City of the Dead (Alex Delaware, #37)(90)

“Always happy to help, John, but no can do.”

“Why not?”

I told him about the custody case.

He said, “Oh…yeah, that could get messy. Were you directly involved in solving it?”

“Depends on how you look at it.”

“Not really, Alex. What exactly did you do?”

“Had a thought and made a suggestion.” I filled him in.

He said, “You really didn’t actively do anything, you just intellectualized.”

I said, “There you go.”

“It could still get messy, though. The main thing is your name shouldn’t appear in the murder book.”

“I have no problem with that.”

“I’ll call Milo and make sure you’re persona invisibilia. Meanwhile, who would you recommend to evaluate this asshole?”

“There’re plenty of good people, John. I’m sure you’ve used some of them.”

“Good point,” he said. “Have a nice day.”



* * *



—

Two good people, both of whom I knew, were contacted. But it never got to the point of a mental evaluation because Conrad Deeb was “utterly repulsed by the notion of being adjudged psychiatrically defective.”

Normally, I’d assume that was lawyer-speak but in this case I suspected a direct quote from the defendant.

In the end, everything resolved as even the worst of crimes often do, after convoluted, legalistic horse-trading.

A ritual. Everyone knew the outcome but criminal attorneys are bred to paw the dirt and lunge for the throat.

In exchange for pleading to first-degree murder to Gannett and Delage, Conrad Deeb received the possibility of parole for each of two life sentences.

Simplifying matters, Nguyen got the D.A.’s in Rochester and Columbus to accept Deeb’s Alford plea. Not acknowledging guilt on Wurtz and Walenska but admitting that enough evidence existed to convict him. Two additional life sentences to be served concurrently.

Deeb’s primary goal: avoiding a trial in Missouri where the death penalty could still mean just that. Walenska’s father objected initially but was won over by his wife, a former Quaker.

Deeb got sent to Pelican Bay where he began to file verbose appeals for himself and on the behalf of other incorrigibles.

Milo said, “He’s gotta be smart enough to know it’s futile.”

I said, “He’s probably concentrating on the other guys. They see him as useful, it’s life insurance.”

“Ah,” he said. He laughed. “I say that a lot when I’m with you.”

He tapped the shiny, scarred wooden bar of the Irish tavern where we’d sat for the past hour. A surface, I realized, not unlike the hickory stick.

He drained his beer and his shot, let out a satisfied breath. “Another Chivas on me?”

“Thought you’d never ask.”





CHAPTER


    41


On a lovely, warm, clear L.A. afternoon, as Conrad Deeb sat in a high-power cell at County waiting for transport up north, Toni McManus called and asked for an appointment.

I said, “For Philomena?”

“No, just me. And could it please be soon? We’re due to leave for Kentucky in a couple of days.”

I checked my book. “How about four today?”

“Perfect. Thanks so much.”



* * *



—

This time, she arrived early. I’d just finished a phone conference with a judge and was free to oblige her.

Same as other times I’d seen her, she wore all-black, but the flowing hair had been tied back carelessly with stray hairs frizzing, and her face looked raw and drawn.

I fetched her a bottle of fizzy water, popped it open, and handed it to her.

“You remembered.” Wan smile. She drank greedily. “May I start by asking you a question?”

“Sure.”

“When did you know? About him.”

“When the police told me.”

“Not before?” she said. “I’m not trying to be rude, I’m only asking because I just learned that you work with the police. My mother told me. She flew in, she’s the one taking care of Philomena, which enabled me to come to talk to you. She’s a crime buff, reads mysteries, watches I.D. She’s on her computer all the time, thinking she can solve things. She looked you up and found out.”

I said, “Flattered to merit your mom’s attention.”

“But you weren’t investigating Conrad when you saw him.”

“Not at all.”

“That’s what I thought,” she said. “My mom has all sorts of ideas. Like maybe you’re one of those Sherlock types.”

Her posture loosened. “To be honest, Dr. Delaware, Mom would like nothing better than to meet you, so she can brag to her friends.”

She turned grim. “I know she’s doing it for my sake but she’s making light of the whole situation. No trauma, just annoyance. He’s getting his just deserts, she never trusted him. Which, of course, she never mentioned once to me. Anyway, that’s not why I’m here. Mom brought the Citation and as soon as we’re packed up, she’s flying us back to Kentucky. Philly hasn’t been told anything, she hadn’t been seeing him very much anyway, so it’s not a big change. But I figure eventually she’s going to ask and I need to know what to tell her. Not just now, in the future. I guess it’s the future that’s freaking me out. What will come up and how do I handle it?”