New York Chief of Detectives (22 page)

“I’m sure, but I also know that they have new priorities in New York after nine eleven. I hope they do their job well!”

“You and I both hope that. I really appreciate the information, Chuck, and if you need some more Yankees tickets to barter with, I can hook you up.”

“Thanks, Chief!”

Chuck Carter left the office, and Pat called Bryan Flannery. He updated Flannery on the latest developments. Bryan also told Pat that the task force had put together a lot of information about Donald Harrison and that the meeting in the morning should be informative. Pat knew that in a short time the case was going to get even more complicated.    

CHAPTER 46

Monday April 12-Day 11

Chief of Detectives’ Office-One Police Plaza

Borough of Manhattan, New York

1700 Hours

By
1700 hours, Pat had thought through the case developments several times. He brainstormed ideas as to what role Donald Harrison could have played in this case. The only criminal information was the little snippet that Chuck Carter had provided. It might be related or might have absolutely nothing to do with the case. It could just as easily be untrue, but Pat had that gut feeling that Donald Harrison was somehow connected. He didn’t know Harrison at all, but his radar screen was lighting up.

Pat called Maggie, and they agreed to meet at the Steamboat Café at 1900 hours. Monday nights were usually kind of slow there, and Pat thought that he might sit in with the band if Maggie was agreeable. He needed the escape from this case. Tomorrow’s briefing would set a course of action in the investigation, and he wanted to be clear minded so as not to miss anything.

Pat walked into the Steamboat and was quickly greeted by the owner, Sam Spicer.

“Chief O’Connor¸ it’s good to see you.”

“You too, Sam.”

“I see you have your horn with you.”

“Just in case I get to play tonight.”

“Sure you will. On Monday nights, we have a banjo player come in and play with Judy Carter. They only play from eight till ten-thirty. There are no horns, so you’ll be a treat!”

“Maggie will be joining me, and I hope she won’t mind me sittin’ in.”

“What’s to mind? You’re great!”

“Thanks, it’s still a passion for me, but this job keeps me from really doing anything ambitious with it.”

Sam seated Pat near the bandstand at his usual table. There were only a few tables occupied, but it was still early. Pat waited about ten minutes, and he saw Maggie. He thought she looked great and was happy for this time together. Sam brought her over to the table.

“I saw a guy in my office today who looked a lot like you.” Maggie teased.

“Yep, and I saw the best looking woman in New York today.”  

Pat stood up and hugged Maggie, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m glad this worked out, Maggie.”

“Me too. Did Chuck get you what you needed?”

“He sure did. He gave me some background and just a little intel from the ‘feebees.’”

“Obviously, if this pans out, we’ll need to let PPD know.” Maggie reminded Pat.

“Of course, I feel like things are starting to come together, although we don’t really know who killed who.”

“I know you’ll be careful, Pat, but this is the kind of guy who can cause you a lot of grief.”

“I have the law on my side, and I’m not worried. I’m more worried about how the bureaucratic idiots will react to it if he becomes a suspect. I haven’t told Longstreet yet.”

“Is that smart?”

“I have to keep it under wraps as long as possible, or you’ll be reading about it in the Times.”

“Probably so, but don’t leave them in the dark too long.”

“Once we establish some facts, I’ll let them in the loop.”

The waitress came to the table, and Pat and Maggie ordered big bowls of seafood gumbo and some garlic cheese biscuits.

“This place takes you back to your New Orleans days, doesn’t it?” 

“It gives me a good feeling, but most of all, it gives me an escape from the NYPD. Don’t get me wrong. I love the job, but sometimes I just need to be somewhere else mentally. It really helps me clear my head.”

“I know what you mean Pat. I’ve always loved the Service, but sometimes I have to step away from it, at least as much as you can when you’re glued to a cell phone, a badge, and a gun.”

“The time with you is the best way I know. Even though we talk about the job, we make each other feel better, and we know that we’re important to each other.”

“That’s so true, Pat.”

They enjoyed the gumbo and decided to top it off with some New Orleans pralines and crème ice cream. The duo of Judy Carter and an old four string banjo player nick-named “Huggie-Bear” Clements started the music with the old riverboat classic, “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee.” After a few tunes, Judy invited Pat up to the bandstand, and he played about an hour with the band. He even played the old Louis Armstrong classic “I’m Confessin’ that I Love You,” thinking of nothing but Maggie, as he ended the set.

“That was beautiful, Pat.”

“It was for you, Maggie.”

“I could tell!”

“I guess I need to get to sleep, because we have a task force update in the morning, and I understand we have a lot to cover. I have about an hour’s worth of reading to do before I can go to bed.”

“Yep, I have a busy day too. We have an office inspection coming up soon, and we’re already scrambling to get things in shape.”

“Can you violate a Service rule and give me a ride home?”

“I’m actually driving my Lexus. You’re approved.”

CHAPTER 47

Tuesday April 13-Day 12

Major Crimes Conference Room-One Police Plaza

Borough of Manhattan, New York

0900 Hours

Pat
was in the office early on Tuesday morning after a restless night sleeping. He woke up several times with all the details of the case going through his head. He was convinced that they were on the right track, but just wasn’t sure how all the players fit.  He hoped that the pieces of this puzzle would soon make sense and come together.

The task force was in the conference room early. The mood was much livelier than usual, with lots of chatter. This was an elite group of NYPD’s best detectives. They were not accustomed to being idle. Having some leads to follow had boosted the morale of the group, and they were doing what they were expertly trained to do.

Pat and Bryan Flannery entered the conference room together. Pat could feel the excitement and anticipation in the room. Although most of their work was research, the fact that they had something to research was important. Pat walked to the front of the room.

“Good morning guys and girls. I gather that you’ve enjoyed the new developments.”

There was a chuckle in the room.

“I’m right there with you. This has been a difficult investigation. The leads have been slow, but I do feel like we’re on the right track. Let’s just make sure we keep our minds and options open in case the direction we’re pursuing isn’t substantiated by the evidence. I do appreciate the hard work by each of you. It’s been eleven days since we found Tony Rodriguez’s body, although it seems like much longer to me. Let’s get started.  We can start with Sergeant McBain and see if we have any new developments from forensics. George, you are center stage.”

“We have a lot to cover, Chief. First of all, we have our DNA results as of last night. Tony Rodriguez’s blood was found inside the back room of the Blue Goose Cantina. There was only a small amount of blood, which was probably from the cut on his lip as he was falling. My opinion is that he was dead when he hit the floor, so there wouldn’t be much bleeding from that kind of wound. We also found a larger pool of blood. The DNA from that area matches the DNA of the crispy critter we found in the car fire at Queens College. He likely was killed at the Blue Goose and then put in the car and torched. Even more important is that the DNA also matches that which we recovered from Tony Rodriguez’s jacket. We recovered a 9 mm bullet in the floor under the carpet where this pooling of blood was located. As we would expect, that bullet was also fired from Rodriguez’s Glock. We’re still sorting through the latent prints. In addition to the ones we’ve already identified, we have a bloody partial print. We think it belongs to Joey Decarlo, but we don’t have enough comparison points to be sure. The blood in the carpet shampooer belonged to the crispy critter. That’s about it for now, Chief.”

“George, you presented a lot of good stuff for us that’ll help as we try to recreate the events of this case. Thanks for your hard work, and please share our appreciation with the lab.”

“You’re welcome, Chief. They’ve put in a lot of hours.”

“What can you tell us about Joey Decarlo, Bryan?”

“I asked Andy Anderson to look into that. What did we find out, Andy?”

Andy walked to the front, with a file in his hand.

“Joey DeCarlo left the NYPD five years ago. He was a Queens’ Safe and Loft Detective and got booted out for excessive force and a lot of complaints. It was rumored, but never substantiated, that he was mobbed up. Since he left the job, he’s been arrested three times on assault charges, but none of them have ever made it to court. They were all dismissed. Amazingly, he has a bodyguard license and has a concealed carry permit for a handgun. He is registered with a Smith and Wesson 9 mm. He drives a top-of-the-line Mercedes Benz and lives in a Brooklyn high-rise. According to his most recent tax returns, he made $280,000 last year. He lists his occupation as bodyguard and security consultant. I talked to a few guys on the job who worked with him, and he was bad news all around. He wasn’t trusted by anyone. Even his ex-partner John Lowdermilk, told me that if Joey told him it was raining, he wouldn’t believe it, unless he went outside and saw it for himself. He did tell me that Joey was heavy-handed and had a fiery temper. He’s had no contact with him since he got canned.”

“Did he have any idea of who Joey was hooked up with?”

“Not really, Chief, but he said that Joey was a wheeler dealer and always seemed far too cozy with defense attorneys and the perps. He liked to work alone, and often John had no idea what he was doing. He was the one who asked for a new partner, but he got booted out of the job before it happened.”

“Does anyone have anything else on Joey DeCarlo?”

Karla Adams spoke up.

“We have his phone records.  We’re going to dump them into link analysis today, and see who’s calling who.”

“Wow, how did you get the records so fast?” Pat asked.

“We do this for a living.”

Everyone laughed, and then Karla clarified the remark.

“We gave the carriers advance notice that we were getting court orders and what we were requesting. We work with these guys all the time. We told them what we were looking for, and they were ready for us when we got there with the court order. They gave us the records on a CD. We had to deal only with two cell carriers and the land lines. We’ll keep you posted, Chief.”

“Great work and that’s exactly why you two were selected for the task force.”

“Thanks, Chief.”

“What do we know about Salvatore Cortez?”

Rosa Sanchez walked to the front.

“He’s basically a thug. He’s a validated gang member with the 9-24 Gang. This is primarily a Latino gang that operates in Queens. He is from El Salvador and almost certainly has MS-13 connections. He’s actually a US citizen. His father was an American, and he had dual citizenship. His collars have been mostly for minor beefs like assault and larceny. He’s been popped for some drug charges which he likely worked off according to OCCB. The charges were dismissed. We’re checking to see if we can find some particulars. Chief Capese has someone digging out the information for us.”

“Thanks Rosa. How about Carlos Ferez, the manager of the Blue Goose?”

“There’s not much there. He’s been running it for a few months. He has no criminal record and barely speaks English. He has no financial records. He doesn’t have even a checking account or a credit card. He is Mexican, and we’ve found almost no records. Karla is helping us check with the Federales to see if we can find out anything south of the border.”

“If we don’t find anything there, I can get Mike Wilson to check with the FBI Legal Attaché in Mexico City.”

“I think that would be a good idea anyway, Chief.” Karla agreed.

“It’s very difficult to get good information out of Mexico, especially if anyone is connected to the drug cartel. I would absolutely go the FBI route.”

“Thanks, Karla. If we get the same information from more than one source, it might even be true!”

“So I guess that brings us to our star person of interest. What have we found out about Mr. Donald Harrison?”