Page 62

T he crematorium was long and low, a squared-off U shape painted a restful pale green with brown shutters and a matching roof.

The long drive split to arc in front of the facility, leading to parking spaces.

Hayes continued straight instead, beyond a large arched portico, currently empty, and then by the oversized garage, which made up the right stem of the structure.

He pulled into a small back lot that would hold about a dozen vehicles.

A large landscaped patio took up the space between the rear parking and the other vertical wing of the building, which offered a scenic view of the bordering woods.

Swinging into a space near the back entrance, he waited until Officer Starr pulled in next to him before putting the vehicle in park.

“Is that Kervin’s car?” he asked Reese, nodding toward the old white Toyota hugging the far front corner.

She leaned forward to look past him. “Yes. Doesn’t look like it’s been washed since I saw him last.”

He sent her a careful glance, but if the mention of the day McNulty had assaulted her brought back bad memories, it didn’t show in her expression. “Sure you want to do this now?”

“Yes. He said he’d leave the back entry open.”

He stifled a sigh and nodded. “Let’s talk to Starr first.”

The officer buzzed down the driver’s window as they approached the cruiser. “I still think I should accompany you inside.”

For the second time, Reese explained patiently, “We’re meeting an informant. I can guarantee he isn’t going to talk in your presence.”

“I know you said that, but…” His attention slid to Hayes.

“Let us go in. If we’re not back in twenty minutes, come in after us.”

The officer shook his head. “I’ll text you every ten. You respond promptly, or I call for backup.”

He nodded, aware of the impatience radiating off Reese. “That works. Appreciate it.”

Starr turned off the ignition and settled in more comfortably behind the wheel. “Nice night. I’ve had worse assignments. Remember, ten minutes. Then respond to the text immediately.”

“Got it.” He and Reese walked up to the structure. It was full dark now. Security lights dotted the rear of the building, one of them next to the back entrance nearest Kervin’s car. Reese approached the door, reaching for the knob.

“Wait.” He drew his weapon and went in ahead of her, searching the space. Then Hayes lowered the gun and held the door open for her.

“You’re probably going to scare the shit out of Kervin with that.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

The room they entered was dark and appeared to be a private office. A slant of illumination glowed beyond the opposite doorway. “Text him. Tell him we’re here.” Hayes led her to the lit hallway, his head cocked for any sound that may give them a clue where Kervin was.

She stopped and sent a quick message before following him, waiting outside each of the darkened rooms while he snapped on the lights and cleared them before flipping off the switch when he finished.

“He’s got to be around.” Her voice was muted as if there were anyone near enough to overhear.

“He wouldn’t miss the chance at another payday. ”

Hayes squelched the rude response he was considering.

One of the rooms was large enough for a public event, with accordion doors that could split the space into two sections.

Another was smaller, with a table full of pictures and flowers arranged up front and a couple of dozen folding chairs. “What’s he do here again?”

“Janitorial work.” Her cell alerted with an incoming text, sounding unnaturally loud in the eerie stillness. “He’s in the arrangement room. Wherever that is.”

The next area held gravestone markers, an extensive collection of urns, row after row of pictures of caskets, and overstuffed furniture with a couple of tables with chairs and shelves of large books.

Hayes assumed they showed pictures of flowers and other funeral items. Tension settled in his shoulders.

He shook off the worry and continued leading them down the hall. “Why are there coffins when none of the bodies will be buried?”

“To transport them. They’ll all be fully combustible, as they’ll go in the furnace with the deceased. They won’t tell you, but a cardboard box would do the trick. Grieving families often find that idea distasteful. For aquamation they use a bio-bag or shroud.”

He crossed in front of her to open a darkened room on the opposite side. Turning on the light, he saw four gurneys in the center and the far wall full of short metal doors. He’d visited enough morgues to know they’d be refrigerated units to hold bodies until the mortician could prepare them.

Hayes shut off the light, trying to block Reese’s view into the room. She’d likely been the one to make all of the arrangements for her aunt just months ago. He wondered if this visit was summoning any unwelcome memories. If it was, she gave no sign of it.

He took out his cell to see if he’d missed a message from Starr.

There was nothing, although by his estimation, they’d been inside for ten minutes.

Reese walked ahead of him, reaching for another door.

The lights inside were bare bulbs. No public allowed here.

A large gleaming vessel stood just in the center of the room, full of dials and knobs on the visible portal, which was standing open.

A tangle of pipes and hoses ran to the nearby wall.

An empty hydraulic stretcher stood before it.

Metal shelves lined the space. His brows rose at the amount of potassium hydroxide stored there, obviously to supply the alkali process.

Green energy or not, the view wasn’t comforting.

The space next door held two large furnaces for cremation. He heard a trickle of water. The front lobby was beyond the short hallway to their right, with an ornate fountain featured prominently. Light spilled out of the half-open door to the right of it.

Ignoring it for the time being, he led her past the hall to the garage.

It was dark, but he could make out four hearses and a couple of large SUVs.

He had Reese stay put while he searched the area before rejoining her, returning to the illuminated room off the lobby.

The large space was empty, save for a couple of couches, several easy chairs, and a long table.

“Kervin?” Reese called.

“Yeah” came a muffled reply. But the sound emanated from a door across the hallway. “Be right out.” The response was partially lost as a toilet flushed.

“I’m going to go check on Starr.” Maybe he was on the phone with Mendes. “You can come with me. We’ll be right back.”

“This will only take a few minutes. He’ll probably text you before you get there. Go on. I just want to finish this.”

He hesitated. But they’d been through the whole damn place on their way to the front and found evidence of only one person inside. A second flush sounded. “Call my number.”

“What?”

“I want you on the phone with me while I go out to talk to the officer.”

The sounds of a running faucet drifted to them. Then a noise he identified as a paper towel dispenser. She quickly took out her cell and called Hayes. He connected and nodded to her. “I’ll be right back.”

Hayes reached the rear door and pushed it open.

There was just enough light offered by the security lamps to see the outline of the cruiser.

As he neared it, he saw the window was still down.

Starr was a shadow, hunched in his seat as if looking at his phone.

Hayes’s pace slowed. Something about the scene had his instincts screaming.

He pulled his weapon, leveling it as he scanned the dark lot.

It remained the same as when they pulled in. Three vehicles. No sign of life.

Cautiously, he did a complete circle around the officer’s car, ending up at the open window. “Nolan.” He nudged at the man with the hand he held the cell in. If he’d been on his phone, there was no sign of it. “Hey.” When he tried to shake the officer, Starr fell limply toward the console.

“Reese,” he barked into the phone. “Get out of there! Right now!”

He shoved the cell into his pocket and grabbed for the door handle.

Something stung his back. An electrical current quickly followed.

The jolt had him falling against the car door, his body convulsing.

Pain radiated down his shoulder. Danced along nerve endings.

Hayes tried to lift his weapon. His arm wouldn’t obey.

Instead of tightening, his fingers loosened around it.

Seconds later the current stopped. He sagged against the vehicle, struggling to stay upright, his breathing still choppy.

“Reese.” He wanted to yell. Could barely manage a croak. “Run.”

There was a sound behind him. He tried to look over his shoulder. Couldn’t.

“I don’t think anyone’s going to be doing any running around here.” Another current hit him, and he cursed, a broken fragment of half-words. “Certainly not you.”

Hayes felt his legs going. Managed to stay on his feet by catching his elbow on the ledge of the lowered window.

“And the officer? He’s got most of a vial of GHB in him.

Stupid fuck. He probably won’t make it, but I did save a little for you.

” As if they no longer took orders from him, Hayes’s knees gave out.

He fell heavily to them. “At least for a while. You’ll have a front-row seat to that bothersome little bitch’s final moments. ”

His brain was fogged, making it difficult to decipher the words. He could feel the weapon being taken from his hand. His cell was slipped from his pocket. Something snapped around his wrist. His arm yanked upward. Another click sounded before he felt a prick on his neck.

“You just wait here. I’ll be back.”