The Speed of Sound (Speed of Sound Thrillers #1)(63)

“Who killed him?”

“Dr. Fenton and the mystery man.” She struggled to get the words out.

“It’s wrong to kill someone. It says so in the Bible. ‘Thou shalt not kill.’” Eddie paused, trying to process the information. “Skylar, why did Dr. Fenton and the mystery man kill your boyfriend?”

Skylar couldn’t respond. Her face was buried in her hands.

Eddie wanted to help her, but didn’t know how, so he did the one thing he could do. He continued repeating the conversation in the hallway: “The least I could do is help them get out of the city. What good would that do? . . . They want to go to Philadelphia. Why Philly? . . . The only reason Parks invented the thing was to hear his mother’s voice. She died giving birth to him.”

Eddie showed no emotion. He continued, sounding like Detective Lieutenant Daniels: “You know what I hate? I hate knowing that this thing exists, and what it could do for every case we’ve ever had, or ever will have.”

In the hallway, Butler didn’t follow. “Why do you hate it?”

“Because there is no way on God’s green earth that anyone at our level is ever going to get the chance to use it.”

Repeating their words, Eddie turned to Skylar. “Who is ‘anyone at our level’?”

“I think she means police officers.”

“Why won’t police officers ever get the chance to use the echo box?”

Skylar answered quickly. “I’ll have to tell you later.”

Eddie listened, then repeated the continuing dialogue between Daniels and McHenry. “He’s spent his entire life working on this. He deserves to hear his mother. You’re right. He does. If I don’t help him, who will?” There was a pause in the hallway. Eddie spoke like the detective lieutenant: “You were never here.”

Eddie made his BUZZER sound.

Skylar quickly turned to face him, listening intently. “Shh.” She watched Eddie, waiting for him to continue repeating their conversation. He said nothing. “Did they stop talking?”

“You told me to ‘shh.’”

Skylar spoke urgently. “Tell me what they’re saying.”

“I never saw you.” Eddie was about to make his BUZZER sound again, but he could see that Skylar was already gesturing for him not to. Eddie managed to stop himself, and continued repeating what Victoria was saying: “I’ll give you two minutes. Call and tell me the suspects fled right before you got to the station and that you are in pursuit.”

Victoria’s footsteps could be heard walking away as Butler returned to the interrogation room. “Time to go.”

Eddie looked confused. “Where are we going, Detective?”

“You want to hear your mother sing?”

“Yes, very much.”

“Then move your ass.”





CHAPTER 52

Deputy Inspector Nataro’s Office, Sixth Precinct, May 27, 4:31 p.m.

Deputy Inspector Nataro looked up as Victoria entered his office. “Detective Lieutenant Daniels, this is Homeland Security Agent Harold Raines. Agent Raines, Detective Lieutenant Daniels.” The agent stood up and shook hands with Victoria.

She clenched her teeth. This thing was getting bigger fast. Too big. Too fast.

Agent Raines kept his eyes on her. “Where are the suspects?”

“They’re on their way here.”

“They should have been here by now.”

“Yes, they should have.” Her face gave away nothing.

The veteran agent studied her. Somehow, he just knew he was being played. He spoke into his headset microphone as he moved toward the door. “Search the building top to bottom. I have reason to believe the suspects are in the building.” He joined the other agents as they fanned out through the building with experienced coordination.

The deputy inspector glanced at Daniels. “You better have one hell of a story to tell.”

She placed Nataro’s pocket recorder on his desk. “The doctor’s boyfriend was the victim thrown in front of the subway train.”

“The professor?”

She nodded. “Her boss apparently had him killed for snooping into Parks, who is her patient. The professor stuck his nose where he shouldn’t have.”

“What’s the big deal with this patient?”

“It’s something you need to hear.”

He looked down at the small recorder in his hand. “Whatever’s on this tape will back that up?”

“No judge will ever hear it, but yes.” Victoria Daniels then began to explain science that she herself was only beginning to grasp.





CHAPTER 53

Hudson Street, New York City, May 27, 4:39 p.m.

Butler led Skylar and Eddie away from the station down Hudson Street, toward a park named after James J. Walker, the two-term New York City mayor in the 1920s—known as “Beau James” because of his flamboyant lifestyle—who resigned amid scandal in 1932 and fled to Europe with his movie-star lover. The park featured an elaborate playground, bocce courts, and a synthetic-turf soccer field, which caught Eddie’s attention. He had never seen artificial grass in person before. He stared at it through a fence surrounding the play area, slowing down considerably. “That’s not real grass, is it?”