Jimmy Kubek, medium-level thug, sits at the cold gray table in the uncomfortably warm interrogation room and fidgets, feeling the sweat snaking down the middle of his back, wishing he had a cigarette. He’s used to interrogation rooms by now. He’s been in them often enough. The cops bring him in. They haul him into the interrogation room, fire a series of questions at him before he lawyers up, and then they let him go. That has always been the routine and he has always managed to get out of whatever it is with no charges filed – at least ever since he got out of prison last time. But this feels different - threatening.

This time feels as if his luck may have run out.

The door opens slowly.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” John McBain says as he walks into the room carrying a couple of folders in his hands. “It gets so busy around here sometimes…”

“Yeah, right,” Kubek says.

John closes the door behind him, casually walks over to the chair directly opposite Kubek, pulls it out, and sits.

”Think you can do something about the air in this place? It’s pretty damn hot in here.”

”Is it?” John asks, knowing full well that it is because he turned up the thermostat himself before Kubek was brought to the room, figuring the more uncomfortable Kubek is, the less resistant he’ll be. “I’ll see what I can do about that as soon as we’re done here.”

“Who are you, anyway?” Kubek faintly demands. “Never had the pleasure…”

“The name’s McBain,” John answers, looking him squarely in the eye. “John McBain – Lieutenant John McBain.”

Jimmy becomes nervous at the mention of that name. This is McBain – the guy who’s been scouring town looking for who popped Robert Castor. Everybody’s running scared lately because word has it that McBain’s girlfriend was also shot and nearly died. Associates who’ve dealt with McBain before say that he’s like a pitbull – ex-FBI- and once you’re on his radar, he won’t let go until he takes you down.

And now Jimmy Kubek’s on McBain’s radar.

“So,” Kubek begins as calmly as he can, “what does Lieutenant John McBain want with a law-abiding citizen like me? I’m clean.”

“Well now, that’s funny ‘cause I got a rap sheet right in front me that says different.” He opens the folder and skims some of the highlights. “Possession of stolen goods, abstruction, resisting arrest – “

“That was a long time ago,” Kubek interrupts. “See? You got nothin’ on me, McBain. Might as well just let me go now – save the taxpayers some money.”

“Yeah well, usually where there’s smoke, there’s fire so, if it’s all the same to you, I think we’ll keep you here with us til your 48 hours are up.”

“My business is goin’ to hell with me locked up in this place,” Kubek says.

“Sorry but the team needs time to go through each and every one of your warehouses with a fine tooth comb looking for something we can use and if I let you go, you’d just be in their way…You know, I see here that you’ve done time before for possession of stolen goods – 2 times before. Guess that means that if my guys find something in one of your warehouses, you’re looking at your 3rd strike…”

Kubek sits back in his chair, turning on the cool affect he’s known for.

“I got nothing to worry about,” he lies, remembering that shipment of cut diamonds he just put in his safe the morning he got arrested. He’d put them in the safe for just a couple of hours, he thought – until his contact O’Loughlin came to pick them up. But the cops stormed in before that could happen.

If the cops break into his safe…

“But supposing there’s something I can do for you, McBain,” Kubek continues. “What might that be?”

John shrugs.

“You got nothin’ I want, Kubek,” he tells him. “Just getting you off the streets once and for all is enough for me. Makes me feel like I’m doing the job they pay me for.”

“Yeah but say there was something – some little thing…”

“Some little thing, huh?”

“Yeah – just in case somebody decides to set me up to take a fall for something I didn’t do. You know how you cops are…”

“I think I’m insulted -”

“Now, now. No need to feel insulted. It’s just that…well, some cops go over the top trying to do their jobs, you know. That’s all I meant.”

“I see. And so if something like that were to happen in your case, you want to know if there’s some little thing that might help?”

“Yeah, that’s it. Something like that.”

“You know what?” John begins. “There just might be something – now that you mention it. You can tell me everything you know about Mark Krakauer.”

“The Alderman? You’ve got to be kidding. I know as much about him as everybody else does. He’s the alderman, for Chrissake.”

“Yeah but word on the street has it that you’ve got some kind of an in with him. What can you tell me about that?”

“I don’t know where you’re getting your information, Lieutenant. I just think he’s doing a good job. That’s all. I think I might even have voted for him.”

“Only you can’t vote because you’ve been convicted of a felony – twice. Now see, if you can’t give me any information on Krakauer…I can’t think of anything else that might help your situation any…Too bad,” John says, standing up from his chair. “Guess you’ll just have to take your chances with cops who sometimes go over the top…”

“Like what, for example?” Kubek quickly asks.

John sits back down.

“Well, I’m playing a little game of connect the dots,” he says. “I’m trying to fill in the dots between the good Alderman and a hustler by the name of Ray Remsen.”

“Never heard of him.”

“Never heard of him, huh? Did I forget to mention that Ray Remsen is dead?”

“Dead, huh?” Kubek repeats, trying not to seem as nervous as he really is.

“Yeah. Multiple stab wounds…Guess somebody wanted him dead real bad…Body was found in dumpster not too far from the Lakeland Motel but I guess, since you never heard of him, you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“Nope.”

“I’m figuring that whoever killed him must’ve been trying to keep him quiet about something – something big. As a matter of fact, whoever it is is probably retracing his steps as we speak, looking to tie up any loose ends there might be. Wonder who he’s gonna kill next…You know something, Kubek? You’re right. The Llanview PD’s got no reason to hold you in lockup.” He stands and collects his folders. “I’ll call off the search and get you processed. You should be out of here and back out on the street in a couple of hours.”

“Wait a minute, McBain,” Kubek shouts. “Look, I uh…I thought we were making a deal or something here.”

“Playtime’s over, Kubek,” John says. “Give me everything you’ve got on Krakauer or I got no use for you. You can go back out on the street and see how you make out with a somebody who’s got a hair-trigger temper and seems to be feeling a little threatened lately. He’s really good with a knife, too. You should see what he did to this guy Remsen. Probably took his time with it, too…”

The two men stare at each other for another moment or so.

Finally Kubek looks away and takes a deep breath.

“Sit back down,” he tells John.

John sits back down in the chair and folds his hands in front of him on the table expectantly.

“I could get killed for this, you know,” Kubek says.

“At least this way, you’ve got a chance,” John tells him. “The way Winters sliced and diced your friend Remsen, if you can tie the two of them together, I’m figuring he’ll be coming after you next. So talk.”

“This is like harassment, McBain -”

“I said talk!” John yells.

---

Evangeline stands at the window in her hospital room, anxious about everything around her. At least her mother’s safe. She went to Evangeline’s apartment after some initial resistance – anything to get her daughter to calm down. It’s one less thing for Evangeline to worry about. If she’s reading the situation correctly, the increased Llanview PD presence around her hospital room means only one thing.

Chief of Detectives John McBain thinks that there’s a new threat out there.

It’s been hours since she noticed the additional faces in blue wandering around and stationed in the corridors outside her room. But still no word from John or Bo or Antonio or anybody.

She feels so helpless. If someone were to come after her, she’s pretty much stuck. There’s only one way in and one way out of her hospital room. There are doctors and nurses and orderlies and other patients and visitors all around. The threat could be any one of them as far as she knows. And not only is her mobility limited. She’s not on her own turf. That just adds to her general anxiety.

But Evangeline’s trying to stay calm. Everything that can be done to protect her is being done. Of that, she’s certain. John wouldn’t have it any other way.

Her arm starts to throb, which she has come to realize is what happens just before the pain returns. Of course her medication would pick now to wear off. Or is it just the tension she feels?

“Hey,” she hears in that familiar voice. She turns toward the sound and sees John walking into her room. “Look at you,” he says. “You’re up and around.”

“I’m up and around alright…”

“You look great,” he comments, coming toward her.

“I look terrible,” she says.

He smiles and kisses her on the forehead.

“Not to me.”

“John, what’s going on? Why are so many cops around? Is something happening?”

He sighs.

“Okay,” he begins. “You’ve got a right to know. We uh…think we found one of the shooters from that night. He’s a guy named Ray Remsen.”

“What does he look like?”

“Not too tall – medium height maybe. Dirty blond hair. Wiry…”

“That could be the other guy,” Evangeline says. Then she shakes her head. “Then again, that could be just about anybody, couldn’t it? Did he say anything?”

“Not exactly. He was found in a dumpster. Been dead for a couple of days.

“Oh my God, John…”

“Yeah, I know…But witnesses put him with the guy you ID’d – Winters – out at the Lakeland Motel.”

“So he killed his partner from that night so…I guess that means I’m next.”

“Not necessarily.”

“Come on, John,” Evangeline says, becoming visibly winded. “With his partner dead, I’m the only one left who can identify him and place him at the scene of a murder with a gun in his hand…He’s got to come after me. I’m the only one left who can put him away.”

“Well,” he says, his arm around her, helping her over to the chair, “that’s why you’ve got more company around here. We’re gonna make sure that this Winters guy never gets anywhere near you.”

“So who do you think ordered the hit on Robert Castor? His boss?”

John smiles.

“Been thinking about this a lot, huh?”

“I’ve been stuck in bed all this time. What else can I do?” she says, lowering herself to sit very slowly with John’s strong arm as support. Once in the chair, she stops for a moment to catch her breath, nodding to him that it’s okay for him to let go. “Besides it all fits. Castor starts making noises about misappropriation of funds, he tries to retain me to represent him and is murdered in a public place, which kills the case against his boss Krakauer. Have you talked to him?”

“Not yet. Seems that the good alderman has taken an abrupt vacation to Argentina or so his office says.”

“But you can get him back here, right?”

“Not without a whole lot more proof than we’ve got now. Right now, all we’ve got is suspicions and hearsay – not nearly enough for a court order.”

“So maybe what you need is to flush Winters out into the open, take him in and get him to give up Krakauer for Castor’s murder.”

“Yeah,” he answers warily. “Sounds like a plan. And?”

“John, you know exactly what I’m going to say,” Evangeline tells him. “You’ve got to use me to bring Winters out into the open.”

“No way.”

“John, it makes sense.”

“No.”

“Why not? I’m all you’ve got.”

“No way I’m gonna put you on the line again. Forget it.”

“But John -”

“Forget it, Evangeline. Now you are not to stick your pretty little nose into this case. You got that?”

“My pretty little nose, huh?” she repeats. “Well, for one thing, McBain, you do not get to tell me what to do. For another thing…it’s funny how every man turns sexist when he’s ordering you around.”

“I’m not ordering you around or telling you what to do,” he says as calmly as he can, knowing that the very last thing the situation needs is an angry Evangeline who’s out to prove something. “I’m just asking you – very politely asking you to stay out of this case and let us do our jobs. I came close to losing you once. That’s not something I want to go through again...”

“But I want to do something,” she tells him. “I need to do something. I can’t just lie here and leave it up to everybody else to protect me.”

“Do me a favor. Humor me, okay? You just concentrate on getting better so you can go home.”

“Fine,” she sighs, rolling her eyes. “I’ll do that…”

At that moment, John’s cell phone rings. He takes it out of his pocket and looks at the number.

“It’s the station,” he says, pressing the button and putting the phone to his ear.

“McBain,” he announces. “What? And they’re sure it’s him?”

Evangeline sits at attention on hearing the tone to John’s voice. It must be something to do with the case.

“Yeah. I’m here at the hospital. Keep me informed.”

Evangeline watches as John disconnects the call.

“What happened?” she asks.

“That was Doby down at the station,” he explains. “Apparently some guy went to deliver a package to Krakauer at his house. When he didn’t get an answer, he went around back…The guy spotted Krakauer through the window, lying in a pool of blood. “

“Don’t tell me…”

“He’s dead,” he says.

Evangeline thinks about it for a moment.

“He’s coming after me for sure now, John,” she says. “He’s got no other choice…” She looks at him, seeing something in his eyes. “Or has he already? John? He was here, wasn’t he – Danny Winters? He was here.”

“Hey, don’t go putting words in my mouth, okay? It’s just that…On one of the first nights that you were in here, the officer I had posted outside your room wandered off for a minute. I got here soon afterward, though. Nothing happened…”

“But?”

He shrugs

“I don’t know. I just had a feeling that the guy might’ve been around…Probably just paranoid or something.”

“Probably not. I trust your gut as much as I trust mine. If you think that somebody was here…they probably were…I’ve never had anybody coming after me, trying to kill me before.”

“I know…” he says, tenderly stroking her cheek.

“I’m uh…I’m kinda scared…”

John squats down in front of her.

“Look, don’t be scared,” he tells her. “I’m not gonna stop until we find this guy, okay? We’re gonna find him and we’re gonna keep you safe – whatever it takes.”

---