Read Online The Darkness Gathers by Lisa Unger - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lisa Unger
Ads: Link
that said she’d checked out emotionally.
“That’s right,” said the detective after an embarrassed pause. “Ms. Strong, I’m sorry to have brought that up.”
“It’s all right,” she said. And Jeffrey could tell that it was. She had been dealing with the memory of her mother’s murder much more easily since the Angel Fire case. “Call me Lydia.”
“Call me Manny. And that case last year,” said Ignacio, as if thinking aloud, “that was both of you, as well.”
“Again, it was mostly Lydia.”
“We make a good team,” Lydia said, smiling—something she did a lot more of these days.
She took the tape out of the evidence bag with tweezers and managed to get it into the machine without touching it. She pressed the play button, and Tatiana’s voice filled the room. They were quiet as they listened to the frightened girl, and Lydia thought she saw Detective Ignacio mist up a bit. He rewound the tape and listened to it a second time.
“What’s she saying there? Is it Albanian?”
“It must be,” said Lydia. “And this,” she said after he had pressed the stop button with a sigh. She handed him the note that had arrived with the tape, and he read it.
“It could have been the maid, Valentina Fitore, who sent this to you,” he said after a moment. “Her English is a little shaky, and I’ve had the feeling she’s been hiding something all along. But when I questioned her, I got nothing. You know, the tactics that you use to get information out of U.S. citizens don’t always work with people from countries like Albania, places that are controlled by organized crime. The American police look like Boy Scouts; our prisons look like Club Med compared to the hell they’ve seen in the Balkans. I got the sense she wanted to talk but was more afraid of something else than she was of me. When did you receive this?”
“I got it in the mail the day before yesterday. It was forwarded to me from my publisher. The postmark on the envelope is October first. You can hold on to it, if you want. Have it analyzed.”
“Absolutely. Prints, DNA, hair, fibers, handwriting analysis—the whole shebang. But let’s make a dub of this tape and take it over to Jenna Quinn and see what type of reaction we get out of her. Or maybe this isn’t even Tatiana. Just another dead end.” He leaned back in his chair and looked at the stucco ceiling. Then he pulled a blank tape from a box on the table and put it in the cassette player, next to the original. A high-pitched squeal emitted from the machine as he dubbed the tape.
“If Valentina doesn’t speak much English,” said Lydia, “she couldn’t have written this note.”
“That’s true.” He shrugged. “Maybe someone helped her.”
“Will I be able to talk to Valentina?” asked Lydia when the machine had quieted down.
“You’ll probably be better off talking to her when she’s not at the Quinns’.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because she’s terrified of them.”
“Do you think they had something to do with Tatiana’s disappearance, Detective?”
He shook his head slowly, raising his thick eyebrows. She noticed him running his fingers under the edge of the table.
“I just don’t know,” he said. But something in his eyes gave Lydia a different answer. She didn’t press him. “So,” he said, “what’s your interest in this case? Are you in this for the long haul, or are you just satisfying your curiosity? ’Cause I wouldn’t resist the help if you’re planning to come on board.”
Jeffrey shot Lydia a warning glance, then said, “Let’s just say we are considering the possibility.”
“Good enough,” said Ignacio, rising. “I can use all the help I can get. You’ll come along to the Quinn residence?”
“Sure,” Jeffrey replied.
“What type of research have you done on the Quinns?” asked Lydia when they’d left the audiovisual room and were back in his office, where he grabbed his car keys.
“It’s been pretty
“That’s right,” said the detective after an embarrassed pause. “Ms. Strong, I’m sorry to have brought that up.”
“It’s all right,” she said. And Jeffrey could tell that it was. She had been dealing with the memory of her mother’s murder much more easily since the Angel Fire case. “Call me Lydia.”
“Call me Manny. And that case last year,” said Ignacio, as if thinking aloud, “that was both of you, as well.”
“Again, it was mostly Lydia.”
“We make a good team,” Lydia said, smiling—something she did a lot more of these days.
She took the tape out of the evidence bag with tweezers and managed to get it into the machine without touching it. She pressed the play button, and Tatiana’s voice filled the room. They were quiet as they listened to the frightened girl, and Lydia thought she saw Detective Ignacio mist up a bit. He rewound the tape and listened to it a second time.
“What’s she saying there? Is it Albanian?”
“It must be,” said Lydia. “And this,” she said after he had pressed the stop button with a sigh. She handed him the note that had arrived with the tape, and he read it.
“It could have been the maid, Valentina Fitore, who sent this to you,” he said after a moment. “Her English is a little shaky, and I’ve had the feeling she’s been hiding something all along. But when I questioned her, I got nothing. You know, the tactics that you use to get information out of U.S. citizens don’t always work with people from countries like Albania, places that are controlled by organized crime. The American police look like Boy Scouts; our prisons look like Club Med compared to the hell they’ve seen in the Balkans. I got the sense she wanted to talk but was more afraid of something else than she was of me. When did you receive this?”
“I got it in the mail the day before yesterday. It was forwarded to me from my publisher. The postmark on the envelope is October first. You can hold on to it, if you want. Have it analyzed.”
“Absolutely. Prints, DNA, hair, fibers, handwriting analysis—the whole shebang. But let’s make a dub of this tape and take it over to Jenna Quinn and see what type of reaction we get out of her. Or maybe this isn’t even Tatiana. Just another dead end.” He leaned back in his chair and looked at the stucco ceiling. Then he pulled a blank tape from a box on the table and put it in the cassette player, next to the original. A high-pitched squeal emitted from the machine as he dubbed the tape.
“If Valentina doesn’t speak much English,” said Lydia, “she couldn’t have written this note.”
“That’s true.” He shrugged. “Maybe someone helped her.”
“Will I be able to talk to Valentina?” asked Lydia when the machine had quieted down.
“You’ll probably be better off talking to her when she’s not at the Quinns’.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because she’s terrified of them.”
“Do you think they had something to do with Tatiana’s disappearance, Detective?”
He shook his head slowly, raising his thick eyebrows. She noticed him running his fingers under the edge of the table.
“I just don’t know,” he said. But something in his eyes gave Lydia a different answer. She didn’t press him. “So,” he said, “what’s your interest in this case? Are you in this for the long haul, or are you just satisfying your curiosity? ’Cause I wouldn’t resist the help if you’re planning to come on board.”
Jeffrey shot Lydia a warning glance, then said, “Let’s just say we are considering the possibility.”
“Good enough,” said Ignacio, rising. “I can use all the help I can get. You’ll come along to the Quinn residence?”
“Sure,” Jeffrey replied.
“What type of research have you done on the Quinns?” asked Lydia when they’d left the audiovisual room and were back in his office, where he grabbed his car keys.
“It’s been pretty
Similar Books
