Hidden Prey

up at the camera, and said, “I leave everything here, my entire estate, to Janet Walther, the wife of my grandson, Roger. I swear before Godthat Janet knew nothing of this, nor do the descendants of any of the other families. And I am proving my sincerity with this last act.”
    He thought of the “swear before God” at the last second, and it amused him: he no more believed in God than he did the tooth fairy, but he wanted viewers to sympathize.
    He rubbed Melodie on the head one last time, and tears started down his cheeks. He looked up at the camera, to let them see the tears, which were real enough, then kissed his wife on the forehead and said, “I will see you in heaven, my love,” placed the pistol against her temple, and pulled the trigger. The blast was deafening in the small room, and he turned away from her, at the sound of the shot, so he wouldn’t have to see the wreckage.
    Without looking back down at her, he spoke directly to the camera, said, “Workers of the world, unite: you have nothing to lose but your chains.” Then he put the muzzle of the gun to his temple, just above and a little forward of his ear.
    I should’ve been in show business.
    He pulled the trigger.

     28 
    L UCAS STUCK THE LIGHT on the roof, and they took off. Nadya, one hand braced against the dashboard, excited, face flushed, said, “This could be the end.”
    “Whatever it is, it’s gonna be complicated,” Lucas said.
    “Big question: Was it a shooting, or a gunfight?” Andreno asked.
    “Only two shots; doesn’t sound like much of a fight,” Lucas said. “Ought to know soon now.”
     
    W ITH L UCAS RUNNING HARD , passing everything on the road and blowing through stoplights, the trip to Hibbing took sixteen minutes. When they got to Walther’s house, there were six cop cars outside, all their lights going. A group of gawkers stood down the street,every one of the women with their arms crossed. Jan Walther stood directly across the street with a cop.
    Lucas pulled up and they all piled out and Janet Walther shouted, “What did you do to them?”
    Lucas ignored her and they tramped across the small yard, nodding at cops. Roy Hopper stood in the doorway and said, “Looks like a murder-suicide. Looks like Burt shot Melodie and then himself.”
    Lucas was shocked: “Ah, shit. You’re sure?”
    “Not positive, of course, but our guy was right outside, and he says nobody came or went. He was inside in ten seconds, and found everything just like it is now. And—we think they made a movie of it. Here, step careful.”
    The three of them crowded inside behind him. The bodies were on the floor, uncovered, Melodie still in her chair with a spray of blood on the wall behind her, Burt facedown on the rug, a puddle of blood around his ruined head. The air in the house was suffused with the coppery odor of blood and raw meat. Hopper pointed at a camera that was aimed at the two bodies.
    “Jimmy said it was still running when he came in. He let it run, and we just decided to turn it off a couple minutes ago. We were afraid something might happen and it might erase itself.”
    “Nobody looked at the tape?” Andreno asked.
    “Not yet. We’ve got a crime-scene guy coming, and we want him to check the camera for prints . . . and the tape too, I guess. Goddamnit. What a mess. Oh. Forgot. Burt called his lawyer just before he did it, told him what he was going to do. The lawyer called nine one one, but by that time, Jimmy was already inside.”
    “We need to see the tape,” Lucas said. “Get your guy to bag it, and make a copy of it, before he tries to lift any prints. I don’t want him putting anything on the tape, or doing the Super Glue trick, or anything that might fuck it up.”
    “I’ll tell him.”
    Nadya touched Lucas on the shoulder and said, “This tape will tell us.”
    “I hope.”
     
    N OTHING TO DO except get out of the way. Lucas gave Hopper his cell-phone number, asked him to call when they could move the camera, and they went back to the truck, ignoring Janet Walther, who called to them from across the street.
    In five minutes, they were in a downtown café, drinking coffee, eating hamburgers and fries, not much to say.
    “Is this a good time to get back home?” Lucas asked Nadya.
    “You mean, weather? I think this is the best time, the early autumn. We still have the daylight, the trees begin to color. Do you think I’ll go?”
    “Something will come out of the tape,” Lucas