The Burning Wire (Lincoln Rhyme 9)

--Brite-Beam Flashlight.

--Untraceable.

--Six-foot string holding flashlight.

--Untraceable.

--Trace evidence, associated with the area around City Hall: --Quartz and ammonium chloride copper cleaner.

--Terra-cotta dust, similar to building facades in area.

--White marble stone dust.

--Hair, 9 inches long, blond, sprayed, person under 50, probably woman's.

--Hair, 3/8 inches long, brown, person under 50.

THIRD DEMAND

* * *

--Sent via email.

--Untraceable; used a proxy in Europe.

But it turned out that Rhyme was wrong.

It was true that, as he'd felt all along, the evidence--as much else in this case--just didn't add up. But he was wrong in that the key to unraveling the mystery wasn't to be found on the charts surrounding him. Rather, it came blustering into the lab just now, accompanied by Thom, in the form of a tall, lanky sweating man, skin black, clothing bright green.

Catching his breath, Fred Dellray nodded fast to everybody in the room, then proceeded to ignore them as he strode up to Rhyme. "I need to throw something out, Lincoln. And you gotta tell me if it works or not."

"Fred," McDaniel began. "What the hell--"

"Lincoln?" Dellray persisted.

"Sure, Fred. Go ahead."

"What do you think of the theory that Ray Galt's a fall guy. He's dead, been dead for a couple of days, I think. It's somebody else who's put this whole thing together. From the beginning."

Rhyme paused for a moment--the disorientation from the attack was slowing his analysis of Dellray's idea. But finally he offered a faint smile and said, "What do I think? It's brilliant. That's what."

Chapter 69

TUCKER MCDANIEL'S RESPONSE, however, was, "Ridiculous. The whole investigation's based on Galt."

Sellitto ignored him. "What's your theory, Fred? I want to hear it."

"My CI, a guy named William Brent. He was following up on a lead. He was on to somebody who was connected with--maybe behind--the grid attacks. But then he vanished. I found out that Brent was interested in somebody who'd just come to town, was armed with a forty-five and was driving a white van. He'd recently kidnapped and killed somebody. He'd been staying at an address on the Lower East Side for the past couple of days. I found out where. It turned out to be a crime scene."

"Crime scene?" Rhyme asked.

"You betcha. It was Ray Galt's apartment."

Sachs said, "But Galt didn't just come to town. He's lived here all his adult life."

"Ex-actly."

"So what's this Brent have to say?" McDaniel asked skeptically.