[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
And she didn't believe you? I asked incredulously.
She probably did.
I tried to blink, but my eyes wanted to stick shut so I gave it up. I'm sorry, Deb, one of us isn't making
60 of 142
much sense. Is it me?
I tried to explain it to her, Deborah said in a very small, very tired voice that gave me a terrible
feeling of sinking under the waves without a bailing bucket. I gave her the whole thing. I was even
polite.
That's very good, I said. What did she say?
Nothing, Deb said.
Nothing at all?
Nothing at all, Deb repeated. Except she just says thanks, in a kind of way like you'd say it to the
valet parking attendant. And she gives me this funny little smile and turns away.
Well, but Deb, I said, you can't really expect her to
And then I found out why she smiled like that, Deb said. Like I'm some kind of unwashed half-wit
and she's finally figured out where to lock me up.
Oh, no, I said. You mean you're off the case?
We're all off the case, Dexter, Deb said, her voice as tired as I felt. LaGuerta's made an arrest.
There was far too much silence on the line all of a sudden and I couldn't think at all, but at least I was
wide awake. What? I said.
LaGuerta has arrested somebody. Some guy who works at the arena. She has him in custody and she's
sure he's the killer.
That's not possible, I said, although I knew it was possible, the brain-dead bitch. LaGuerta, not Deb.
I know that, Dexter. But don't try to tell LaGuerta. She's sure she got the right guy.
How sure? I asked. My head was spinning and I felt a little bit like throwing up. I couldn't really say
why.
Deb snorted. She has a press conference in one hour, she said. For her, that's positive.
The pounding in my head got too loud to hear what Deb might have said next. LaGuerta had made an
arrest? Who? Who could she possibly have tagged for it? Could she truly ignore all the clues, the smell
and feel and taste of these kills, and arrest somebody? Because nobody who could do what this killer
had done was doing! could possibly allow a pimple like LaGuerta to catch him. Never. I would bet
my life on it.
No, Deborah, I said. No. Not possible. She's got the wrong guy.
Deborah laughed, a tired, dirty-up-to-here cop's laugh. Yeah, she said. I know it. You know it. But
she doesn't know it. And you want to know something funny? Neither does he.
That made no sense at all. What are you saying, Deb? Who doesn't know?
61 of 142
She repeated that awful little laugh. The guy she arrested. I guess he must be almost as confused as
LaGuerta, Dex. Because he confessed.
What?
He confessed, Dexter. The bastard confessed.
CHAPTER 12
H IS NAME WAS DARYLL EARL MCHALE AND HE WAS what we liked to call a two-time loser.
Twelve of his last twenty years had been spent as a guest of the State of Florida. Dear Sergeant
Doakes had managed to dig his name out of the arena's personnel files. In a computer cross-check for
employees with a record of violence or felony convictions, McHale's name had popped up twice.
Daryll Earl was a drunk and a wife beater. Apparently he occasionally knocked over filling stations,
too, just for the entertainment value. He could be relied on to hold down a minimum wage job for a
month or two. But then some fine Friday night he'd throw back a few six-packs and start to believe he
was the Wrath of God. So he'd drive around until he found a gas station that just pissed him off. He'd
charge in waving a weapon, take the money, and drive away. Then he'd use his massive $80 or $90
haul to buy a few more six-packs until he felt so good he just had to beat up on somebody. Daryll Earl
was not a large man: five six and scrawny. So to play it safe, the somebody he beat on usually turned
out to be his wife.
Things being what they were, he'd actually gotten away with it a couple of times. But one night he
went a little too far with his wife and put her into traction for a month. She pressed charges, and since
Daryll Earl already had a record, he'd done some serious time.
He still drank, but he'd apparently been frightened enough at Raiford to straighten out just a bit. He'd
gotten a job as a janitor at the arena and actually held on to it. As far as we could tell, he hadn't beaten
up his wife for ages.
And more, Our Boy had even had a few moments of fame when the Panthers made their run at the
Stanley Cup. Part of his job had been to run out and clean up when the fans threw objects on the ice.
That Stanley Cup year, this had been a major job, since every time the Panthers scored the fans threw
three or four thousand plastic rats onto the rink. Daryll Earl had to schlep out and pick them all up,
boring work, no doubt. And so encouraged by a few snorts of very cheap vodka one night, he'd picked
up one of the plastic rats and done a little Rat Dance. The crowd ate it up and yelled for more. They
began to call for it when Daryll Earl skidded out onto the ice. Daryll Earl did the dance for the rest of
the season.
Plastic rats were forbidden nowadays. Even if they had been required by federal statute, nobody would
have been throwing them. The Panthers hadn't scored a goal since the days when Miami had an honest
mayor, sometime in the last century. But McHale still showed up at the games hoping for one last
on-camera two-step.
At the press conference LaGuerta played that part beautifully. She made it sound like the memory of
his small fame had driven Daryll Earl over the edge into murder. And of course with his drunkenness
and his record of violence toward women, he was the perfect suspect for this series of stupid and brutal
62 of 142
murders. But Miami's hookers could rest easy; the killing was over. Driven by the overwhelming
pressure of an intense and merciless investigation, Daryll Earl had confessed. Case closed. Back to
work, girls.
The press ate it up. You couldn't really blame them, I suppose. LaGuerta did a masterful job of
presenting just enough fact colored with high-gloss wishful thinking that nearly anyone would have
been convinced. And of course you don't actually have to take an IQ test to become a reporter. Even
so, I always hope for just the smallest glimmer. And I'm always disappointed. Perhaps I saw too many
black-and-white movies as a child. I still thought the cynical, world-weary drunk from the large
metropolitan daily was supposed to ask an awkward question and force the investigators to carefully
reexamine the evidence.
But sadly, life does not always imitate art. And at LaGuerta's press conference, the part of Spencer
Tracy was played by a series of male and female models with perfect hair and tropical-weight suits. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl szamanka888.keep.pl
And she didn't believe you? I asked incredulously.
She probably did.
I tried to blink, but my eyes wanted to stick shut so I gave it up. I'm sorry, Deb, one of us isn't making
60 of 142
much sense. Is it me?
I tried to explain it to her, Deborah said in a very small, very tired voice that gave me a terrible
feeling of sinking under the waves without a bailing bucket. I gave her the whole thing. I was even
polite.
That's very good, I said. What did she say?
Nothing, Deb said.
Nothing at all?
Nothing at all, Deb repeated. Except she just says thanks, in a kind of way like you'd say it to the
valet parking attendant. And she gives me this funny little smile and turns away.
Well, but Deb, I said, you can't really expect her to
And then I found out why she smiled like that, Deb said. Like I'm some kind of unwashed half-wit
and she's finally figured out where to lock me up.
Oh, no, I said. You mean you're off the case?
We're all off the case, Dexter, Deb said, her voice as tired as I felt. LaGuerta's made an arrest.
There was far too much silence on the line all of a sudden and I couldn't think at all, but at least I was
wide awake. What? I said.
LaGuerta has arrested somebody. Some guy who works at the arena. She has him in custody and she's
sure he's the killer.
That's not possible, I said, although I knew it was possible, the brain-dead bitch. LaGuerta, not Deb.
I know that, Dexter. But don't try to tell LaGuerta. She's sure she got the right guy.
How sure? I asked. My head was spinning and I felt a little bit like throwing up. I couldn't really say
why.
Deb snorted. She has a press conference in one hour, she said. For her, that's positive.
The pounding in my head got too loud to hear what Deb might have said next. LaGuerta had made an
arrest? Who? Who could she possibly have tagged for it? Could she truly ignore all the clues, the smell
and feel and taste of these kills, and arrest somebody? Because nobody who could do what this killer
had done was doing! could possibly allow a pimple like LaGuerta to catch him. Never. I would bet
my life on it.
No, Deborah, I said. No. Not possible. She's got the wrong guy.
Deborah laughed, a tired, dirty-up-to-here cop's laugh. Yeah, she said. I know it. You know it. But
she doesn't know it. And you want to know something funny? Neither does he.
That made no sense at all. What are you saying, Deb? Who doesn't know?
61 of 142
She repeated that awful little laugh. The guy she arrested. I guess he must be almost as confused as
LaGuerta, Dex. Because he confessed.
What?
He confessed, Dexter. The bastard confessed.
CHAPTER 12
H IS NAME WAS DARYLL EARL MCHALE AND HE WAS what we liked to call a two-time loser.
Twelve of his last twenty years had been spent as a guest of the State of Florida. Dear Sergeant
Doakes had managed to dig his name out of the arena's personnel files. In a computer cross-check for
employees with a record of violence or felony convictions, McHale's name had popped up twice.
Daryll Earl was a drunk and a wife beater. Apparently he occasionally knocked over filling stations,
too, just for the entertainment value. He could be relied on to hold down a minimum wage job for a
month or two. But then some fine Friday night he'd throw back a few six-packs and start to believe he
was the Wrath of God. So he'd drive around until he found a gas station that just pissed him off. He'd
charge in waving a weapon, take the money, and drive away. Then he'd use his massive $80 or $90
haul to buy a few more six-packs until he felt so good he just had to beat up on somebody. Daryll Earl
was not a large man: five six and scrawny. So to play it safe, the somebody he beat on usually turned
out to be his wife.
Things being what they were, he'd actually gotten away with it a couple of times. But one night he
went a little too far with his wife and put her into traction for a month. She pressed charges, and since
Daryll Earl already had a record, he'd done some serious time.
He still drank, but he'd apparently been frightened enough at Raiford to straighten out just a bit. He'd
gotten a job as a janitor at the arena and actually held on to it. As far as we could tell, he hadn't beaten
up his wife for ages.
And more, Our Boy had even had a few moments of fame when the Panthers made their run at the
Stanley Cup. Part of his job had been to run out and clean up when the fans threw objects on the ice.
That Stanley Cup year, this had been a major job, since every time the Panthers scored the fans threw
three or four thousand plastic rats onto the rink. Daryll Earl had to schlep out and pick them all up,
boring work, no doubt. And so encouraged by a few snorts of very cheap vodka one night, he'd picked
up one of the plastic rats and done a little Rat Dance. The crowd ate it up and yelled for more. They
began to call for it when Daryll Earl skidded out onto the ice. Daryll Earl did the dance for the rest of
the season.
Plastic rats were forbidden nowadays. Even if they had been required by federal statute, nobody would
have been throwing them. The Panthers hadn't scored a goal since the days when Miami had an honest
mayor, sometime in the last century. But McHale still showed up at the games hoping for one last
on-camera two-step.
At the press conference LaGuerta played that part beautifully. She made it sound like the memory of
his small fame had driven Daryll Earl over the edge into murder. And of course with his drunkenness
and his record of violence toward women, he was the perfect suspect for this series of stupid and brutal
62 of 142
murders. But Miami's hookers could rest easy; the killing was over. Driven by the overwhelming
pressure of an intense and merciless investigation, Daryll Earl had confessed. Case closed. Back to
work, girls.
The press ate it up. You couldn't really blame them, I suppose. LaGuerta did a masterful job of
presenting just enough fact colored with high-gloss wishful thinking that nearly anyone would have
been convinced. And of course you don't actually have to take an IQ test to become a reporter. Even
so, I always hope for just the smallest glimmer. And I'm always disappointed. Perhaps I saw too many
black-and-white movies as a child. I still thought the cynical, world-weary drunk from the large
metropolitan daily was supposed to ask an awkward question and force the investigators to carefully
reexamine the evidence.
But sadly, life does not always imitate art. And at LaGuerta's press conference, the part of Spencer
Tracy was played by a series of male and female models with perfect hair and tropical-weight suits. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]