Silent Prey

water—and here comes Lily Rothenburg and the department’s Svengali, towing me along behind. And you stick me next to Fell. They never bought the Bekker thing: they’ve been reading us like a book.”
    “Who?”
    Lucas hesitated. “I’m tempted to say Kennett.”
    “Bullshit.” Lily shook her head. “I’d know. In fact, I asked him. He doesn’t even think there is such a group.”
    “But we know there is. And I’m still tempted to say Kennett. O’Dell put me right up against Fell and he putme right up against Kennett. It’s possible that O’Dell knows it’s Kennett, but doesn’t have the proof.”
    Lily thought it over, staring at him. “That’s . . .”
    “Bizarre. I agree. And of course, there’re other possibilities, too.”
    “That it’s me?” She smiled a small and frosty smile.
    “Yeah.” Lucas nodded. “That’s one of them.”
    “And what do you think?”
    He shook his head. “It’s not you, so . . .”
    “How do you know it’s not me?” she asked.
    “Same way I know it’s not Fell—I’ve seen you operate.”
    “Thanks for that,” Lily said.
    “Yeah . . . which brings us to the last possibility.”
    “O’Dell?”
    “O’Dell. He has access to everything he needs to organize the group. He knows everybody on the force, and he probably could pick out likely candidates for his hit teams. He has the computer files to pick out the assholes, and to set up Fell as an alarm . . . .”
    “There’s a hole,” Lily said quickly. “He’s so high up he wouldn’t need an alarm . . . .”
    “Internal Affairs—he might not know about Internal Affairs investigations.”
    She bit her lip. “Okay. Go ahead.”
    “Since Petty was a computer maven too, maybe computers led him to O’Dell. Whatever it was, for whatever reason Petty got hit, O’Dell was right there to manage the investigation. Kept it out of Internal Affairs . . .”
    “Said it was too political,” Lily said thoughtfully.
    “Yeah. Then he pulls me into it, produces Fell, and he puts me up against Kennett. And you know what? Fell and Kennett are all I’ve got—all that paper you gave me, the regular investigation, the reports. It’s all bullshit. It’sall a stone wall. It looks impressive, but there’s nothing in it.”
    “Why would O’Dell pick on Kennett?”
    “Because Kennett’s going to die,” Lucas said bluntly. “Suppose he gets everything pointed at Kennett, and then Kennett . . . dies. Natural causes, a heart attack. If there was an agreement that Kennett was it, the investigation would die and the real organizer would be clear.”
    Lily, pale as notebook paper: “He couldn’t have . . . I don’t think.”
    “Why not?”
    “I don’t think . . . I don’t think he’s brave enough. Physically. He’d be thinking about prison.”
    “That all depends on how he’s set it up. Maybe his shooters don’t know him.”
    “Yeah, but remember—if O’Dell is it, he wouldn’t have to give you Fell. If Fell’s an alarm, I mean, he’d know what you were here for.”
    “Yeah. And he’d know that Fell would get me exactly where she has: nowhere. And at the same time, lend a touch of truth to the whole business. Fell did know all those dead guys. Besides, with Petty talking to both of you, and Fell popping out of the computer, there was no way to get her back inside . . . .”
    “Maybe,” she said.
    “How’d you meet Kennett?” Lucas asked abruptly.
    “In the intraconference meetings.”
    “As O’Dell’s assistant?”
    “Yes.”
    “Did O’Dell feed you to him?” Lucas asked.
    “Jesus, Lucas,” she said.
    “Did he? I mean, he knows both of you. Could he have figured . . .”
    “I don’t know. They don’t like each other, you know.”Lily stood and turned in place, like a dog trying to make a bed more comfortable. “You know, you’ve put this whole tissue together without a single goddamned fact . . . .”
    “I’ve got one interesting, surprising, generally unknown fact,” he said; and it was his turn to produce a wintry smile.
    “What?”
    “I know that O’Dell’s trying to frame Kennett. I know that for sure. The question is, is he doing it because Kennett’s guilty and it’s the only way to get him? Or because he’s looking for a scapegoat?”
    “Bullshit,” she said, but he could see the shock in her eyes.
    “I found Red Reed in Charleston, South Carolina,” he said. “He’s a friend of O’Dell’s, from