The Kill Room

other hand, the corporal had not said whether he’d liked the book or found it helpful. The latest edition’s bio page reported that Rhyme was retired, a fact that Poitier, fortunately, didn’t seem to know.
    Rhyme now made his pitch. Without naming Metzger or NIOS, he explained that the NYPD believed there was an American connection in the Moreno killing. “I have some questions about the shooting, about the evidence. Do you have some time now? Can we talk?”
    A pause worthy of Nance Laurel. “I’m afraid not, sir. The Moreno case has been put on hold for the time being and there are—”
    “I’m sorry, on hold ?” An open case of a homicide that occurred a week ago? This was the time when the investigation should be at its most intense.
    “That’s correct, Captain.”
    “But why? You have a suspect in custody?”
    “No, sir. First, I don’t know what American connection you’re speaking of; the killing was committed by members of a drug cartel from Venezuela, most likely. We’re waiting to hear from authorities there before we proceed further. And I personally have had to focus on a more urgent case. A part-time student who’s just gone missing, an American girl. Ah, these crimes happen some in our nation.” Poitier added defensively, “But rarely. Very rarely. You know how it is, sir. A pretty student disappears and the press descends. Like vultures.”
    The press. Maybe that was why Rhyme finally got put through. His bluff had touched a nerve.
    The corporal continued, “We have less rape than Newark, New Jersey, much less. But a missing student in the Islands is magnified like a telephoto lens. And I have to say, with all respect, your news programs are most unfair. The British press too. But now we have lost an American student and not a British one, so it will be CNN and the rest. Vultures. With all respect.”
    He was rambling now—to deflect, Rhyme sensed. “Corporal—”
    “It’s most unfair,” Poitier repeated. “A student comes here from America. She comes here on holiday or—this girl—to study for a semester. And it’s always our fault. They say terrible things about us.”
    Rhyme had lost all patience but he struggled to remain calm. “Again, Corporal, about the Moreno murder? Now, we’re sure the cartels had nothing to do with his death.”
    Silence now, in stark contrast with the officer’s earlier rambling. Then: “Well, my efforts are on finding the student.”
    “I don’t care about the student,” Rhyme blurted, bad taste maybe but, in fact, at the moment he didn’t. “Robert Moreno. Please. There is an American connection and I’m looking into it now. There’s some urgency.”
    Task: Al-Barani Rashid (NIOS ID: abr942pd5t)
    Born: 2/73, Michigan
    Rhyme couldn’t begin to guess who this Rashid was, the next name in the STO queue, and doubted he was an innocent soccer dad in Connecticut. But he agreed with Nance Laurel that the man shouldn’t die on the basis of faulty, or faked, information.
    Complete by: 5/19…
    Rhyme continued, “I’d like a copy of the crime scene report, photos of the scene and the nest the sniper was shooting from, autopsy reports, lab analysis. All the documentation. And any datamined information about someone named Don Bruns on the island around the time of the shooting. It’s a cover. An AKA for the sniper.”
    “Well, we don’t actually have the final report yet. Some notes but it’s not complete.”
    “Not complete?” Rhyme muttered. “The killing was on May ninth.”
    “I believe that’s right.”
    He believes ?
    Rhyme suddenly felt a stab of concern. “Of course the scene’s been searched?”
    “Yes, yes, naturally.”
    Well, this was a relief.
    Poitier said, “The day after Mr. Moreno was shot we got right to it.”
    “Next day?”
    “Yes.” Poitier hesitated as if he knew this was a misstep. “We had another situation, another case that same day. A prominent lawyer was killed and robbed downtown, in his office. That took priority. Mr. Moreno was not a national. The lawyer was.”
    Two conditions made crime scenes infinitely less valuable to investigators. The first was contamination from people trudging through the site—including careless police officers themselves. The second was the passage of time between the crime and the search. Evidence key to establishing a suspect’s identity and conviction could, literally, evaporate in a matter of hours.
    Waiting a day to search a scene could cut the amount of