They shook hands; hers was bloodless and cold and she quickly withdrew it.
Not another word passed between them. As he reentered the cathedral of light and made his way to the front door, he marveled that people lived this way.
He stopped there at the threshold, turned, and met eyes with her. Said nothing, but also didn’t move. Time suspended.
“For what it’s worth, their relationship, Caroline and Vince, seemed more business than pleasure. My husband wondered aloud, more than once, if she wasn’t more mistress than girlfriend, if you know what I mean?”
“A call girl.”
“A paid companion. When they were together it felt different. That’s all. Like they shared a secret but not the kind of secret couples share. I can’t explain it.”
“I think you explained it very well,” he said. And he thanked her.
“I need you,” Boldt said, as he and Walt stood talking beneath Vince Wynn’s basketball hoop.
“It went that bad?” Walt asked. “You want to double-team him?”
“Dodge ball. There’s a lawyer named Evers. Real piece of work. Wynn wants to put the Vetta death on Gale. Keeps it neat and clean.”
“Does he know about Gale?”
“Not that I could tell, but he’s no one to play poker with.”
“Did he blame Gale outright?”
“His lawyer wouldn’t let him go that far, but he would have if he’d been left on his own. Gale’s identity as your John Doe is going to leak. If we’re going to go after Wynn before Evers circles the wagons, now’s the time.”
“How do you want to handle it?” Walt didn’t want to come off as naïve, but also wanted to show the man respect.
Boldt said, “They were very well rehearsed for Vetta. Not so sure that would prove to be the case with Gale. I’d hint at the evidence—ask to see his vehicles, a subscription to the local paper, hint at hairs and fibers evidence and work to confirm the last time the two met.”
“Get him back on his heels.”
“And then maybe I’ll interrupt and revisit Vetta. A guy like this, he’s a multi-tasker and his work is a constant pressure cooker. We’re never going to win anything close to a confession, but maybe he shows us a few cracks we can exploit later.”
“He agreed to meet you in the first place because he doesn’t want the publicity. That’s in our favor. I take it we have hairs and fibers from the Vetta scene?”
“I like the way you think,” Boldt said. “Feel free to play that if you need it.” Boldt slapped him on the back.
Wynn appeared surprised as he opened the door revealing the two. “Harris?” he called into the house.
Harris Evers was balding and was one of those city people who didn’t look comfortable when dressing down for the role of country folk. His jeans carried creases, his bare ankles were the color of copy paper, and his black leather belt with its industrial clasp was intended for a pair of fancy trousers.
“Sheriff?” Evers said.
“Wondered if I might have a few words with your client.”
“Concerning?”
“You might call it a follow-up on the shots fired the other night.”
“I think not,” Evers said.
“You are aware your client, Mr. Wynn, threatened an individual to my face, said he’d kill the man and take his chances with the courts.” Evers shot a furtive glance in Wynn’s direction, his disappointment impossible to disguise.
Walt continued. “That individual is dead. Yesterday, Martel Gale was discovered on the side of Highway Seventy-five.”
“Now wait a goddamned minute!” Wynn said, practically levitating off the floor. “You’re telling me Gale is dead?”
“And you threatened to kill him.”
“I . . . oh, damn . . . That was just bull. That was just me being me.”
“You said it to my face,” Walt reminded.
Evers tensed, eyes darting. “How about we all sit down a minute?”
“How about our friends here go back to wherever they came from?” Wynn said, his temperature rising.
“We can go the formal route,” Walt said, “but I can’t promise that Sports Center and Pardon the Interruption won’t hear a certain agent is under investigation.”
Wynn muttered, “You piece of—”
“Vince!” Evers waved everyone into the living room. They sat down around an elephant saddle coffee table beneath a Dale Chihuly chandelier in a living room with a full view of the ski mountain a mile away.
Walt could think of a dozen ways to begin the questioning, but he heeded Boldt’s advice about working the evidence, wandering into territory that wasn’t entirely familiar to him and hoping Boldt would come to his rescue if necessary.