City of Endless Night (Pendergast #17)(32)
Curry braked and muttered a curse when a black stretch limo cut him off as he navigated the congestion leading into the Holland Tunnel. D’Agosta’s best hope for some sort of newsworthy breakthrough was the interview he was headed to now, a very promising lead in the Cantucci murder. He knew the killer was, almost beyond doubt, someone connected to the security company Sharps & Gund—an employee, or ex-employee. He was on the way to interview a certain William Paine, one of the two Sharps & Gund technicians who had installed the security system in the Cantucci house. While D’Agosta already knew Paine himself was not a suspect—D’Agosta had verified the man had been in Dubai for the past three weeks on a big system install—he felt sure that Paine would be able to point him to other possible suspects. More important, Paine could verify that this had been an inside job. What he needed more than anything was hard information connecting Sharps & Gund to the Cantucci murder, not mere speculation but something solid enough to go public with.
They emerged from the Holland Tunnel and made their way through Hudson County and across Newark Bay and the wasteland of Port Newark, finally reaching the enclave of Maplewood. One turn, another, and a third and they had arrived at their destination. There, parked along the curb, was Pendergast’s Rolls, the dark form of Proctor inside, waiting behind the wheel.
The house was a modest two-story Colonial of white clapboard, a brown lawn, and a garden withered by the early-winter cold. It must have snowed in Jersey last week, D’Agosta thought, given the icy crusts remaining in spots on the lawn.
Curry pulled up behind the Rolls and they got out and walked up the front steps, rang the doorbell. A big lumbering man answered, introduced himself as Paine. “FBI’s already here,” he said sourly as they followed him into the living room.
Pendergast was sitting on the sofa, as gaunt and white as ever. D’Agosta removed his iPad, on which he sometimes took notes, while Curry took out his steno notebook. Pendergast never took notes or even seemed to carry paper and pen with him.
“Lieutenant,” said Pendergast, “I’ve been waiting for you and I’ve resisted the urge to ask questions.”
D’Agosta nodded his appreciation. He and Curry took seats, along with Paine.
“Let me open by saying you’re not a suspect,” said D’Agosta. “Understood?”
Paine nodded, hands clasped. He looked a little ragged, eyes bloodshot, clothes rumpled, hair mussed. Jet lag, maybe? “I want to be as helpful as I can,” he said, in a tone that implied just the opposite.
D’Agosta led him through the preliminary questions about age, residence, how long he’d worked at Sharps & Gund, and so forth, receiving short, uninformative answers. Finally D’Agosta got to the meat of the interview.
“I’d like you to describe for us the Cantucci security system: how it worked, how it was set up, and especially how it was circumvented.”
At this Paine crossed his arms and began to describe the system in general terms, much as Marvin had done earlier. D’Agosta listened, taking a few notes, getting the strong impression as he did so that the guy was holding back. He asked a few probing questions about system details, and got in return more vague answers and evasion, until Paine finally said: “I really can’t answer any more questions of a technical nature.”
“Why not?”
“You must know I’ve signed NDAs about all this and I’m not supposed to talk about it. I could be fired—even sued.”
“Has Ingmar threatened you with retaliation if you talk to us?” D’Agosta asked.
“Not in any specific way, but the general message was clear.”
“Mr. Paine, do you wish to terminate the interview? I want you to understand that if you do, we will get a subpoena, take you down to the station, and you’ll be compelled to answer questions under oath.”
“I realize that.”
“Is that what you want us to do?”
“Yes, in fact. Because then my ass will be covered.”
Son of a bitch. The guy was calling his bluff. D’Agosta leaned forward. “Believe me, we’re going to remember just how helpful you were, and we’re going to return the favor.”
Paine looked back at him, eyes blinking behind large glasses. “So be it. The harder you ride me, the better it’ll look to Ingmar. Look, Lieutenant, I need my job.”
At this Pendergast spoke, his voice mild and honeyed. “So what you require, Mr. Paine, is to be coerced?”
“That’s about it.”
“Since we are short on time, and getting a subpoena will take several days, I wonder if there isn’t a way we can coerce you right here and now.”
Paine stared. “Like how? Is that a threat?”
“Heavens, no! I’m just thinking of creating a little drama. Sergeant Curry, I assume you carry a battering ram in that squad car of yours?”
“Always.”
“Excellent! Here’s what we’ll all do. We’ll leave the house, drive away, then return shortly with sirens blaring. Mr. Paine, you will refuse to open the door. Sergeant Curry, you will enter stage center and batter down the door in a suitably spectacular and destructive fashion, so that all the neighbors will hear. We shall lead Mr. Paine out of the house in handcuffs—after suitably disarranging his clothing and hair and perhaps tearing a few buttons off his shirt in the process—and take him to the station where we can finish the interview. All this without need of a subpoena, because, Mr. Paine, you will agree on video—for the legal purposes of law enforcement, you understand, and it won’t ever get back to your employer—that this was entirely voluntary and you understand your rights and all the rest.”