The Manhattan Deception

by Simon Leighton-Porter

  After only a couple of minutes, they saw the problem. Main Street was blocked by the police in both directions and a crowd of onlookers was being held back from going any further by a row of barriers. Cathy elbowed her way forward ‘Excuse me,’ she said to a man in a John Deere baseball cap who was standing near the front of the group. ‘Could you tell me what’s going on here please?’

  ‘Sure thing, miss,’ he said. ‘Been a fire up on Main Street and half a block’s gone up in smoke.’

  ‘Do you know if there’s any way we can get through? There’s someone I’m supposed to be meeting at ten.’

  ‘Not if they’re in Main Street. Police are treating it as murder and suicide – well that’s what I heard anyways – and they got it locked down real tight.’

  Cathy felt a dry, tight feeling at the back of her throat, fearing she knew the answer to the next question. ‘Who was it?’

  ‘Guy by the name of Arnie Hillman. Folks are saying he killed his wife, set fire to his own store and then killed his-self. That’s what I heard anyways. Can’t say I’m surprised what with the upset over the new mall coming to town – he was cut up real bad about that.’

  ‘Poor guy,’ said Cathy. ‘But thanks for telling me. Guess I’ll have to come back another time.’

  James watched her threading her way back through the crowd towards him. Her face said it all. ‘Don’t tell me,’ he said. ‘Pauli’s people got there first.’

  She nodded. ‘I’m frightened, James. We’ve got to go to the police.’

  He walked beside her, deep in thought as they returned to the car. ‘What do we tell them though?’ he said. ‘They won’t be interested in what happened in the UK or Poland and there’s nothing we can tell them that they don’t already know. Even if they’ve worked out that Pauli’s the link, the fact he was on TV last night kind of suggests they haven’t arrested him. And anyway I don’t think his people will come after us either, not now.’

  Cathy turned to look at him. ‘Is that wishful thinking or have you got a reason?’

  ‘They don’t need to. Pauli must’ve worked out why your pervy friend Dave suddenly did the hundred metres hurdles the moment he got hold of the glass and that explains why instead of going for us. After all we could’ve told any number of people about our suspicions. They targeted Hillman who was until today the only other person who could provide a DNA match. They’ve got the letters, Hillman’s dead and if we go to the police saying Pauli’s behind yet another murder because he’s hiding the truth about his parents, they’ll laugh at us.’

  Neither of them spoke much during the journey back to DC and it was about ten minutes south of Thurmont that James saw the road-sign. ‘Why do I know that name?’ he asked.

  ‘What name?’

  ‘Walkersville.’

  ‘It’s the place Lisa posted the letter from. Why?’ replied Cathy.

  ‘Do you think it would help if we went and took a look?’

  ‘At a post office? Don’t they have them in England?’

  ‘There are a few left,’ said James. ‘I dunno, I just thought that if we retraced her steps it might give us some idea of what she was doing that day and why.’

  ‘Well, there’s nothing to see,’ said Cathy. ‘But if you really want to, we can. It’s not like we’ve got anything better to do.’ She slowed down and followed the signposts towards the town. The post office with its three neighbouring shops and the diner came up on their right and Cathy pulled into the car park. ‘OK, now what?’

  ‘Just humour me,’ said James. ‘You’re Lisa now, you’re driving back from Cunningham and you suddenly decide to turn off the main road like we’ve just done. Why?’

  She gave an uninterested shrug. ‘Beats me.’

  ‘You stop to post a letter to your colleague in DC. And in the letter is a the head off a razor – was it a man’s razor or a woman’s?’

  He could see that she was losing interest, having accepted defeat several miles back. ‘No idea. What difference does it make?’

  ‘I don’t know either, but more to the point, what was she doing with the damn thing in the first place and why not give it to you the next day in the office? And if she got it from Hillman’s place, why write “Pauli” on it? Why make a detour? She must have had a good reason.’

  Cathy slammed both hands down hard on the steering wheel rim and James thought she was about to tell him to shut up. Instead, she slowly turned towards him, grabbed him with both hands and kissed him. ‘I’ve got it,’ she cried. ‘Say that again.’

  ‘Say what again?’

  ‘What you just said about Hillman.’

  This made no sense to James but he complied none the less. ‘I said, if she’d just come from Hillman’s place, why write “Pauli” on the note?’

  ‘But that’s it,’ she said, practically shaking with excitement. ‘Lisa had seen the letter from old man Reiss and in it he must’ve told her who Pauli’s father really was. When I went to see Hillman it was at the store and I just naturally assumed that Lisa would’ve done the same. But what if she went to the house?’

  James’s face wore the same puzzled frown. ‘What difference would that make?’ he asked.

  ‘All the difference in the world. They meet at the Hillmans’ home, she asks to use the bathroom and steals one of his razor heads and puts it in a plastic bag. She went to see Hillman to get his DNA,’ said Cathy, a look of triumph written all over her.

  Now it was James’s turn to grab her. ‘You are a bloody genius,’ he said, giving her an over-enthusiastic bear-hug. ‘All we need to do is get it to the lab and we’ve got the bastards on toast.’

  ‘Let’s not get too carried away,’ said Cathy. ‘As it stands, we’ve got no proof that the DNA on the razor head is Hillman’s even if there’s a match with the sample from the glass. If he was in the store, he’ll have been burnt to a crisp.’

  ‘I’d already thought of that. If we do go to the police, all they’d need to do is take a DNA sample from the Hillmans’ house – I dunno, his toothbrush, say – and it’d be a precise match with what’s on the razor. Not even Pauli could weasel out of this one.’

  Cathy frowned, a note of caution creeping into her voice. ‘That’s if it counts as admissible evidence; and it still doesn’t explain why she turned off the interstate and posted it to me rather than hanging on to it herself.’

  ‘Perhaps she was frightened. If she’d been researching Pauli, maybe asking one question too many, he could’ve realised she was getting into stuff he wanted kept quiet. And if that was the case, maybe his people started following her – maybe she had a head-to-head with a Polish truck just outside Thurmont. Whatever it was, something scared her enough to post that razor head to you as a precaution against meeting someone who might’ve asked for it back.’

  ‘But we’re not being followed today,’ said Cathy.

  ‘Can you be 100% sure of that?’

  ‘You said you weren’t followed the other day.’

  ‘I’m pretty sure I wasn’t, but what do I know?’

  Cathy gave an involuntary shudder. ‘Let’s not go there,’ she said. ‘We should head home. We’ve got work to do.’

  ***

  Vince Novak waited patiently in the outer office for the briefing to finish. California and Oregon were the next stops on the Pauli campaign road-show, and for over two hours the senator had been locked in heated conversation with the team who were travelling with him. The last agenda item, the all important conference call with the local party activists came to an end and Novak watched with cynical detachment as the bright-eyed, enthusiastic young people trooped out of the office, chattering excitedly like so many jackdaws. Pauli’s diary secretary looked up. ‘He can give you five minutes, Vince. No more.’

  ‘More than I need, thanks,’ Novak replied, getting to his feet and tapping politely on the frame of the open door before letting himself in. Pauli was tieless, the sleeves of his now rumpled blue shirt rolled up and his reading glasses were perched
on the end of his nose. He looked up quizzically at his chief of staff.

  ‘That was quick,’ said Pauli.

  ‘I’ll be honest with you, Eric. I got most of it, but I’m going to need more time for the rest.’

  Pauli fixed him with a unswerving gaze. ‘What are you missing and how much time d’you need?’

  ‘I’ve been in touch with the guys at Tag-Value and, like I said, their admin stinks. They’ve promised me copies of all the invoices by Monday.’

  ‘OK, I’ll buy that. What else?’

  ‘I’ve got the contract, but the guy who hired them is travelling somewhere in Europe and nobody seems to know where he is.’

  ‘All right, forget him, but don’t think you’re off the hook, Vince. Full audit trail by Monday or I’ll expect your resignation.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sure it won’t come to that, Eric,’ said Novak with a half-smile. ‘I’m not one of life’s quitters.’

  ***

  James accompanied Cathy to the New Horizons office to collect the envelope from her desk drawer. As they came in through the main doors Dave Newman briefly glanced up and then rapidly looked away again, pretending to be absorbed in his work, not even acknowledging their presence. She unlocked the drawer, took out the envelope, peeked inside to check its contents and slipped it into her handbag. Stopping briefly to say hi to a couple of colleagues she then put her head round the editor’s door to give him a quick update. Within less than five minutes they returned the way they’d come.

  Newman checked his watch and then waited until he was sure they’d gone. A few moments later he was outside in the busy street with his mobile phone to his ear. ‘Yeah, about fifteen minutes ago, with the English guy… took something out of her desk… no, didn’t see what it was, just an ordinary white envelope. Yeah, tomorrow will be fine.’

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Worried about Erich. He’s been fighting at school and has taken to speaking to me in English. Said this morning that he’s American and doesn’t want to speak German any more so punished him severely. All efforts now on finding our belongings. Mrs Higgs has been posting my letters to Meissner and Köcher but no answer for nearly six months. Weather turning unbearably cold. Christmas soon – how I wish I could go home.

  *

  ‘Did you have anywhere in mind?’ asked James who was looking over her shoulder at the PC screen.

  ‘I was thinking of Virginia Beach.’

  ‘Sounds fine to me. Any particular reason?’

  She looked up at him and he caught the twinkle in her clear, blue-grey eyes. ‘Anyone who knows me will tell you that I think it’s a shithole.’

  James laughed. ‘I like the logic,’ he said. ‘So it’s the last place anyone would think of looking for you.’

  ‘Precisely. And it’s a holiday resort so no one will look twice at a car with DC plates.’

  ‘But what if Pauli’s people are following your car?’

  ‘Already thought of that. We get a taxi to the airport. During the ride we talk about our flight to… I dunno, Vegas say, and then we walk to the rental car desks in arrivals. It’s not foolproof, but it’s the best I’ve got.’

  Cathy’s plan worked and within a matter of hours they were headed south on I-95 for a week of sea, sex and sun as she put it with only a slight tinge of irony.

  Their departure did not go unobserved. Used one-hundred dollar bills changed hands and the taxi driver told the two strongly-built gentlemen, one of whom he seemed to remember called his colleague Mr Wilson, that as usual he hadn’t paid much attention to his passengers’ conversation, but he was sure they said something about Las Vegas.

  Discreet surveillance over a forty-eight hour period confirmed that Cathy’s house was unoccupied. Just after midnight, a light blue Ford with DC plates and looking uncannily like Cathy’s, even down to the small dent in the driver’s door, pulled onto her drive and a tall figure got out. A moment or two of fumbling in the dark and the garage door swung upwards to reveal an identical light blue Ford. The door pivoted shut and only a thin sliver of brightness coming from underneath showed that the inside light was on. Dropping to his knees he inserted a screw jack to raise the car’s bodywork off the ground just enough for him to wriggle underneath and attach the two boxes, each weighing about half a pound, linked by wires and held in place by a series of strong magnets taped into the top of each one. The light went out, the door went back up and was immediately re-locked. Nobody noticed the light blue Ford as it paused briefly at the intersection before turning right towards downtown.

  ***

  The results came back quicker than they’d expected. Cathy and James stared incredulously at the e-mail attachment from the lab. Much of it was highly technical but the results were unequivocal. Senator Eric Pauli’s DNA from the glass showed a strong family match with the sample from Arnie Hillman’s razor head that Lisa Greenberg had taken from his house.

  ‘We knew it,’ she said, ‘But seeing it in black and white like this gives me the shivers. They want me to come in and discuss the results when we get back.’

  James’s expression was grave. Outside, they could hear the waves crashing on the beach and the sound of excited small children, screaming and shouting in the swimming pool just below their apartment: to him, it seemed incongruous to be getting notification of something so earth-shaking in a setting like this. Finally, he broke the silence that had fallen between them. ‘So what do we do now?’

  ‘We talk to Pauli and convince him we’re holding a full house rather than a pair of twos,’ said Cathy.

  He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at her, not for the first time since they’d met, with a puzzled look on his face. ‘Couldn’t you just run the story?’ he asked. ‘As a scoop this has got to be bigger than the Pope’s secret love-child. You’re not really suggesting we go and talk to him about how to spin it, are you?’

  Cathy shook her head. ‘No, it’s like we discussed in the car. Without any proof that the two samples came from Hillman and Pauli, we’ve actually got a very weak hand right now. We can get the proof but it’ll be easier and quicker just to go in there and snow the bastard. After what that two-faced mother’s done to us and all the millions of people he’s lied to I want him kicked out of the race, out of the Senate and straight into prison. The story comes second.’

  ‘Since you put it like that, who am I to argue?’ said James. In the short time they’d been together, he knew better than to cross her when she was like this.

  ‘I can’t wait to see his face when we hit him with it.’ Her voice was laden with undiluted loathing for the man she’d once respected.

  ‘Can I come?’ asked James.

  ‘Don’t see why not. You’re just as much part of it as I am – if you hadn’t turned up with the pictures, none of this would’ve happened.’

  Their return to DC that afternoon was uneventful and a taxi from the airport dropped them at the door. With James listening on the extension phone, Cathy dialled Pauli’s Senate office and his secretary answered. ‘Senator Pauli’s not in DC for the next two days, Miss Stenmark… oh, hold on a minute,’ she said. ‘Mr Novak’s here, do you know Mr Novak?…just hold the line please…’ the line went muffled as the secretary put her hand over the mouthpiece. Use the hold button, you stupid woman, thought Cathy, but then she heard her name mentioned and a man’s voice came on the phone.

  ‘Cathy, it’s Vince Novak, how are you?’

  ‘Great, thanks, Vince, just been out of town for a couple of days.’

  ‘Thought I hadn’t seen you around. What’s up?’

  Cathy hesitated. Refuse to speak to anyone but the man and you’ll spook him, she thought, so, taking the plunge she continued. ‘It’s Eric. There’s something I need to speak to him about. It’s urgent.’

  ‘Can I help?’

  Once again, she hesitated. ‘I dunno. Guess so, I suppose. It’s just that I’ve been doing some checking into his background – stuff from a long way back – and…I don�
��t know how to put this…but he’s not been telling the truth about…’

  Novak finished the sentence for her. ‘His parents, you mean?’

  Cathy almost dropped the phone in shock and James’s face went the colour of putty. Novak continued. ‘Yeah, I started worrying that he was trying to put one across you and your friend James when he had that cop lean on him at the airport. And then when I found out he was leaking bad stuff about the pair of you that just wasn’t true, well I started to have my doubts too. I hope you guys saw those stories got pulled as soon as I found out.’

  Cathy gave a sigh of relief. ‘We guessed where they’d come from but we didn’t know it was you who’d pulled them. Really appreciate that, Vince. Thanks.’

  ‘Always a pleasure. So after the leaks, you know, like, I did a bit of digging in places where even folks from New Horizons aren’t allowed, if you get my meaning. And you wouldn’t believe what I came up with.’

  Cathy punched the air and let out a silent “Yes!” ‘Oh believe me, I would,’ she said. ‘And what’s more I’ve got DNA evidence that’ll back it up. We’ve also got proof that he’s been running some pretty heavy blocking.’

  ‘There’s no doubt then,’ said Novak. ‘I’ll call the police but you and I need to meet first. I know this may not be what you want to hear, but I’ve got to start working on a damage-limitation plan. Eric can’t go on, but I’m sure you don’t want to hand the White House over to Lopez for another term any more than I do.’

  ‘So when do you suggest?’

  ‘Just hold on, let me check my diary.’ She could hear the sound of his keyboard in the background. ‘Look, I can’t do today but how’s tomorrow at ten AM? I’ll bring in what I’ve got and if you could do the same, that’d be great.’