Every Breath You Take (Second Opportunities 4)

, it was right the first time.”

you explain, then, how this button from your coat turned up at that farm?”

can’t explain it.”

Torello perched a hip on the corner of the table. do you suppose a button that you admit came from a coat of yours got snagged on a well cover on a farm you’ve never been to?”

repeat—” Wyatt said patiently, can’t explain it.”

Lily shot a pleased look at Gray and was surprised to see that he was frowning, his hands shoved into his pockets. ’s not our man,” Gray said in answer to her puzzled stare. he’s sure he can prove it.”

do you mean? How?”

don’t know, but I have a hunch he’s getting ready to tell us. He’s glanced at his watch twice and he’s getting fed up.”

In the interrogation room, Torello regarded Wyatt steadily, and when he said nothing more, Torello put pressure on him. me tell you how we think your coat button got snagged on that well cover—”

’m sure it would be a very entertaining, imaginative story, but I’m a little short of time. Do you have anything else you want to discuss other than this button?” When Torello frowned at him and said nothing, Wyatt said, ’ll take that to mean you don’t. In that case, here’s what you need to know: William disappeared in November. The coat that button came off of was made for me in London and delivered to me in Chicago at the end of December.”

MacNeil stepped forward and said in a conciliatory cop” tone, was the coat purchased and can anyone there verify the date it was delivered?”

’ll give you my London tailor’s name. He can also tell you where the buttons came from, and verify that I have no other clothing with identical buttons.”

is the coat now?”

sent it back to him so that he could order a new button and mend the hole left by the last one. Is there anything else, or are we finished?”

quite,” MacNeil said. did you first discover the button was missing from your coat?”

mid-January. I took the coat out of the closet and realized the button was gone. I don’t know where I lost it.”

Gray Elliott stared through the window. he doesn’t know, or he doesn’t want to believe it.” Without shifting his gaze, he said, MacNeil to come out here.”

Cervantes knocked on the door and poked his head into the interrogation room. ’m sorry to interrupt. Detective MacNeil, could I have a word with you?”

MacNeil strolled out, closed the door, and looked at Gray. you buying Wyatt’s story?”

Gray nodded. now, yes. Get Wyatt’s passport, and tell him not to leave Chicago until we’ve checked with the tailor and had a look at that coat ourselves.”

Wyatt took one look at MacNeil’s face when he walked back into the interrogation room and stood up. Wordlessly, he pulled his passport out of his inside jacket pocket and tossed it onto the table; then he picked up the coffee, took a swallow, and put the cup down. ’s your DNA, voluntarily given. Try not to mix it up with anyone else’s while you’re finishing your investigation. Anything else?” he clipped, while his attorneys rose to their feet and picked up their briefcases.

, don’t leave Chicago until you hear from us.”

’ll heed that warning,” he said shortly. now you’d better heed mine: If I ever see any of those photographs anywhere, I will bury Gray Elliott—and you—under a mountain of lawsuits filed against both of you personally, along with the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. And while I’m at it, I’ll make sure the media learns about your voyeuristic ‘hobby,’ and your expensive trips to Caribbean islands in pursuit of that hobby—all at government expense. In short, I will smear your names all over the press.”

you threatening me?” MacNeil said stiffly.

’t I just make that clear?” Wyatt snapped. tan, by the way,” he added. He started for the door, followed by his smirking attorneys; then he turned back and aimed his next threat toward the two-way mirror. ’ll give you the rest of the afternoon to get in touch with Caroline Wyatt and explain I had nothing to do with William’s death. If you fail to convince her, I’ll bring her to your office in the morning and you can do it in front of me.”

After Wyatt left, Elliott opened the door and walked into the interrogation room. ’s the second time in one day I’ve been called a voyeur,” he remarked idly, gazing at the open door. Transferring his gaze to MacNeil, he said, me in my office tomorrow at ten and bring all the files with you. I know who murdered William, but we’re going to have to go slowly and build our case very carefully.”

’ll be there,” MacNeil said. When he glanced up, Elliott was studying MacNeil’s thinning hair.

hair looks different.”

how?” MacNeil asked, then quickly looked away.

don’t know exactly. It’s . . . fluffy.”

shampoo,” MacNeil mumbled.

Chapter Thirty-four

UNLIKE LARGE FUND-RAISERS,the Children’s Hospital benefit was an elite annual affair with an invitation list containing only 350 names, each name chosen based on the individual’s exceptional charitable-spending habits. An elaborate dinner was served and a silent auction took place during the evening, with items that included fabulous artwork, museum-quality jewelry, and an occasional priceless antique. Opening bids for the least of the auction items began at $50,000, and tables for ten began at $100,000 each.

Each year, a philanthropist was honored during the dinner portion of the evening, with the mayor of Chicago making the presentation. This year, the honoree, for the fifth time, was Cecil Wyatt.

The location chosen for this year’s benefit was the Founders Club, which occupied the top two floors of Endicott Tower, a spectacular eighty-story octagon made of stone and glass, located in downtown Chicago.

Membership in the Founders Club was originally limited to wealthy descendants of Chicago’s founding families, but since many of those descendants had failed to maintain the wealth of their forebears—or had committed crimes even more horrendous than that—the Founders Club had loosened its membership restrictions. Currently, in order to be considered for membership, the candidate had only to have had “a significant presence in the Chicago area” for the past one hundred years and to be able to afford annual dues of $50,000. However, as a safeguard, membership was invitation only from the board of directors,” which prevented the “wrong sort of persons” who otherwise qualified for membership from applying and becoming a nuisance when they were rejected.