In his car, as White was crossing the bridge from Rikers Island, it hit him. He smiled and headed straight to his lawyer’s office––a White Skulls member. After a brief meeting, his lawyer said the papers would be ready for pick-up at ten the next morning. Before going home, he stopped at a small pawn shop in Brooklyn where he met with his friend the document forgery specialist.
CHAPTER 36
A week before Kruger’s trial date, Buck and Kristie met with Assistant DA Jessica Boyd to go over the evidence they had collected against Kruger. They reviewed all the recordings and videos they had obtained and roll-played the testimony they would be giving. Buck and Kristie answered questions from Boyd as the prosecutor. Jessica then played the defense attorney, grilling them with questions she thought Kruger’s lawyer would ask. By the end of the day, everyone was satisfied they were ready for Kruger’s trial.
Kruger’s trial was set to begin on the second Monday in September. The Friday morning before, Kruger called his new lawyer to say that he had changed his mind. He instructed Mosley to see if she could work out a plea bargain.
At three that same afternoon, Grace Mosley went to visit Kruger. When they were face to face, Mosley said, “Karl, I’ve talked with the DA’s office, and I don’t have good news. The best they’re willing to do is life in prison with the possibility of parole after thirty years. If you go to trial and are convicted, you will be facing life in prison without the possibility of parole, and because the evidence shows you paid to have a cop murdered, you could be sentenced to death. Do you still want to go to trial?”
“Shit! They drive a hard bargain. I’ll be willing to plead guilty if they reduce the possibility of parole after twenty years served.”
“Excuse me for a minute. Let me go make a phone call.”
Ten minutes later, Mosely came back. Her face was still somber.
“Okay, here’s the deal. The DA is willing to give you the possibility of parole after twenty-five years, and they’ll take the death penalty off the table. Is that acceptable?”
Kruger pondered for a minute. “I’m forty-eight now. Add twenty-five years. That means I’ll be seventy-three if I make parole. That’s better than being seventy-eight after thirty years. Okay, tell them I accept.”
The day of Kruger’s plea bargain arrangement, Jessica Boyd called Buck at the precinct to give him the news.
“It looks like your friend Karl Kruger has decided to plead guilty,” Jessica said. “That will save the state a lot of money, and you and Detective Karlsson won`t have to testify.” She went on to tell Buck about the terms of the agreement.
“That’s good news. I’ll let Kristie know. Thanks, Jessica.”
Buck hung up and turned to Kristie. “It looks like we won’t have to testify at Kruger’s trial. His lawyer and the prosecutor worked out a plea bargain, and he pleaded guilty. Kruger will be going to prison for life with no chance of parole for twenty-five years.”
“That’s too bad. I would’ve like to have seen Kruger get the needle. That bastard deserved the death penalty.”
“Spending the rest of his life in prison might be worse than death.”
“What about the possibility of parole after twenty-five years?”
“I doubt that will ever happen.”
The following Wednesday, Kruger appeared before a judge. Under the plea bargain terms, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years. Kruger was then delivered to Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
At Sing Sing, no solitary confinement cells were available. Kruger was placed into the general population and locked up with another prisoner.
Five days after his last visit from Billy White, while eating lunch in the cafeteria, a fight broke out between a White Shulls inmate and a Black Devils member. The prisoners formed a circle around the two combatants. Before the guards could break through the human barrier, Kruger, who had been watching the two men pummel one another, had his throat slit by another White Skulls prisoner hired by Billy White.
A half-hour after Kruger’s murder, White’s cell phone rang. “Yeah,” he said.
“The job is done, brother.”
“Good.”
After receiving the news, White placed the phone on the kitchen table and went to the fridge. He grabbed a beer, twisted off the cap, and raised the bottle above his head. “I told you, Kruger, you double-crossing bastard, you should’ve watched your back.” He laughed and drained half the bottle.
A few days before Kruger’s murder, White paid him a final visit. He brought the documents his lawyer had prepared, and had Kruger, as Thomas Richard Goodfellow, sign a will naming William Bernard White executor and sole beneficiary of his estate.
Now that Thomas Goodfellow was no longer in the land of the living. White was legally entitled to all of the assets Goodfellow had left behind in Port Vila.
The next day, White couriered a copy of the will and forged death certificate to manager Claude Richard at the National Bank of Vanuatu. He provided an account number and instructed him to transfer the money remaining in Thomas Goodfellow’s account to his account at Chase Bank, 3940 Broadway Avenue in New York. White sent a similar package to real estate agent Shelly Saunders with instructions to sell Goodfellow’s house and vehicle, offering her a generous commission arrangement. He expected to have the money from Thomas Goodfellow’s bank account within a week. The funds from the sale of the house and vehicle would take a little longer, but White was a patient man. White figured he would net a little over five hundred thousand U.S. dollars. It wasn’t the 12.5 million he had expected, but it was better than nothing.
Buck and Kristie were in a meeting with Captain Robertson when she received a phone call from Commissioner Gowan. He informed her of Kruger’s murder in Sing Sing. When she hung up, Captain Robertson relayed the news to Buck and Kristie.
“It looks like you got your wish,” Buck said to Kristie. “Someone else decided to carry out the death sentence for you.”
“Kruger got what he deserved. I’m sorry, but that’s how I feel.”
“Well,” Captain Robertson said, “I can’t really blame you, Detective. You have every right to feel bitter after what Kruger and his friends did to you. The reason I’ve called you here this afternoon is to give you some good news. Commissioner Gowan, Mayor Chandler, and I have agreed that after your successful assignment in Vanuatu, you both deserve a little vacation. Starting tomorrow, you are on two weeks paid vacation over and above your regular vacation time.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Buck said.
“Much appreciated, Captain,” Kristie said.
“Before you go, there’s something I’ve meant to ask you. Ever since you became partners, I’ve noticed the way you look at one another other. Are you two an item?”
Kristie blushed. “An…item?”
Seeing Kristie’s embarrassment, Buck said, “Do you mean are we romantically involved?”
“Yes. Are you?’
“To be honest with you, Captain, yes, we are romantically involved,” Buck said.
Kristie, still blushing, sat silently letting Buck do the talking.
“I thought so. It’s not that I disapprove. What you do on your own time is your business. I’m just concerned that it might affect your decision-making in a critical situation if emotions are involved. I think you know what I mean.”
“Detective Karlsson and I have discussed it, and we both vowed that we wouldn’t let it affect our decision-making or how we do our jobs. As partners, we will always look out for one another and have each other’s back.”
“Okay. I’m counting on you to do just that. Enough said on that subject. Now get the hell out of here and go enjoy your vacation. You’ve earned it. See you in two weeks.”
Kristie finally found her tongue. “Thanks, Captain. I’m sure we’ll enjoy the time off.”
“Thanks, Captain, see you in two weeks,” Buck said.
When they were in the car, Kristie said, “That was a surprise.”
“What was? The vacation or the boss asking us about our relationship?”
“Both, I guess. More so about our relationship.”
“I was honest with her, and I think she appreciated that. As long as we do our job, I don’t think she’ll give us any flack.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Back at Buck’s condo, they were celebrating with a glass of wine.
“What should we do with two weeks vacation?” Buck asked.
Kristie laughed. “I know, maybe we could fly back to Port Vila. Do you think the mayor will let us borrow his jet?”
“I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t we fly to Bangor, take a limo to the Barkowskys, pick up my truck and spend some time at my cabin? It’s quiet there, and the view of the lake is amazing. We can veg out, read, take walks, and if you’re up to it, I can take you fishing. And the best part is you’ll get to meet the Barkowsky family. They’re great people, and I know you’re gonna love them. And I know they’re gonna love you. What do you think?”
“Sounds great! We can book a flight tonight and leave tomorrow.”
Buck raised his glass. “It’s settled then. To a great vacation in Maine.”
“To a great vacation in Maine,” Kristie repeated.
Buck picked up the phone and called American Airlines. He made a reservation for the next day. The flight was scheduled to leave La Guardia at 1:36 p.m. and arrive in Bangor at 3:12 p.m.
“Do you want to pack now?” Buck asked.
“We can pack in the morning. Let’s just relax and watch a movie.”
“Okay. That sounds good.”
Buck went into the kitchen to fetch the wine bottle and to pop some popcorn.
Kristie turned the TV on. She punched in the number for the movie channel and scrolled through the new releases.
“Hey,” she yelled, “Grant Peterson’s last movie is available. Do you want to watch it?”
“What’s it about?”
“It’s called Murder in the NYPD. It’s about corruption and murder. Two homicide detectives, Watson Smythe, played by Grant Peterson, and a female partner, Jennifer Jones, played by Lucile Lawrence, are assigned the task of solving the murder of a fellow detective. All signs point to the detective’s boss, a lieutenant in narcotics. Does the plot sound familiar? I’m guessing the screenplay was written by Karl Kruger.”
Buck laughed. “It does sound familiar. I’m wondering if the bad guy escapes to Vanuatu?”
Kristie giggled. “Yeah, I think he does. I’m just kidding. The movie’s called Target on Their Backs.”
Little did Buck and Kristie know, as they watched the Grant Peterson movie, that Billy White was weighing the pros and cons of placing a target on their backs. He was out for revenge for the loss of his share of the ransom money that Woods had transferred out of Kruger’s offshore account. As White stood gazing out his living room window at lights reflecting off the surface of the Hudson River, his mind was in turmoil. He finished the beer he was holding and decided to go to bed and sleep on it. After a good night’s rest, his head would be clear. He would make his final decision in the morning.
~ ~ ~
New York City Murders Page 25
