Superstalker: A Lady G Thriller

Chapter 15 - Jumpin'

By the time Dempsey got back, we were already answering questions from other detectives who'd finally shown up, the "we" being me and Marty Halloran and Harvey Campanella. Most of the customers had vamoosed. And at her request, with reporters and cameras likely to arrive, I'd slipped Gaga out through Khave's back door. I gave her the key to my basement place, the house being just a few blocks away (closer than her place, which Sickblade could be back watching) and told her I'd meet her there. Her Mets cap and glasses should get her there unrecognized, and we had our phones in case. I made a quick call to Doc Granith, who I caught upstairs in his attic nook, and told him the situation. He said not to worry, he'd see she got in OK. I couldn't remember if I'd told Gaga what the house was used for, but figured it wouldn't take her long to guess.

Of course the first thing Dempsey standing in front of me asked was, "Where's Gaga?"

I looked up from the table I sat at. "I'm guessing you didn't catch him." Twisting his onions a little.

"Where is she?" he asked again, getting a little hot.

"She had another engagement."

"Where?"

I shrugged. "She didn't say."

I wasn't one of his favorites to begin with, and if there hadn't been the other cops around, I had the feeling he'd have bopped me. Not that I wasn't asking for it - I didn't like him either.

"You're a wise little shit, you know it?" he said.

"I won't take that personally."

He gave me the cop stare, held it while I gave him the deadpan. Then he asked how I knew Sickblade had been following me. I told him it was Gaga who'd spotted him. The proof that it was him was the note he sent.

I asked, "You believe him?"

"Believe what?"

"That he didn't kill my sister?"

"So you did read the note."

"Of course I did. It was sent to me."

I waited for him to answer the question but he never did.

After another half-hour of going back over what they'd already gone over, him and his compadres let us leave, taking our phone numbers and addresses (which I was tempted to fudge, just to keep in practice) in case they needed more information.

I left a twenty-buck apology tip for Wilma (Gaga had given me an advance on my bodyguard salary) and followed Marty Halloran and Harvey out of Khaves.

Outside on Ninth, once we got past some press people just coming in, I gave twenty bucks to Marty, who grunted thanks and couldn't get out of there fast enough. I started walking south with Harvey, hoping Gaga had found her way OK to my place.

"Sounds like you been busy," Harvey said.

"A little."

"By the way, condolences about your sister."

"Thank you."

"You don't think this Sickblade did her?"

"He says he didn't."

"So then why don't you use him?"

"Huh?"

We stopped at the corner by the Korean grocer, each of us having different directions to go.

Harvey waited for a loud truck to go by, then said, "Guys like him'd love a shot at taking down a copycat - if that's who really killed her. Show everybody how much cleverer they are than the cops."