Night Watch--A Novel Page 8

  “No, we make our own luck. But at the time when she gave it to me, I was having a rough time developing this process and was pretty discouraged. But Elswyth was only three, and she was facing years of therapy for cerebral palsy. She smiled up at me, and I knew that she would never surrender, never give up.” He squeezed her hand, and said softly, “So I couldn’t either. Never surrender. Never give up.”

  She could feel the tears sting her eyes. “How is she?”

  “Still fighting. Still splendid.” He took a step closer. “Now, let’s begin.” His voice was very gentle. “I understand you brought an iPod loaded with music you’d like to listen to while we work.”

  “Only if it’s okay with you,” she said quickly. “You’re the one doing the work here. If you want to listen to your classical music or whatever, I’m cool with that.”

  “Why does everyone think I prefer classical? Is it because I’m English?”

  “English and highly educated. Sorry for pigeonholing you. What’s your pleasure?”

  He paused. “Well, I do have London Symphony Orchestra season tickets at the Barbican.”

  “Ha! I knew it.”

  “But pick any music you like. Your iPod’s warmed up and waiting on the dock. Once I start work, I’ll tune it out anyway.”

  It was going to start. Together, they were going to begin the adventure of her lifetime. Her hand tightened on the dolphin. Never surrender. Never give up.

  She tried to concentrate on what they’d been talking about. Music. She thought for a moment. “How about The Clash? London Calling…”

  * * *

  KENDRA WOKE UP TO the sounds of The Clash in her ears though she hadn’t set her music alarm. It was a memory echo of an album she hadn’t played in years, but it came to her with astonishing clarity.

  Then she remembered.

  Waldridge.

  Damn.

  She checked her phone—7:17 A.M. One text from her mother, but nothing from the cops or the FBI. Probably a good thing. Any message from them at this early hour would most likely be bad news.

  Nothing from Lynch yet, either. It had been almost 3 A.M. by the time he’d dropped her off at her condo, but she was sure he was already mapping out their day.

  She opened the text from her mother. It read:

  WAITING WITH BREAKFAST AND A POT OF COFFEE ACROSS THE STREET. COME OVER WHEN YOU WAKE UP.

  What?

  Kendra checked the time stamp. The text had come less than twenty minutes before.

  Well, it was one way to start the day.

  She threw off her covers and stepped into a pair of flip-flops. She splashed water in her face, ran a comb through her hair, and did a rudimentary teeth brushing. Then she left her condo, rode the elevator down, and ran across the busy street to Thompson’s, a neighborhood restaurant that did a booming breakfast business, but was practically deserted every other hour of the day. Kendra knew just where to look. Her mother was at her usual table in the corner, surrounded by platters of Danish, bagels, waffles, and sausages. The food was competing for space with a tall coffeepot and two newspapers.

  Kendra walked toward her. “Jeez, Mom. How many people are you expecting?”

  “Just you. I wasn’t sure what you would want, so I thought I’d give you a choice.” She looked disapprovingly at Kendra’s sweatpants and T-shirt. “You look like you just rolled out of bed.”

  “I did just roll out of bed. I knew you were waiting. You could have given me some warning, you know. If you wanted to meet for breakfast, I would have been happy to—”

  “I didn’t know until this morning. And you never get enough sleep, so I thought it would be best if I did it this way so you could join me whenever you woke up.” She cleared a space for Kendra. “Sit down. Eat something.”

  Kendra took a seat and grabbed a Danish. “Don’t you have class today?”

  Her mother shook her head. “Finals week.” Dr. Dianne Michaels was a history professor at UC San Diego and her skill as a lecturer was matched only by her impatience with students who didn’t take her classes seriously. Kendra had no doubt that the kids were frantically preparing themselves for her mother’s notoriously challenging final exam.

  “So what brings you downtown on a weekday?”

  Dianne folded the newspaper in her hands and placed it on the table. The headline read. BRITISH RESEARCHER MISSING, along with a photo of Waldridge.

  Kendra stiffened in her seat. Not good. Her mother had been an integral part of both her operation and her relationship with Waldridge. She had a right to know what was going on. Kendra had just hoped to delay it until she had a more concrete idea herself.

  “I can see from your expression that this isn’t news to you.”

  “No, it’s all I’ve been thinking about for the past twenty-four hours or so. I saw him the night before last.”

  “And you didn’t tell me? I would have loved to be able to see him and—”

  “He surprised me. He just showed up at my Malibu lecture. We had dinner afterward. I could tell something was wrong. He was … different.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Kendra brought her mother up to speed on Waldridge, his disappearance, and her visit to Big Bear.

  Dianne shook her head. “I should have known you’d be in the middle of this.”

  “You think I should just sit back and wait for the police to give me progress reports?”

  “Believe it or not, that’s the way it usually works.”

  “Not with me. Not when it concerns Waldridge. And you should be happy that I’m not going it alone.”

  “Maybe I should take some comfort in that.” She grimaced. “But there’s something about Mr. Lynch that frightens me.”

  “I can see that. He can be intimidating. Lucky for me, I’m on his good side.”

  Dianne looked away for a moment. “I know that. It’s obvious he cares for you. He’s very protective of you.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  Dianne paused to put her thoughts into words. “I guess the problem is that I’m protective of you, too. Kendra … He’s a dangerous man. Just in your experience with him, you know that. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone he thinks might be a threat.”

  “He wouldn’t be alive otherwise. I might not be either.”

  “But don’t you think he helps create the dangerous situations he finds himself in? The man comes on strong like a Mack truck. That kind of force practically demands a forceful response. I just don’t want you standing next to him when that response comes.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “That’s exactly the attitude that makes me worry so much about you.”

  “Hey, I’m your daughter.” She smiled gently. “You taught me to take care of myself. Mostly by example.”

  “Well, now it’s come back to bite me. The man has to live in an armored fortress. That should tell you something about him.”

  “It tells me that he knows how to take care of himself.”

  Dianne placed her hands on Kendra’s. “Let’s get the hell out of town. I’m done for the semester. My teaching assistant can administer the final exams. I was supposed to attend a seminar in Denver in a few days, but I’ll cancel. Let’s go someplace nice. Hawaii. I know what Dr. Waldridge means to you, and you’ve made sure he’s on everyone’s radar. Now it’s time to let them do their jobs.”

  “I’ll let them do their jobs. But I still need to do everything for him I can. You should know that more than anyone, Mom. You’re the one who took me to him because you still believed in miracles. Well, he gave me that miracle. Now I have to do everything I can to give back. And I’m telling you, Lynch is valuable, an asset. He’s already been a big help.”

  “Glad you think so,” a familiar voice said. “I can but try.”

  Kendra and Dianne looked up to see Lynch walking toward the table, smiling broadly. “Good morning, Dianne. Wonderful to see you again.” He leaned close and kissed her on the cheek.
>
  Dianne shook off her look of surprise. “Mr. Lynch … Kendra didn’t tell me that she invited you here.”

  “She didn’t,” Lynch said. “I was on my way for a visit, and I glimpsed her dashing across the street. It just took me awhile to find a parking spot.” He turned to Kendra. “Well rested?”

  “Ha. Very funny.”

  He shrugged. “When I first saw you on the street, I thought it was a young woman on her walk of shame.”

  “Flatterer. But when you got closer and saw it was me, you realized…?”

  “No, I quickly realized it couldn’t be a walk of shame. Not with that sloppy look you’re sporting.”

  “Right,” Dianne said.

  Kendra rolled her eyes. “Okay, enough about my clothes. This is what I slept in.”

  “Obviously,” Lynch said.

  Diane smiled and motioned toward an empty chair. “Mr. Lynch, would you care—”

  Before she could finish her thought, Lynch dropped down in the chair and began scooping food onto an empty plate. “Smells delicious. Are these waffles as good as they look?”

  “Better,” Kendra said, watching him with an amused look. “By all means, help yourself. Don’t worry about leaving me any. I’m not very—”

  “Okay.” He deposited the rest of the waffles on his plate. He looked up. “I take it Kendra has brought you up to speed on the disappearance of Dr. Waldridge?”

  Dianne nodded.

  “And I’m quite sure you voiced your displeasure with her taking the case, particularly with me?”

  Dianne looked flustered, which was most unusual for her. “I—Well, I only…”

  “It’s quite all right. You wouldn’t do your duty as a mother if you didn’t say those things.” He poured syrup on his waffles. “Just let me assure you that your daughter’s safety is always my number one priority.”

  “I don’t doubt your desire to protect her, Mr. Lynch. But there are things you can’t always control.”

  Kendra leaned forward. “Okay, Mom. Enough. You haven’t grilled a guy like this since Tommy Schiller took me to my high-school prom.”

  “Tommy Schiller?” Lynch said. “I think I need to hear about this guy.”

  “No, you don’t,” Kendra said firmly. “He was thoughtful and sweet. Qualities that would never interest you.”

  Lynch made a face. “Ugh, you’re right. Definitely anemic. But they apparently didn’t interest you either since you now refer to him in the past tense.”

  She opened her mouth, but she didn’t have a response.

  Lynch turned to Dianne. “You were probably right to grill him. What tipped you off?”

  “I thought he might be a phony.” Dianne shrugged. “He was very slick, but there was something about him. She was still blind at the time, and I was afraid that she couldn’t sense what I could see.”

  “You didn’t tell me that, Mom,” Kendra said. “Why?”

  “You were stubborn. I wanted you to trust your instincts, but there was always the chance that you might resent my interference. I had to be careful.”

  “So careful that somehow Tommy faded into never-never land.”

  “It’s all right,” Lynch said. “I’m sure Tommy has gotten over you by now.” He glanced at Dianne. “Good job.”

  Kendra said with exasperation, “Surely you didn’t come here to talk about my high-school boyfriends.”

  “No, but I found it fascinating.” Lynch grabbed a pecan roll and poured himself a cup of coffee. “As much as I enjoy watching you squirm, I wanted to discuss our strategy for today. I thought it would be best if we started camping out at the FBI lab as early as possible. Although we were promised priority, things have a way of slipping down the to-do list if you don’t stay in their faces there.”

  “And you learned that the hard way.”

  “You don’t get very far in the FBI without learning to navigate a bureaucracy.”

  “Sounds like the best way to navigate that is to leave and just go freelance.”

  “It works for me.”

  “Okay. So we make pests of ourselves at the FBI. I have a lot of practice at that. I’ll also follow up with Santa Monica PD and the Big Bear police.”

  Dianne threw up her hands. “I guess Hawaii isn’t even on the table. I suppose I’m heading for that seminar in Denver in a couple days.”

  “Sorry, Mom. I have to do this.”

  “I know when to accept defeat. So what can I do to help?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Don’t say that. If you’re going to do this, I have to feel useful somehow. I care about Dr. Waldridge, too.” She smiled. “You’re right, he was the dream maker. I remember the first time you looked at me after the operation and really saw me. I wanted to get down on my knees to him.”

  “So did I.” Kendra was silent a moment. “Well, you’re still fairly well hooked in to the academic scene in London, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t know if I’d call it a ‘scene,’ but I do have quite a few friends at the universities there.”

  “Maybe you can ask around about Dr. Waldridge. See if anybody has any idea what he’s been working on, who he’s been working with.”

  She pursed her lips. “Hmm. Sounds like busywork to me.”

  “It’s not. It could really help us.”

  Dianne thought for a moment. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  She waved her hands. “Now go. Leave. Get out of here, before Mr. Lynch eats the rest of my breakfast.”

  But there was definite amusement in the remark, Kendra noticed.

  “I like your mother,” Lynch said as he guided Kendra through the crowded restaurant. “Charming and sensible. I’m glad we arranged to have breakfast with her today.”

  “I didn’t arrange to have breakfast with her. You might say I was hijacked.” She glanced at him. “Now, you might have arranged it. I found it a little too coincidental that you happened to see me flying across the street and decided to join us.”

  He smiled. “Coincidences do happen.”

  “And so does that truly amazing skill with electronics and phones that you’ve used on me before. When you stopped by to pick me up, and I didn’t answer the door, did you hack into my phone and read Mom’s text?”

  “Why, Kendra, you told me never to do that again.”

  “And when did that ever stop you when you wanted to do something.” She tilted her head. “But why did you want to join us? It was almost all attacks on my sloppy clothes and past boyfriends and…” She stopped. “Mom. It was all aimed at Mom. You were manipulating her, you bastard. All of it was making sure she considered you both on the same team, fighting the same fight. By the time we left, you’d gotten exactly what you wanted.”

  “I like her,” he repeated. “And I knew she’d be more comfortable about you if she liked me. I enjoyed breakfast, and I found out more about you, and Dianne knows that she can trust me because we both think Tommy Schiller would have been a big mistake. I think it’s been a good day so far.”

  “And I think that Mom was right.” She gazed thoughtfully at him. “You’re a very dangerous man, Lynch.”

  “Without doubt.” He nodded. “But not to you. Never to you, Kendra. And now Dianne knows that whatever threat I am is aimed at protecting you from the Tommy Schillers of the world. We just won’t mention all the other serial killers and scumbags you might stumble across. Okay?” He took her elbow and guided her across the busy street. “Now, let’s get you out of those sloppy sweatpants and into something more alluring to impress the lab boys.”

  FBI Regional Field Office

  San Diego

  Kendra and Lynch arrived at FBI field-office main lobby and approached the reception desk. Kendra spoke brusquely to the thick-necked young man behind the counter. “Kendra Michaels and Adam Lynch to see Special Agent in Charge Michael Griffin.”

  She expected a blank look and at least two phone calls before they would be admitted since no
one had any idea they were coming. Instead, the guard immediately slapped two badges on the counter, each preprinted with their names. “The lab’s on the eighth floor. Do you know where you’re going?”

  Kendra stared at him in disbelief. This circumventing of bureaucracy was mind-boggling in her experience. “Uh, yes. Of course.”

  The man glanced down at the small nature print that Lynch was holding in his left hand. “Nice painting.”

  “It really isn’t.” Lynch scooped the badges up and steered Kendra toward the elevator. “Thank you.”

  After the elevator doors closed, Kendra shook her head as she clipped on the badge. “What just happened? Did you tell them we were coming?”

  “No. Not at all. I guess I didn’t have to. Griffin knows us too well.”

  “He sure does.”

  “And this way, we’re the lab’s problem. Appearances to the contrary, Griffin is no fool.”

  The elevator opened almost directly in front of the white double doors of the forensics lab. A slender, ponytailed young man in a white lab coat walked past. Kendra remembered him from another case.

  “Dustin Freen?”

  Freen turned around and smiled. “Hi, guys. What took you so long? I thought you would have been here awhile ago.”

  “Apparently everyone knew that but us,” Kendra said.

  Lynch immediately got down to business. “Do you have something for us?”

  “Actually, I do. I came in early today. Way early. Griffin authorized overtime for this.”

  “Nice of him,” Kendra said.

  Lynch smiled. “He probably wants to clear the lab and get us out of his hair as quickly as possible.”

  Freen spoke to Kendra. “You say that fluid transfer came from the floor in Dr. Waldridge’s hotel room?”

  “Yes,” Kendra said. “I couldn’t quite identify the odor.”

  “Come in. I may have some answers for you.”

  He led them through the double doors into the lab. They walked past several aisles of scientific equipment and lab tables before reaching a series of cubicles that wouldn’t have been out of place in any office in corporate America.

  But instead of Dilbert cartoons, most were decorated with gruesome crime-scene photos.

  Freen leaned into his cubicle and picked up a printout. “It appears to be a combination of some fairly typical household products.”