The Murderers (Badge of Honor 6)

“Charley, this is Mrs. Helene Ke1log,” Wohl said. “Mrs. Kellog, this is Detective McFadden.”

“Please, Wally,” Helene said.

“I’m going to have to be firm about this,” Wohl said. “If you’ve had a death threat, I want to know about it. If you won’t tell me about it, Mrs. Kellog, Wally will have to.”

“I knew we shouldn’t have come here,” Helene said, but, with resignation, she sat back down.

“At least we have enough food,” Wohl said. “Have you had any breakfast, Mrs. Kellog?”

“No,” she said softly.

“Have an Egg McMuffin and a cup of coffee,” Wohl said. “Wally will tell me what’s happened, and then you can fill in any blanks.”

Milham looked as if he was torn between regret that he had to tell Wohl and relief.

“Helene called me at the Roundhouse last night,” he said. “She told me there had been a telephone call.”

“Where was she?”

“At my mother’s,” Helene said. “I mean, I got the call at my mother’s. I called Wally from the Red Robin Diner.”

“And what exactly did your caller say?”

“He told me that unless I kept my mouth shut, I’d get the same thing that happened to Jerry,” Helene said.

“In just about those exact words?”

“He used dirty words,” she said.

“You didn’t happen to recognize the voice?” Wohl asked. She shook her head.

“I can certainly understand why you’re upset,” Wohl said.

“Upset? I’m scared to death. Not only for me. I’m afraid for my mother and father.”

“Well, I was about to say, you’re safe now. We’re friends, Mrs. Kellog. You think this call came from somebody on the Narcotics Five Squad?”

“Of course it did,” Helene snapped. “Who else? What I’d like to know…”

Wohl waited a moment for her to continue, and when she did not, he asked, gently: “What would you like to know?”

“Nothing, forget it.”

“She’d like to know how that damned Five Squad heard she’d talked to Washington,” Wally Milham said. “And so would I.”

“And so would I,” Wohl said. “We’ll find out. And until we do, until we get to the bottom of this, you won’t be alone, Mrs. Kellog. You’re living with your mother for the time being?”

“I was. Not now. I don’t want them involved in this.”

“So where will you be staying?”

“Helene stayed in a motel last night,” Milham said.

“That can get kind of expensive,” Wohl thought aloud. “Isn’t there some place you can stay?”

Helene and Wally looked at each other helplessly. “She could stay here,” Matt heard himself say. The others looked at him in what was more confusion than surprise. “My mother’s been on my back for me to stay with her for a couple of days.”

“I couldn’t do that,’ Helene said.