Mind Prey

about that,” Sloan said. “I just wanted to know why she did it.”
    “Money,” Lucas said. “Some way or another.”
    Sloan nodded. “She knew all about Tower and Wolfe. Tower is in a lot worse financial shape than anybody knows. Almost everything is gone. His salary at the foundation has been cut, and they took a big equity loan on the house five years ago, and they’ve had a hard time making payments. The only thing they had going for them was the money from the trust—and there’s a provision in the deed of trust that if the trustees decided that there was no possibility of the last benefactor having children, then the trust would be dissolved and the last benefactor would get the whole thing. A lump sum. Right now, thirteen million dollars.”
    “Jesus,” Lucas said. “That much?”
    “Yep. The trust was in bonds. The trust company had to put aside enough income every year to cover inflation, and the rest of the income was divided up among the eligible people—Tower, Andi, and her two daughters. They were all getting about a hundred grand a year. If Andi and the two daughters were dead, and Tower pushed for it, the trust would be dissolved and he’d get the lump. And that’s what Helen Manette was looking for. She figured Tower was about to dump her. She figured she’d get half.”
    “And she met Mail at the apartment?”
    “Yeah. He asked about her name, said he’d had a doctor named Manette. He said some things that made her realize that he was the guy Andi had talked about a few times—the guy so crazy that he scared the life out of her. He gave her a name, Martin LaDoux. She found his phone number and started calling him.”
    “We could have seen it,” Lucas said.
    “We would have,” Sloan said. “But man, it’s only been five days. Not a whole five days, yet.”
    “Seems like a century,” Lucas said.
    A moment later, Sloan said, “You know what she asked me?”
    “What?”
    “If her helping us would qualify for Dunn’s reward money…”
    Halfway back, they got a call from the chief’s secretary, saying Roux was on the way to the hospital. She wanted Lucas and Sloan to stop by. When they arrived, the hospital’s turnout was clogged with cars.
    Sloan looked him over. “Maybe I oughta drop you at emergency,” he said. “You look like shit.”
    “I’m all right,” Lucas said, getting out of the car. His shoes were ruined, his suit pants, still wet, clung to his legs. His underwear and shirt, both soaked, felt like they were full of sand. His tie was a wet, twisted wreck; he hadn’t shaved.
    Sloan looked him over. “Your suit coat looks nice,” he said.
     
    R OUX SAW HIM first, hurried down the tile hallway, and caught him in her arms with a powerful hug. “Jesus, you got them back. I never would have believed it.”
    Dunn was there, pounding him on the back. “Jesus Christ, all of them.” His face was luminous.
    “Easy,” Lucas said. “How’s Genevieve?”
    “Exposure,” Dunn said, his face going dark. “She wouldn’t have lasted the rest of the day. And she may have nerve damage in her legs. Maybe not too serious, it’s too soon to tell. But the way she was caught up in the coat, the nerves were all pinched up…”
    “Andi and Grace?”
    Dunn looked at the floor, and then away. “Physically, they’ll be okay; psychologically, they’re in terrible shape. Andi is just…just rambling. God, I don’t know…” And he turned and walked away without another word, back toward a cluster of doctors.
    “You heard about Helen Manette?” Lucas asked Roux.
    “From Franklin,” she said. She shook her head. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen. We gotta talk with everybody from the state’s attorney’s office. We’re gonna arrest her, but if we ever get her in court, I just don’t know. But she’s not our biggest problem.”
    Lucas nodded. “Wolfe?”
    “Yeah. We’re meeting with her and her lawyer.” Roux looked at her watch. “In about forty-five minutes. You better be around, in case I need you.”
    “I’d hoped she’d go away, on her own,” Lucas said.
    “She hasn’t,” Roux said grimly.
    There was a buzz of noise at the hospital, and Lucas looked down the hall. The mayor pushed through, and Roux said, “I gotta go. Stick close to your office.”
    “Sure,” Lucas said.
     
    R OUX CALLED AN hour later, as Lucas sat in his office, talking with Sloan and Del. “You better come down.”
    The chief’s secretary waved him through,