“Not really, but we’re still on task.”
“Are you sitting down?”
“Why do I not like where this is going?”
“Daniel Pellegrino just withdrew $50,000 from a bank in Manhattan.”
“Are you sure it’s him?”
“I’ll send you the photos.”
“Hold on, Bryan.”
Pat handed the phone to Herb Mueller.
“Give Captain Flannery your email address.”
Herb gave him the address and handed the phone back to Pat. In a few seconds, Herb received a message from Bryan Flannery. He opened the message and then several photographs attached. It showed a clear picture of Daniel Pellegrino inside the bank. Herb reacted.
“When was this taken?”
“Today, when your boy withdrew 50 big ones from a bank in New York.”
“Are you sure?”
“You can see the dates on the picture.”
Pat resumed the conversation with Bryan Flannery. “I thought the Marshals had the accounts flagged, Bryan.”
“They did and were notified, but not until Danny Boy had left the bank.”
“What are we doing now?”
“We have the U. S. Marshals doing a full deployment, and we have some detectives helping them. With your okay, we’ll put out a city-wide alert with his picture.”
“I don’t think we have any choice Bryan. If he remains at large, someone will die. Also contact Margaret Butelli and Gloria Moses, and give them 24-hour protection details until Pellegrino is in custody. Better cover Phyllis Duran also.”
“Yes sir. What are you and Mary going to do?”
“We’ll try to find out what he’s up to on this end and we’ll probably head back to New York tomorrow. I hope you find him!”
“We’ll do our best, Chief.”
Chapter 67
Thursday, March 31 - Day 72
16 Ober Strasse
Dedesfeltd, Germany
1200 Hours
Pat was upset that Daniel Pellegrino had somehow slipped out of Herb Mueller’s trap. It wasn’t Herb’s fault, but the trip to Germany had turned out to be a dead end. Now Pellegrino was in New York City, with at least $50,000 spending money. Pat knew this was a volatile situation that could turn deadly. However, he did not want to miss possible leads from the German cottage as to his whereabouts.
“So, Herb, how do we get to take a look inside the cottage?”
“Do you really think that’s necessary now, Chief?”
“I absolutely do, because we may find clues as to where he may be hiding in New York.”
“It’ll take a while, because we have to get a judge to authorize it. It’ll be best if they don’t know you and Mary are here. I can probably get the search authorized, but it will have to be conducted in the daylight and we will have to find two citizens from Dedesfeltd to stand by and witness it. German law requires it.”
“Just do what we have to do. Maybe we should knock first, just in case.”
“Good point.”
Herb pulled in front of 16 Ober Strasse, and they got out and walked up to the door. Pat instinctively walked toward the back. He could hear Herb pounding on the door. Pat saw Mary walking toward him.
“We’re getting no answer, Chief.”
“Okay, thanks.”
The three of them got back into the Mercedes and Herb was shaking his head in frustration.
“He must have left right after I saw him. I’m sorry guys.”
Pat answered in response. “It’s not your fault, Herb. Let’s just make sure we don’t miss anything he may have left behind which could help us.”
“Then I better get started. Would you like to get a ride back to Frankfurt?”
“Actually, I think I’d like to stay here. I’ll show Mary around until you guys get what you need, if that’s okay with you, Mary.”
“Sounds like fun. We’d better enjoy it while we can.” Mary said with a smile.
“Just drop us off in front of the church.” Pat said.
Herb dropped Pat and Mary off and left to find a judge.
“You’ll love this church. I hope it’s open.”
Pat tried the door and walked in. There were candles lit and a few people inside praying. Pat whispered to Mary. “Look up.”
Mary looked up to see the beautiful hand-painted ceiling depicting the life of Christ.
“It’s breathtaking, Chief!”
“I know. The first time I saw it, it moved me to tears.”
They left the cathedral, and Pat realized it was getting late back in New York and he needed to make reservations for their trip home. He sat down on a bench and called his office.
“Detective Bureau, Lieutenant Wilson.”
“Good afternoon, Angie.”
“Hi, Chief. How’s your trip?”
“As you know, we were too late. We’re waiting on a judge to authorize a search of Pellegrino’s cottage. I need you to do me a favor.”
“Sure. What do you need?”
“I need you to make reservations for Mary and me for tomorrow to fly back from Frankfurt to New York. I’d like the earliest flight possible.”
“I’ll take care of it, boss, and I’ll email you the details. Call me if you need anything else and be safe.”
“I will. Thanks, Angie.”
Pat continued to show Mary around the little town. They settled in a little restaurant where Pat had eaten before. He never dreamed he would be back in this town on NYPD business. His musical journeys to exotic places had always been so much fun and a nice distraction from the high-stress nature of his job. This trip to Dedesfeltd was different, because he kept wondering if they would arrest Daniel Pellegrino before there were more bodies.
Chapter 68
Thursday, March 31 - Day 72
16 Ober Strasse
Dedesfeltd, Germany
1600 Hours
Pat and Mary walked around the little town after lunch, talking about the case. Pat served as her tour guide. Mary bought a few small gifts and souvenirs. Pat bought a very old and elegant, Bavarian doll for Maggie. At one point, Pat spotted some musicians he recognized from his previous trips, but decided not to get sidetracked until they had searched Daniel Pellegrino’s cottage. He didn’t want to generate any attention, but he would have loved to spend some time with the excellent musicians he had once played with here.
At 1600 hours, Herb Mueller called. The judge had authorized the search and they had selected the town postmaster and a gardener to serve as witnesses. He picked Pat and Mary up in front of the church, and they headed back to 16 Ober Strasse.
There were more Polizei vehicles on the street, including several uniformed officers. A policeman used locksmith tools to open the heavy front door. Herb explained the plan to Pat and Mary. “We’ll secure it and do a protective sweep to make sure it’s safe. After that, we’d like for you and Mary to come inside and take a look. We know the basics, but it would be easy for us to miss something.”
“That’ll be fine.” Pat acknowledged.
In about 10 minutes, Herb waived them inside and introduced them to the team. The inside of Daniel Pellegrino’s cottage was spotless. It was well-furnished and offered no clue its owner had orchestrated at least three murders.
A small office was located in a bedroom, where there had apparently been a computer workstation. The cables and printer were there, but the laptop had been removed. There was a paper shredder which was nearly full. A yellow pad was on the table. Pat thumbed through it and found a page of signatures.
“This might be important. It looks like he’s been practicing the signature of Daniel Klein.”
Herb took a look.
“I’ll call the airport detail and see if we’ve had a Daniel Klein fly out of Frankfurt this week.”
“That’s a good idea. He sticks with the name Daniel so he’ll recognize being called. That’s actually what we do with undercover cops. We try to use the same first name so they don’
t act like a dunce when someone is calling them and it doesn’t click in their brain. I wonder if our FBI friends taught him that technique.”
“It could be the case, but I hope not.” Herb said.
Herb made the phone call, while Pat and Mary continued to look around. There was very little personal property and almost everything in the cottage was decorative. Mary was looking through a large bookcase when she found a file folder tucked between the books. She immediately recognized its importance.
“I’ve got something, Chief.”
Pat and Herb Mueller walked over to the bookcase where Mary was holding a file. It had newspaper clippings that included Judge Fitzpatrick’s obituary, Forrest Butelli’s obituary and a clipping about attorney Nathanial Moses being struck by a hit and run driver. The most discerning clipping was a crime scene photo of Pat O’Connor talking to the press. It was from the Rodriguez murder case. Mary asked the obvious question. “What do you think this photo means, Chief? Are you next on the list?”
“Who knows, but it gives me something to think about. He knows I’m behind the reopening of this old case. If he wants to come after me, he will, but I assure you it would be a dreadful mistake on his part.”
“I’m sure of that, but I still think you should be careful, Chief.”
“I always am, Mary. Let’s see what else we can find.”
Mary McDonald continued to look through the bookcase. Herb brought a forensics person in to search for prints. Their goal was to establish that Daniel Zimmerman was actually Daniel Pellegrino. They found a few prints and quickly compared them to the copies Pat had brought with him from New York. They were quickly matched with those of Daniel Pellegrino. At least they knew they were on the right trail, even if it was a few days cold.
Around 2000 hours, the search was winding down. Pat presented each German officer with a miniature NYPD Detective badge and a shoulder patch of the NYPD and the Major Crimes Squad. They left the picturesque town of Dedesfeltd and headed back on the Autobahn toward their hotel in Frankfurt.
Chapter 69
Friday, April 1 - Day 73
Frankfurt Main Airport
Frankfurt, Germany
0600 Hours
Pat was up early. Angie Wilson had booked Pat and Mary on a 0630 Flight to New York. Herb had invited Pat and Mary over to his in-laws for a late dinner the previous night, and they had gotten back to the hotel around 0200. Pat packed and met Mary in the lobby at 0700, where Herb Mueller was waiting. Mary had consumed her share of German beer the night before and was less than happy. Pat was glad he didn’t drink.
When they arrived at the airport, Herb pulled some strings. Pat and Mary were given VIP treatment, and the passport control and clearance was a breeze. Herb went out to the gate with Pat and Mary. Pat was surprised to find they had once again been seated in Business Class, seat 1A and 1B. He was sure the German police had called in a favor. Such favors were not normal for the unusually strict German airline officials.
Pat called Maggie before he realized it was 0100 hours in New York.
“Maggie Parker.” She answered in a groggy voice.
“You sound like you’re asleep.” Pat said.
“Hello, Pat. its one o’clock in the morning here.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Don’t worry, Pat. I’m glad to hear your voice. When are you coming home?”
“We have a flight leaving at 0630 our time. That should put me in New York around 1730 your time.”
“That’s not bad. Do you need me to pick you up?”
“No. I’ll call Dickie. I guess you know Pellegrino is in New York.”
“Yep. We received a BOLO from the U. S. Marshals.”
“Please be careful, Maggie. We found a newspaper clipping picture of me in Pellegrino’s cottage. He may try to go to you in order to get to me.”
“I hope not, but I’ll keep it in mind. We’ll both sleep better after you nail him.”
“I hope it’s soon.”
“Be safe, Pat!”
Chapter 70
Friday, April 1 - Day 73
John F. Kennedy International Airport
Borough of Queens, New York
1730 Hours
Pat slept a few hours on the plane, but could not stop thinking about Daniel Pellegrino being free to kill in his city. He had concluded that Pellegrino was a psychopath who had probably progressed to another stage. With Harry Pittsford as his puppet, he had been able to randomly order the deaths of several people, without having to get his hands dirty. Now, with Pittsford dead, and his role discovered, he would likely have to take matters into his own hands.
Mary McDonald had slept almost the entire flight. She woke up for the meal, but quickly drifted back off to sleep. Her head fell to his shoulder and Pat enjoyed the smell of her exotic perfume. There was no doubt she was a beautiful woman. He was glad Maggie trusted him, because she was the only woman who had captured his heart. About an hour before landing, they completed their U. S. Customs and Immigration forms. Pat hoped by being in Business Class, they would get through the lines quickly.
The plane touched down at JFK precisely on time. Pat and Mary quickly made their way through Immigration, reclaimed their checked baggage, and went through the line for those with nothing to declare. As soon as they entered the terminal they spotted Detective Dickie Davis. He immediately grabbed Pat’s bag.
“Welcome home, Chief. We’ve missed you.”
“Thanks, Dickie. I can carry my bags, but you can help Mary.”
“Don’t bother, Dickie. I can manage. You’ve already shown me whose bags are more important to you.” Mary teased.
“Sorry, Mary, I asked for that one.”
“Just kidding. We appreciate your picking us up.” Mary responded.
“No problem.”
They walked out of the terminal. Dickie had parked the black Chrysler at the curb with the Chief of Detectives’ placard on the dash. Pat immediately starting pumping Dickie for information.”
“Have we made any progress on finding Pellegrino?”
“No, but Captain Flannery has called a task force meeting in about an hour.”
“Great! You can take Mary and me directly to One PP, if that’s okay with Mary.”
“No problem, Chief. I look and feel like warmed over death, but this is important. I can spruce up in the locker room.”
“Mary is recovering from German hospitality, Dickie.”
Mary smiled, showing a slight blush.
Chapter 71
Friday, April 1 - Day 73
Major Crimes Conference Room - One Police Plaza
Borough of Manhattan, New York
1900 Hours
Pat called Commissioner Longstreet and updated him on the status of the investigation and what they had discovered in Germany. The commissioner wanted to attend the 1900 briefing.
At 1900, Pat walked into the conference room. A few German jokes, like “Frauline McDonald,” were directed at Mary in good fun. She threw it right back. “If you guys knew what my head felt like, you would be kinder and gentler toward me.”
The jovial mood changed when the Police Commissioner walked in along with the Chief of Department, Roger Conrad. Pat welcomed everyone. “Okay, let’s get started. I’d like to welcome the Commissioner and Chief Conrad to the meeting. We appreciate the support.”
Longstreet responded. “Thanks, Patty. We’re glad to have you back on the North American continent in one piece.”
“I’m glad to be back. I’ll update you on what we’ve found. Daniel Pellegrino was living in a small cottage on Ober Street in a little Wine Strasse town called Dedesfeltd. We conducted surveillance for two days until the bastard showed up here in the city yesterday. He was living as Daniel Zimmerman in Germany. We believe he may be going as Daniel Klein now. We found some practice signatures.”
Mary interrupted. “I have an email from Herb Mueller, Chief. They’ve confirmed he left Frankfurt as Danie
l Klein, on Wednesday. He was on a Delta flight bound for New York. They have photos of him boarding. Karla Adams is checking with the detail at JFK to try to locate his arrival on the cameras Wednesday night.”
“That’s good, Mary. Maybe we’ll get lucky. We also found a folder of newspaper clippings which contained the obituaries of Judge Fitzpatrick, Nathanial Moses and Forrest Butelli, not to mention a photograph of me, as well.”
“What does that mean, Patty?” Commissioner Longstreet asked.
“I don’t know. We already know he wants me dead from our fun and adventures in New Jersey.”
“I wouldn’t take it lightly, Patty. Maybe, we should assign you a protection detail.” The commissioner added.
“I’ll be fine. Dickie does a good job of protecting me.”
“I’m serious, Patty, we don’t want to lose you.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself. Captain Flannery, can you update us on what has occurred this week?”
“Sure, Chief, but unfortunately the whereabouts of our suspect is still unknown.”
“I’m well aware of that.” Pat said.
“Yesterday, we were notified by the Investors Bank in lower Manhattan that Daniel Pellegrino was withdrawing $50,000 from his accounts. They put the money together, gave it to him and then called the police. The U. S. Marshals were also alerted, but before anyone could get there, he’d walked out of the bank with the money. We have camera footage and have confirmed it was indeed Daniel Pellegrino. We’ve checked every security camera with a view of the bank, but we were unable to locate a vehicle.”
“So what are we doing now, Bryan?” Pat asked.
“We’ve plastered his photo on the news and have put out a nation-wide alert for him. The Marshals are up on his sister’s phones. We have 24-hour protection details for Margaret Butelli, Gloria Moses, Phyllis Dunaw, and we offered it to his old partner, Roland Brewster, but he refused. We’ve asked the RMP’s in Forest Hills to keep a check by anyway.”
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