Judd looked as frantic as Hunter expected after having been woken up before seven on a Saturday morning with a direct command to get to Dennis’s house as soon as possible, and not to forget his laptop under threat of bodily harm.
“I’m here,” he said, setting the laptop on the table, then looked to Dennis with questioning eyes. Dennis was relaxed and calm as he raised his coffee cup to Judd in welcome.
Hunter had a spectrum of anger, frustration, confusion, and determination to get something accomplished flashing through him, and now that Judd was here, he might be able to finally get a few more answers.
Judd took a seat next to Dennis and said to Hunter, “Dude, you look like shit.”
Hunter gave Judd a hard, tired stare. “Yeah, I’ve had quite a night.”
Dennis turned to Judd. “Go get yourself a cup of coffee. My guess is that we’re in for quite a story.”
After Judd returned from the kitchen with his coffee, and Dennis’s wife had excused herself to her garden, Hunter told the whole story from the day he met Chloe until he left her apartment early this morning. He went into detail about his late wife and who she apparently was in a previous life—a woman named Saffron, working for the mob, who sold herself for money in exchange for food in her stomach and a roof over her head.
Dennis scratched the stubble on his cheeks and gave a quiet whistle. “Damn, boy. That’s a blow to the balls, isn’t it?”
Hunter gave an agreeing laugh. “A goddamn crippling one. I still feel like I’m going to puke.”
“Well, I’m sure lack of food and sleep might have something to do with that too.” Dennis took a drink of his coffee and gave Hunter a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, man. I know you were pretty nuts about this girl.”
“The drive back home was torture, man. I shouldn’t still care. She lied to me, but at the same time, she spent hours giving me some of what I’ve been looking for to solve these cases. But she still didn’t tell me everything. There’s more to the story that she’s holding back.”
“There’s a lot in here,” Judd said as he stared at his computer screen.
Dennis’s eyebrows lifted, impressed, as he leaned over to glance at the computer screen. “That didn’t take long.”
“If you’d get a damn computer in your house, we would have been able to find him an hour ago, you cheap bastard,” Hunter said as he reached for Judd’s laptop to see what was found. “You’re lucky your neighbors don’t have a password on their wireless or I would have dragged you to the office instead.”
Hunter clicked on the most recent link that mentioned Matthew’s name. It was a newspaper article from the Boston Herald about the groundbreaking ceremonies, held two days ago, for a new wing at a children’s hospital. Hunter scanned the story, but that wasn’t what he was interested in. He was interested in the picture featuring the joyous members of the hospital administrators and board of directors, the president of the board shaking hands with the man of the hour—the generous benefactor to the ailing and terminal children of Massachusetts. Hunter clicked on the picture, enlarging it so he could get a better look at Matthew Parnell. He wasn’t as old as he imagined; he was a handsome man, clean-cut, very tightly composed, with a generous smile on his face that said, Oh, it’s nothing. Really.
After a few minutes, Judd broke the silence. “What exactly are you looking at?”
Hunter turned the laptop around so Dennis and Judd could see the picture of Matthew, both of them with questioning looks on their faces, but Hunter didn’t allow them long to study the picture. “The Black Rose Murderer.”
Judd’s head snapped up in instant understanding. “That’s him?” Hunter nodded, but the look on Judd’s face said their work would be cut out for them. “If this guy is who she says he is…I gotta be honest, guys. Going up against the mob…”
Dennis gave Judd a slap on the back of the head like a scolding parent. “Don’t even finish that thought. Besides, the mob is Italian. This is just a well-organized, yet slightly dysfunctional organized crime family.” As Judd rubbed the back of his head, Dennis turned to Hunter. “Do you think she’ll help us?”
“I don’t know. She’s afraid.” Hunter stared at the picture of the man responsible for the Black Rose Murders with a hard and determined look. “I can tell you this. Chloe is right about this man’s power, ego, and reputation being everything to him. Just look at the smug smile on his face and the pat on the back he’s giving himself.”
“When is she planning on leaving for Boston?” Dennis asked.
“We didn’t get that far in the conversation before she fell asleep. I’m going to call her in a couple days,” Hunter said. At Judd’s look of impatience, he added, “I need to give her a few days. She has to think about what she wants to do, and she will probably want time to talk to this friend of hers. Which reminds me, you need to get ahold of the Marshals and have them meet with me ASAP. I need to be able to tell her what they’re willing to offer if her friend testifies.”
“If you can get him to trial,” Dennis reminded Hunter.
“Oh, I’ll get him to trial,” Hunter said assuredly. “But if the Marshals don’t offer anything, I can guarantee that her friend won’t talk, and Chloe will walk away. I know it.”
Dennis turned to Hunter. “Is that it?” he asked.
“That’s it,” Hunter affirmed.
“Okay.” Dennis stood and approached Hunter, speaking with a stern tone. “The guest room is upstairs, first door on the left. You’re going to go up there and sleep the sleep of the dead.” Hunter was about to argue but Dennis put his hands up. “Don’t even think of arguing with me, boy. I’ll drag you upstairs by your ears if that’s how you want to play this out. Or, if you prefer, I’ll go get the missus and you can hear it from her. Your choice.”
Judd covered a smile with his coffee cup while Hunter looked at Dennis like a child being punished for setting ants on fire.
“While you’re sleeping,” Dennis motioned to Judd, “we will start by getting all the information we can on Parnell and let you know all about it when you’re awake and fed again.”
Dennis and Hunter had a stare down that lasted no longer than ten seconds before Hunter gave in with a sigh and stood up.
“First door on the left?” Hunter asked with a grin.
“Smart ass,” Dennis replied. “Get up there.”
Hunter went upstairs, took off his shoes, and was asleep before his head hit the pillow. He dreamed of the faces of the women in his files, each one of them looking to him for the chance to finally bring them peace.