One Dead Drag Queen by Mark Richard Zubro Read Free Book Online Page A

about the bombing?”
    Pulver grinned. His teeth were sparkling white. “I’ll tell you what I can because I owe Kenny here a big favor. I don’t like talking outside the department.”
    I nodded. “I appreciate whatever you can tell me.” I’d never heard anyone call McCutcheon “Kenny.” His employees always referred to him as Mr. McCutcheon.
    Pulver rubbed his narrow fingers on his pants. “Have you heard the best rumor yet? This one’s been on the Internet since a few minutes after the explosion.”
    McCutcheon said, “If it’s on the Internet, it must be an absolute crock.”
    “Yeah, but you get the most fun out of the Internet in a tragedy like this. It’s like the court jester in a Shakespearean tragedy.”
    “Pulver?” McCutcheon added exasperation to his tone.
    “The Internet rumor is that the bombing had nothing to do with the clinic. That, in fact, across the alley from the clinic there was a secret terrorist cell called the Tools of Satan with headquarters in one of those residential hotels that was destroyed. At that point the theory gets muddled. One idea is that the terrorists accidentally blew themselves away. Another is that a rival group of terrorists decided to strike against them. Supposedly no one would suspect it was a simple act of murder. Everyone would think the attack was aimed at the clinic.”
    I asked, “Has anyone confirmed the existence of a terrorist hiding place?”
    “Not a smidgen of fact to the rumor, so far. That’s the best kind of thing to get on the Internet. Something faintly plausible and absolutely undeniable.”
    “I’m ready to discount it,” McCutcheon said.
    “Everybody pretty much does. That’s the beauty of that kind of rumor. It could be true. And it’s even better if it’s denied by the police because someone will find some occupant of the area who has a third cousin living in the Middle East. Said cousin is probably a grocery clerk in Tunisia who has a brother-in-law who was in the Libyan army thirty years ago. That person will make half-baked claims that officials will scoff at.” Pulver snapped his fingers. “Sounds like a conspiracy to me.”
    “Pulver,” McCutcheon said, “can we just get on with it?”
    “Okay. I called a few people. Here’s the deal. The bomb in your friend’s car is throwing the investigation off somewhat. Bomb the clinic, second bomb to kill rescue workers, that’s happened in a number of these. Why a third bomb? Why your lover’s truck? It was in the clinic’s lot. Might have been a fluke, or of course, someone could have known it was his specifically. Terrorizing abortion clinics isn’t big news,although killing that many people at a clinic is a record. One big problem is nobody knows how you fit in.”
    “I’ve gotten several zillion death threats.”
    “But not in connection with an abortion clinic. If somebody does bomb one of these places, it’s most likely a political statement. I know everybody expects this to be a right-wing conspiracy. These organizations aren’t shy about taking credit. Half the time that’s the point. But we don’t have that here. No one’s called to claim responsibility.” Pulver shook his head. “Kenny told me about the threat you got last night. No one knows how significant it is. It might have been a coincidence. A lot of people don’t like you, and you’re one of the most recognized people in the city.”
    “Ken and I have been through all that speculation.”
    Pulver resumed, “I heard it was a limpet mine that got your buddy’s truck.”
    “That means nothing to me.”
    “It gets set off by vibrations. Normally it wouldn’t have blown until someone got in the car and started the engine, but the two el trains passing at the same time caused just enough movement to set it off.”
    “I would have been killed.”
    “Yep. It wasn’t set for blowing up the car on a timing device. Death was the goal, not just destruction. That’s the bit that indicates it was