Fat Tuesday(114)

Pat nodded."That's right. You've wanted the guy who tipped the dealers of the raid that night and got Kev killed. There's your culprit."

Mistrusting what he'd heard, Burke stared hard into Pat's eyes.

When the words finally sank in, his knees went weak and he leaned against the wall, then slowly slid down it until he was crouching.

Pat gave him a moment to reflect. Finally, he asked, "You all right?"

"Yeah. Fine." Burke had to clear his throat before he could continue.

"I thought ... I thought I would feel different when I found out who it was."

"How do you feel?"

"Empty."

They were quiet for a time. Burke noticed that the pool of blood that had formed beneath Mac's body had stagnated. Soon it would congeal.

So much blood. From Mac. From Kevin.

After a time, he looked up at Pat."If the information Mac supplied to Duvall kept his drug trade thriving, wasn't he too valuable to squander by sending after me?"

"Apparently getting you superseded everything else in Duvall's life.

Mac was close to you, someone you might trust to be bringing a message of goodwill. And Mac was dispensable."

"Because Duvall's resources are unlimited. He's probably already got another cop to replace Mac."

Pat nodded grimly."You're probably right."

Burke stared down into Mac's death mask and thought about the young man's annoying habits but undeniable charm, thought about his pretty young wife, thought about the waste of it all. It made him want to hit something very hard.

He asked Pat, "How'd you know Mac was coming here this morning?"

"We've been closing in on him, watching his every move. We recently learned he was in debt to a loan shark named Del Ray Jones."

"I know who he is."

"When Del Ray took Mac to a meeting with Duvall night before last, it was easy to deduce what was going on."

Burke came to his feet."That's pretty flimsy evidence, Doug. How do you know Mac wasn't coming here to warn me, or to deliver a message from Duvall? That's what he told me he was doing."

"He was going for his gun, remember? Would you have rather I waited to see if he shot you first?"

Burke conceded the point.

"Anyhow," Pat continued, "I knew what Mac had been sent out here to do,

because I spoke to Duvall. I called him this morning and told him that Mac was blown. Using that cryptic lawyer language that's inadmissible in court, he implied what Mac's errand would accomplish.

Then he boasted that whether Mac got you or not, he had a backup plan."

"He was bluffing. I spoke to him this morning myself. He's still hungry for a taste of me. Whenever he comes, whatever form his backup plan takes, I'll be ready for him."

"Jesus, will you listen to yourself?" Pat shouted."You and Duvall are in a pissing contest like a couple of junior-high boys. Wake up, Burke, and put this thing into perspective. One man's already dead over this mess, and I take that hard because I had to kill him.

Whether he was dirty or not, Mac was one of my own men." Changing tones, he said, "I'm begging you to give this up. Now.

You've got who you were ultimately after, and that's the cop that got Kev killed. So let's pick up Mrs. Duvall, wherever you're keeping her, and see her safely home."

"Not until I see the whites of Duvall's eyes."

"Okay, say you succeed in killing Duvall and Bardo, but you wind up in prison on death row. Who have you spited?"

"I'm not taking her back."

"Worst-case scenario. What if Duvall survives and you go to prison?

Do you think he'll let it drop? Never. He'll hurt you any way he can.

Remember Sachel and his son? Duvall is ruthless. What's to keep him from turning Nancy Stuart over to Bardo? He'll use the people you care for to torture you. I've met your brother. He's a nice guy. You won't be able to protect them, Burke. Not from a cell in Angola."

"All the more reason for me to make sure that neither one survives."

"Dammit, Burke, listen to me."

"No, you listen to me," Burke shouted back."I started this and I'm going to finish it."

"I'll arrest you."

"For what?"

"Kidnapping."

"Have I written a ransom note? What evidence do you have that I took Mrs. Duvall by force? Maybe she and I cooked this up together so she could escape that tyrannical son of a bitch."

Pat shot him a retiring look."It's not too late to turn this thing around. Duvall approached me shortly after the abduction and warned me then that he was going to kill you. If you persist, you'll be on your own. But if you come in with me now, you'll have the protection of the department behind you."

"No thanks. The department " Before he could react, Pat's pistol was coming down hard on his temple. He staggered toward the door, pyrotechnics exploding behind his eyes. The pier beyond the screened door seemed to stretch for miles, as though he were looking at it through reversed binoculars. The tunnel of vision continued to shrink as blackness closed in around it. Then it disappeared altogether.

His last conscious thought was of Remy. She was alone, waiting for his return.