Quite a lot happened in the twelve minutes it took for O'Malley to show up. For starters, the patrol car from the A1 was not the first vehicle to arrive. A news van came to a screeching halt in front of Avery's apartment building. She watched three people get out from her broken window: a reporter, a cameraman, and a tech guy, unspooling cable from the back of the van.
"Shit," Avery said.
The news crew was nearly set and ready to go when O'Malley pulled up. Another car came inching in behind him, nearly careening into the news van. She wasn't at all surprised to see Finley getting out. Connelly was apparently positioning Finley to move up in the ranks-perhaps to even fill Ramirez's shoes.
She scowled at the news van as she watched Finley give the reporter a piece of his mind. There was some brief bickering between them before Finley and O'Malley walked out of sight, toward the stairs that would take them to Avery's apartment.
The moment they knocked on the door, Avery answered it and did not give them a chance to say anything before she let out her concerns and frustrations.
"O'Malley, what the hell? I called you directly rather than the station to avoid the news crews. What's their deal, anyway?"
"Their deal is that they're salivating over Howard Randall escaping. And they know you are a familiar face in his history. So they're keeping their eyes on you. I'm guessing this particular crew outside has a scanner."
"Cell phone calls?" Avery asked.
"No. Look, I had to report this to the precinct. It's too high profile. They must have picked it up over radio chatter."
Avery wanted to be furious, but she knew how hard it could be to communicate covertly when a frenzied media was hard at work to break a story. She glared down at the news crew, saw them filming a segment-saying only God knew what. As she watched, another news vehicle pulled up, this one a small-bodied SUV.
O'Malley and Finley looked over the brick, cat, and broken glass. Avery had left the note on the floor, not wanting paper that had been on a cat carcass to sit on her kitchen counter or coffee table.
"I hate to say it," Finley said, "but this looks academic. I mean…I'm free. Who else could it be, Avery?"
"I don't know. But…I know you might have a hard time believing this, but it just doesn't seem like something Howard would do."
"The old Howard Randall, maybe," O'Malley said. "But who knows how he changed in prison?"
"Wait," Rose said. "I don't get it. Mom got this guy off when she represented him as his attorney. Why would he come after her? You'd think he'd be thankful."
"You'd think so," O'Malley said. "But that's not how the criminal mind works."
"He's right," Avery said, cutting O'Malley off before he could go on a tirade. "Someone like Howard would see anyone that was involved in the entire process as a threat-even if it was the attorney that managed to get him off. But Howard…this isn't like him. On those few times I went to ask for his help he was…I don't know…sociable. If he harbored any ill intent toward me, he hid it exceptionally well."
"Of course he did," O'Malley said. "You think his escape was a fluke accident? I bet you anything this creep had been planning it for months. Maybe even from his first day there. And if he planned on escaping and somehow coming after you or, at the very least, involving you in some deranged plot, why the hell would he let you know it?"
Avery wanted to argue but she could clearly see where he was coming from. He had every reason to think that this note had come from Howard. And she also knew that the city's inherent fear of his escape made it easy for him and Connelly to point the finger in Howard's direction for the nail gun murder.
"Look, let's just put all the Howard Randall stuff aside for the moment," she said. "Whether it was Howard or not, someone chucked this thing through my window. I just thought it would be best to go through the appropriate channels since it's clear Connelly wants me as far away from anything that might be Howard related as possible."
"I hear that," Finley said. "I got him on the horn on the way here. He's tied up with some business with the mayor and the press right now."
"About Howard Randall?"
Finley nodded.
"Good God," Avery said. "This is getting ridiculous."
"Well, then," O'Malley said, "you're really not going to like what he has ordered me to do."
She waited for O'Malley to tell her. She could tell that he was uncomfortable-that he'd much rather have Connelly here to deliver the order himself. Finally, he sighed and said: "He wants us to relocate you for a few days. Even if Randall didn't throw this brick, it's clear that someone has targeted you and is threatening you. And yes…it's probably because he escaped. I hate to tell you, but you're not looking good in this situation. You got him off all those years ago…sent him off into a killing spree. A lot of people-"
"That's fucking dumb," Rose spat. "People think my mom has something to do with his escape?"
"There are some that have taken it to those extremes, yes," O'Malley admitted. "Fortunately, there have only been murmurs of it on the news. Have you not seen any of it?" he asked, looking at Avery.
She thought of those hazed out moments in Ramirez's hospital room. The TV had been on and she'd seen Howard's face, getting the gist of the reports through the ticker at the bottom of the screen. But she had never seen her name; she'd never expected to. Finally, she shook her head in response to O'Malley's question.
"Well, whatever your feelings on it, I happen to think he's absolutely right. You need to relocate until this dies down. Let's say the person that threw this brick isn't Howard. That means some random citizen threw it. Some disgruntled jerk that thinks you're responsible for a killer being on the loose. So where to?" O'Malley said. "Think it over while you pack a few bags. Finley and I will be happy to take you wherever you need to go."
"No need to think," she said. "I already have a place in mind."
***
They arrived at Ramirez's apartment a half an hour later. It had taken her less than ten minutes to pack the essentials. Rose had also come along, at the insistence of both Avery and O'Malley. After some brief and heated discussion, Rose gave in, stating that she'd stay with her mom for just a day or so…to make sure she was okay.
When the four of them stepped into Ramirez's place, it was a little spooky. While he'd technically agreed to move into Avery's apartment, he'd never gotten the chance. All of his stuff was still there, waiting for him to come home.
Avery moved about the place, pretending it wasn't affecting her. She'd been here several times before and had always felt welcome. That should be no different now.
"You sure about this?" Finley said. "Pardon me for saying so, but it seems sort of sad."
"No sadder than her staying in his hospital room," Rose said.
Avery wanted to let the place soak into her, to get a feel for it and then try to sort out just what she was supposed to do next.
O'Malley was on the phone as they entered, arranging surveillance details for Avery's apartment as well as Ramirez's. They had been very careful about not being followed on the way over, but they certainly didn't want to take any chances.
As Avery set her bag down in Ramirez's living room, O'Malley ended the call he was on. He took a moment, sighed deeply, and looked out the window. Down below, the streets were a little less crowded than they had been when Avery and Rose had been enjoying wine and pleasant conversation. Also, after having a dead cat tossed through her window, it seemed a little more sinister, too.
"So here's the deal," O'Malley said. "For the next three days, you'll have constant look-outs parked out on the street. They'll be in civilian cars, but all members of the A1."
"That's not necessary," Avery said. She was starting to feel like this was all getting out of hand.
"I think it might be," he countered. "You've been in a sort of solitude on this thing for the last few days. It's getting ugly. There are vigilante types out on the street, looking for Randall. People are starting to dig into his history and finding you there."
Go ahead and finish it, she thought. They're finding me there as the attorney who managed to hand him his freedom-freedom he used to kill one more person. That's what you really want to say.
But he didn't. Instead, he continued to look out the door. "The first two are going to be Sawyer and Dennison. They'll be here in about half an hour. Until then…looks like it's me and Finley."
Rose looked at the two officers and then at her mother. "Is this…is it really this bad? We need protection?"
"No," Avery said. "It's a bit too much."
"It's for your mom's protection. Yours, too. Depending on who may have been behind the nail gun killing and tossing the brick and cat through the window, you could be in danger, too. It depends on how much of a vendetta this person might have against your mom."
"Let's take the dramatic tone down a notch," Avery said, with venom in her voice. "I'd really rather you not scare my daughter."
"Sorry, Mom," Rose said. "But in the last hour, I've had a dead cat come through your window with a threatening note tied to it and then I was rushed away from your apartment and given round-the-clock police protection. It's safe to say I'm effectively scared."
