The Twelfth Card (Lincoln Rhyme 6)

"Ah, the meetings Charles referred to in his letter. They were about civil rights. And those must be the colleagues he mentioned. Pretty heavy hitters, sounds like. What else?"

" 'His motive in assisting these famed personages, according to the able prosecutor, was not, however, to assist the cause of Negroes but to gain knowledge of the Trust and other repositories he might plunder.' "

"Was that the secret?" Sachs wondered.

" 'At his trial Mr. Singleton remained silent regarding these charges, except to make a general disclaimer and to say that he loved his wife and son.

" 'Captain Simms was able to recover most of the ill-gotten gains. It is speculated that the Negro secreted the remaining several thousand in a hiding place and refused to divulge its whereabouts. None of it was ever found, excepting a hundred dollars in gold coin discovered on Mr. Singleton's person when he was apprehended.' "

"There goes the buried treasure theory," Rhyme muttered. "Too bad. I liked it."

" 'The accused was convicted expeditiously. Upon sentencing, the judge exhorted the freedman to return the rest of the purloined funds, whose location he nonetheless refused to disclose, clinging still to his claim of innocence, and asserting the coin found on his person had been placed in his belongings after his apprehesion. Accordingly, the judge in his wisdom ordered that the felon's possessions be confiscated and sold to make such restitution as could be had, and the criminal himself was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.' "

Cooper looked up. "That's it."

"Why would somebody resort to murder just to keep the story under wraps?" Sachs asked.

"Yep, the big question . . . " Rhyme gazed at the ceiling. "So what do we know about Charles? He was a teacher and a Civil War veteran. He owned and worked a farm upstate. He was arrested and convicted for theft. He had a secret that would have tragic consequences if it was known. He went to hush-hush meetings in Gallows Heights. He was involved in the civil rights movement and hobnobbed with some of the big politicians and civil rights workers of the day."

Rhyme wheeled close to the computer screen, looking over the article. He could see no connection between the events then and the Unsub 109 case.

Sellitto's phone rang. He listened for a moment. His eyebrow lifted. "Okay, thanks." He disconnected and looked at Rhyme. "Bingo."

"What's 'bingo'?" Rhyme asked.

Sellitto said, "A canvass team in Little Italy--a half block from where they had the Columbus Day fair--just found a discount store on Mulberry Street. The clerk remembered a middle-aged white guy who bought everything in the unsub's rape pack a few days ago. She remembered him because of the hat."

"He wore a hat?"

"No, he bought a hat. A stocking cap. Only why she remembered him was because when he tried it on he pulled it down over his face. She saw him in a security mirror. She thought he was going to rob her. But then he took it off and put it in the basket with everything else and just paid and left."

The missing $5.95 item on the receipt probably. Trying it on to make sure it would work as a mask. "It's probably also what he rubbed his own prints off with. Does she know his name?"

"No. But she can describe him pretty good."

Sachs said, "We'll do a composite and hit the streets." Grabbing her purse, she was at the door before she realized the big detective wasn't with her. She stopped. Looked back. "Lon, you coming?"

Sellitto didn't seem to hear. She repeated the question and the detective blinked. He lowered his hand from his reddened cheek. And grinned. "Sorry. You bet. Let's go nail this bastard."

AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSEUM SCENE

* * *

* Rape pack:

* Tarot card, twelfth card in deck, The Hanged Man, meaning spiritual searching.

* Smiley-face bag.

* Too generic to trace.

* Box cutter.

* Trojan condoms.

* Duct tape.

* Jasmine scent.