by Philip Cox
Today he had to drive to Newark Penn Station, and get to the precinct by train. Sometimes he would drive; sometimes Roberts might collect him if they had to go to somewhere in Jersey. He would never know from one day to the next, such was his relationship with his partner. They had a strange association: his previous partner was a male officer, and they got quite close, as did their families. He got a promotion some years back, and subsequently Alvarez found himself partnered with Julianne Roberts. It was not that she wasn’t a good cop: to the contrary, she was extremely focussed and conscientious. She was just different to Eric’s previous partner. She was what he called a career officer. She said very little about her private life: she told him once that she was divorced, but he had no idea whether she was seeing someone or not. She might have mentioned someone in passing, but Alvarez could not be sure. She never volunteered any information, and if he ever raised the matter, she would give one word answers then change the subject. Elena said that she seemed to be compartmentalizing her life: maybe something had happened in her past she wanted to shut out. Whatever the reason, Eric had no real complaints: she was a good and loyal senior partner and officer, and he had already learned a lot from her.
Now he was in the captain’s office, listening to Roberts explaining their lack of progress in the case which had become known as the men’s room murder. Captain Nkomo, an imposing six feet three African American was resting his 224lb frame in a plush brown leather chair nodding occasionally as Roberts spoke. Now and again his left hand would stretch over to the small Newton’s cradle on his desk to tap one of the silver spheres. If Roberts was finding the click-click-click of the balls off-putting, she was not showing it.
‘I share your concern over the apparent lack of progress,’ Roberts said, ‘but we are still in the process of following up all the angles. We have drawn a blank so far with regard to direct witnesses, even after media appeals.’
‘Security cameras?’ Nkomo grunted.
‘The CCTV did pick up images of who we believe are the suspects, but the image is of insufficient quality for us to make an identification.’
‘Can’t we enhance it?’
Roberts sighed. ‘It’s quite clear from the footage that both men knew the cameras were watching them, knew the camera range, and were successful in keeping their faces hidden.’
‘Hidden?’
‘They both wore hooded sweatshirts,’ Alvarez interjected. He demonstrated.
Roberts turned round to Alvarez and nodded her agreement. Turning back to Nkomo, she continued, ‘Even with maximum enhancements, there’s insufficient face showing; not enough for us to extrapolate a full image.’
‘So we’re not talking kids, then,’ said Nkomo.
‘No,’ Roberts concurred. ‘The only person we have who could pass as a witness, a guy named Will Carter, was hiding in the restroom stall the whole time and saw nothing. Heard plenty, but saw nothing.’
Nkomo looked up, pulling a face. ‘Hiding in the stall?’
‘He was in the middle of taking his young daughter to the bathroom,’ said Alvarez.
Nkomo nodded. ‘Go on,’ he said.
As Roberts opened her mouth to speak, Nkomo lifted a hand to silence her then leafed through some papers on his desk. ‘Does this Will Carter live in Greenwich Village?’
‘Yes. Why?’
The captain scanned one of the yellow sheets. ‘A Will Carter in Greenwich Village was burglarized a few days back. Did you know that?’
Roberts glanced quickly at Alvarez. Both detectives shook their heads.
‘No,’ Roberts said.
Nkomo made a tutting sound and refiled the yellow sheets. ‘According to that report, whoever it was - probably kids high on something - broke in during the day. It seems they were disturbed, as all they took was a few dollars cash Mrs Carter had left in the kitchen.’
Roberts frowned. ‘I’d like the details, Captain, but from what you’ve told me there doesn’t appear to be a connection. I don’t see how there can be.’
Nkomo sat back. ‘I’m inclined to agree. There’d been three or four similar incidents in that area over the past few weeks, so it looks like one big coincidence. I’ll let you have the details, though.’ He clicked a silver sphere and watched it swing. ‘What about prints? DNA trace?’
‘So far, that’s drawn a blank also.’
‘You’ve not spoken to our FBI friends?’
Roberts sighed. ‘I have, of course. We did find prints, but whoever they were, they are unknown to the Department. I have been in touch with one of my contacts down at Federal Plaza: he has run both prints and DNA trace through CODIS, drawing a blank in both cases.’
The Combined DNA Index System, otherwise known as CODIS is a generic term use with regard to the FBI’s programme of support for criminal justice DNA databases. This national DNA index system, part of CODIS, is a national database containing DNA profiles contributed by federal, state and local participating forensic laboratories.
The captain scratched his vast chin. Roberts and Alvarez could both hear a scraping sound as his hand ran over the stubble. ‘What about the victim?’
‘His name was Carmine DiMucci, from Paterson, New Jersey.’
Nkomo nodded over to Alvarez. ‘One of Eric’s neighbours?’
Alvarez shook his head. ‘Not exactly, Captain.’
‘He was a family man,’ continued Roberts. ‘Wife, three kids. He was a sales representative, a travelling salesman. He sold bathroom fittings: you know, faucets, shower heads that type of thing.’
‘So what was a travelling salesman doing on his own in a New York City shopping mall?’ the captain asked. ‘On a Sunday afternoon?’
TWENTY-SIX
‘It looks like he was in the City on business,’ Roberts explained. ‘He had arrived at his hotel earlier in the day. Sure, he could have commuted from Paterson, but we could see from his diary that he had an appointment at Bellevue at 9:30 the following morning. We guessed he stayed here overnight. When we spoke to his widow, she said he quite often did that if he was away on a business trip. She said he left about eight that morning.’
Nkomo asked, ‘So why was he in Columbus Circle that afternoon? Out shopping? He could have left Jersey later in the day.’
Roberts turned to Alvarez. ‘What hotel was he staying at?’
‘It was the Comfort up at 173rd,,’ Alvarez replied.
The captain frowned. ‘173rd? Why all the way up there if he was due at Bellevue the next morning?’
Roberts shrugged. ‘Maybe it was cheaper, we don’t know. Perhaps he’d stayed there before and liked it.’
Nkomo grunted. ‘What did the hotel say about him?’
‘Well, he didn’t actually check in when he arrived. Check in time is after two like most hotels. He arrived around eleven they say, so left his bags with the concierge and went out. Said he’d be back later.’
‘Car?’
‘No. They said he told them he had no car.’
The captain leaned forward and tapped a sphere, harder this time. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘if the CCTV and forensics show a blank, then go back to the victim. See what else you can find out about him. Go back to Paterson. Today. Talk to the widow DiMucci again; talk to the kids; talk to the neighbours; talk to people where he worked. It’s possible he knew his attackers: remember it’s not first degree murder. From what you’ve told me, according to Carter, it sounded as if they were chasing him.’
Roberts nodded her agreement, and she and Alvarez left the captain’s office, promising to give him a daily update. She took a deep breath as they closed the door behind them.
‘So, what next?’ Alvarez asked, as they got back to their own desks.
As Roberts opened her mouth to answer, a woman uniformed officer passed her a sheet of paper. ‘He rang while you were in with the captain,’ she said.
Roberts quickly looked at the message, then at Alvarez. He was sure she was smiling.
‘Looks like we got ourselves a break at
last,’ she grinned. Waving the sheet of paper, she added, ‘Will Carter has phoned. Says he wants to talk to us. Says he has more information for us.’
TWENTY-SEVEN
The morning after his escapade to the Bronx, Will went to work full of resolve to get in touch with the police. As he sat staring at the subway tunnel walls, he realised that the sooner this business got resolved, the better it would be all round. Apart from the implications for him and his family, it was proving a major distraction at work.
It was bad enough Dan being continually out of the office, even though it was to bring in new business for the company; having said that, Will did make a mental note to somehow check how much business Dan was actually bringing in. Apart from Dan’s absence, now May might be on sick leave after her fall. Eddie was an okay worker, but he was clearly finding covering for May a strain; the pressure was showing. If he got to the stage where he felt he had had enough and left, then they would have to go through all the trouble and expense of recruiting and training somebody else. Maybe it was time to review the company profitability and decide whether the time was right to take on a third member of staff.
While all these balls were in the air, it was hardly a good time for Will to be making trips to the police, to the Bronx, to Paterson: thank God he didn’t go there.
Ironically, when he got to the office, Dan was already there. Will groaned inwardly when he saw his partner talking to Eddie at May’s desk: she was the oil which kept the engines of the firm running smoothly; it was always harder without her, even when she was on vacation.
Dan looked up at Will. ‘Why, William! Wasn’t sure if we’d see you either.’
‘Mm?’ Will said, leaning on his office doorframe. ‘How so?’
‘I had a call from Chrissy last night, saying you hadn’t gotten home. Where were you?’
‘Don’t you start. I had to take care of some business.’
‘You’re okay, though? Jia and I were quite worried. So was Chrissy.’
‘Everything’s fine,’ Will replied, wearily. He paused a beat. ‘Why would Chrissy ring you, anyhow?’
Dan shrugged. ‘Guess she thought you’d got held up here. Maybe you weren’t answering your cell. In any case, I guess she wanted another woman to talk to. She spoke to Jia too.’
‘Sure.’ Will turned to walk to his desk.
‘Where were you, by the way?’ asked Dan. ‘Just out of interest.’
‘Like I said, just taking care of business. I take it May’s off still,’ he added, trying to change the subject.
Eddie pulled a face. Dan nodded. ‘Another couple of days, she says. No bones broken, just a bit sore and bruised, that’s all.’
‘Maybe we should send her some flowers?’
‘Good idea. I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll see to it. There’s a place I’ve used before, to send some to Jia.’
‘Sure. Are you okay, Eddie?’ Will asked. ‘Covering for May, I mean.’
Eddie nodded. ‘I’ll be okay, thanks. So long as she’s not off for too long.’
Dan said, ‘I’ve told Eddie that if May’s off any longer than a couple of days, we’ll look at getting some temporary staff in. Maybe Jia or Chrissy could help out for a few hours.’
‘That’s an idea,’ Will replied. ‘You seem to have everything covered.’
Dan gave Will a broad grin. ‘You know me. Always like to have all bases covered. I’ve told Eddie how much we appreciate all the extra work he’s putting in, and he’ll see our appreciation in his pay cheque.’
‘Absolutely. Thanks again, Eddie. Are you in all day, Dan?’
‘Today, yes. I have some clients coming in to see me about eleven, and at two. What about you?’
‘I am, yes. Although I need to speak with those two detectives once more. Just about the break-in.’
Dan raised his eyebrows. ‘The cops got the guys, then?’
Will shook his head. ‘Just to dot some i’s and cross some t’s.’ With that, he turned and walked over to his desk. Dan turned back to Eddie, who then had to pick up the phone, so returned to his office.
Will checked his own desk then looked up. Eddie was still on the phone. Will stepped over to the door and gently closed it. Then took out his own phone and rang the direct line Detective Roberts had given him. It was not her personal phone, rather the call went straight through to her desk. After seven or eight rings, a woman’s voice answered.
‘Detective Roberts?’ Will asked.
‘Detective Roberts is not at her desk,’ came the reply. ‘Do you want to try later?’
‘What about Detective Alvarez?’
There was a pause while the policewoman checked. ‘No, he’s not here either.’ Another pause: Will could hear muffled voices while the officer consulted as to their whereabouts. ‘They’re both in conference.’
‘My name’s Carter. Will Carter. I was a witness to a… to a case Detective Roberts and Detective Alvarez are working on.’
Will got the impression he was wasting the officer’s time. ‘You want to give me your number? I’ll have one of them call you back later.’
‘Sure.’ Will gave her his number, hung up and stepped over to open his office door. He gave the thumbs up to Eddie, who was working on a spreadsheet. Just as he returned to his desk, his phone rang. It was not the police, returning his call: it was Chrissy. He guessed why she was calling. ‘Hey there.’
He was right.
‘Have you been in touch with the police yet?’
‘Give me a chance. I’ve only just gotten in. I have called them, yes; but both of them were in some conference or something. They’re going to call me back.’
She sounded less than convinced. ‘Make sure they do. Remember, Will: it’s for everybody’s safety.’
‘I know that. I told you I’d speak to them, and I will.’
‘Let me know what they say, won’t you?’
‘Of course I will. May’s still off, by the way.’
‘Oh, the poor dear. Maybe I’ll give her a ring, see if she needs anything.’
‘She’d like that, I’m sure. Hey, you’ll like this: Dan suggested if she’s going to be off for more than a few days, you and Jia might want to help out here.’
‘Sure. For how much? For what you guys pay May?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Thought not. We’ll see. Anyway, make sure you let me know what the police say.’
‘I will. Hey, there’s another thing: Dan’s actually going to be in the office all day.’
‘Say what?’
‘He’s going to be here all day. Not out visiting one of his mysterious clients.’
‘Oh, I see.’
‘Between you and me, I think he’s out banging one of them.’
‘Why do you think that?’
‘Don’t know. Maybe I’ll follow him one of these days.’
‘You’re being stupid, Will. Remember the police.’
The conversation over, Will and Chrissy said their goodbyes. Will felt like a coffee. He went into the kitchen area and made himself one. He paused as he passed Eddie at May’s desk; maybe he should offer him a drink too, as a way of showing his appreciation. Eddie was on the phone, so Will held up his own steaming cup. Eddie shook his head and held up a large paper cup. He had clearly gotten a drink on the way in to work.
Will sat down and began to check his emails. He had taken care of the first four when his phone trilled again. It was Detective Roberts.
‘Mr Carter, Detective Julianne Roberts here. You called earlier; you said you had some more information for us.’
Will took a deep breath. It had not occurred to him that he would need to give the police the circumstances in which he saw the suspect’s face. Should he tell them about his trip to the Bronx, or give them an edited version? ‘I’m kind of calling about the attackers at the mall. You said to call if anything else arose.’
‘I did, yes. What do you have to tell me?’
‘I saw the stills from the secu
rity cameras on the TV; in the newspapers, rather. I understood that they were both hiding their faces and couldn’t be identified.’
‘Yes, that’s true. Are you saying now that you did see the attack?’
‘No. No, I’m not. But I have seen one of them again. I saw his face this time.’
‘You’ve seen him again?’
‘Yes, I was -’
‘Mr Carter, are you at work?’
‘Would you be able to come up to the precinct and discuss this?’
Will hesitated. ‘Sure, I guess. When?’
‘As soon as you can.’
‘Well, I have one or two calls to make here first. I can be with you around midday.’
He could hear Roberts take a deep breath: clearly she was expecting him to drop everything and go now. ‘All right, Mr Carter. We’ll see you at midday.’ The line clicked as she hung up.
****
Will spent the rest of the morning dealing with his emails. At eleven thirty, he logged off his computer and walked round to Dan’s office. Dan laughed when Will told him where he had to go.
‘Will we see you this afternoon?’ he asked. ‘Or if we need you to sign anything, does Eddie need to take it to a cell?’
‘Very funny. Think of it as a long lunch break. I just need to -’
‘Dot some i’s and cross some t’s, you said.’
‘Something like that. See you later.’
As Will made to leave, he heard Dan call out, ‘See if any of the cops want to sell a house.’
‘Asshole,’ muttered Will, not bothered whether or not Dan or Eddie heard him.
Down on the street, he shivered as he got outdoors. The weather seemed to be turning. At this time of day, it would be quicker to walk the nine blocks to the police station, so he set off, making brisk strides. He was soon on W 54th, standing outside the building. The flag was fluttering steadily in the cold wind. He took a deep breath as he stepped inside.
‘Here we go.’
TWENTY-EIGHT
Will recalled that the last time he was here at this Precinct the coffee he was offered was in a plastic cup. It was thin, tasteless, watery instant coffee.
