don’t we go up
into the viewing gallery.”
Perry suddenly turned and hurried
from the theater, his hand over his mouth. Hank followed, stripping off his
latex gloves. Outside the theater, he navigated around the mess Perry had left
on the floor in his frantic search for the washroom. Hank pushed open the door
and found the politician crouching in an open stall, wiping his mouth with
toilet paper. It took several minutes before Perry had recovered enough to
flush the toilet and emerge, his face pasty and drawn. He walked to the sink,
washed his hands and face, and wiped at the stains on his jacket with a handful
of paper towels.
“You’re Donaghue,” he said finally,
while washing his hands.
“Yes, sir.”
He dried his hands, stuffed the
wadded paper towels into the trash bin, and held out his hand. “Johnson Perry.
Call me John.”
Hank shook his hand.
“I’ve met your mother.” Perry turned
to the mirror and finger-combed his hair, making an effort to pull himself
together. “Quite a woman, even though she is a Republican. We should go up to
the observation room. Chief Bennett’s meeting us there.”
Hank led the way to the viewing
gallery, a long, narrow room that looked down onto the main autopsy theater,
affording a clear view of everything happening below. A monitor provided a direct
feed from the video camera mounted above Easton’s autopsy station, while a
microphone caught the whining of Harry’s saw and the crunching of bone as the
diener cut through the vault of the corpse’s skull to get at the brain within.
“Maybe you could turn it down,
Lieutenant,” Exler said, looking at Perry, who stood before the glass window rubbing
his face with his hands.
Hank punched the mute button. The
door opened behind them, and Chief Bennett walked in.
“Very sorry I’m late, gentlemen,”
he said, heading straight for Perry with his hand extended, “but I was on the
phone with the mayor, who sends his regards.”
Perry turned around and shook
Bennett’s hand. “Thanks.”
Bennett shook Exler’s hand.
“Warren, whatever you and Mr. Perry need from the GPD, just say the word.”
“I’m sure Lieutenant Donaghue can
look after us.” Exler glanced at Hank.
“Yes, of course.” Bennett said. “He
has a great deal of experience as an investigator. I’m completely confident
he’ll nail our UNSUB in record time. Won’t you, Lieutenant?”
“We’ll do our best, sir,” Hank
replied. “It helps that Mr. Exler’s made ASA DiOrio available around the clock for
our warrants. That’s a big assist.”
Exler nodded. “I wanted to make
sure the lieutenant and his team had immediate access so there’s no time lost
because of procedure. And thanks to you, Mr. Attorney General, for making Judge
Brown available whenever we need him.”
“No problem,” Perry said, not
interested in the round of mutual back-patting Bennett had started.
“It’s important to take advantage
of any breaks in the case as soon as they happen,” Bennett said. “These windows
have a way of opening and closing very quickly. It’ll be crucial to have our
warrants signed off right away.”
“They have to be clean,” Perry
said to Hank. “Watertight. We’ll bend over backwards to help you do your job,
but we can’t go to trial on this and have crucial evidence thrown out because
of loosey-goosey warrants. Don’t waste Brown’s time with wishful thinking, and
don’t send Exler into court with a case made of sugar cubes. We need to nail
the bastard who did this, clean and hard.”
“Understood.” Hank glanced down
into the autopsy theater and saw Chalmers looking up at him. She pointed to her
ear and mouth. Hank walked over to the monitor and punched the audio button.
Chalmers said something to Easton, who nodded without interrupting what he was
doing.
“Hank,” he said, “you’ll probably
want to be down here for this.” He gently lifted the brain out of the skull and
set it down into the pan of a scale
into the viewing gallery.”
Perry suddenly turned and hurried
from the theater, his hand over his mouth. Hank followed, stripping off his
latex gloves. Outside the theater, he navigated around the mess Perry had left
on the floor in his frantic search for the washroom. Hank pushed open the door
and found the politician crouching in an open stall, wiping his mouth with
toilet paper. It took several minutes before Perry had recovered enough to
flush the toilet and emerge, his face pasty and drawn. He walked to the sink,
washed his hands and face, and wiped at the stains on his jacket with a handful
of paper towels.
“You’re Donaghue,” he said finally,
while washing his hands.
“Yes, sir.”
He dried his hands, stuffed the
wadded paper towels into the trash bin, and held out his hand. “Johnson Perry.
Call me John.”
Hank shook his hand.
“I’ve met your mother.” Perry turned
to the mirror and finger-combed his hair, making an effort to pull himself
together. “Quite a woman, even though she is a Republican. We should go up to
the observation room. Chief Bennett’s meeting us there.”
Hank led the way to the viewing
gallery, a long, narrow room that looked down onto the main autopsy theater,
affording a clear view of everything happening below. A monitor provided a direct
feed from the video camera mounted above Easton’s autopsy station, while a
microphone caught the whining of Harry’s saw and the crunching of bone as the
diener cut through the vault of the corpse’s skull to get at the brain within.
“Maybe you could turn it down,
Lieutenant,” Exler said, looking at Perry, who stood before the glass window rubbing
his face with his hands.
Hank punched the mute button. The
door opened behind them, and Chief Bennett walked in.
“Very sorry I’m late, gentlemen,”
he said, heading straight for Perry with his hand extended, “but I was on the
phone with the mayor, who sends his regards.”
Perry turned around and shook
Bennett’s hand. “Thanks.”
Bennett shook Exler’s hand.
“Warren, whatever you and Mr. Perry need from the GPD, just say the word.”
“I’m sure Lieutenant Donaghue can
look after us.” Exler glanced at Hank.
“Yes, of course.” Bennett said. “He
has a great deal of experience as an investigator. I’m completely confident
he’ll nail our UNSUB in record time. Won’t you, Lieutenant?”
“We’ll do our best, sir,” Hank
replied. “It helps that Mr. Exler’s made ASA DiOrio available around the clock for
our warrants. That’s a big assist.”
Exler nodded. “I wanted to make
sure the lieutenant and his team had immediate access so there’s no time lost
because of procedure. And thanks to you, Mr. Attorney General, for making Judge
Brown available whenever we need him.”
“No problem,” Perry said, not
interested in the round of mutual back-patting Bennett had started.
“It’s important to take advantage
of any breaks in the case as soon as they happen,” Bennett said. “These windows
have a way of opening and closing very quickly. It’ll be crucial to have our
warrants signed off right away.”
“They have to be clean,” Perry
said to Hank. “Watertight. We’ll bend over backwards to help you do your job,
but we can’t go to trial on this and have crucial evidence thrown out because
of loosey-goosey warrants. Don’t waste Brown’s time with wishful thinking, and
don’t send Exler into court with a case made of sugar cubes. We need to nail
the bastard who did this, clean and hard.”
“Understood.” Hank glanced down
into the autopsy theater and saw Chalmers looking up at him. She pointed to her
ear and mouth. Hank walked over to the monitor and punched the audio button.
Chalmers said something to Easton, who nodded without interrupting what he was
doing.
“Hank,” he said, “you’ll probably
want to be down here for this.” He gently lifted the brain out of the skull and
set it down into the pan of a scale
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