Page 121 of The Grave Artist
“So, it’s true.”
“That’s right.”
She looked him over. “I heard you specialize in making murders look like suicides.”
“How the hell did you know all this? Tell me!”
She got a small taste of what Carmen must feel like when someone is surprised into making an unintended admission.
“You screwed up, Sweeney. Left a trail so clear even a college kid like me could follow it right to you.”
“I’m not fucking around. Tell me who ratted me out.”
This was the only reason she was still alive. He had to know where the holes were so he could plug them.
“I’ll tell you. But first, I want to know exactly how Fisher did it.”
He gave her a cruel look, up and down. “I could just force you to talk.”
“If I’m in pain, I might lie. If you tell me the truth, I’ll return the favor.”
He laughed. “You’re a piece of work.”
“What did Dad discover, exactly, that made him so dangerous you were hired to kill him?”
“I tell you and you give me the leaky faucet that gave up my name.”
“Sure. You’re both pricks. I don’t care what happens to either one of you.”
No smile now. He glared coldly.
“Okay, about your dad ... well, you’re just a kid. I don’t suppose you know much about money laundering.”
“I’ve heard of it,” she said. “Only I know it by a different name. Fortuna and Hygeia.”
And she enjoyed the look of complete confusion crossing his ruddy face.
Chapter 58
Jake said, “The museum ... okay, let’s think.”
Tandy offered, “We’re not going to catch him at the ticket windows. He won’t use a credit card. And facial rec’s useless with that many visitors. But if we could figure out where he went specifically, maybe he got caught on one of those vids.”
Sanchez shook her head. “But there are so many places he could have gone ...”
Declan had continued his Wikipedia report and told them that the Uffizi held nearly two hundred thousand paintings, drawings and statues.
Both Jake and Sanchez found themselves looking at the murder board. She mused, “What do we know about him that tells us what he might like to look at?”
“No sexual component. Nothing financial.”
Tandy added, “And generally thrill killers don’t try to cover up the deaths and make them seem like accidents. The pleasure is both in the act of killing—”
“And watching the public reaction,” Sanchez added. “But this one’s a bit different. He wants the world to know someone died ...”
Jake added, “But not that they were murdered. He’s setting them up as accidents.”
On the screen Tandy was nodding. “What else?”
