“But the baby was still alive?”

“Depends on how you define being alive. Damn thing was moving around, eyes opened, kicking its legs. Kept gasping for air like a damn fish thrown onto the beach.” Mark Rinaldo reached for the bottle of blue. He paused, looked at Derek, then returned his empty hand to his lap. “We had no idea what was keeping that child alive. No idea. And I had no idea what to do in a situation like that. How could I have any idea? There wasn’t a policy in place about how to deal with a heartless baby that was still alive. I made the only choice I could think of.

“Now, I didn’t know what the hell was keeping it alive and really had no idea what to do. But I’ll tell you something, Mr. Cole,” Mark said as he leaned closer to Derek, his scotch soaked breath heavy in the air, “I know now what kept it alive.”

“And that would be?”

“Evil, Mr. Cole. Evil and sin kept that baby alive that day and every day since. My sins, your sins, the sins of the whole damn world. Nothing short of evil could do that, Mr. Cole. Nothing short of evil.”

The room’s air was cut with a chill of uneasiness. Of fear. Of doubt. Of imagined terrors

“Once Peter Adams,” Mark paused at the sound of that name, “and Stan Mix took that baby out of my hospital and brought it to Straus and his band of misfits, I tried to forget the whole damn thing. Tried to pretend it never happened.

“I even went to the funeral for Alexander O’Connell and found myself actually forgetting that the body buried in that grave was that of a stillborn baby that was about to be destroyed. Destroyed like garbage, Mr. Cole. That’s what hospitals do with dead babies that parents don’t want to bury. We destroy them and make it as if they were never even born. They’re nothing. Just a mass of tissue. Dead, useless, unloved tissue, Mr. Cole.

“I never went back to that grave, and if it weren’t for Peter Adams, I never would have even thought of the real Alexander O’Connell ever again. Peter insisted that he keep communications with Straus. That we kept updated with his progress. That asshole Straus was convinced that he’d be the one to figure out what was keeping Alexander alive and that he would become rich and famous. Bastard thought that he’d discover some cure for every disease known to man.

“Did you hear anything about William Straus, Mr. Cole? The cop who called me didn’t mention his name except to ask if I knew his whereabouts.”

“Nothing, and I assume you don’t have any idea where he might be?”

“No idea. But I almost hope he is hiding in some god-awful place. I almost hope that Alexander finds him before he finds me. That’s how I feel about Doctor William Straus. He’s just another sin in this world. Another reason for Alexander Black.”

Derek knew that trying to convince Mark Rinaldo to protect himself was futile. He knew that Mark wanted, or felt that he needed Alexander to kill him. To purge him from his sins and from his guilt.  To reunite him with his wife.

“Doctor, I don’t agree with your thoughts about not doing anything to protect yourself in case he comes looking for you, but I respect your decision.”

“Please don’t patronize me with respect. I don’t deserve any of that,” he said as he quickly reached for and emptied the bottle of blue into his glass.

“Understood. But please understand that I have been hired to protect the O’Connells and that I take my job very seriously. Is there anything you can think of that will help me do my job?”

“Find Doctor William Straus. He knows everything you need to know.”

“How about Doctor Stanley Mix and his wife?”

“Leave them the hell alone!” Mark screamed. “They were the lucky ones. They found each other because of this mess. They have a life. A good life. Don’t involve them, you hear me?”

“They are already involved, Doctor. I’m sure they’ve been notified about what happened in Piseco Lake. I learned that someone, probably Alexander, had a list of names. Your name and Stanley’s name was on that list.”

“And Michelle? Was her name on the list?”

“No. It wasn’t on the list, as far as I know.”

“Then keep it off,” Mark said.

“That’s really not up to me,” Derek said as he stood, knowing the conversation had given him all the information it was going to provide.

“If they know what happened, they are smart enough to take precautions. The police will certainly want to investigate their involvement. But I’ve already told Stanley to deny absolutely everything. Michelle is involved only because she worked for that asshole Straus. Leave them alone! If the police find out that you were looking for them, they’d figure out that Stanley was involved from the beginning.”

Knowing that arguing with Mark would serve no purpose, Derek agreed not to contact Stanley or his wife, Michelle. He knew that the police would discover what happened and would find out the names of every player in this drama. Derek knew that anyone whose name was on that list would have to pay. He was determined to protect his clients first, and then do whatever he could to make sure that the people on that list paid their obligations to the law and not to Alexander Black.

As he left Mark’s home, Derek again suggested that Mark at least think of getting out of town. When his suggestion was returned only with a slamming door, he headed back to his car. Once in his car, he called the US Airways reservation number and booked the next flight out of Chicago to Albany, New York. He then tried to contact Henry Zudak, but his calls, three of them, went straight to voicemail.

“I hope you are somewhere safe, Doctor Zudak,” Derek said.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The earliest flight Derek could book was scheduled to depart Chicago’s O’Hare airport at 9:58 p.m. that same day. As he glanced at the digital clock in his Buick Lacrosse, Derek realized he had time to kill. Time to think. To plan out his next steps. To figure out what he would do if he came face to face with Alexander Black and what story he would give to the police if and when they asked him for details.

In the three years that Derek had been a “freelance detective,” he had made several friends on police forces across the country. While none of these friends would ever invite Derek in on one of their investigations, he knew that if he ever got into a situation, they would have his back.