alex nodded and lowered her voice. “I saw the barrel of the gun move just before he fired. I think he never intended to kill me, just scare me a bit.”
“A bit?”
“I know it sounds strange, Delta, but think about it. He had me cold. I saw how close he was, yet he missed all three shots. And why only three shots? If he really wanted to kill me, why not squeeze off the additional rounds?”
Delta nodded. “And why not use an automatic? Why a dinosaur like the .44?”
“Exactly. And why right in front of the courthouse with all the press there?”
Running her hands through her hair, Delta conceded. “Damn, I feel like I just walked into the middle of a movie. You’re suggesting that it was a staged attack.”
Alex nodded before sipping her coffee. “That’s precisely what I’m suggesting. I’ve gone over it and over it all day long, and too many things simply don’t add up.”
“The attack has political underpinnings.”
Alex shrugged. “I’ve been getting death threats—”
“So I’ve heard.”
“I’m sorry, Del, but we couldn’t take the chance on it leaking to the press. I don’t need those vultures picking at me during this election. Wainwright is an arduous opponent as it is with all his moneyed backers. We couldn’t take any chances, I’m sorry.”
“What’s done is done. What do you need from me? You want me to see if it’s someone connected to Wainwright?”
Alex shook her head. “No. I want you to make sure it isn’t someone from within.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not. I need to be sure I don’t have someone close to me who is actually with Wainwright. I can’t ask any of my people to check it out because how would that look if the press got hold of it? Worse, what if one of my people is on board with Wainwright? I need someone I can trust.”
Delta grinned.
“You know you can always trust me.”
“Yes, I do. I need answers and I need them quickly. I can kiss this election goodbye if I can’t prove to the voters that I can take care of myself. The shooting, if it was staged, is the perfect election weapon. If I don’t get a suspect, and soon, I’m a goner.”
Delta didn’t want to admit it, but Alex was right. A DA who appeared helpless in her own defense didn’t stand a chance of winning the confidence of the public. And with the amount of backing Wainwright possessed, the battle would be tough enough without this thrown into the stew.
“What if it is someone on your staff?”
“We’ll let the public relations department cross that bridge. What I need is a suspect charged with attempted murder. And I need an investigation with discretion; the kind only you can provide.”
“Then, you’re not really interested in the trigger man; you want who’s behind him.”
Alex nodded. “If we find out who that is, give me some time for damage control, and see if we can’t turn this around to my advantage.”
Delta looked deeply into Alex’s eyes. “I’ll do whatever I can, Alex. You know that.”
“We have to move quickly, Del, or—”
“Or else we’ll have a new DA who’s more interested in his financial connections than with convicting criminals. I read you, Alex. Wainwright’s a slimeball who talks out of both sides of his mouth. He should be a politician.”
“That’s just it. Wainwright will use his office to further his own political ambitions. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about crime in River Valley.”
Delta reached across and took Alex’s hands in hers. “You can rest assured that I’ll turn over a bunch of rocks and see who crawls out. In the meantime, beef up your security with people you know you can trust.”
“Like you?” Alex smiled a very different smile that did not go unnoticed by Delta.
“Yeah. Like me.” Rising, Delta lightly touched Alex’s wig. “I prefer your real color.” Delta hugged Alex tightly, then stepped back and smiled at her. “I’m just glad the asshole missed.”
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