Long Shadows (Amos Decker, #7)(52)

“No, never. I haven’t used it since I was in law school. And you say it figures in her death some way? How very strange.”

“And getting stranger by the second,” said Decker.





Chapter 36



I DID NOT LEAK THAT information to Roe or anyone else,” said Andrews angrily.

They were seated at an outside table of an Italian restaurant, where, by prearrangement, Decker and White had met the FBI agent for a late dinner.

“Well, she knew,” said Decker.

“Then she learned it from someone else. Are you sure you didn’t mention it?”

“I don’t mention shit to anybody,” replied Decker.

A visibly angry Andrews sat back and sipped from his glass of white wine.

“Anything come from the gate log review?” asked White in a calming tone.

“Nothing yet. And if Barry hired a hit man I don’t think he came through the gate. I requested a warrant for his financial records, as I said. We should have those very soon.” He put his wine down. “Now, we did receive info from Gamma on Draymont’s and Lancer’s backgrounds. Before coming to Gamma, Draymont worked in DC for the Capitol Police.”

“Interesting transition, coming down here and going private,” said Decker. “Draymont was way too young to be double-dipping,” he added, referring to the practice of a government employee’s earning his full pension and then going to work at another job.

“Maybe Gamma made him an offer he couldn’t refuse,” suggested Andrews.

“If they did, it would be nice to know,” said Decker.

“You mentioned you met with Kasimira?” asked Andrews.

“I did. She wants me to figure out what happened to her father. That’s why she agreed to release those files on Lancer and Draymont, because I told her I’d look into it under certain conditions.”

Andrews looked surprised. “But that’s not the case you’re on.”

“I’ll only work on it if it connects with our case. I told her that.”

“But how could it? Kanak Roe presumably died three years ago.”

“And someone stuffed the currency of Roe’s native land into Draymont’s throat. That’s either one hell of a coincidence or there might be some common elements between the two events, even though they’re years apart.”

Andrews fiddled with his napkin. “I guess that’s possible.”

“And what’s the background on Alice Lancer?” asked White.

Andrews cleared his throat. “Lancer has been with Gamma for six years. Draymont about the same, by the way. Before going to work for Gamma she was a lawyer for a few years, then a communications director, and later a lobbyist at a political outfit in DC.”

“So the same city and basically the same arena as Draymont.”

“Yes. So they could have known each other back then.”

White drank from her water glass and said, “Lawyer, and then communications director, and then a lobbyist for a political group, and now she works at a private security firm? Odd career trajectory.”

Decker said, “It all depends on her personal goals.”

She looked at Andrews. “Family? Draymont and Lancer?”

“Draymont’s family is in Seattle. Parents still alive, and he has one brother. They’ve been notified. They’re coming in to claim the body.”

“And Lancer?” said White.

“We found out that Alice Lancer is an orphan. Her adoptive parents died in a plane crash over a decade ago. She has no siblings. And we really have no way of finding out who her biological parents were.”

Something clicked in Decker’s head when Andrews said this. Okay, that’s interesting.

“So, dead end there,” noted White.

“Seems to be. And there’s no sign of Lancer or Patty Kelly. It’s like they’ve disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“Funny how that always seems to happen when someone doesn’t want to talk to the cops,” interjected Decker.

“What will you do next?” asked Andrews.

“We learned from Duncan Trotter that Judge Cummins’s death resulted in her ex being the trustee of a twenty-million-dollar-plus fortune.”

Andrews nearly dumped his wine. “Shit. I knew she was loaded, but not that loaded.”

Decker’s phone vibrated and he read the message that had just come in. “This is from the ME. I had a hunch about something and it turned out I was right.”

“What was the hunch?” asked Andrews.

“That Alan Draymont wasn’t guarding the judge, he was sleeping with her.”

“What!” Andrews blurted out.

Decker briefly explained what he had found at the crime scene and also the confirmation from the ME. He also told Andrews about his theory of there being two different killers.

Andrews nodded, looking thoughtful. “I have to admit, the different methods of the killings were bothering me. You either see one or the other. But Decker, Trevor Perlman said he recommended Gamma to the judge. And she told others, including her son, that she was having protection.”

“Doris Kline told me that Draymont wasn’t there every night. And no one else was taking up the protection. Funny way to guard someone.”