Identity Crisis (Sam McRae Mystery #1)

Chapter 24

For the second time in two days, I had breakfast at a diner. This one was part of a chain. Like Frank's, Silver Diner had tabletop jukeboxes and Formica-and-stainless-steel decor, but the help consisted more of college students on summer break than professional wait staff. It was one of those nouveau diners, where meatloaf and mashed potatoes shared space on the menu with mesquite and lime marinated grilled salmon.

The line was out the door, so we snagged a couple of stools at the counter with its up-close view of the kitchen. Over the shelf where orders appeared for pickup, you could see a line of men in white, exchanging brief remarks in Spanish as they shoved more plates under the heat lamps. I inhaled the wonderful smell of bacon and eggs sizzling on the grill.

After we got coffee, Duvall said, "Your friend Christof Stavos has been in an accident."

"I know."

His eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

I told him about my run-in with Stavos and associates. "I hope that wasn't part of your big news."

"No, no, no. Just leading up to it. My PGPD connection told me about the accident, so I went to the hospital. Looked like a cops convention."

"I thought only Jergins was interested in Stavos."

A waiter scurried by with eggs over easy in one hand and creamed chipped beef on toast in the other. Some traditions die hard, even in a nouveau diner.

"Well, they changed their minds or maybe they just wanted to keep an eye on Jergins. I don't know, but everyone was there—the Secret Service, Derry ..."

A waitress took our orders with a quick, practiced hand. She snapped the order form off the pad, pushed it across the shelf, then made a beeline to the coffeepots.

"I tried to sit in on the interrogation," Duvall said. "But someone spotted me, and they kicked me out."

"That wasn't very hospitable."

"No. I didn't miss much though. They took all of five minutes."

"Stavos probably insisted on having a lawyer present."

"That, plus the nurse insisted that they only take five minutes. From the looks of this nurse, I would have made it four-and-a-half."

"And?"

"And what?"

"I don't know. You're telling the story, and I still haven't heard anything about Ash and the IRS."

"I'm getting there. I don't know what they asked Stavos, but I know Jergins' concern in this case is finding Gregory Knudsen. It has something to do with a disc Stavos is looking for."

"I know about the disc. Stavos thought Melanie or I might have it."

"Jergins wants it, too."

"And?"

Duvall shot me a glance as he took a long sip of coffee. "And ... now the other cops are interested in Knudsen, too. Including the IRS."

"IRS agents were at the hospital?"

Duvall nodded. "There was one in the room when they questioned Stavos. Along with Jergins, some other FBI agent, the Secret Service, and Derry."

"You're sure he was an IRS agent?"

"That's what my friend says, and I have no reason to think he lied."

"What the hell would a tax collector be doing there?" I asked. "And what does Ash have to do with this?"