The Broken Window

She gave them the name and phone number. A high-profile, and -priced, criminal defense attorney Rhyme knew. But he’d be a man with a lot on his plate and more experience with financial than violent crimes.

Sachs asked about the prosecutor.

“Bernhard Grossman. I can get you his number.”

“That’s all right,” Sachs said. “I have it. I’ve worked with him before. He’s reasonable. I assume he offered your husband a plea bargain?”

“He did, and our lawyer wanted to take it. But Art refused. He keeps saying this is just a mistake, it’ll all get straightened out. But that doesn’t always happen, does it? Even if people are innocent they go to jail sometimes, don’t they?”

They do, yes, Rhyme thought, then said, “We’ll make a few phone calls.”

She rose. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am that we let things slide. Inexcusable.” Surprising him, Judy Rhyme strode directly to the wheelchair and bent down, brushing her cheek against his. Rhyme smelled nervous sweat and two distinct scents, perhaps deodorant and hair spray. No perfume. She didn’t seem the perfume type. “Thank you, Lincoln.” She walked to the door and paused. To them both she said, “Whatever else you find, about that woman and Arthur, it’s all right. All I care about is that he doesn’t go to jail.”

“I’ll do what I can. We’ll give you a call if we find something concrete.”

Sachs saw her out.

When she returned Rhyme said, “Let’s check with the lawyers first.”

“I’m sorry, Rhyme.” He frowned, and she added, “I just mean, it’s got to be hard on you.”

“How’s that?”

“Thinking a close relative got busted for murder.”

Rhyme shrugged, one of the few gestures he could manage. “Ted Bundy was somebody’s son. Maybe a cousin too.”

“But still.” Sachs lifted the receiver. Eventually she tracked down the defense lawyer, got his answering service and left a message. Rhyme wondered which hole of which golf course he was on at that moment.

She then got in touch with the assistant district attorney, Grossman, who wasn’t enjoying the day of rest but was in his office downtown. He’d never connected the last name of the perp to the criminalist. “Hey, I’m sorry, Lincoln,” he said sincerely. “But I have to say, it’s a good case. I’m not blowing smoke. I’d tell you if there were gaps. But there aren’t. A jury’s going to nail him. If you can talk him into a plea, you’d be doing him a huge favor. I could probably go down to twelve solid.”

Twelve years, with no parole. It would kill Arthur, Rhyme reflected.

“Appreciate that,” Sachs said.

The A.D.A. added that he had a complicated trial starting tomorrow so he couldn’t spend any more time talking to them now. He’d call later in the week, if they liked.

He did, however, give them the name of the lead detective in the case, Bobby LaGrange.

“I know him,” she said, dialing him at home too. She got his voice mail but when she tried his cell he answered immediately.

“LaGrange.”

The hiss of wind and the sound of slapping water explained what the detective was up to on this clear-sky, warm day.

Sachs identified herself.

“Oh, sure. Howya doin’, Amelia? I’m waiting for a call from a snitch. We’ve got something going down in Red Hook anytime now.”

So, not on his fishing boat.

“I may have to hang up fast.”

“Understood. You’re on speaker.”

“Detective, this is Lincoln Rhyme.”

A hesitation. “Oh. Yeah.” A call from Lincoln Rhyme got people’s full attention pretty fast.

Rhyme explained about his cousin.

“Wait…‘Rhyme.’ You know, I thought it was a funny name. I mean, unusual. But I never put it together. And he never said anything about you. Not in any of the interviews. Your cousin. Man, I’m sorry.”

“Detective, I don’t want to interfere with the case. But I said I’d call and find out what the story is. It’s gone to the A.D.A., I know. Just talked to him.”

“I gotta say the collar was righteous. I’ve run homicides for five years and short of somebody from Patrol witnessing a gang clip, this was the cleanest wrap I’ve seen.”

“What’s the story? Art’s wife only gave me the bones.”

In the stiff voice that cops fall into when recounting details of a crime-stripped of emotion: “Your cousin left work early. He went to the apartment of a woman named Alice Sanderson, down in the Village. She’d gotten off work early too. We aren’t sure how long he was there but sometime around six she was knifed to death and a painting was stolen.”

“Rare, I understand?”

“Yeah. But not like Van Gogh.”

“Who was the artist?”

“Somebody named Prescott. Oh, and we found some direct-mail things, flyers, you know, that a couple of galleries’d sent your cousin about Prescott. That didn’t look so good.”

“Tell me more about May twelfth,” Rhyme said.