Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set #4: Books 13-16 (A Dead Cold Box Set) by Blake Banner (best ereader for academics .txt) 📕

“Who are you? And what have you done with Dehan? Where did you learn such language?”

“I told you, from your books. Robles has a compulsive, sexual need to dominate people or be dominated by them. This draws people like Agnes into a dependent relationship with him. She needs him, badly, but he refuses to get involved with her romantically, yet at the same time refuses to set her free. Double bind. The first humiliation comes in the form of Ali, and then the final straw is Mohamed and/or Costas. She snaps and kills him.” I drew breath but she held up a hand. “Meanwhile, presented with his death, Dr. Meigh does two things. One, she shelters Agnes, and two, she holds back the key part of his research, planning to present it later as either her own or the work of the team. The team quietly acquiesce—all, that is, but Am Nielsen.”

I thought about it for a while. Finally, I said, “That is a very compelling piece of reasoning, Dehan. I like it very much. It’s brilliant.”

“Gee. Shucks, boss.”

I glanced at her. “What about the gun?”

“As you would say, two gets you twenty she got that from Dr. Meigh. We need to look into her. Maybe her husband was a Marine, or at least military. My bet is she got it from her old pal, Meigh, who later sheltered her.”

I thought about the man I’d seen Meigh kiss and hand over the keys to the Audi. He didn’t look especially lethal, but you couldn’t always tell. “If that’s true, then it elevates Meigh’s involvement to conspiracy to commit murder.”

“Yeah.”

I looked at my watch. It was five past nine. “He’s late.” We stared at each other for a moment. “Once we have his testimony, we go back to Meigh and demand to see the missing part of the research.”

“What about Mohamed?”

“We’ll get Gomez to take it. I want to talk to Meigh before they go on holiday.”

Dehan gave a single nod. “If we can get her to admit to that much, maybe we can use it as leverage to force her to give up Agnes…” We stared at each other a moment longer and she shrugged. “That’s what this whole thing comes down to now, Stone, isn’t it? Find Agnes.”

“I guess…” I looked at my watch again. Ten past. I pulled out my cell and called Am. I got a message saying it was switched off or out of range. “He’s not coming.”

She frowned. “Come on! He’s probably on the subway.”

I shook my head. “He’s not coming. Get your woolly hat, Dehan. I’m going to call Hays and try Am again. You put out a BOLO, and arrange for a car to go to the university. We’re going to his house.”

She stood, looking at me as though I’d gone crazy. “Why? He’s ten minutes late, Stone!”

“Because we are missing something and I don’t know what it is. But believe me, he is not coming!”

I ran down the stairs dialing Hays’ number. It rang a couple of times before he answered.

“You again, Detective.”

“Yeah, me again. Is Am Nielsen there? Have you seen him today?”

“He isn’t here and I haven’t seen him. He’s probably still in bed. It’s barely a quarter past nine!”

“I know what time it is. The moment you see him, you call me. Tell him to stay put. I’ll come and get him.”

“Is that an order?”

“Yes.”

His tone was sarcastic, mine wasn’t. I hung up and went to the detectives’ room to grab my coat. When I stepped outside, it had started to drizzle, but the drizzle was turning to a fine sleet. I opened the door and Dehan came out of the station, swaddled in wool, and ran across the road to join me. As we climbed in, she said, “Time to share, big guy. You know it makes me mad when you cut me out.”

I reversed out of the lot, turned into Metcalf, crossed the Bruckner Expressway and joined the boulevard on the other side, going west. There I hit the gas, headed for Hunts Point.

“I don’t know, Dehan. I’m as confused as you are. Everything you said makes sense. But Am doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t fit with the logical explanation. I can’t put it into words for you right now, but I know he’s gone as sure as I know I had coffee this morning.” I glanced at her. “It’s at least twenty past now, right?”

She checked her watch. “Yeah, twenty-two.”

“Call the station, call the university, call him. I’ll tell you what you’ll find. He hasn’t showed and his cell is either out of range or switched off.”

She waited a second, then pulled out her phone and called the station. She put it on speaker.

“Maria, this is Detective Dehan. Has Am Nielsen turned up yet?”

“No, no word from him yet.”

“Call me when he shows, will you?”

“You told me that five minutes ago, honey.”

She called Hays.

“Dr. Hays, this is Detective Dehan…”

“Your partner spoke to me five minutes ago and ordered me to telephone him as soon as Nielsen arrived. He has not arrived. As soon as he does, I will call you. Is there anything else the police state would like from me before I start my day’s work?”

“No, thank you.”

She called Am and got no response.

Under the overpass, I turned onto Hunts Point Avenue and accelerated toward his house. I pulled up outside just as Dehan’s cell started to ring. She climbed out and slammed the door as she answered it.

“Yeah, Dehan.” She listened, watching me as I went to the door, hammered and rang the bell. “OK,” she said. “Just stand by. Wait there for now.”

The drapes were closed and there was no