Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Lieutenant Travers poured whiskey into five paper cups. “You had an eventful day, didn’t you, Mr. Porter?”
“This is obviously some new meaning of the word ‘eventful’ that I haven’t previously encountered.” Waking in Gary’s arms that morning, it had seemed like a really bad dream—until he saw the red scratch on his neck in the bathroom mirror.
Yeah. That had been a little too close for comfort.
Gary leaned forward, picked up two cups, and handed one to Riley. “The doc says Dan was lucky. Ludlow could just as easily have pushed the needle in.”
“But he didn’t,” Dan remonstrated. He took a cup and gave the other to Lewis, who took it almost absentmindedly. And then Dan’s fingertips brushed against Lewis’s hand, and it was as if Dan had delivered an electric shock. Lewis straightened in his chair, his eyes alert.
None of the others appeared to notice.
Travers raised his cup. “Well, you did it. One serial killer off the streets, no more calls from Adam Winton, and the chief is off my back. I call that a successful conclusion.”
“Amen to that,” Gary murmured.
“Ludlow isn’t talking, by the way,” Travers remarked.
“Did he really believe he could kill twenty-two men and not get caught?” Riley shook his head. “Because that was his plan.”
“Ludlow can clam up all he likes. We’ve got enough of his DNA to sink him,” Gary declared emphatically. “Not to mention a drawer full of the victims’ phones. It still amazes me that he kept them. What were they, trophies?”
“Maybe he saw it as confiscating the tools those men had used to ensnare Paul. The apps, the messaging…. And maybe he truly believed he was invisible to the police.” Dan was still in awe of how Gary, Riley, and Lewis had pieced it all together, especially Lewis.
Travers had listened as they’d recounted the events of the previous day, Dan chipping in here and there to share what he’d learned about Christopher.
“I think you were very brave, Mr. Porter, keeping him talking like that. You had no way of knowing help was on the way.”
“I wanted him off balance,” Dan told Travers.
“Once I knew what lay at the heart of all this—his guilt—I kept pushing the knife in.” He shivered.
“Perhaps I pushed a little too far. He was more than ready to dispatch me by the time the cavalry arrived.” He had to resist the urge to take Gary’s hand, even though he needed that physical connection.
“There is one more thing I’d like to know.” Travers gave Dan a keen glance. “Did you really know who was responsible for his brother’s death, or was that a ruse to play for time?”
Dan’s heartbeat quickened. He could lie—or he could do what his conscience demanded. He took a sip from his cup, and the liquid warmed him. “That wasn’t a ruse. As soon as I held that chain, I knew.” He closed his eyes momentarily, not missing someone’s sharp intake of breath.
Can I do this?
Then he gave himself a mental kick. He’d known all along that he didn’t have a choice.
Dan opened his eyes and placed his cup on Travers’s desk.
“He blamed Paul’s death on the gay men who he thought had sucked him into a sordid life that eventually killed him.
He truly believed they’d made Paul gay. That they’d introduced him to a life of sex and drugs.
From what Gary told me, Paul’s boyfriend refuted that.
Maybe that was why Paul didn’t come home after college.
He’d been living as an out gay man and thought his brother would disapprove.
” Dan stared at the cup. “That’s mere supposition on my part.
I couldn’t see that in my vision.” He inhaled deeply.
“But one thing was crystal clear. It had been Paul’s choice to buy drugs that night.
It had nothing to do with sex, and everything to do with getting high and numbing the pain.
So the person who sold him the bath salts?
They dealt the fatal blow that caused his paranoia and psychosis, and ultimately led to his death. ”
Travers frowned. “So… who was it?”
There was no turning back.
His heart hammering, Dan turned to look at Lewis. “Do you want to tell him, or shall I?”
Lewis gaped at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Is it someone Lewis knows from his time in Vice?” Travers demanded. “Someone he put away?”
Dan sighed, his stomach hard. “I wish I could say yes, but I can’t. The thing is… Lewis sold Paul Ludlow the drugs that killed him.”
The silence he’d expected fell with a thud.
Lewis’s face was white. “Whatever you think that twisted gift of yours is telling you? You’re wrong.”
Travers sucked air through his teeth. “That’s a very serious accusation, Mr. Porter.” Beside Dan, Gary and Riley had become so still.
“You think I don’t know that? You think I haven’t wrestled with this ever since I saw his face? Lewis might have been an asshole toward me from day one, but this….” Dan shuddered. “This was just fucked up.”
Lewis staggered to his feet, spilling his whiskey onto the carpet. He put the cup on Travers’s desk, his hand shaking. “Okay, I’m not going to sit here and listen to another word of this crap.”
Gary grabbed his arm. “Steady there. And sit down.”
Lewis’s eyes bulged. “You’re gonna believe this guy over me? Christ, you’ve worked with me. I ain’t no stinkin’ drug dealer.”
“No, you’re not,” Dan confirmed. He fixed his gaze on Lewis’s face. “But you were then, and we both know that’s the truth. It wasn’t a long career, I grant you. Maybe Paul’s death shocked you back onto the right path again.”
“Mr. Porter, I’m grateful for all your assistance on the case, but―”
“I think we should hear him out,” Gary interjected. “Lord knows he hasn’t been wrong so far.”
Travers gaped at Gary. “You’re serious.”
Dan put down his cup. His own hands were trembling too.
“Lewis…. When I held Paul’s chain, I saw your face.
I can even describe what you were wearing at the time.
I didn’t want to believe it. But then… a lot of things fell into place.
Why you wouldn’t shake hands with me the day we met.
Why you’ve been so careful to avoid all physical contact with me.
Why you kept pushing for me not to work on this case.
And when that didn’t work, you leaked my involvement to the press.
I’m going to bet if we check your phone, we’ll find that photo you took of me here in the precinct. ”
Travers gazed at Lewis with wide eyes. “Stevens?”
Dan pushed ahead. “The day we met, you didn’t make a secret of how hard you’ve had to work to get where you are, about your impoverished beginnings.
I’m only guessing here, but I assume you got your hands on the drugs during a bust, and somehow they didn’t make it to the evidence locker.
” Judging by the way Lewis jumped at that, Dan figured he’d nailed it.
“You decided you’d make some money on the side.
” He cocked his head. “Gary said you joined Homicide four years ago. Paul Ludlow died four years ago….” He glanced at Gary. “Where did Paul die?”
“Lowell, Middlesex.”
Dan nodded, his calm returning. “And where did Lewis transfer from?”
Silence fell, broken only by Lewis’s labored breathing. Finally, Gary spoke. “Chelmsford PD.”
Dan studied his clasped hands. “I don’t have to ask if Lowell is in Chelmsford’s backyard, do I?
” He raised his chin and sighed. “Your faces say it all.” He faced Lewis, and his stomach clenched to see the expression of horror in his eyes.
“Paul Ludlow died, and you got scared. You stopped. That’s why you transferred out. ”
Lewis glared at him. “How the fuck can you know that?”
Dan pointed to Lewis’s cup of whiskey. “Because you forgot. You finally let your guard down, and I touched you.” For a moment he wasn’t certain if Lewis would try to bluff it out, but then Lewis slumped in his chair, and Dan knew he’d had the fight knocked right out of him.
“I knew it was a mistake bringing you in on this.” Lewis grabbed his cup and took a long drink from it, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“As soon as you held that ring and you knew who Cory Peterson was, I realized you were no hokey fake. You were the genuine article. And every day since then, I’ve been afraid of you, of what you’d see.
Jesus, I’ve been so fucking scared.” He nursed the cup in his hands.
“There was always a chance someone in the press would say who leaked the info, but when that didn’t happen, I figured I was safe as long as I stayed the fuck away from you.
” He met Dan’s gaze. “You were right, okay? About everything. And when you touched me just now….” Lewis shivered. “I knew the game was up.”
“Watson.” Travers addressed Riley in a quiet voice. “Take Stevens out of here. Get a statement. I’ll deal with this mess later.”
“Sure.” Riley got up and walked over to where Lewis sat. “Come on.” He touched his shoulder.
As Lewis followed him to the door, Dan blurted out, “I had to say something. You know that, right?”
Lewis paused. “Yeah, I know. I was a fool to think I could hide it forever. It’s a miracle I made it this far.” And then he walked out of the room.
Dan sagged into his chair. “That was… intense.”
Travers cleared his throat. “Mr. Porter, you’ve been… amazing. I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done.” He expelled a breath. “Even though you may not have wanted to do some of it.”
“I was glad to help with the case. I’m only sorry about the collateral damage.” He’d ruined a man’s life.
No, I haven’t. Lewis did that four years ago. It was his choice, remember?
“I know you must be anxious to get back to New Hampshire,” Travers continued.
Not as anxious as you might think. He wasn’t ready to leave Boston yet.
Gary. He wasn’t ready to leave Gary.
“However, I had an idea. I need to see if the chief will run with it—so technically I shouldn’t even be mentioning it until he gives me the go-ahead—but I wanted to see if it was something you’d consider.”
Gary chuckled. “You’re being way too mysterious. Just come right out with it.”