New York Chief of Detectives (27 page)

The commissioner shut the door after Chambers left.

Pat asked a question. “How long do you think this breather will last?”

“I don’t know, Patty, but I’m sure that the mayor will get a lot of pressure.”

“I think you can take it to the bank that Donald Harrison will step up the pressure, using all his resources. I’m concerned that if we get closer, he may try to flee. I’ll contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement and see if I can cash in a favor to flag his passport if he tries to leave the country.”

“As long as he doesn’t know about it, I think that may be wise.”

“I can’t guarantee it, but I’ll ask them to be discreet. We’re already watching his comings and goings with pole cameras, just in case we catch some perps paying a visit.”

“Does that not violate that stupid court order?”

“No, the pole camera is not on DHA property. It’s all perfectly legal.”

“Are there any other leads?”

“We’re doing a surveillance operation tonight in Queens. The gang bangers have been harassing some of the elderly residents to try to convince them to sell their property. Our most promising theory is that Harrison is using the gang bangers to try to pressure the residents. We’re trying to make a collar and see if we can roll them to get information. It’s a bit of a long shot, but we’re going to give it a run.”

“I hope it works!”

“So do I, but I know how fast they lawyered up at the Blue Goose Cantina. I’ll not be surprised if these gang bangers have already been told to exercise their right to remain silent.”

“That’s a good point unless they really have a lot to lose.”

“Sure, if they’re looking at a long stretch in the slammer they may re-access their options. Unfortunately, unless they’re into something else more serious, threatening these residents may not give them much of a chance of going to prison. I’m still willing to try. We have to make our own leads sometimes.”

Pat stood up and shook hands with the commissioner.

“Go get ‘em, Patty. We need a miracle.” 

CHAPTER 56

Wednesday April 14-Day 13

Chief of Detectives’ Office- One Police Plaza

Borough of Manhattan, New York

1900 Hours

Pat
settled back in his office and grabbed a big cup of coffee. He was exhausted from the stress and long hours. He called Bryan Flannery.

“Flannery.”

“Hi, Bryan, it’s O’Connor.”

“How did the ‘pow-wow’ go upstairs?”

“We got a breather, thanks to Richard Chambers.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“Are we up and running on the operation?”

“Yes sir, everything is in place. That Maria is a tough old gal and she and Sanchez are really hitting it off. They’ve been very talkative and even laughing and cutting up.”

“Rosa is pretty tough herself.”

“You don’t have to convince me, boss. I’ve worked with her for several years. Today she shows up with a duffle bag, and she has one of our 13” barreled, 12 gauge shotguns disassembled inside. One of the OCCB guys teased her about putting it back together, and she put it back together in about ten seconds. If those gang bangers mess with Rosa, they’ll get their guts spilled all over Queens.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that, but you guys need to be safe.”

“We’re in good shape Chief. We had so many volunteers from OCCB to work this operation, that I was able to send half the task force home. Ray Capese said that they’ll work with us indefinitely. They’re still hurting from Tony’s death.”

“I think we all are. We just have to stay focused. Please let me know if there are any developments.”

“Yes sir, Chief, you’ll be the first one I call.”

Pat sipped his coffee and leaned back in his chair. It was 1930 hours. He heard someone coming in and looked up to see Maggie standing in the hall. A uniformed officer had escorted her to his office.

Pat stood up to greet her.

“What a treat this is! It is good to see you, Maggie!”

“Well, I was leaving my office and I saw what I believed to be your light on. I’ve learned to count floors pretty quickly.”

“It’s been an incredible day. The stress of this case is almost insurmountable, but we’re still making progress.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Maggie looked at the mounds of paper in Pat’s tray and offered a typical bureaucratic surmise of the situation.

“So Pat, while you’re out playing detective, who takes care of your real job managing all the personnel issues and day-to-day paper work?”

“Spoken like a true Fed, Maggie.”

Maggie laughed. “The Secret Service thrives off of paperwork. If there’s a line or spacing issue in a report, the entire report is rejected. We spend more time correcting reports to read like a graduate thesis that chasing the bad guys is always a second priority.”

“Just be glad you’re not an FBI agent, or it wouldn’t even make the top ten.”

“Pat, you love busting on the FBI don’t you?”

“I guess they have their place if you’re not actually interested in locking someone up. There is a true story that old J. Edgar Hoover was reading a report and thought the margins weren’t correct and he scribbled ‘Watch the borders!’ and sent it back. Legend has it that agents were dispatched to the Canadian border to provide security. It’s all about the paper work.”

“I can’t really dispute that claim. The Secret Service will act quickly in an emergency and take action, but for our criminal cases, we are also totally dependent on authorization to even open a case from the United States Attorney’s Office.” 

“I know, and they want only perfect cases that require no actual work. Thus, a lot of potential collars go free to make some paper pusher’s statistics look better. As far as I’m concerned, it stinks.”

So who really does your paper work, Mr. Chief of D’s?”

“Actually, there’s a great system to my madness. Angie Wilson uses these sticky notes to let me know what is important. A bright fluorescent orange sticker requires my immediate attention. They go in a separate tray which you see is empty. Yellow stickers require my attention within a week, and green stickers indicate things that just require just my signature such as personnel orders. If it has no sticker, it means that it is for my information only and that I can read it as time permits. This works great, and I’m rarely behind.”

“I’m impressed. When was the last time you had any food?”

“Yesterday, I think.”

“That’s no way to stay sharp. Let’s go get you something to eat.”

“That sounds great! I need a ride home anyway. I let Dickie go home hours ago.”

CHAPTER 57

Wednesday, April 14-Day 13

Chief of Detectives’ Residence

Borough of Manhattan, New York

2030 Hours

Pat
opted to eat in, so Maggie stopped at her favorite neighborhood pizzeria and got a large pizza with lots of toppings. They drove the few blocks to Pat’s high-rise and parked in the garage. As they walked to the elevator Maggie could hear the chatter of Pat’s NYPD portable radio stuck in his briefcase.

“Do you ever cut that thing off?”

“Sometimes I do when I’m home, because I have several police scanners.”

“I’m well aware of that.”

Maggie set the food on the table. She was dressed in a gray, pin-striped business suit, with a black silk blouse. Pat loosened his tie and walked into the bedroom. He removed all his hardware and put the portable radio in the charger. For Maggie’s sake, he cut it off. He put on some sweat pants and a t-shirt and walked back to the table. While Maggie was in the bathroom, he fixed some soft drinks to have with the pizza. When Maggie walked out, she was wearing one of Pat’s NYPD t-shirts that fit her like a dress. Her long shapely legs were enticing, and Pat smiled as he saw the red elastic marks where her socks had been.

“Oh my goodness, I’ve found the most beautiful woman in New York in my apartment! Maggie, you’re so special.”

“Thank you, Pat, I miss our time together.”

They embraced and kissed. Pat loved the feeling of her touching him as he held her close. Maggie turned toward the table.

“We better eat this pizza before it gets cold.”

“Yes, I’m starved.”

As they ate, Pat updated Maggie on the day’s events and how stressful this case was becoming. Having spent a good portion of her life protecting people, she immediately went into the protective mode.

“Pat, this guy will go after you and the commissioner. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to do my job to the letter of the law and not back down for one minute.”

“Of course you’ll do that. But I mean seriously, this guy could hurt you.”

“It’s the only way I know how to operate. I search out the truth and then make sure the bad guys get locked up.”

“I’m worried about you, Pat. You’ve worked so hard and have been so successful.”

“I’ve been successful because I’ve stayed focused and not run scared of criminals, politicians or power brokers.”

“Just be careful. I care about you tremendously.”

“I know you do, and believe me, I feel the same way about you.”

Pat knew in his heart without any doubt that Maggie truly loved him. She always wanted to do anything she could to make his life better. She was a great listener, and anything in his life was important to Maggie. Even his passion for music was something she encouraged, because she knew that it made him happy.

Pat yawned, and Maggie told him to lie down and rest on the couch while she cleaned up the mess. Pat protested, but he knew she would do it anyway. He was kind of squirming on the couch and Maggie told him to take his shirt off. He quickly complied. Pat was lying on his stomach and Maggie began to rub his back and massage his muscles. He was intoxicated by the close smell of her perfume and the slight touch of her body against his. She talked softly to him.

“Even tough cops have to rest once in a while. Just relax, and know that there is one person who thinks you’re the most special guy in the world. I like the way you make me feel, Patrick O’Connor, and I don’t want to lose that.”

Maggie used the tips of her fingers to draw light, circular motions all over his back. In just a few minutes, Pat was fast asleep with a slight smile on his face.

Maggie went to Pat’s bedroom and picked out her favorite black pin-striped suit and a light blue shirt with white collars and cuffs. She made sure she selected a tie that was a perfect match and was one that she had given Pat. She laid them out for him, along with fresh socks and underwear. She took the time to move his cell phone to the coffee table beside the couch and plug it into the charger. She readied his coffee pot with his favorite Jamaican coffee and set the timer. She grabbed a pad and wrote a note that simply said. “Good Luck! I love you! Maggie.”

Maggie changed clothes and took one last look at her sleeping cop. She covered him with a blanket and slipped out of the apartment. She wished he had not been so exhausted, but smiled, knowing there would be other times.  

CHAPTER 58

Thursday, April 15-Day 14

Chief of Detectives’ Residence

Borough of Manhattan, New York

0630Hours

Pat
woke up with the sun shining in the windows. He looked at his watch and it was 0630. He had slept the entire night without interruption. He smiled when he smelled the aroma of the brewing Jamaican coffee. He jumped up with enthusiasm, but was a little disappointed when he saw Maggie’s note. She rarely ever stayed at his apartment. He poured himself a cup and headed for the shower. He smiled when he saw that Maggie had laid out everything and even had a good morning note on the bathroom mirror. He felt warm, just knowing that Maggie loved him. 

Pat quickly showered and dressed. Around 0700 his cell phone buzzed.

“Pat O’Connor.”

“Good morning, Chief, it’s Bryan. I wanted to give you an update on the operation.”

“Sure, how did it go?”

“It was smooth, but we had no takers. All of the equipment works great, and the most exciting thing of the night was watching some street cats fight over a big juicy rat. We’ll start all over at 1600.”

“Thanks for the update. You need to get some rest, and maybe we’ll have better luck tonight.”

“Thanks, Chief. I’ll talk to you this afternoon.”

Dickie Davis was at the curb precisely at 0715. They headed into lower Manhattan. Pat gave Dickie a general update about developments. Dickie seemed a little shocked at the confrontation with the mayor.

“How can you get in these pissing contests with someone like the mayor and not be worried about your job, Chief?” 

“They expect your knees to be knocking when they dish out the threats and innuendos. When you stand your ground, they just don’t know how to react. The most important thing is that you must be on solid ground legally and ethically. If there’s a crack in your armor, it’ll be exploited. You also have to be willing to sacrifice your career to avoid compromising your integrity.”

“This is just another reason why I don’t want to be promoted.”

“Maybe, but you’re still young. You have a lot of career left.”

“I suppose.”

Pat arrived in his office to see a new stack of memorandums, reports and other routine paper work. He worked on the priority items and read a few intelligence bulletins. He pulled up the Rodriguez case and read the new entries to the file from yesterday. Even with the demands of this case, most of the detectives were submitting reports almost daily. He was proud of the teamwork. Pat’s desk phone rang.

“Pat O’Connor.”

“Pat, it’s Richard Chambers. We need to talk as soon as possible.”

“Sure Richard, what’s going on?”

“I can’t talk about it on the phone, but I’m headed to your office.”

“Park underground in the garage.  I’ll let them know you’re coming.”

Pat could tell that Richard was highly upset and something had him frazzled. While Pat was waiting on Richard he received another call.

“Pat O’Connor.”

“Good morning, Pat. This is Mike Wilson.”

“Hi, Mike, how’s it going?”

“It’s going fine Pat, but let me get straight to the point. How well do you know Queens County District Attorney Richard Chambers?”

“Very well, Mike. He’s a great guy.”

“I hope so, but the Bureau received a package this morning with all kinds of negative information about him. It’s alleging that he’s been accepting bribes for dismissing cases and even lists some bank accounts, where the money has been deposited. We’ve checked with the banks and there’s a lot of money in those accounts. I feel obligated to open a public corruption case on this. Chambers will have a lot of explaining to do.”