Detective (29 page)

"Subject has stopped on Halissee
near Tigertail," Ainslie reported.
"He is still in pickup cab. No sign
of moving out. "

Newbold responded, "We are a block
behind you. Have stopped, too."

They waited.

Ten minutes passed and Doil had not
moved.

"He doesn't seem so restless
anymore, Sergeant," Zagaki said.

After a few more minutes the
police radio came alive and Newbold
asked, "Anything going on?"

"Negative. Pickup still stopped,
subject in cab."

"I've received a message, Malcolm.
I need to talk to you. Can you walk
back? If anything happens, we can
get you back fast."

Ainslie hesitated. He was not
happy about leaving Zagaki alone to
watch Doil, and his inclination was
to stay. But he knew the lieutenant
would have good reason for wanting
him.

"I'm coming now," he transmitted,
then said to Zagaki,

DETECTIVE 237

"I'll be as fast as I can. Don't take
your eyes off Doll, and use your
radio to call me if he gets out or
drives on, or if anything else at all
happens. If he does move, follow him
closely and above all keep in touch."

"Don't worry, Sergeant," Zagaki
said brightly. "My mind will be on
nothing else."

Ainslie left the van, noticing as
he stepped down that the rain had
stopped. In near darkness he walked
briskly back the way they had come.

Watching him go, Dan Zagaki
thought, Christ, what a Bucking bore
you are, Sergeant, don't hurry back!

From the start, Zagaki had wished
he was paired with someone more
with-it and exciting. Ainslie, in
Zagaki's opinion, was an overly
cautious plodder, and not very smart.
If he were, he'd be a lieutenant by
now, maybe captain ranks that Zagaki
had his eye on. He knew he had the
smarts to go right to the top hadn't
he made it quickly out of uniform to
become a Homicide detective? The main
thing in any kind of force, police or
military, was to think promotion,
promotion, promotion, remembering
that advancement didn't just happen;
you had to make it happen! Coupled
with that, it was essential to be
noticed, frequently and favorably, by
the brass above you.

Dan Zagaki had absorbed those rules
and tactics by watching his father
get promotion after promotion in the
U.S. Army, and then his big brother
Cedric move up similarly in the
Marines. Cedric, like their father,
was going to be a general someday he
made no secret of it. Cedric had also
been contemptuous of young Dan's
choice when he joined the Miami
Police a ''pissant outfit,'' he had
called it. The general hadn't been
quite so blunt, but Dan sensed he was
disappointed in his younger son's
decision. Well, he would show them
both.

He smiled, remembering how skillfully
he, Detective

238 Arthur Halley

Dauntless Dan, had buttered up
Ainslie these past two weeks,
calling him "Sergeant" with almost
every other breath. and still the
dimwit hadn't noticed. He'd even fi-
nagled his way back onto the serial
killings caper by pretending to eat
humble pie. And Ainslie ate it up.
Fool.

"Oh damn," Zagaki muttered, still
sitting in the driver's seat of the
van. "I've gotta go again. How many
times is that today?"

Like several hundred others in
Miami, including the absent
Detectives Wightman and Garcia, Dan
Zagaki had intestinal flu. True, he
didn't have an intense fever so far,
but the other symptoms, especially
an upset stomach and acute diarrhea,
were very much in evidence. Unlike
others, however, he had kept quiet
about it, determined to soldier on
at any cost. He just couldn't miss
the chance to help break this case.
He had managed to take care of his
problem during several earlier stops
today, but at this moment he had to,
simply had to, find a sanctuary and
he could see one, a clump of bushes
over to the right where he could let
nature take its urgent course.

Looking ahead, through the
Burdines van windshield, he could
still see the silhouette of Doil. If
the bastard had stayed still this
long, he sure as hell wasn't going
to move in the few seconds he
needed right now!

Should he call Ainslie by radio to
let him know? Nuts to that!
Dauntless Dan could make his own
decisions.

Moving quickly, Zagaki got out
from the van and, closing the door
quietly, moved to the bushes.
Moments later, Oh, what a relief!
But hurry up! He didn't have all
night.

"I'll make this quick, Malcolm," Leo
Newbold said. Ainslie had reached
the backup surveillance car moments
earlier and slipped into the
backseat. The lieutenant

DETECTIVE 239

continued, "I just took a call from
Homicide in Philadelphia. We put out
a nationwide 'detain and hold' BOLO
on a Dudley Rickins. Right?"

"Yes, sir, I okayed it. It's Bernie
Quinn's case, and Rickins is the hot
suspect. If we question him, we think
we can close it."

"Well, they have Rickins in
Philadelphia and can hold him
seventy-two hours, but someone goofed
by not calling us sooner, and there's
only twelve hours left before they
must let him go. I know you need all
the bodies here . . ."

"Just the same, we should fly Bernie
up immediately."

Newbold sighed. "That's what I
thought."

As both knew, they could ill afford
the loss of one more from the
surveillance detail, but would have
to manage somehow.

"Okay, Malcolm. I'll get word to
Bernie and send him on his way.
Thanks. Now, you'd better get back.
Doll still hasn't moved?"

"Not yet. If he had, we'd have heard
from Zagaki."

Ainslie left the backup car and
returned the way he had come.

Goddammit! Zagaki thought, adjusting
his clothes. That took too damn long!
He hurried back to the van.

As he arrived, so did Malcolm
Ainslie.

Ainslie said incredulously, "Where
the hell have you been?"

"Well, Sergeant, I just had to "

Livid, Ainslie stormed, "Cut that
crap out! Do you think I can't see
through you? Didn't I tell you not to
take your eyes off Doll, and if
anything happened, to call me by
radio?"

"Yes, Sergeant, but "

240 Arthur Halley

"But nothing! When we finish
tonight, you are through with this
detail."

Zagaki pleaded, "Sergeant, if
you'll only let me explain. I wasn't
well "

Ainslie was not listening, but
looking around the vehicles ahead
toward the pickup truck. Then he
shouted, "Oh Jesus, he's gone!"

. From the pickup's cab, Elroy
Doil's silhouette had disappeared.

Briefly, confusion reigned.
Ainslie ran toward the truck,
peering into the darkness for any
sign of Doil. There was none nor
were there any pedestrians in sight.
From the pickup he ran the short
distance to Tigertail Avenue. The
streets were only faintly lit. Doll,
Ainslie realized, could easily hide
out in any of the shadows.

Dan Zagaki ran up behind him,
panting. "Sergeant, I'm "

Ainslie spun around. "Shut the
fuck up!" He snarled at Zagaki, "How
long were you away from the van?"

"Only a minute or two, I swear."

"Don't lie to me, you little
bastard!" Ainslie grabbed the
younger man by his lapels and shook
him. "How long was it?" Seething, he
pulled Zagaki toward him until their
eyes were close. "Was it the whole
time I was gone?"

Zagaki, close to tears, conceded,
"Most of it."

Pushing him away in disgust,
Ainslie calculated that Doil's head
start could be ten minutes, maybe
twelve. Even assuming he had
remained in the area, he could be
anywhere, and there was no way of
finding him without help, which left
only one choice. He reached for his
police radio.

"Thirteen-ten to dispatcher."

A woman's calm voice answered,
"Thirteen-ten QSK."

"Send me several units into the
area of Tigertail Avenue . . ."
Ainslie paused to read the nearest
street number.

DETECTIVE 241

"Number 1611. We have lost a white
male who was under surveillance.
Height six feet four, weighs about
two hundred and ninety pounds, is
wearing red shirt and dark pants. He
is armed and dangerous."

"QSL."

Within seconds, Ainslie could hear
the approaching sirens, responding to
a swiftly transmitted 315 3 for
"Emergency," 15 for "Officer needs
help."

Newbold and Jacobo would have
overheard his transmission, Ainslie
knew, and would also be on their way.
For the moment there was nothing he
could do.

Then he received a radio phone call
from the communications sergeant in
charge of dispatchers and radio
traffic who spoke quickly but calmly.

"Male, just caught your call. I
have a boy on the phone who says his
grandparents are being beaten and
stabbed by a big man in their house."

"That's Doil, Harry! Give me the
address fast."

"I'm getting it, hang on. Kid has
to whisper." Ainslie could hear the
communications sergeant asking
patient questions, addressing the
caller as "Ivan." The sergeant came
back. "Says his grandparents' name is
Tempone, their house is on Tigertail.
Doesn't know the number, we're
looking it up . . . We have it! It's
1643 . . . I've called for
paramedics, Malcolm, and am changing
that 315 to a 331." Meaning,
"Emergency homicide in progress."

Ainslie scarcely heard. He was
already running eastward down
Tigertail Avenue. Dan Zagaki ran
beside him, though Ainslie was long
past caring.

As both drew near, they could see
the number 1643 on the gate of a
large two-story house fronted by
several pillars and a wide paved path
leading to a carved doorway. A high
iron fence surrounded the entire
property, with six

242 Arthur Halley

foot-high shrubbery on both sides. The
double gate in the fence provided access
from the street; one side of the gate was
slightly open.

As Ainslie and Zagaki arrived, two squad
cars with flashing lights and fading sirens
pulled up, tires screeching. Four officers
leapt out, guns drawn. Two more squad cars
were speeding down Tigertail from both
directions.

Ainslie identified himself and quickly
described Doil.

"We think he's inside, maybe killing
right now." He ma- ,,,
tioned to two of the officers. "You two
come with me."
And to the others, "Gendry, take charge
and set up a pe-
rimeter four blocks each way. Don't let
anyone in or out
until you hear from me."
One of the officers called out,
"Sergeant, over there!"
He pointed to the side of the house,
where a shadowy
figure was creeping along a small path.
Another officer
directed a powerful flashlight. It lit
up the back of a large
man wearing a red shirt and brown pants.
"That's him!" Ainslie shouted. With his
own gun
drawn, he raced through the gate and
across the lawn, the
others following fast behind him. Doil
was running now,
and Ainslie shouted, "Freeze, Doil, or
I'll blow your fuck ing
head off!" r
The figure stopped and turned. Doil
snarled, "Fuck
you!"
Moving closer, Ainslie could see a knife
in Doil's right
hand, and noticed that both of his hands
were encased in
rubber gloves.
With his gun raised, Ainslie ordered
fiercely, "Drop that
knife. Now!" Then, as Doil hesitated,
"And peel off those
gloves. Let them fall beside the knife."
Slowly, Doil complied. When he had done
so, Ainslie
bellowed, "Now down on your stomach, you
son of a
bitch, hands behind you. Move!"

DETECTIVE 243

Again slowly, Doil obeyed as
Ainslie held his gun steady. Then
Zagaki moved in and seized Doil's
wrists, quickly handcuffing him
behind his back. As he did so, a
brief flash from behind lit up the
scene.

Instinctively, Ainslie swung
around, his gun still raised, but a
woman's voice called out. "Sorry,
Chief. But it's what the papers pay
me for."

"Dammit," Ainslie muttered,
lowering his gun. He knew the news
media monitored police radio and
moved fast with a breaking story,
but he was still dismayed to see
them so soon. He turned to the
uniform officers. "One of you cordon
off this area with tape about fifty
feet around the entire house and
keep everyone behind it."

The yellow POElCE EINE DO NOT CROSS tape,
which all squad cars carried, was
promptly wrapped around anything
handy trees, streetlights, fence
posts, and the mirrors of two parked
police cars creating a visual
barrier between detectives and a
fast-assembling crowd of spectators
and media people.

Zagaki, kneeling beside Elroy Doil,
called out, "This guy is covered in
blood! So are the knife and gloves."

"Oh no!" Ainslie groaned, knowing
instinctively that what he had
feared most had happened. Composing
himself for the moment, he addressed
the increasing number of uniform
officers. "Two of you strip this guy
down to his underwear; shoes and
socks off, too. Keep the clothes off
the ground; don't smear any blood,
and get everything in plastic bags
as soon as possible especially that
knife and the gloves. And don't let
up; guard his every move. He's
violent and dangerous."

The reason for stripping Doil was
to preserve the blood on his
clothing in its present state. If
DNA testing showed it to be a
victim's, any case against him could
be conclusive.

244 Arthur Halley

Within the past few minutes Leo
Newbold and Dion Jacobo had
appeared. The lieutenant asked
Ainslie, "Have you been inside?"

"NO, sir. Just going."

"We'll come, too, okay?"

"Of course."

Ainslie instructed one of the
officers who had been early on the
scene, "I want you to come with us.
Walk where we do, and stay alert."
To Zagaki he added curtly, "You stay
right here. Don't move a fucking
inch."