Sudden Prey

funeral home. Visitation night. Lucas and Sloan said they’d be along.
    “You don’t have to come,” Sherrill said.
    “Of course we have to,” Lucas said. He patted her on the shoulder. “We’ll be there.”
    When she was gone, Sloan said, “Why don’t we pick up a burger and a beer before we go over?”
    Lucas nodded: “All right.” He was locking the door when they heard running footsteps. Anderson, white-faced, came around the corner: “It’s Palin,” he blurted.
    “What?” Lucas looked at Sloan, then back to Anderson.
    “I had Gina down at Dispatch running tapes, to nail down where Palin was when he was on duty. And night before last, he called in a Wisconsin plate. You won’t believe . . .”
    “Elmore Darling,” Lucas said, snapping his fingers. “That’s how he found Darling. Took the numbers off the plate when he talked to LaChaise, ran them, went over there and killed Darling.”
    “I think so,” Anderson said, his oversized Adam’s apple bobbing in his thin neck. “We never would have caught him if we hadn’t run those old tapes.”
    “Arne Palin,” Sloan said, shaking his head.
    “Let’s take him,” Lucas said.

17
    LUCAS MET QUICKLY with Roux and Lester, and Lester got the Emergency Response Unit moving. Palin was at home: his precinct boss called him about emergency overtime. Palin said he’d be happy to work, and was told to stay close to the phone while they figured out a new schedule.
    “LaChaise isn’t with him. He couldn’t be that far gone,” Lucas said to Roux and Lester, as they walked out toward the doorway.
    “We can’t take the chance, we don’t want anyone else killed. Let the ERU do the entry,” Lester said. “If LaChaise isn’t there, you get in there and see if you can crack Palin in a hurry. Maybe we can get LaChaise’s location before he figures out that we’ve got Palin.”
    “Sloan’s here, he can help with the interrogation,” Lucas said. They turned a corner and saw Sloan waiting by the door, talking with Franklin. As they walked up, Stadic came in, stamped snow off his feet.
    “You want to come?” Lucas asked Franklin.
    “If you need the weight,” Franklin said. He nodded at Stadic, who nodded back. “I’m trying to sneak out to my house and pick up some clothes for my old lady.”
    “Do this one thing first,” Lucas said. He turned to Stadic. “How about you? You look kind of fucked up.”
    “Yeah, I am,” Stadic said, shaking his head.
    “All right,” Lucas said. He stuck a finger in Stadic’s gut. “Get some sleep.”
    “But what’s happening?” Stadic asked.
    “We think one of our guys is talking to LaChaise,” Lester said grimly.
    Stadic’s eyelids fluttered, and he said, “No way.” And then, “Who?”
    Lucas, Sloan and Franklin were already pushing through the door into the snow.
    “Arne Palin,” Roux said to Stadic, behind them.
    “No way,” Stadic said again.
    “I gotta think he’s right,” Franklin said as they stepped out into the snow and the door closed. He looked up at the miserable sky, which was so close that he almost felt he could touch it. “I can’t believe it’s Arne Palin.”
     
     
     
    STADIC WENT DOWN to his office; nobody home, just a bunch of empty desks. He kept a half-dozen white crosses stashed in a hole at the back of a desk drawer, where they couldn’t be seen even if you emptied out the drawer. He popped one, as an eye-opener, took his phone out of his pocket and started to punch the speed dial, but stopped, frowned, thought about it and turned it off again. Cell phones are radios. He should stay off the air.
    Then it occurred to him that LaChaise’s calls on the cell phone could be traced. Shit. If they found the phone, and checked the billing, he’d be screwed. Stadic started to sweat. Christ, he had to get that cell phone. Had to.
    He thought for a moment, then picked up a desk phone and dialed LaChaise’s number: as he dialed, the first of the amphetamine hit his bloodstream, and his mind seemed to clear out a bit.
    LaChaise answered: “Yeah.”
    “I got a guy for you,” Stadic said, without preamble.
    “Which one?”
    “Franklin. He and Davenport and a couple of other guys just left here, they’re gonna raid a guy . . . nothing to do with you. But I heard Franklin say he had to sneak over to his house after this raid, to pick up some clothes for his wife. She’s over at the hotel.”
    “When’s he gonna get there?” LaChaise asked.
    “This raid