Wolf Lake. John Verdon

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СКАЧАТЬ him to bleed to death, creating the appearance of a suicide? Is that what you’re saying happened?

      Cox: You have a blind and dismissive attitude, sir.

      Gurney: I want to understand the facts as you see them.

      Cox: I see the presence and power of Satan—a reality to which your mind appears closed.

      Gurney: My mind can be opened. Just tell me what you believe Richard Hammond actually did to Christopher Wenzel—the specifics, the logistics. Are you saying that Hammond personally traveled to Florida to kill him?

      Cox: No, sir, that is not what I’m saying happened. That would be little more than the routine viciousness of mankind, a crime that could have been perpetrated by any common criminal. What actually happened was infinitely worse.

      Gurney: I’m confused.

      Cox: Hammond had no need to resort to any purely physical action.

      Gurney: You’re saying now that Hammond did not murder anyone? You’re losing me.

      Cox: We are dealin’ here, sir, with the power of Evil itself.

      Gurney: Meaning what, exactly?

      Cox: How much do you know about Hammond’s background?

      Gurney: Not a great deal. I was told that he was famous in his field and that he helped a lot of people stop smoking.

      Cox: (Harsh, humorless laugh) Hammond’s agenda has nothing to do with smoking or not smoking. That’s mere window dressing. Examine his background—his books, his articles. It won’t take you long to discover his true agenda, the agenda that was there from the beginning, plain as the fire of hell in the eyes of that wolf. Hammond’s agenda, sir, is the twisting of natural minds and the creation of homosexuals.

      Gurney: The creation of homosexuals? How does he do that?

      Cox: How? The only way it could be done. With the help of the devil.

      Gurney: What does the devil actually help him do?

      Cox: The answer to that is known only to Hammond and to Satan himself. But my personal opinion is that the man sold his soul in exchange for a terrible power over others—the power to enter their minds and to warp their thinking—to give them dreams of perversion, dreams that drive them either to lives of degenerate behavior or to self-destruction because they cannot endure the curse of such dreams.

      Gurney: So, when you say that Hammond “murdered” Wenzel, what you mean is—

      Cox: What I mean is that he murdered him in the most evil way imaginable—by planting in his mind a nightmare of perversion he could not bear to live with. A nightmare that drove him to his death. Think of it, Detective. What crueler and more wicked way could you kill a man than make him kill himself?

      Gurney ended the audio playback as he was exiting the highway and turning onto the road that would take him through a series of hills and valleys to Walnut Crossing.

      Apart from sharpening his memory of Cox’s exact words, replaying the conversation hadn’t helped. The man’s unhinged vision of Wenzel’s suicide was more a lightning storm than a source of useful light.

      Could Cox be as crazy as he sounded?

      Or, if the homophobic ranting was a performance, what was its purpose?

      Despite the explanation Cox gave for Wenzel coming to him, Gurney was left wondering if there might have been another reason for that unfortunate man’s long drive to Coral Dunes.

       CHAPTER 10

      When Gurney reached the west end of the Pepacton Reservoir he pulled off onto a gravel turnaround. In an area of spotty cell reception, it was one place where his phone always worked.

      He was hoping to find some thread of coherence in the inconsistent pictures of the case presented by Gilbert Fenton, Bowman Cox, and Jane Hammond.

      His first call was to Jane.

      “I’ve got a question. Did Richard ever do any work in the area of sexual orientation?”

      She hesitated. “Briefly. At the beginning of his career. Why do you ask?”

      “I just spoke with a minister who met with one of the young men who committed suicide. He told me your brother provided therapy designed to alter a person’s sexual orientation.”

      “That’s ludicrous! It had nothing to do with altering anything.” She paused, as if reluctant to say more.

      Gurney waited.

      She sighed. “When he was starting out, Richard saw a number of patients who were conflicted over the fact that they were gay but afraid to let their families know. He helped them face reality, helped them embrace their identities. That’s all.”

      “That’s all?”

      “Yes. Well . . . there was some controversy—a hate-mail campaign aimed at Richard, generated by a network of fundamentalist ministers. But that was nearly ten years ago. Why is this an issue now?”

      “Some people have long memories.”

      “Some people are just bigots, looking for someone to hate.”

      Gurney couldn’t disagree. On the other hand, he wasn’t ready to ascribe Reverend Cox’s demonic interpretation of the case to something as simple as plain old bigotry.

      His second call, to Hardwick, went to voicemail. He left a message, suggesting that he check his email and listen to the attached audio file. And maybe he could try to get a lead on the missing girlfriend of Steven Pardosa, the suicide case in Floral Park.

      His third call was to Rebecca Holdenfield. She picked up on the third ring.

      “Hello, David. It’s been a long time. What can I do for you?” Her voice, even over the phone, projected a subtle sexuality he’d always found both enticing and cautionary.

      “Tell me about Richard Hammond.”

      “The Richard Hammond who’s currently at the center of a tornado?”

      “Correct.”

      “Tremendously bright. Moody. Creative. Likes to work on the cutting edge. You have some specific questions?”

      “How much do you know about the tornado?”

      “As much as anyone else who listens to the news on their way to work. Four patient suicides in one month.”

      “You heard the police theory that he caused the suicides through hypnotic suggestion?”

      “Yes, I heard that.”

      “You think it’s possible?”

      She uttered a derisive little laugh. “Hammond is exceptional, but there are limits.”

      “Tell СКАЧАТЬ