24
Bright and early Monday morning, Darby followed Kennedy through the revolving doors and into the main lobby of the Belham PD headquarters, a startling large space of imported brown-and-black marble. She had been only a couple of months into her job as a crime-scene technician when she first worked on Claire Flynn’s abduction, and now here she was, over a decade later, holding an evidence bag containing the young girl’s winter coat and heading back to the lab. Returning to a bureaucrat pit run by men who cared more about how their spreadsheets balanced and how to spin a story to their advantage than doing the next right thing for the victim of a violent crime.
She signed in and was given a guest ID, then she followed Kennedy to the elevators and rode one to the top floor. Kennedy had called ahead to let the lab know he was coming with the jacket. He hadn’t mentioned she was accompanying him.
Her lower back was stiff from a weekend spent sitting in her car. Yesterday, she had travelled to New Bedford to speak to Judith Levenson about her daughter, Elizabeth. Levenson wasn’t home and none of the neighbours knew where she was. Darby had called the woman as well as Nancy Hamilton repeatedly over the weekend, hoping they would, at the very least, return her calls. They didn’t.
When the elevator stopped and its doors slid open, she wasn’t surprised to find the director of the crime lab, Leland Pratt, waiting for them in the reception area.
Leland, closing in on sixty, had the personality and charm of a used Band-Aid. He also, she was sure, had the qualities of a closet sadist. For as long as she had known him, he got off on saying no to his people and, Darby sensed, he secretly enjoyed watching their frustration and anger at the obstacles he put in place.
‘Good morning,’ Leland said. He looked only at Kennedy.
Leland’s hands were tucked in his trouser pockets. He wore an expensive suit and the kind of garish accoutrements – a gold tie clip and cufflinks and a big Rolex watch – that gave him the swarthy air of a Lamborghini salesman from Long Island.
‘Lab all ready?’ Kennedy asked.
‘It is.’
‘Great. Thanks for accommodating us at such short notice.’
Leland’s smile was tight. ‘There’s one small matter we need to discuss,’ he said, and slid his eyes to Darby.
Darby showed no reaction, which, she was sure, disappointed him greatly. The man loved a good argument.
Kennedy said, ‘She’s consulting with us on the case.’
‘Yes. I’ve heard. Be that as it may, the lab is for qualified personnel only.’
‘She’s not qualified?’ Kennedy chuckled, but it carried a warning: he was ready to climb into the ring and go head to head.
‘Of course not,’ Leland scoffed. ‘Dr McCormick is well known in her field. But she does have a prior relationship with the family of the victim.’
‘You mean Mickey Flynn,’ Kennedy said.
Leland nodded. ‘I consulted with the district attorney about it this morning. Given the highly volatile nature of this case, he explicitly stated that under no circumstances is Dr McCormick to be allowed inside the lab while the jacket is being processed for evidence. All it will take is for Mr Byrne’s lawyer to point out during the trial –’
‘There isn’t going to be a trial. The man’s dying, in case you haven’t heard.’
Leland shrugged. ‘We have our orders.’
Kennedy, Darby knew, wasn’t about to go up against DA Tommy McMannus. His hands were tied. But he didn’t back down. ‘Get Tommy on the phone,’ Kennedy said.
‘He’s in federal court. He’ll be tied up a good part of the day.’
Of course he is, Darby thought, taking out her phone to check her messages.
Leland said, ‘What would you like to do, Detective Kennedy? It’s your call.’
Kennedy began to twist in the wind. Darby said, ‘It’s fine, Chris.’ Then, to Leland: ‘Who’s going to work on the jacket?’
‘No one you know,’ Leland said pleasantly. ‘Everyone you know has moved on, I’m afraid.’
‘How much time have they racked up working major cases?’
Leland bristled a little at that. ‘I can assure you, they’re highly qualified.’
‘But not experts.’
Leland’s eyes were working, trying to figure out where she was leading him, what she had planned. They widened in surprise and, Darby supposed, shock when she gave him the names of two pioneering forensic scientists – an older man and woman who had both gained celebrity status by working on and solving some of the world’s most difficult criminal cases. They had appeared on so many true-crime shows and documentaries over the years they were practically household names.
‘I don’t see what relevance those two people have to the matter at hand,’ Leland said.
‘I spoke to them both at length over the weekend,’ Darby said. ‘They’ve agreed to volunteer their time and help the team working on the jacket.’
‘As much as I’d like to have them here at my lab, the reality is the jacket is ready to be examined now. I’ve rescheduled cases and resources in order to accommodate –’
‘They’re on their way from the airport. I just got a text.’ Darby showed Leland the phone and took great pleasure in watching him squirm, Leland shuffling as though he had a hot coal pinched between his cheeks. ‘Of course, this is your lab, as you kindly reminded us, so you can say no. Granted, I’m not as versatile in the art of kissing ass as you are, but what do you think the DA is going to say if you refuse to allow the top two forensic specialists in the world to examine the jacket?’
Leland straightened, his throat working.
‘And if your mind just ran to your spreadsheet, thinking about operating costs, you don’t have to worry about Boston picking up the tab,’ Darby said. ‘The bill has been paid in full.’
Kennedy answered the question. ‘By my department.’
Leland turned his attention – and anger – to Kennedy. ‘I don’t appreciate being manipulated.’
Darby said, ‘I’m sure Mickey Flynn will be very grateful that two experts agreed to take time out of their demanding schedules to work on his daughter’s case. I know how much you’d hate to disappoint a grieving father – not because you have a heart but because of the bad PR it’ll generate if you act like a supremo asshole here.’
Leland’s throat had reddened but his face was the colour of bone. ‘Anything else?’
‘Besides upgrading your mouthwash? No,’ Darby said. ‘Now run along and call the DA. We’ll wait here.’
Leland was working double-overtime to keep the defeat from reaching his face. He calmly walked away to make the call, and, when he shut the door to his office, Kennedy leaned into her and whispered, ‘I am so in love with you right now.’