Fumbled

by Harry Brady

  Cash led the group to a waiting area where a bail bonds man was explaining to a distraught woman about how much it will cost to bond her husband out of jail. The detective made sure the other octogenarians would be comfortable, and had Millie follow him to an interview room as drab as the exterior of the building. Detective Cash offered Millie a seat and he took a place behind a small desk, ”Mrs. Estel, please tell me what you know about Mr. Skrcyzinski.”

  “Please Detective Cash just call me Millie and before we go any further, can you tell me why is Damien in jail?”

  “As you surely know there have been several unusual deaths at the Holy Angels Home, and Mr. Skrcyzinski is a person of interest and we have evidence that makes a strong case that he may be involved.”

  “Are you saying that Damien could be responsible for those deaths?”

  “No. We are just gathering more information at this point. So please tell me what you can about Mr. Skrcyzinski and his background.”

  “Well, I knew him when he was an altar boy at St. Mary`s Church here on the Northside. I was a lector at that time and he was just a nice young boy. I know he was a big football star in high school and college. You know he , played for the Steelers. When he moved into Holy Angels Retirement Community about a year and a half ago, he recognized me immediately and we resumed our friendship. His apartment is two doors from mine, and I see him in the nursing care unit at Holy Angels every morning. He helps with breakfast for the old folks. He is a very nice and gentle man and very big. What else would you like to know?”

  “Why will he only talk to you and not a lawyer?”

  “Well, he tends to get confused at times and has trouble with his memory. We have a lot of activities at Holy Angels and he gets times and dates mixed up, so I help him with things like that. In addition, as I said, he volunteers with me every morning in the care unit with me and then we have breakfast together”.

  “Millie, he is six feet seven inches and weighs about two hundred and eighty pounds and has a history of violent outbursts doesn`t that concern you?”

  “Well, I`m four feet. ten inches and weigh eighty-eight pounds and no, it doesn`t worry me at all. He would never hurt anyone. He is my friend.”

  “Has he ever talked to you about his past?”

  “Yes, at times, he has. When he was in grade school he suffered a serious emotional upset. This was during World War II and his father was a tail gunner in a B-17 bomber. His plane went down on a bombing mission and crashed into the Black Sea. There were no survivors. Damien was devastated. He idolized his father and has pictures of him and his father`s plane hanging in his room. Since he was an only child his father had told Damien to take care of his mother, while he was gone. Damien was only in the second grade at the time, but took this responsibility seriously.

  Of course, his mother Mary was also devastated. So now she was a single parent she needed to work and raise her son. She sacrificed and tried to be both a mother and father to him. In high school, he was a football star and had multiple scholarship offers.

  At this point, he told his mother that as the man of the family he was going to get a job loading beer trucks at the local beer distributor, and she could retire. Well of course his mother would have none of that and insisted he attend college. Is that enough background for you, Detective?”

  “That certainly helps. What about anything in later life? Did he ever talk about that?”

  “He was married at one time and he and his wife had a lovely young daughter. Unfortunately, they both were killed in a tragic automobile accident. He never discussed any of the details of the accident with me . As I mentioned earlier, his memory does have lapses. He was proud when he signed a contract with the Steelers. He was able to move his mother to a small home of her own in Dormont.”

  “What about his present activities? He told me that he was a heavy drinker.”

  “I don’t t know that is the correct term? He ran into a former Steeler a while back, who helped Damien to come to Holy Angels Retirement Community. This former team mate got him started in Alcoholics Anonymous. I make sure he attends his meetings regularly. I don`t think he has had a drink since he came to our community. We have a lot of things to do Holy Angels. He likes to play bingo on Thursdays, he volunteers in the health center for breakfast, and he also pushes wheel chairs around when there are special events. He talks to the older men about football. That`s about all I can tell you. Can I talk with Damien now?”

  “You said he has not had an alcoholic drink for some time. Mr. Skrcyzinski says that he spends most of his afternoons in a Northside saloon. How do your account for that?”

  “I`ve lived all my life in the same neighborhood before moving to Holy Angels and I know just about everybody on the Northside. Fred is the bartender at the Shamrock Café, and I went down there and told Fred that Damien was in Alcoholics anonymous and to serve him only Doctor Pepper. I think Fred will do it. Fred is a little afraid of me, because Fred`s mother and I were classmates in grade school.”

  “Thank you, Millie, your information will be helpful for our investigation.”

  Getting up from his chair Detective Cash said, “We can go and have you talk with Mr. Skrcyzinski right now, but please tell him to get a lawyer because he really needs one. May I get you a Coke or something to drink?”

  “’A cup of coffee would be fine. No cream or sugar.”

  When Millie, Rita, and Valerie arrived at the ballroom for Sally`s 1:30 P.M. low impact exercise class that afternoon, they were greeted with a barrage of questions. “What were the police doing on the third floor this morning?” Jennifer Appelt blurted out. Before either of the three women could respond, several more questions were asked from the group of residents crowding around the sign in book. “Let me sign in first and then we can talk,” Rita said. Before Rita could finish writing her name in the signup book, another question was asked by one of the growing crowd who wanted to know if it was true that a SWAT team was on the third floor hallway. Another resident volunteered she had heard from one of the ladies in housekeeping there was a drug dealer in the building, and the police were chasing him down the second floor stairway but he got away.

  Fortunately for the three women being questioned, Sally, the wellness director, called the class to order and the small crowd dispersed taking their seats. “Let`s start our warmup with some stretching of our shoulders and neck,” Sally began. Thirty minutes later when the class was ended, the group of residents trapped Millie, Rita, and Valerie in the ballroom in order to get the latest information, so that they could spread the news of the day. Acting as spokesperson Millie began by saying, “Yes, the police had been on the third floor, and yes, Damien had gone with them to the police station to answer some questions.” She added, “No, she had not heard about any SWAT team in the building.”

  “Well, what about the drug dealer running down back steps? The cleaning lady was sure she had heard that it had happened.”

  “I don`t have any knowledge of that happening. That`s all I know. ”Millie replied.

  “What about you Valerie? Do you know anything more about the situation?” one of the more aggressive questioners asked.

  “What would I know,” Valerie replied. ”I only live here.”

  With that Millie essentially ended the news conference and taking Valerie by the hand and motioning to Rita they three women walked out of the ballroom. The aggressive questioner rushed past them so she could get to the arts and crafts room first, where she could tell her friends about the police running the halls of Holy Angels with their guns drawn.

  The other members of the small crowd did likewise scurrying off to different locations to spread their new found scoop to the other residents of Holy Angels Retirement Community.

  Chapter

  18

  The next morning sitting at the head of the usual table Millie announced to Damien`s Dwarfs (the name they had be
en given by some of the residents of Holy Angels), Damien was assigned a public defender and he had been charged with possession of illegal drugs. Because they could only hold him for 24 hours on that charge he would be released that morning. She added, “However, he is a person of interest in the fentanyl overdose case.”

  Warren a retired heavy equipment operator and widower said, “That sounds like a manslaughter or a murder charge to me.”

  Rita putting down her coffee pointed out, “From what Millie said he saved my life.”

  Valerie, an ex-nun, who saved her sanity by leaving the Benedictine order after 18 years of dealing with the chaos of forty or more fourth or fifth graders in one classroom, added, “Damien is a good person and would never be involved in anything like that.”

  Warren countered with, “Are we really sure of that? He broke that guy`s ribs and was known as a very violent person on the football field.”

  Valerie looked at Warren and said, “Oh, Warren you sit in your apartment and watch too many reruns of CSI.”

  “At least I`m not a Pollyanna, spending all my time in the grotto praying.” He replied.

  Millie stood up and said in an authoritative manner “Dwarfs, Damien needs us and the first order of business is to get him out of jail.”

  Warren said, “I`ll get the car.”

  Valerie got her walker and the four octogenarians went out and piled into the faded blue town car with the two missing hubcaps and headed for the station house.

  Arriving there once again, Warren pulled into the parking lot and eased into a handicapped spot. He attached the blue plastic handicapped sign on his rearview mirror and they all got out and entered the station.

  Millie approached the desk Sergeant and told him that they were there to take Mr. Skrcyzinski home.

  The Sergeant made a brief phone call and said, “His paperwork is about done and his lawyer is still with him. If you go down the hall on your left to the next counter, they will take care of things.”

  Thanking the sergeant the troop proceeded down the hallway where they saw Damien standing facing the counter. Next to him was a young woman wearing a dark business suit, who appeared to be about fifteen years old.

  Rita called out, “There`s Damien.”

  Hearing this Damien turned their way and a big smile appeared on his face and he announced to the young woman, “The Dwarfs are here.”

  Bending down, Damien gently hugged the ladies and shook Warren`s hand. Turning to the young woman he said, “This is my lawyer Eileen. She just got me out of jail.”

  The young woman smiled and said, “I`m Eileen Dugan from the public defender’s office. You must be his friends from Holy Angels. Which one of you is Millie?”

  Stepping forward Millie extended her hand and said, “That`s me, Ms. Dugan.”

  Taking Millie`s hand Eileen Dugan said, “We have all the paperwork here and I’m starting a file on Mr. Skrcyzinski. He said that you would probably want to do the same, so I had them make copies for you.”

  “That`s very nice of you, but I don`t think it will be a very thick file since Damien doesn`t use or sell drugs.”

  “I don`t think it`s that simple.” Eileen Dugan replied. ”He still is a person of interest in the fentanyl deaths at Holy Angels. I have a friend at the prosecuting attorney`s office and she told me that the case was presented to them and they declined to issue an indictment. They wanted more than the circumstantial evidence they already have.”

  “What kind of evidence would they want?” Millie asked.

  “Something that would be definite proof. Like someone seeing him enter the patient`s room just before she died, or his fingerprints in the room.”

  “Well, that won`t happen,” Millie stated very firmly “Because Damien didn`t do it.”

  Handing Millie the copies of the paperwork Eileen said, “I hope you`re right. Here`s my card if you need to contact me.”

  Turning to Damien his attorney added, “I`ll be in touch regarding court dates.” Putting the files in her briefcase she turned and walked away.

  Lieutenant Sam Kalina`s Office Zone 1 Police Headquarters - Dec. 6th

  At seven-forty -five that morning, Detectives Cash and Johnson were summoned to Lieutenant Sam Kalina`s office. A twenty-two year veteran of the force, Kalina was a no nonsense guy, who was respected by the rank and file of his department. At five feet eight inches and one hundred and seventy five pounds, he had a military style brush haircut, he still could take down a perp, and have him cuffed in record time. Befitting his demeanor he got right to the point.

  “Cash and Johnson, her honor, the Mayor, called this morning because a reporter from the Pittsburgh Press called her and wanted the mayor`s office to comment on the possibility of a drug war and the fentanyl epidemic we have in our lovely city. What do we have for her Honor?”

  Cash was not in a good mood this morning because his son`s principal had sent a note home that he and Laura needed to come to the principal`s office and discuss Brian`s behavior in class. Without thinking Cash said, “Tell her Honor to have some more fundraisers with some rich donors and let us do our jobs.”

  Kalina obviously irritated responded, “Come on, Cash! None of your sarcastic shit! There was another gangland hit late yesterday afternoon in the Hill District and a three year old boy was hit in the leg with a stray bullet. The Mayor has a major wedgie up her ass over this and she wants answers.”

  LaKeisha Johnson jumped in before Cash could answer, ”The hit was on my snitch Rudolph. Apparently someone thought he talked too much.”

  “I hadn`t heard that. I was off the radar last night with family issues,” Cash responded. ”Here`s what homicide has, Sam. A suspect with some strong circumstantial evidence, but the prosecutor`s office wants to wait for more evidence. We are working on that now.”

  “What do you have Johnson?” Kalina asked.

  She looked at Cash briefly then back to Kalina, “I talked to the detective from Zone 3 and the hit on Wylie avenue sounds like it was the same guys that took out Slick Johnny. Forensics have some shell casings and will compare them to the ones they found on the North Side. As for a drug war, we`re pretty sure that the Korean mafia, the Khangpae, from New York City is muscling in here. They rule by violence. If the casings match, we may need to mobilize a SWAT team to go after them.”

  “What about the kid that got shot?” Kalina asked.

  She responded, “He went to surgery last night and should do well.”

  “O.K. you guys. I`ll deal with the Mayor but keep me up to date. You go out and do your thing.”

  Part Two

  Chapter

  19

  All the “old folks” had been fed and Millie and Damien were stacking the empty meal trays on the service cart in the hallway of the skilled nursing facility. “As soon as we`re finished here, we will have our strategy meeting with the rest of the Dwarfs. I`ll see you there.” Millie confided in Damien.

  After they left the nursing unit, Millie stopped in the chapel to calm herself down In the serenity of this quiet place and to review in her mind the plan to catch a serial killer. She knew that it would be putting her own life at risk, but the police said they needed more evidence. She had seen this work one time on television on a detective show and she realized that this was real life and not television. All of the Dwarfs would have to perform without error or she could die. Millie got up and left the serenity of the chapel and walked to the elevator at the end of the hallway. She entered the elevator and a note on the wall that announced that tonight`s dinner theme would be a southwestern barbecue. Upon entering the dining area she got her cream of wheat and black coffee at the breakfast counter and joined the Dwarfs at their usual table. Millie sat down and called the meeting to order.

  “Valerie and Rita, you start surveillance about 7:00 P.M.in Valerie`s room. Remember lights out. Report to me when Raymond leaves the bui
lding. Damien and Warren, you are back up on the third floor hallway. Watch through the window and If I don`t call you within two minutes of Raymond leaving my room come running with the Narcan. I had to bring Mrs. Edwards in on our plan. She is supplying the Narcan and will make up a fake chart on me and put it in the chart rack. I will be in room 365. Remember to keep your cell phones on. I don`t want to make an emergency call and hear your voice telling me to leave a message.”

  Later that Friday morning in the nursing unit, Jeannie Edwards came in early to have a special meeting with Millie. Millie said to Jeannie, ”I know you are taking a big risk with your job here Jeannie, but I think we may just get the evidence to prove Damien is innocent and find the real killer.”

  “What do you want for an admitting diagnosis Millie? “

  “How about congestive heart failure?”

  “That will work fine. Why don`t you get your nightgown and a robe. I`ll put an oxygen tank in the room to make it look good and then we will get you ‘admitted’.”

  About 9:00 P.M. that evening Millie got the call, ”It`s Rita. Raymond just left the building. Just a second, a big black car just pulled into the employees lot.” Turning to her co-surveillance partner Rita continued. “What are they doing Valerie? I can`t see clearly because of my cataracts.”

  Turning her attention back to the phone, she told Millie, “Valerie says that Raymond got a bag of something from someone in the car and just went to the grotto. Now he is heading back to the building and the car just left.”

  “Good work, girls” Millie said and hung up.