Legacy and Redemption (32 page)

Kessel remained quiet for a short time. “No, you shouldn’t have. But I do understand what you’re telling me. Just please, don’t let it happen again.”

Galvin raised his right hand as if he was offering a boy scout’s pledge. “I promise that I won’t.”

“Good.”

Kessel stood up and extended a hand to Galvin which was immediately accepted. “Have a good day, Sergeant.”

“You do the same, doc.”

Tom Galvin walked out of the glass doors of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office and immediately spotted the unmarked Ford Crown Victoria parked along First Avenue. As he drew closer, he could see Tim Keegan talking on his cell phone.

Galvin opened the door and took a seat just as Keegan had ended his phone call. Galvin turned up the heat and placed his hands over the Ford’s heating vents.

“What did the ME want to talk to you about, Sarge?” Keegan was obviously curious, if not concerned.

“He wanted to ask me a couple of questions about the serial killer case that I worked last year. He was the ME for that case as well and it could be going to trial in a few weeks,” Galvin lied.

Keegan, clearly skeptical, “So it has nothing to do with me being here for the identification of the body?”

Galvin kept looking straight ahead as he answered. “No. He has no idea who you were. He just thinks that you’re a rookie cop who wanted to witness the identification process of a homicide victim.”

Keegan changed the subject, a clear indication to Galvin that his lie had placated the rookie officer. “That was Cathy that I was talking to on the phone.”

“Really, how are things going with the two of you?” This time Galvin turned to face Keegan as he responded.

“Actually, really well Sarge. Thanks for asking.”

Keegan momentarily took his eyes off the road to look at Galvin before he continued. “She told me that I’ve been transferred back to the
Six-Seven
. It just came down as a
telephone message.
”

Galvin nodded his head. “Well that doesn’t really come as a surprise. We did know it was coming down.”

“I know. I’m not disappointed. I’m actually thrilled to have had the opportunity to do what I could and help in this case.” He paused. “There was another telephone message that accompanied the first one—your temporary transfer was made permanent.”

Galvin was excited, but was determined to remain stoic in light of everything which had happened over the past few weeks. He had a feeling they would retain him at the JTTF, but he would play coy. “They decided to keep me?”

“It looks that way, Sarge. Congrats!”

Timothy Keegan sat at his computer desk reading through the sports section of the newspaper on line. He was looking forward to the NFL playoff games on tap for the upcoming weekend and was surprised to see the wildcard Buffalo Bills listed as only a three point underdog. As he read through the beat writer’s handicapping of the game, his doorbell rang.

The bare-chested Keegan looked down to the bottom right hand of the computer screen to see that it was only 9:26 am. He quickly grabbed a t-shirt from the couch and peeked out the window. It was a pleasant surprise to see Cathy Quinn standing outside his door. He looked left and right to make sure that she was alone before opening the door to allow her inside.

Quinn entered, holding a shopping bag in her hand which she set down by the door. She looked down at Keegan and smiled. “No need to put pants on, on my account,” she teased.

Keegan looked down at his bare legs and black boxer shorts. “Well it’s not like you gave me any notice,” he shot back.

They shared a laugh as Keegan took her waist length Northface jacket from her and hung it on the black metal coat rack next to the door. Quinn hiked up her blue jeans and pulled down her sweater over the nine millimeter strapped to her right side. Keegan invited her to have a seat on the black leather couch after relocating a couple of throw pillows to the recliner opposite the entertainment center. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the floor and put them on before opening a blind to allow the morning sun to assist in lighting up the room. He took a seat next to her on the couch. “So what do I owe this unexpected surprise to?”

She offered a smile. “I just wanted to stop by and talk. Things have been so crazy since New Year’s Eve and I know we’re not going to get a real chance to talk tonight when you report back to work.”

Keegan’s eyes widened and he shook his head emphatically. “Crazy isn’t a strong enough word for it. I’m just happy to be done with this to be honest with you. I didn’t belong in the Joint Terrorist Task Force—I still have to learn how to be a cop.”

“I wish Sergeant Galvin was coming back too. I really liked him.”

Keegan agreed. “Yeah, Sarge is great, but
he
does
belong in the JFFT. He’s a great cop.”

She scowled at him. “Don’t sell yourself short, Tim. You’re a great cop, too. Look at everything that you’ve accomplished in such a short period of time. You’re without a doubt going to be given a medal at Medal Day this year. Do you know how rare that is for a rookie?”

Keegan felt uncomfortable with the conversation and redirected. “Do you want something to drink? I’m parched.” Keegan got up and walked into the attached kitchen as Quinn declined. He returned with a bottle of water in hand and sat with one leg on the floor and the other over the arm of the couch. “Believe it or not, I’m a little nervous about going back to the
Six-Seven
tonight. How’s the sergeant who took over as our training sergeant?”

“Sergeant Romanelli…” She bobbed her head back and forth fleetingly as she continued, “…he’s okay, but he’s no Sergeant Galvin. He tells us that we need to come in with summonses every single night that we’re on patrol…even if we’re on foot posts. He says it’s coming from Inspector Enton, but Andre spoke with the union delegate and the delegate said it wasn’t. I mean, he treats us okay, but he’s just a little shady with stuff like that.”

Keegan nodded his head. “Good to know. Thanks for the heads up.”

Keegan looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. He squinted to read the time in the distance. “Cathy, I have to take a shower and get dressed. I want to get to the hospital before I head in to the precinct.”

She stood up abruptly. “I understand, Tim. No problem.”

“You can come with me,” he offered.

She walked over towards the door and grabbed her jacket from the coat rack. “No, I’d be out of place, Tim. He doesn’t even know me; he’ll definitely want to speak with you though.”

“Thanks, Cathy. I’m really not trying to give you the bum’s rush.”

“Don’t be silly. I know you’re not,” she said with a comforting smile.

He walked with her to the door and gave her a kiss on the lips. “See you at work then.”

Cathy smiled at him. “See you at work.”

She turned to face the door and then back around to Keegan. “Oh my God, I almost forgot to give you something. She reached down and picked up the shopping bag she had carried into Keegan’s apartment and handed it to him.

He accepted, but instinctively asked, “What’s this?”

“You’ll know when you open it, won’t you,” she teased.

Keegan reached into the bag, removing the tissue paper which concealed the surprise item. He grabbed the top of the heavy book and released it from the bag. Even before turning it over to the front, he knew what it was. He looked at the front cover; his name and shield number were written in calligraphy. The gold lettering stood out beautifully against the dark blue scrap book. Keegan looked Quinn in the eyes momentarily and then back down at the book. He could see the love and excitement in her eyes as the recognition must have been clear on his face.

He slowly walked back over to the couch with Cathy Quinn in trail. He sat down and she joined him; practically sitting on top of him. “Go ahead, Tim, open it.”

He did. The very first article from March 20, 1995—the article detailing his father’s execution. On the page next to it was another article three days later after the funeral. A photograph in the lower right corner depicted a then eight year old Timothy Keegan at his father’s funeral surrounded by his mother and siblings; his older brother, Kevin and his kid sister, Kerry.

He looked back at Cathy. He knew there was no hiding the vulnerability in his eyes. He was choked up and could hardly get the words out. “I can’t believe you did this for me, Cathy. In all of my life, I’ve never received a gift of any kind more thoughtful or touching than this.” He looked deeply into her eyes. He could see that she was moved by the moment as well. “Thank you so much, Cathy. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

She rubbed his back. “I’m so happy that you like it.” She took the book from his hands and turned to the next page. It was the article in the newspaper from their graduation from the police academy. The next couple of pages had pictures of the guns from the gun arrests he had made.

Keegan—still in awe, “How did you ever come up with the idea for this?”

“Remember when you showed me your dad’s scrap book. I knew how much it meant to you. I saw the type of things your father used to put in his and I just copied his format basically.”

Keegan continued flipping through the pages, reading the articles from his more recent heroics. He thought back to the day when Nazeem al-Haq had tried to murder him and set the entire plot into motion. He silently thanked God that he, along with the members of the Joint Terrorist Task Force, were able to dismantle the cell and recover all of the explosives without a single bomb being detonated anywhere in the country. Unfortunately, the take down was not without casualty.

He closed the book and looked at Cathy again. “Cathy, this really means the world to me. Thank you.” He glanced again at the clock. “I really do have to get going.”

“I know you do; say hello for me. I’ll see you at work.”

Jamaica Hospital

Queens, New York City

--------------------------------------------------

After four days in a medically induced coma, Louis Castillo opened his eyes. He was groggy and disoriented, but immediately saw Sharon and Jessica sitting at his bedside. He attempted to sit up, but the pain in his head rivaled the one in his ribs and he was quickly deflated.

Sharon stood up and took his hand. “Jessica, go get the doctor. Tell him daddy woke up?”

Castillo gently squeezed his wife’s hand and with a slight grimace, “I need some water.”

Sharon pressed the bed’s electronic controls to move the bed to an upright position. Castillo tried to mask his pain as the bed rose to a sitting position. He wasn’t so sure that he had been able to, as he saw a sympathetic look in his wife’s eyes. Sharon poured a cup of water from the mustard yellow pitcher on the nightstand next to Castillo’s hospital bed. He slowly drank it with Sharon’s help steadying the cup. The room temperature water was intrusive as it went down his throat; not soothing as Castillo had expected.

Castillo, although still not quite alert from the sedatives, understood that he was in a hospital. What was hazy to him was the reason for him being there. He motioned for Sharon to come closer and he whispered to soften the irritation in his throat. “Sharon, what happened? Why am I in the hospital?”

Before his wife had the opportunity to answer, Jessica Castillo rushed to the other side of his bed. “Daddy, thank God you’re okay. I was so scared.” She leaned in and put her head against his chest giving him a heartfelt hug. Castillo felt the pain in his chest as she did, but he was able to tolerate the discomfort without any indication to his daughter.

Castillo glanced past Jessica, to the door of the private hospital room, where he saw a doctor enter the room and walk passed a uniformed officer standing guard outside the door. The doctor closed the door behind him after he entered. Castillo figured him to be in his early fifties. He was slightly overweight, had a ruddy face with light eyes and a head of white hair to match his lab coat.

“Hello Mr. Castillo. My name is Doctor Levine. I’m the Chief of Medicine. You gave us quite a scare.” After a slight pause, “How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better,” whispered Castillo. He took another sip of the water this time it was a bit more soothing than the first. Castillo contorted his face. “I feel like I was run over by a truck.” Castillo reached up with his hand to feel bandages wrapped around his head like a turban. “My head is killing me.” He noticed the IV taped to his arm for the first time. Castillo followed the IV line with his eyes back to its source, where the saline solution hung. Next to the metal IV stand was a blue monitor, keeping track of his vital signs. Castillo then refocused back on Doctor Levine. Suddenly the events of four days ago started to come back to him; looking up at the doctor, “I got shot, didn’t I?”

Jessica moved from his side to allow for the doctor to come in and examine the wounds as Sharon continued to hold his hand. Levine examined the head dressing before he responded. “Well, Mr. Castillo, you did have some very serious injuries and you’re lucky to be alive. You have two fractured ribs on your left side and a badly fractured skull. You were brought in unconscious and unresponsive. There was significant swelling of the brain, and you had to be intubated. We placed you in a medically induced coma so that we could keep an eye on the swelling. Once the swelling subsided to a safe enough level, it was time to bring you out of the coma.”

Castillo was slightly confused. He momentarily considered the fact that he woke up at all was a miracle in itself. He could only think of one or two times in his career that he had ever heard of someone surviving a gunshot wound to the head at point blank range. He made a conscious effort to wiggle his toes and fingers.

No paralysis. And I already spoke so no loss of speech either
, he thought to himself
.

His mind began to process the implication at an incredibly quick rate, especially for someone coming out of a coma, Castillo figured. He licked his lips and took a painful deep breath before he asked the question he was afraid to hear the answer to. “Doctor, I seem to be nothing more than a bit battered, but is the bullet lodged in my brain? Do I still have to worry about paralysis or even worse?”

Levine offered a soothing smile. “You’re going to need some time to heal; there’s no question about that. You’ve got a bad fracture to your skull, but the good news is that the swelling on your brain has gone down, there is no apparent brain damage and there are no foreign objects inside of you to be concerned with.”

Castillo took in the information before asking, “So did you have to operate to get the round out or was it a
through and through
?

“Mr. Castillo, you suffered severe blunt force trauma to your head and ribs. You weren’t shot.”

Castillo’s eyes went from Levine to Sharon. They narrowed in a state of confusion. “But I saw him with the gun to my head; I
heard
the shot.”

Just then, the door to the hospital room opened and Tom Galvin and Tim Keegan entered. Levine turned and nodded in recognition then he turned back to Castillo. “Maybe these two gentlemen can fill in the blanks for you. They’ve been here almost as much as your wife and daughter over the past few days.”

With that, Levine left the room. Castillo was confused and searched for answers. Sharon stood up and gave both men a hug before leaning in to give her husband a gentle kiss on the cheek. She took Jessica by the hand. “Come on, Jess. Let’s go get a cup of coffee so Tom and Tim can talk to your father.” The ladies exited the room and closed the door.

Galvin stood closer to Castillo, resting his hands on the metal bed guards; Keegan at the foot of the bed with his hands uncomfortably in his jeans pockets. Galvin was the first to speak. “How are you feeling, Louie?”

He answered with a manufactured smile, “pretty shitty…but really confused.” He paused and took a sip from the cup of water before forging on. “They told me I wasn’t shot, but I
know
that I was. I was walking back to the unmarked car on Linden Boulevard just outside the Halal restaurant. I heard someone run up behind me, but before I could turn around, I saw stars and fell to the ground.” Castillo put his hand to the back of his head as he recalled the assault, demonstrating where he’d been struck. “I tried to get up, but I was dizzy and on the verge of passing out. I looked up and I saw Ahmed Hatif standing over me. He kicked me in the chest; I felt my ribs crack. I collapsed back to the ground; I heard him yelling at me. I started to reach for my gun as I glanced up at him, but he already had his gun pointed at my head. I was so weak and dizzy that I couldn’t even find my gun with my hand. That’s when I heard the gunshot. I don’t remember anything else until I woke up here.”

Castillo glanced over Galvin then to Keegan waiting for an explanation. Then another question came to mind. “Hatif…did he shoot any other cops? Did we get him?” He saw Galvin smile and knew the answer.

“Hatif is dead,” Galvin began to explain. “Nobody aside from you was hurt.”

Castillo breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God for that! How did we get him?”

Galvin pulled a chair close to Castillo and sat. “I was scheduled to come in a little later in the day. Talbot told me to report direct to 26 Federal Plaza, but I wanted to see for myself where the explosives had been hidden.” Galvin looked at Keegan. “That was a hell of a hunch by a rookie, wasn’t it, Louie?”

“It was,” Castillo agreed as Keegan displayed an awkward smile. “Tim pull up a chair, you don’t have to stand.”

Keegan declined. “I’m okay, Louie.”

Galvin then continued. “When I pulled up there was a parking spot almost directly across the street from the restaurant. The bakery delivery truck was parked in front. I saw you emerge from behind it on the phone, and then, suddenly, Ahmed Hatif came up behind you. I was too far away to do anything. I witnessed him assault you and point the gun at your head. I took my gun out but it was too late. I heard the shot and I saw you go down. I knew you were dead.”

Castillo suddenly had the chills engulf his body, as his demise was being narrated to him. “Yet, I’m sitting here as you’re explaining to me what happened, so clearly I wasn’t killed.”

Galvin agreed. “A split second after you collapsed, I saw Hatif slowly spin, his knees buckled and the gun fell from his hand as he crumpled. When I finally got across the street, I had my gun trained on him, but he was dead. Blood began to seep from his head. Now keep in mind that my view was obstructed by the delivery truck the entire time. I peaked around the corner and saw Timmy with his gun trained on Hatif.”

Castillo’s eyes softened considerably—almost to the point of forming a tear—as they met Keegan’s. “You shot Ahmed Hatif, Tim?”

Keegan nodded. He seemed almost embarrassed. “Yeah. Just like Sarge, I wanted to see the scene too. I called him to see if I could pass by on my way to the New Year’s Eve detail and Sarge said it was okay. I parked my car around the corner, on the same side of the street as you were. As I started to walk up the block, I saw Hatif from over a half a block away. He was hiding behind the truck and then he came around from the back of it and began to jog slowly up the block. In my heart, I knew that it was him, but my mind couldn’t process that he’d come back. I was in uniform for the detail, but I didn’t have a radio to call for help or warn anyone. When he passed the building line, he was temporarily out of my view, but I ran as fast as I could to the corner. He never saw me coming from behind. When I made the corner, you were already on the floor. I saw that he had a gun in his hand, but he kicked you first. That gave me time to draw my gun, and I yelled for him to drop it. He was yelling at you and I’m not sure if he ignored me or didn’t hear me, but as soon as I saw him raise the gun, I fired.”

Keegan took a deep breath, his eyes became watery. “I was a marksman in the academy, but this was at least a twenty yard shot. I knew that taking the shot was the only chance to save your life. When I fired my gun, you went down a split second before Hatif did.”

Castillo could see Keegan swallow hard before he went on. “In my mind, I thought I missed him and hit you by mistake. I don’t know how I could have ever gone on if that had been the case.”

Castillo now also felt a rush of emotions, not just for his almost near death experience, but also in empathy for Tim Keegan. He spoke in a soft and heartening voice. “If you hadn’t taken the shot Tim, I’d surely be dead. Maybe Tommy too…maybe even you, or the other cops on the scene.”

Keegan pulled a deep breath and held it in his cheeks for a moment. “I know. It just scared the shit out of me when I thought that I’d shot you.”

Galvin once again joined in the dialogue. “It got scary again for a quick second after Hatif went down. I still had no idea what was going on, and in my mind, I thought that maybe Hatif had brought others with him. When I reached the edge of the delivery truck, I spun and pointed my gun in the direction of the gunshot. In essence, I drew down on Timmy until I saw the uniform.”

Keegan would add, “Yeah, and I still wasn’t sure if I had killed Hatif or if he was just injured. It also went through my mind that you may have been hit by my shot as well. Furthermore, like Sarge, I didn’t know if Hatif was alone or not. The first thing that I saw as I walked along the edge of the truck covering Hatif, was a 9mm emerge from the front of the truck. My focus immediately switched from Hatif to the new threat which turned out to be Sarge; thank God neither one of us shot the other.”

Keegan licked his lips before he continued. “Once we realized that there was no further threat, Sarge told me to cover Hatif so I pointed my gun at him while Sarge moved in and cuffed him. His gun was lying right next to him on the pavement where he died. Frank and the guys from the Crime Scene Unit came running outside with their guns drawn too. They heard the shot while they were still in the basement. They all thought you were dead too.”

Keegan paused for what seemed like an eternity to Castillo, listening to what could have been a transcript of his own death. Galvin then picked up the narrative. “Frank was really shaken up, Louie. He started yelling about how this can’t happen on your last day before you retire. He even went over and kicked Ahmed Hatif’s corpse before we pulled him away.”

Galvin motioned to Keegan. “Tim, Frank, and I picked you up and put you in the back seat of the unmarked car and drove you here to Jamaica Hospital. We had the lights and sirens going the entire way. The precincts did a great job of shutting down traffic for us, and we were here in a matter of minutes.”

Castillo remained silent, digesting all that he had learned. He looked each man in the eyes; all three of them were undoubtedly emotional. Castillo had to hold back a tear as he asked the next question. “Who told Sharon what happened?”

“Frank insisted that he go right after we got you here,” Galvin responded. “Sharon and Jess were here as soon as we could get them by your side. I don’t think they’ve left for more than a shower and a change of clothes the entire time.”

Castillo’s head began to throb. The numbness caused by the captivating story began to wear off and Castillo suddenly began to be aware of his injuries again. He reached down and pressed the button to release a dose of morphine into his IV drip. He sat and closed his eyes thinking how close his life had been to ending, and him never seeing his wife again or his daughter graduate from college. A tear fell free from his eye and slowly rolled down his cheek.