Sleight of Hand

CHAPTER Forty-One

“Come on in,” Santoro said as soon as he opened his front door.

“Do you have any scotch?” Dana asked.

Santoro filled a glass with a little bit of ice and a lot of Johnnie Walker and handed it to Dana. She sat on the sofa in the detective’s living room and downed half of the glass.

“Are you ready to tell me what happened?” Santoro asked.

“Can you promise me you’ll forget you’re a cop?”

Santoro hesitated. Then he nodded

“I might have killed someone tonight.”

Santoro stayed calm. “Might have?”

“He was alive when I left but there was a lot of blood.”

“Why don’t you start at the beginning and tell me what happened?”

“I talked to Tiffany Starr yesterday but she wouldn’t tell me anything. Around eleven I got a call from a man who told me he would prove Barry Lester was lying if I met him at an empty lot in an industrial park. When I got there he threatened to rape me if I didn’t stop investigating the Blair case and Barry Lester.”

“What did you do?”

Dana looked down. Now that the adrenaline had worn off she felt sick about what had happened.

“Dana?”

“I stabbed him in the crotch.”

“Holy shit!”

Dana’s head snapped up and she looked fierce. “I did what I had to do to save myself, and I’d do it again. It was a clear case of self-defense, but I would have been answering questions and put on ice for who knows how long if I’d stayed, and I can’t afford that.”

“So you just left him to die?”

“No. The man was just a messenger. I called 911, but I left before the ambulance arrived, so I don’t know what happened to him.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I have to find out who sent the man who attacked me so I can neutralize the threat.”

Santoro had done some checking on Dana Cutler, including a look at the police file that detailed how Dana had dealt with the bikers who had kidnapped her. There were crime-scene photos in it. Santoro had seen some bad shit over the years, but these photos almost made him lose his lunch. After seeing the photos there was no doubt in Santoro’s mind what Dana meant when she used the word “neutralize.”

“There’s no way I’m going to help you kill someone,” he said. “If that’s where this is going, count me out.”

Dana stared into space for a moment. Then she nodded.

“What can you tell me about your attacker?” Santoro asked.

“He wore a ski mask. I was so anxious to get away that I didn’t take it off, so I can’t tell you what he looks like. But you shouldn’t have any trouble identifying him. The guy is huge. Not fat. Well built, like a heavyweight boxer. And you shouldn’t have any trouble finding him. He’ll be in a hospital or the morgue.”

“Is there anything else you remember? Any scars, tattoos?”

“I’m pretty sure he’s Russian or from somewhere in Eastern Europe.”

“Now, that is interesting,” Santoro said. “The odds are that Russian muscle would be connected to Nikolai Orlansky, and Charlie Benedict has represented members of Orlansky’s crew.”

“I’d forgotten that.”

“Yeah, well, you had other things on your mind.”

A sudden thought occurred to Santoro. “Do you think Tiffany Starr might be in danger?”

Dana turned pale. “I’m sure this guy came after me because Tiffany told someone about my visit. The person she talked to is probably the person who told her where Carrie Blair was buried.”

Dana looked worried. “Tiffany is a junkie, and junkies can’t be trusted. If I killed Blair and Tiffany told me a reporter had come around asking questions, getting rid of Tiffany would be my top priority.”

Santoro stood up and walked toward his bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Dana asked.

“I’m getting dressed. We’re going to drive to Starr’s apartment and see if she’s okay.”



Tiffany did not answer her door.

“She’s a stripper. She could be at a club,” Dana said.

“I hope so. Because she could also be dead.”

Dana thought for a moment. “Wait in the stairwell.”

“Why?”

“You don’t want to know.”

Dana had been inside Tiffany’s apartment so she knew it didn’t have an alarm system, and the bolt was pathetic. As soon as Santoro was out of sight, Dana jimmied the lock. Twenty minutes later, Dana was walking downstairs with the detective.

“She’s not in the apartment but I did find an ATM receipt of a recent two-thousand-dollar deposit.”

“A payoff for telling Barry Lester what to tell the cops?”

“Could be.”

“Did you see anything that made you think Starr was in danger?”

“There wasn’t any sign of a struggle or blood, if that’s what you mean.”

“Look, Dana, I’ve been thinking. If Nikolai Orlansky sent the guy who attacked you, you’re in a lot of trouble. Orlansky is completely ruthless, he has no conscience. He views killing people as a business strategy.”

“But he wouldn’t know I’m involved. I used a false name when I talked to Starr.”

“Then how did this guy get your number?”

“I gave her a business card identifying ‘Loren Parkhurst’ as a reporter for Exposed.”

“Orlansky is smart, Dana. With the lead to Exposed he’ll figure it out.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I’m suggesting that you leave town for a while. I know how tough you are but it will be next to impossible for you to get to Orlansky, and he can get to you anytime he wants.”

“I’m not going to run. And what about my boyfriend? I’m living with someone I care about. If Orlansky is as ruthless as you say and he can’t find me, he might try to get at me by threatening Jake.”

“Good point, but I think I know a way to protect both of you. Is there any part of this investigation you can do out of town, because I’ll need a little time to see if it works.”

“There’s something I was going to do that would take me away from D.C.”

“Then do it. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to come back. It shouldn’t be long.”