Chapter One Hundred and One
At seven-thirty in the morning I was on the receiving end of a phone call from FBI director Ronald Burns in Washington. Burns was cautious and wary, but I knew he wouldn't call me himself unless he had evidence that there were serious problems with Kyle. I was still confused, and hurt, but I recognized the emotions as appropriate and sane. Kyle Craig was the madman, not me. 'Tell me whatever you know. Director,' I said. 'I know a lot about Kyle, but you know things that I don't. Tell me what they are. It's important that I know everything.' Burns didn't answer right away. There was a long pause at his end of the line. I knew him well enough to know that he was a friend of Kyle's. At least he thought he had been. We'd all been wrong for so long. We'd been fooled, and betrayed by someone we had trusted. Finally, Burns began to speak.'We have been getting worried about Kyle recently. This could go back to the days of the "Kiss the Girls" case. Maybe even before it. We know his files suggest he had a troubled adolescence, but when he joined the FBI, his psychological profile showed he had got through all that. You know that Kyle was an undergrad at Duke University. It's now become apparent that he knew Will Rudolph - the Gentleman Caller - from his student days at Duke. During the case, Kyle may have been responsible for the death of a reporter named Beth Lieberman with the LA Times. She was closing in on Will Rudolph.' I shut my eyes and shook my head. I had helped solve the 'Kiss' case. I knew that Kyle had attended Duke, but not about his
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relationship with the Gentleman Caller, a killer who had terrorized LA. 'Why didn't you talk to me?' I asked Burns. I was trying to understand the FBI's position. So far, I couldn't. 'We didn't begin to really suspect Kyle until the murder of Betsey Cavalierre. We had no proof, even then. We weren't sure if he was a possible killer or the best agent in the Bureau.' 'Jesus, Ron, we could have talked. We should have talked. He's on the run now. You should have told me. I hope you're telling me everything now.' 'Alex, you know what we know. Maybe more. I hope you're telling us everything.' After I finished with Burns, I called Sampson in Washington. I told him the latest and it blew John's mind. He had moved Nana and the kids out of our house on Fifth Street. Only he and I knew where they were now. 'Everything okay there?' I asked. 'Everybody settled in all right?' 'Are you rucking kidding, Alex? Nana is pissed off like I've never seen her before. If Kyle Craig came after her, I'd put my money on Nana. The kids are cool, though. They don't know what's happening, but they've guessed it isn't good.' I cautioned him again. 'Don't leave them for a minute, not a second, John. I'm coming back to Washington on the next flight. I don't know how Kyle could trace you there, but don't underestimate him. He's loose. He's very dangerous. For some reason, he wants to hurt me, and maybe my family. If I can figure out why that is, maybe I can stop him.' And if not?' Sampson asked. I let the question hang.
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