Spiral

could still handle me if his partner weren’t around. Then he stepped back, shoulders against the wall, arms folded across his chest so that the eagle tatt’ was eyeing me, too.
    I said to Pintana, ‘You were first on the scene?”
    ”No. Road patrol responded to the nine-one-one. I got called out.”
    ”Meaning you were off duty?”
    ”In my apartment.”
    Not just ”at home.”
    ”How about your partner here?”
    Cascadden grunted. ”Sergeant’s not my partner.”
    I looked at her. ”You’re not?”
    ”No, Mr. Cuddy. I run the unit.”
    ”In Boston, that’d be a lieutenant’s slot.”
    ”In Lauderdale, we don’t have that rank. It’s sergeant or captain, and I’m years away from a promotion.”
    ”Maybe not after this case.”
    Pintana watched me. ”The Held murder was so high-profile from the get-go that I’ve been riding with Kyle on it since he wasn’t partnered up at the time.”
    That came as no surprise. To Cascadden, I said, ”So, you were here at the station?”
    ”What difference does it fucking make?”
    ‘You won’t let me see the logs and files, I’d like to have some idea how long people in the house would have had before the police in general and Homicide in particular got things under control.”
    Cascadden started to say something, but Pintana spoke over him. ”That makes sense. Road patrol was there within five minutes after the nine-one-one.”
    ”And how long after the girl was found did somebody think to call it in?”
    Given the confusion at the scene—family, the band members, everybody milling around—hard to say for sure, hut Mr. Tranh said he ‘ran’ for the phone.”
    Same thing he’d told me. ”So say it takes him one or two minutes to get her out of the pool and dial for help. How long after the girl was killed does the M.E. estimate she was found by Mr. Tranh?”
    Pintana gave me an appraising look. ”Given the temperature of the pool water, that’s pretty hazy. But most of the guests say she left the party about an hour before the body was found.”
    So, adding in even the rapid police response, the killer had plenty of time to hide any evidence of condom—or even gloves to hold her.... ”Were there any latex tracings on the girl’s ankles?”
    Cascadden glanced at Pintana, but she watched me with the appraising look. ”Lab says yes, in some of the cracks in the skin caused by her thrashing around.”
    I thought back to what Duy Tranh had said to me about planning. ”Premeditated rather than opportunistic.” Cascadden seemed confused. Pintana picked up her pencil again before adding, ”Worse than that.”
    ”How do you mean?”
    ”Drownings are generally tough cases to make. Hard to determine whether it was intentional or accidental.”
    ”But I’m told the Held girl was an excellent swimmer.”
    ”Even excellent swimmers drown, especially if they get high before they hit the water.”
    ”High?”
    ”Lab reported cocaine in her system.”
    Christ. ”We know where she got it?”
    Cascadden said, ”Her shitbird father, probably.”
    I stayed with Pintana. ”But the lab also reported those latex tracings from both—”
    ”Think about it, Mr. Cuddy. You just want to kill the girl, you leave her swimsuit on and keep her under the water by holding it. Chances are, little or no trace evidence, and the death is closed as accidental.”
    I did think about it. ”But by taking off the suit, and using a condom and gloves, the killer makes it obvious.”
    Pintana nodded.
    I said, ”We were supposed to know it was intentional.”
    Cascadden grunted. ”Less the perp’ just had to get his jollies, like I said before.”
    Neither Pintana nor I acted like we’d heard him.
    I said to her, ”And the killer knew in advance that the birthday party would provide perfect timing...”
    Pintana pointed at me with her pencil... because the band member’s son wanted the house security cameras off when he made his video.”
    ”That’s what I’m thinking, too.”
    When Pintana didn’t break eye contact with me, I said, ”Any chance of my getting a look at Kalil’s video?”
    Cascadden said, ”Oh, sure thing, Beantown.”
    His sarcasm was still dripping when Sergeant Lourdes Pintana tapped the pencil eraser against her front teeth and said, ”Why not?”
    Kyle Cascadden threw up his hands and left the room. Either he’d forgotten his sports jacket or he didn’t believe in wearing one.

    I said, ”The party’s already under