“And you think there’s a connection—maybe even a mastermind—Simon Sito, maybe?”
“I don’t know. If it is, he’s changed his MO.”
“But you’ve been digging.”
Celia didn’t have to wonder how much he knew about what; as Damon Parks, working at West Plaza’s front desk, he probably saw a hell of a lot more than anybody realized. He’d have seen the logs; he knew she had a key card to the West Corp archives. He was good at his job. Both of them.
“I’ve been digging into Sito’s case, not the current crime wave. If there were a connection between them, somebody should have found something by now.”
“Fair enough. So maybe it isn’t Sito.”
He reached behind him. On the table, in the dark, lay a manila folder. He offered it to her, and she accepted. Inside, she found dozens of newspaper clippings. She’d expected something more high-tech: stolen spreadsheets, classified files. Not data available from vending machines on every corner of the city.
In all of the articles he’d cut out, he’d highlighted names. She recognized a couple, and she was sure if she checked they would belong to gang members arrested during the recent robberies and kidnapping attempts.
“Not quite retired,” she said, eyeing him. “You’ve been busy.”
“This is just a hobby,” he said.
The headlines of all the articles were some variation of GOVERNOR SNYDER ISSUES PARDONS.
She looked through the clippings again, to be sure she hadn’t missed something. “That’s the connection? All the gang members were convicted felons who received executive pardons?”
“That’s right.”
“It’s a coincidence. They all got out on the same day and hatched the plan together.”
“Everything you’ve seen, everything you know, do you honestly believe that?”
She didn’t, not for a minute. “What are you saying? That Governor Snyder is the mastermind?”
“It’s a lead. I thought you’d be interested.”
“You’re crazy; this is crazy. The Hawk retires, then gets a job working for the next generation of vigilantes as a security guard? You didn’t retire, you traded down.”
He hopped off the table, fished her attaché case from the laundry hamper, and gave it to her, then picked up the lantern and his glove. He wore a cocky smile, like the afternoon had gone exactly as he’d planned.
She said, “People have been trying to guess who you are, who the Hawk is, for forty years. Why reveal yourself to me?”
“Because I trust you.”
She laughed. “Then you’re the only person in Commerce City who does.”
“Celia, I saw you during those years. I saw what you were going through. I might even understand it. I know Dr. Mentis does. I bet he trusts you, too.” He handed her the glove. Absently, she crushed it in her hand.
As the light moved, a passage became visible, an open tunnel that presumably led out. He prepared to walk away.
“Wait—where are you going?”
“Me? I’m retired. I’ll go play bocce or something.”
“What about me?”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way out.”
“Why couldn’t you fucking mail this to me?”
“Maybe I wanted to show you what a real kidnapping looks like.”