by Kay Bigelow
Chapter Fourteen
The next morning at eight thirty, Leah told Cots and Peony it was time to get on the road for their meeting with the commissioner. It took them fifteen minutes to get their winter gear on and get out of the condo; they were all ready to get away from the walls of the condo. Cots had them parked near the teahouse the commissioner had chosen for their ten thirty meeting by nine forty-five.
“Sing out if you see anyone you recognize,” Leah said.
Peony and Cots had their eyes glued to the surveillance feeds on their computers.
“The guy standing at the corner having a smoke is a cop,” Peony said.
“How do you know him?” Leah asked.
“He was in my class at the academy.”
It only took them a few minutes to identify several cops near the teahouse. It didn’t surprise Leah that Commissioner Robinson would travel with a large contingency of bodyguards considering the bombings, but this seemed a little excessive.
“Ready?” Leah asked Peony.
“Yeah.”
“Let’s go,” Leah said, getting out of the van on the sidewalk side.
Peony followed her.
Instead of heading across the street to the teahouse, though, Leah rapidly walked into the store nearest the van. If Peony was surprised, she didn’t seem to hesitate. Leah was sure anyone watching them exit the van wouldn’t be able to identify either of them because only their eyes were showing. The rest of their features were obscured by scarves and hoods.
Inside the store, Leah flashed her badge and said, “Back door?”
The startled clerk pointed toward the back of the store. Leah and Peony hurried through the nearly empty store and out into the delivery alley. Instead of turning toward the teahouse, Leah again led them away from their destination. Two blocks away, they crossed a busy street and entered a small neighborhood park.
When Leah was certain no one was following them, she turned toward the teahouse but continued to take a circuitous route to get them there. They exited the park and entered a nearby alley, leading them to the back door of the teahouse. They surprised the chef and his cooks as they walked through the kitchen and into the restaurant. When she flashed her badge, no one obstructed their entering the restaurant.
They sat at a small table where they had a view of the front door and the large window facing the street, and easy access to the back door. Leah was in no mood to trust anyone these days.
At precisely ten thirty, two men entered the teahouse looking distinctly out of place and uncomfortable. They were followed by Commissioner Shelley Robinson, who had two more men follow her. She chose to sit at a table away from the big front window.
Leah had met Robinson on a couple of occasions, mostly in the line of duty, at funerals and the like. Now she watched the woman take off her winter coat. Her eyes never stayed still. She was much more alert to her surroundings than the men guarding her.
Robinson settled in and gave her order to the waiter when the young man approached her table. The men with her returned to the main room after checking out the kitchen and bathrooms, and then, after a word from the commissioner, three of them stationed themselves outside the front door. Leah presumed there were a like number of men in the alley.
“Stay here.” Leah put her credits card on the table. “Order something to eat and drink for yourself.”
Leah left her coat at the table with Peony and went into the women’s room. When she emerged, she went toward the commissioner’s table. One of the guards stepped in front of her. She showed him her badge and said, “I’m Samuels.” The guard stepped aside and she took the vacant seat, putting her back to the wall.
“Commissioner Robinson?” Leah asked.
She nodded.
“I’m Leah Samuels. You were expecting me, I believe.”
“You’re good. My boys should have known a cop of your abilities wouldn’t stroll in through the front door.”
“Yeah. Your guards need to anticipate your enemies.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t suppose you’d like to head up my detail, would you?” Robinson asked with a smile.
“No, thanks.”
“I didn’t really think you would, but I had to ask. What can I do for you today?”
“I was assigned to solve the murders at Taconic Park.”
“That’s where Bishop Cohane was murdered, right?”
“Right.”
How in the world does Robinson know about the bishop? Quinn probably told her. The media doesn’t even know the bishop is missing. If Robinson tells the press, there will be a field day and my suspects could flee the planet. Phuc!
“Why didn’t you check in to say you weren’t dead?”
“I was already investigating my case and had moved off-site to keep the details of the bishop’s involvement quiet. After the bombings, it made sense to stay put.” The reason Leah had been trying to put into words for days came to her easily now. She wasn’t about to bring up the possibility of the bombings being connected to her case, since she didn’t have any evidence that was true. Yet.
Robinson considered that, her eyes shrewd. “I feel like there’s more to this than you’re telling me. And I don’t guess you’ve made much progress in the case. I’m in the process of creating a task force to solve the murders since I didn’t know someone was already working the case. Maybe you can give my team information.”
“There’s no need for that. I think I’ve found our killers.”
“Great work, Lieutenant. You are as good as they say. Who are the killers you’re looking at? What do you need from me?”
Leah thought Robinson sounded more disappointed than relieved.
“I need you to give me special powers,” she said even as she ignored her question about the identity of the killers. It was her case, and it was her right to make the arrest. She wasn’t about to have that taken away from her after all the work they’d done.
“Like what?” Robinson asked, obviously on the alert for some sort of trickery.
“I need a search warrant and an arrest warrant, so I need a letter from you telling a judge I’m authorized to investigate this case.”
“Why do you need a letter? Isn’t there a procedure in place for you to obtain your warrant?”
“There is. I would suspect, however, that a judge might be reluctant to issue them based on the word of a dead cop.”
“Why don’t I hold a press conference and tell the world that you’ve been undercover and are close to making an arrest? That would be good for your career.”
“I’d prefer that you not do that until it’s true,” Leah said. “If you do that, my suspects could run, and then we’d never solve the case.”
“I thought you said you needed a search warrant and an arrest warrant,” Robinson said.
“I do. What if the evidence I get from the search warrant doesn’t amount to enough to arrest my suspect?”
“I see,” Robinson said.
Leah wasn’t convinced she did see the implications, but she waited patiently and silently. She wasn’t going to beg to be able to do her job.
“I’ll get you the letter. Where shall I send it?” Robinson asked when it was clear Leah wasn’t going to say anything further.
She pulled a fountain pen from her pocket. She took her time unscrewing the cap.
Drude, the woman is showing off her pen. Like I give a shit she writes with an antique fountain pen. Leah glanced around, but no one but Peony was watching them, not even her guards. So all this posturing was for her benefit. She debated whether to tell Robinson she thought old-fashioned pen and ink were affectations and the people who used them were idiots. Except herself, of course. She didn’t say anything out loud. She wanted her warrants more than she wanted to tell her off.
“Send it to Quinn’s office.” Leah hated having to use Quinn, but there was no place else she could think of to have the letter sent to that wouldn’t unduly expose the team. Leah wasn’t about to g
ive her address to this preening little peahen.
“I’ll have it delivered once I get back to my office.”
“Thanks,” Leah said as she stood up.
“My pleasure. Be sure to let me know how it works out, and if you need anything, call.”
Robinson stood up as well. She held out her hand and Leah reluctantly shook it. As she suspected it might be, Robinson’s hand was damp with sweat and her handshake limp as an eel.
Leah returned to the table she’d shared with Peony and sat down. She shook out the napkin at her place, dipped it in her water glass, and wiped her hands. She took the glass of tea sitting in front of Peony as if it were her own.
“I didn’t order you anything, Boss. I’m sorry. If I had known—” Peony looked embarrassed.
Leah interrupted her. “It’s okay. I want Robinson to leave first. I’m not hungry.” She glanced at Robinson’s boys, but no one was paying any attention to her and Peony.
“Oh, right,” Peony said, chewing as fast as she could. She looked like she was starving with no hope of ever eating again even though she had a breakfast just two hours earlier that would have put a dinosaur to shame.
Robinson seemed like she was at a loss about what to do next. One of her guards approached her and nodded toward the door. Robinson glanced over at Leah. She’d bet a month’s salary Robinson wanted to know if she’d noticed her indecision. She rose from her chair and Leah nodded at her to show she had noticed the faux pas. She turned away from Leah without acknowledging her and left the restaurant as she shrugged into her coat. Her guards trailed after her. Leah watched as a long black car pulled to the curb in front of the door and stopped in front of her. One of the guards opened the back door, and Robinson climbed in followed by one of the men who had remained inside the restaurant with her. When the door closed, the black car pulled away from the curb and into traffic.
I don’t trust her. She’s not a real cop’s cop. Where do they find these people they put into the commissioner’s office? Leah waited another five minutes before getting up from the table and putting on her winter gear. Peony followed suit. They left the restaurant the same way they had arrived. In the alley, she glanced around but didn’t see anyone lurking in the doorways that lined the alley. She took Peony back through the park and then to the van.
Inside the van, Cots, in the driver’s seat, was busy with his personal computer. Leah and Peony climbed into the warmth of the van and lowered the scarves covering their faces.
“That went well, didn’t it?” Cots asked.
“It did,” Leah responded.
“But?”
“How did she know about the bishop?”
“I wondered about that. When I called she didn’t ask a single question,” Cots said. “What else bothers you?”
“Do you think it strange the commissioner didn’t want any details?”
“What do you mean?”
“When I asked for search and arrest warrants, she didn’t want to know what I wanted to search. She didn’t ask for any details; she asked who I wanted to arrest, but she didn’t ask again when I didn’t answer. It was almost like she already knew what I know.”
“Is it really possible she already has the details of the case? Wouldn’t it mean someone told her? Are you thinking it was Quinn?” Peony asked, her eyes wide.
“Yeah, I am. Cots, call Quinn and tell her the commissioner will be delivering a letter for me to her office. And that you’ll pick it up personally.”
“You’re not happy about having her involved again, are you?”
“No, I’m not, but I couldn’t think of anywhere to send the letter. I couldn’t give her the condo’s address, so it was Quinn’s office or go hang out in her office until the letter is ready. Quinn seemed like the lesser of the two evils.”
Cots keyed on his phone and speed-dialed Quinn’s number. Leah tuned out his conversation with her. When he hung up, Cots said, “She’ll hang around her office until the letter arrives.”
“We’ll get it later. Thanks for making the call.”
“Where to now?” Cots asked.
“Take us to the bishop’s mansion,” Leah told him.
When they pulled out into traffic, Cots said, “We’ve got company.”
“Cops?”
“Yeah,” Peony replied. “Wait, another car has joined us. And another. It looks like we’ve got ourselves a freakin’ parade.”
Cots guffawed while Leah grinned.
“You know what to do, Cots. My meeting is at two. Just make sure we’re on time.”
Leah sat back and enjoyed the game of cat and mouse they were playing with whoever was following them. Cots was good, though, and in the end, it appeared they had lost all the cars trailing them.
“Boss, listen to this,” Peony said. She turned up the computer so they could all hear.
“At an impromptu press conference held only minutes ago, Police Commissioner Shelley Robinson announced one of the city’s most highly decorated cops has been doing undercover work for her office. She declined to say who the cop is, what case he or she has been working on, or even why she was telling the media about it now without giving any details,” a news reporter said.
“Drude!” Leah exclaimed. “What does the bitch think she’s doing?”
“Did I hear wrong or did you tell the woman not to do a press conference?” Cots asked.
“You heard right. She’s sabotaging the investigation.”
“But why?” Peony asked.
“She’s always been a bit of a media queen, don’t you think? She’s merely acting true to form and didn’t give you a thought,” Cots said. “But the fact that she didn’t give any details of the case is a good thing, right? Sounds like she’s just showing you who’s boss.”
“You’re right. Thanks for keeping my paranoia in check,” Leah said with a smile.
Cots flipped on his blinker and turned right. “Let’s stop by Quinn’s office and get Robinson’s letter in case this meeting adds something more to your case. It’s on our way to the bishop’s office.”
“Good idea.” Leah wanted the extra time to think.
When Cots parked the van near Quinn’s office building, he got out and hurried across the busy street, deftly dodging the heavy traffic.
Leah sat staring out the front window not seeing anything. She wanted more than anything to believe that all this was only part of a bad dream, and she’d wake up from the nightmare to have Quinn safely ensconced in her bed and none of this shit would be true. Instead, she was getting close to finding out who was responsible for a mass murder, but in the process, she’d lost her wife, her career, and her faith in the job. She closed her eyes and slumped in her seat. It’s been a hell of a week.
Chapter Fifteen
Thirty minutes after Cots left them, he returned.
“Sorry it took so long. Quinn wanted to talk. Here are your documents.”
Leah glanced at them and noticed the print at the bottom of the page said they had been received twenty-five minutes earlier, which meant the commissioner must have written it the moment she left the café. She returned her attention to the document in her hand. As she read, she saw one of the documents wasn’t what she had asked for. She had asked for a letter saying she was authorized to investigate the murders in the park and to get a search warrant. What she had in hand was a search warrant and two arrest warrants. She needed only to fill in the blanks about what she wanted to search and who she wanted to arrest. She looked at the signature line. It was signed by the commissioner, not a judge. Does the commissioner of police really believe she has the authority to issue search and arrest warrants? That made the warrants virtually useless. She could take them to the judge instead of a letter, as proof she was allowed to investigate, but she’d still have to find a judge to give her the real thing. Does she think I’m an idiot?
“Does anyone recall me telling the commissioner I wanted to arrest two people?”
Only silence answered her.<
br />
Drude. The commissioner obviously thinks two people are involved in the murders. But I’ve only got one suspect. Who does the commissioner, or her informant, think is the second person? Who gave her a second name? And why didn’t she share that name with me at the restaurant? Someone was a step ahead of her, and she hated being in the dark.
Leah had them on the road and heading toward the bishop’s mansion almost before Cots had his seat restraints on. She felt a sudden sense of urgency. If someone else had information she didn’t, she needed to work faster to get to the end result before they did. “Who are we meeting with?” Leah asked, glancing over at Cots.
“A priest by the name of Joseph Preata.”
“A man?” Leah asked.
She had been thinking, for some reason, the bishop’s assistant was a woman. When she said it out loud, she realized how sexist she was being. Where did that come from?
“Yeah, a man. You didn’t think the bishop would have a female assistant, did you?” Cots asked with a smile.
“No, of course not.” Leah looked away. “Peony, find out what you can on Joseph Preata.”
Five minutes later, Peony said, “He’s clean as a whistle, Boss. He entered the seminary when he was twenty-two and has worked his way up the ladder to his current position over the last fifteen years. He’s been appointed to a position at the Vatican and is due to assume his duties there next month.”
“Thanks.”
They rode the rest of the way to the bishop’s mansion in silence. When they arrived, they sat looking at the impressive building set off the road and surrounded by a high fence. Unlike its neighbors, which were made of brick, the bishop’s mansion looked like it could have been lifted from Tuscany and set down in this neighborhood. Its walls were the rich color of the soil she’d seen when she’d visited Italy with her aunt. There was a guard stationed at the front gate. She wondered why someone thought the bishop needed the protection of a guard—not that a guard at the gate would provide much protection, but still.
“Peony, you’re with me.”
