Frankie turned to Sherri. “Monitor that situation, Miller. You can’t leave here without phones. Between the two of them, there has got to be at least one cell.”
“We’ll find them,” she said, and followed Duncan out the door.
Lou and Frankie were right behind them. Lou lit a smoke as soon as they got in Frankie’s car. “Everything okay at home?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You seem tense. Kate did too.”
“Nah. Nothing.”
“Spit it out, Donovan. We’re partners.”
Frankie cursed a slow driver, switched lanes. “CPS came looking for Alex yesterday.”
“Ah fuck!”
“Yeah, scared the shit out of me. Scared him even more. He could hardly sleep last night.”
“What are you gonna do?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got to worry about this case right now.”
“All right. Let’s worry about the case,” Lou said, and he flipped open a notepad.
“First question—why did the guy leave the ‘Please Clean Room’ sign out? Did he want us to find the bodies?”
“You think he did it on purpose?” Frankie said. “Maybe it was a mistake.”
“From the looks of the scene, he didn’t make many mistakes.”
Frankie nodded. “Yeah. So if we assume he did it on purpose—why?”
“You’ve gotta figure that if he puts the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign out, the maids wouldn’t have found the bodies for another five or six hours, minimum.”
“Which means the dumpsters would have probably been emptied, so we don’t get the purse and wallet.”
Lou lit another cigarette. “Right. So why go to the trouble of dumping them if he wanted us to find them?”
“Something doesn’t fit, Lou.”
“I hate smart criminals. They make me feel inadequate.”
“Maybe he just made a mistake.”
Lou laughed, which turned into a cough. “Yeah.”
CHAPTER 9
Not Many Clues
Frankie and Sherri mulled over the evidence while Lou made more coffee. Carol was putting up a chart. “If you dagos are going to spend more time in here, tell the lieutenant to up the coffee budget.”
Lou walked in, hands full. “That would be one dago and two half breeds.”
“I forgot you were a thoroughbred, Mazzetti.” Carol’s laugh sounded more like a snort. “Imagine that, using thoroughbred and Mazzetti in the same sentence.”
“You see what happens, Miller? I told you they were prejudiced against Italians.”
“What’s the scoop?” Carol said. “I saw the photos. Pretty gruesome stuff.”
“You’re a morbid sort,” Mazzetti said.
“Only reason I’m here.”
Frankie studied the victims’ report. “The woman was married, but not to the guy she shared her fate with.”
“What about him?” Lou asked.
“Single. Engineer. No record. That sounds like a scene you need to check, Mazzetti. Take a uniform and check his apartment.”
“You think it was the husband?” Sherri asked.
A young officer walked into the room holding a bag. “Officer Richards just delivered the phones.”
Frankie looked up. “Where’d he find them?”
“In another dumpster about a block from the first. He said you owe him big time for this.”
Frankie looked at the bag, then at Lou and Sherri. “Three phones? We’ll get them processed and get the records dumped, then see what we’ve got.”
“Why three phones?” Sherri said.
“My guess is one of them had a burner to cover the affair,” Frankie said.
“If he was single, the extra one must have been hers.”
“You think the husband knew about the affair?” Sherri asked.
”Guess we’re going to find out.” Frankie got up from the table. “Let’s go, Miller.”
“Where?”
“To get these phones dusted, see what we’ve got on voicemail and calls, then off to Long Island. Somebody’s gotta tell the husband she’s dead. I want to see how he takes it.”
As Frankie drove through Brooklyn, he worried about Alex…and Kate. She was pissed at him, but he’d done nothing wrong. That didn’t seem to matter, and he couldn’t stand the feeling in his gut. If this was what love was about, he didn’t know if he wanted it.
“What do you think?” Sherri asked.
“About what?”
“The husband.”
Frankie’s phone rang. He reached for it, saw it was Kate and decided to let voicemail pick it up. Last thing he needed was Kate to hear Miller’s voice.
“Aren’t you going to answer that?”
Frankie chose not to answer Miller either. “Why don’t you think it’s the husband?”
“Can’t see it,” Miller said. “Did you hear his voice on those calls? That was the voice of someone worried. He didn’t know where she was. And he called thirteen times.”
“What about the other voice mail, the one from the unknown caller?”
“He sounded pissed at someone.”
“Yeah. I’ll be eager to talk with him—if we find him,” Frankie said.
“We better find him, because I’m sure the husband didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“I know, but we still need to see what his alibi is.”
“I guess you want me to tell him?”
“I think it would be better that way.”
A few minutes later Frankie parked outside a small ranch house. The lawn needed cutting, and it could have used some paint, but overall it was nice.
“What was her name again?” Sherri asked.
“Sandy Krenshaw.”
The door opened before Frankie could knock. A tall blond-headed guy greeted them with a voice to match the panic on his face. He sounded worse now than he had on the messages.
“Is this about Sandy? Are you the police?”
Sherri held out her badge and stepped forward. “I’m Detective Sherri Miller, and this is my partner, Detective Frankie Donovan. May we come inside, Mr. Krenshaw?”
“Is everything all right? Is Sandy okay?”
Frankie thought the guy looked ready to crumble. “Sir, why don’t we go inside.”
“Is something wrong? Is she hurt?”
Once inside, Sherri took his hand and led him to a chair. A framed picture of Krenshaw and his wife sat on the table next to him. Sherri picked it up.
“Is this your wife, sir?”
“Yes.” He seemed to compose himself a little. “Please tell me what’s going on.”
Sherri sat next to him. “Sir, I’m afraid there is bad news. Your wife was found dead this morning.”
“Dead! Oh, God. It can’t be.” He stood and walked around. “Where? What happened?”
“Perhaps you should sit,” Frankie said. He wanted to see the man’s reactions as Sherri talked.
He sat next to Sherri, and she took his hand again. “She was murdered.”
“Murdered! How? Who… Where was she murdered?”
“In a hotel room, sir. I’m sorry.”
“A hotel?” He got a strange look on his face. He grabbed the picture from the table and shoved it in Sherri’s hand. “You must be mistaken. Look at that picture. Whoever you found, it’s not her. It can’t be her.”
Frankie stood and came beside Sherri. “I’m afraid it is your wife, Mr. Krenshaw. We found her license and purse not far away.”
Krenshaw lowered his head, shaking it. “A hotel? What was she doing in a hotel?”
Sherri looked to Frankie, then back to Krenshaw. “Sir, another man was killed with her.”
“What! Who?”
“Is there someone we can call, Mr. Krenshaw? Anyone who can come sit with you?”
“Was it another man?” He stared at the wall, a blank look on his face. “I just spoke with her last night. She told me she loved me.”
“May I get a glass of water, Mr
. Krenshaw?”
He started to get up, but she stopped him. “I can get it.”
He pointed to the kitchen. “The refrigerator has ice water.”
Sherri took her time getting water so he could shed a few tears. Frankie joined her.
“Let’s wrap this up,” Frankie said. “No way this guy did it.”
Frankie gave it a minute or so, then they went back in. “You said you spoke to her last night. What time was that?”
“Around five, I think. She said she had a dinner meeting with a client.”
“And where were you?”
“I was in Dallas. I wasn’t supposed to be home until tomorrow, but I finished up early.” He wiped tears. “I tried calling her all night. I—”
“Is there anyone you can think of who—”
“Might do this?” He shook his head. “I don’t know what to think right now.”
“Do you want us to call someone?”
“No. I’ll call my sister.”
Frankie handed him a card. “You’ll have to come down to identify your wife, sir. And to get her things. Call me, and I’ll arrange it.”
Krenshaw was in zombie land now. He could barely talk. “Okay. I’ll call.”
He was crying again as he showed Frankie and Sherri to the door.
“We could have asked a lot more,” Sherri said. “We didn’t—”
“The guy is a basket case. Forget that he lost his wife; he lost his image of her too. Did you see him? He had no idea she was messing around. We’ll talk again when he picks up her stuff. By then we’ll have more to ask, and he’ll be in better shape. And to be safe, have Carol check on his flight from Dallas. Make sure he was on it.”
“Anything else?”
“We got what we came for, Miller. Now we know to keep looking. I have a sick feeling we haven’t seen the last of this killer.”
CHAPTER 10
Analyzing the Evidence
Lou was at the station when Frankie and Sherri returned. “Anything from the husband?”
Frankie shook his head. “He was worse in person than on the voicemails. If this guy had anything to do with it, he deserves an Oscar.”
From the other room, Carol’s voice intruded. “I already checked. He was on the flight from Dallas.”
“Thanks for the update. You can climb back on your perch now.”
“Screw you, Mazzetti.”
Lou walked with Sherri and Frankie to the coffee room. “Women keep saying that to me but I don’t think they mean it.”
“Did we get an ID on the unknown caller yet?” Frankie asked.
“Guy named Chad Benning. In the last week, eleven calls were made to his phone from the disposable cell. He called back four times. Most of the calls didn’t last long, but in the last one he left a message, which you heard.”
“Let’s hear it again,” Frankie said.
Lou located the recording on the computer and pressed play.
“I’m telling you for the last time. Stop fucking calling me. You got that? Don’t ever call me again.”
“That guy sounds pissed,” Frankie said.
“Pissed enough to kill,” Lou added.
Frankie nodded. “I assume you’re getting what we need on him.”
“We’ll have it tomorrow.”
Sherri poured a cup of coffee. “Where do we go with this? Why aren’t we questioning him right now? You guys are supposed to be teaching this rookie something.”
Lou propped his feet on the table. “You’ve learned how to cuss and drink coffee. What the hell did you expect?”
“Don’t forget Donovan got me shot.”
“I forgot about that,” Lou said. “That means you’re not a rookie anymore.”
“We’ll question Benning tomorrow, after we get background on him,” Frankie said, then turned to Lou. “What did you find out about the dead guy?”
“Not much. He was an engineer for a telecom company. They’re running his financials as we speak. We’ll go see his boss tomorrow, but I don’t think we’ll get much. Like you said this morning, it’s about the girl.”
“So if it’s not the husband, then who?” Sherri got up and paced. “You think the guy had a girlfriend who got jealous?”
“No way a woman did this,” Lou said.
“We get anything on the note?” Frankie asked.
Lou opened the folder. “It was written on the hotel’s stationery, using the hotel pen. No prints. Nothing special about the pin in her head. Could have come from anywhere.”
“What about the handwriting?” Sherri asked.
“The killer printed. Our guy said it looks as if he went out of his way to make it different from typical handwriting. We might still get something out of it, but I wouldn’t count on much.”
“We need to check with coworkers. Mazzetti, you and Sherri do that in the morning. Sandy’s friends might open up to another woman. I’ll take the hotel surveillance.”
“What about the phone dump?” Miller asked.
“We didn’t get it yet, but considering there was a burner and a regular cell, I think we’ll get something.”
Shit! I forgot to call Kate. “I’ll be right back.” Frankie stepped down the hall, dialing Kate’s number. “Hey lady, how’s it going?”
“Busy.”
“Too busy to talk?”
A long silence. “About last night…”
“Don’t worry, Kate.”
“No. I got jealous. I shouldn’t have. I’ve got no right.”
“Stop right there. You do have the right. But there’s nothing to be jealous about. I work with her. That’s it. Final. This is the new Frankie Donovan.”
Silence again.
“I love you, Kate.”
“You took me by surprise, Mr. Donovan.”
“I figured it’s about time I express my softer side.”
Kate laughed. “I’ll see you tonight. Be on time. I’ll cook.”
“Sounds good. See you then.”
“I’ll be there around seven. And Frankie…thanks. That means a lot to me.”
“See you at seven.”
Frankie leaned against the wall and smiled. That was the first time he’d said those words since marrying his first wife, and he hadn’t really loved her. This time he meant it. It made him feel warm inside.
He went back to the coffee room.
Sherri said, “Okay, what do you think? Do we have another maniac on our hands?”
“No doubt about it,” Lou said. “Nobody leaves clues to crimes unless he is planning on doing more.”
“How do you know it’s a ‘he’? It could be a woman.”
“We’ve been through that,” Frankie said. “This is a guy without doubt. Forget the fact that he talked about her pussy—women are too smart to leave clues. Guys just think they’re too smart.”
Sherri sipped her coffee. “Now you hit on a point I can’t argue.”
“Now we have to figure out how to catch this asshole before he hits again, because he will hit again.”
Lou looked at the note on the pad. “What can we tell from this? I’ve never been good at puzzles.”
Sherri moved closer to Lou, sharing the page with him. “I can’t say it’s a puzzle. It’s a few lines. ‘Sandy, Sandy. Tastes like candy. To catch the dude who did her in. Look for someone tall and thin.’”
“Guess we check the surveillance tapes for someone tall and thin,” Frankie said.
“And short and fat, and short and thin, and everything in between,” Lou said. “Just in case our killer’s lying.”
Frankie sighed. “I’m catching a smoke before we start.”
“Go home, Donovan. Miller and I will get this.”
“I said I’d get it.”
“Yeah, well, we figure you should go home. Get in a better mood for tomorrow, ’cause you know it’s going to be a long day.”
Frankie stared. “All right, Lou. Thanks. You too, Miller. See you guys in the morning.”
Kate had
dinner cooked by the time Frankie got home. Alex and Keisha were in the bedroom playing videogames. Kate poked her head in. “Time to eat.”
Alex and Keisha raced to the table, laughing as they fought over the most comfortable chair. Keisha won. “Hey, FD. How’s it going?”
“Not so good. You’re in my chair.”
“Should’ve grabbed it first,” Keisha said.
Alex placed the dishes on the table. “You know the rules.”
Frankie poured wine for Kate and himself. “How’s it goin’, Ace? You doin’ all right?”
“I’d be better if we could get outta here and move somewhere else.”
“Maybe when they make me captain.”
“Why don’t you and Kate get a house?” Keisha said.
Frankie looked at Kate. They both laughed. “Maybe we will,” he said. “Who knows?”
“How’s your case going?” Alex asked.
“Not much to go on yet. We’re waiting on the phone dump from one of the victim’s cell phones.”
Alex got apple juice for Keisha and water for himself. “You mean the luds?”
“Luds?” Keisha asked. “What are luds?”
“Local usage details,” Alex said. “Anybody who watches Law and Order knows that.”
Kate laughed. “We’re getting old, Frankie. Kids nowadays are too smart for us.”
Smalltalk occupied the rest of dinner. Then, after clearing the table, Alex and Keisha returned to their videogames.
Frankie made sure they were out of earshot then whispered to Kate. “I want you to know. There’s really nothing to worry about with Miller. First, she’s my partner and I would never do anything with a partner. Second—”
Kate shook her head. “Miller is stone-cold gorgeous, as you men say. And her body…I can’t even dream of having a body that good. What am I supposed to think?”
“I wouldn’t do it,” Frankie said.
Kate reached out and grabbed his hand. “When I lie on my bed at night and reason it out, I know you’re telling the truth. But in the everyday world my emotions get carried away. I finally let myself…love you…There, I said it. I let myself love you, and I don’t want to lose that.”
Frankie moved closer. He brushed her hair with his fingertips, and kissed her. “You’ll never lose me. I promise.”
Murder Takes Patience Page 5
