New York Chief of Detectives (20 page)

“Are you talking about the ex-cop?”

“The one and only.”

“What was he doing in the back room of the Blue Goose Cantina?”

“Good question, but it gets better. We also have prints from someone you’ll also know or you’ll at least know of him.”

“Who might that be, George?”

“Donald Harrison!”

“THE Donald Harrison?”

“Yes sir, in all his glory.”

“I’m surprised we even had his prints on file.”

“Me too, but he has a New York City Concealed Carry Permit. We have others too, Chief, but we haven’t made any other identifications yet. These guys’ prints were all over the room. They were on the mirrors, on the window, and on that glass-topped table.”

“How sure are we about these identifications?”

“We are one hundred and fifty percent sure. They’ve already been peer reviewed and confirmed.”

“Does anyone else know about this?”

“Just the examiners that made the identifications and peer reviews. I made them aware of the Queen’s DA’s orders and I also threatened them with intimate dismemberment if they told anyone.”

“I appreciate this, George. We’ll see where it takes us. I’ll see you in the conference room at 0900.”

“Thanks, Chief.”

George McBain closed the door as he left. Pat sat silently for an extended period before turning to Bryan Flannery.

“How does a 9-24 gang banger end up in the back room of a dive like the Blue Goose with an ex-cop and one of the richest men in New York? It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Of course we don’t know they were there at the same time.”

“True, but even if they weren’t, why were they there at all?  What were they doing that was so bad that they would kill a cop over it?”

“I think that’s what we have to find out. We’re not lacking in drama or investigative leads to pursue this morning. George made an understatement when he said that this case was going to get interesting. Donald Harrison put up part of the reward money for Tony Rodriguez’s killer through a non-profit police group. Bryan, I don’t know how much you know about him, but he’s ridiculously wealthy.”

“I’m well aware.” 

Pat’s desk phone rang.

“Pat O’Connor.”

“Hi, Pat, it’s Randy Brooks.”

“That was quick.”

“We aim to please. Pat, this guy, Romano is primarily a real estate lawyer. He works outside of any known firms. We’ve had one complaint on him regarding some shady real estate transactions. The complainant never returned our calls, and we closed it. That’s about it.”

“Thanks, Randy, let’s stay in touch.”

“It was my pleasure, Chief.”

It was almost time for the task force briefing and Pat knew that this meeting was going to be critical. He reminded himself that the evidence would tell them where to go and facts would dictate how to handle the situation. The status of the people involved should have no bearing. As far as Pat was concerned, no person was more important in this case than Tony Rodriguez.

CHAPTER 42

Monday, April 12-Day11

Major Crimes Conference Room-One Police Plaza

Borough of Manhattan, New York

0900 Hours

Pat
walked into the conference room with Bryan Flannery. The entire task force was there minus the IAB detectives, who had rarely shown up after the first few days. Pat got directly to the point.

“Good morning, guys and girls. I hope all of you have gotten some much-needed rest. This case is getting ready to jump into overdrive. Through the forensic geniuses and the Crime Scene Unit we have some new revelations that’ll shed some new and interesting light on this case. I was just briefed a few minutes ago by Sergeant McBain. George, would you like to explain what we have discovered?”

“Go ahead, Chief, you know the facts.”

“We asked the Crime Scene Unit to pay particular attention to the back room of the Blue Goose. It’s a conference room or office of sorts. The note in Tony Rodriguez’s car referred to checking out the back room. The room was extensively processed for prints and DNA. They definitely located blood in the room on the carpet and under the carpet on the hardwood floor. It’s being analyzed as we speak. Any idea when we’ll get results, George?”

“Hopefully, we’ll have them by the end of the day.” 

“We’ve gotten some results back on the latent fingerprints, and the cast of characters this reveals is astounding. I want to make it clear that these prints mean that these people were in that back room at some point. It doesn’t mean that they were there at the same time or that they have anything to do with Tony Rodriguez’s murder.”

“Nor does it mean that they did not have anything to do with Tony’s murder.” Mike Logan interjected.

“I couldn’t agree more, Mike. We take what we have, and it establishes a fact that at some point they were in that room. It can’t be disputed. It’ll be up to this task force to determine why they were there and if indeed they were involved.”

Andy Anderson couldn’t stand the suspense any longer.

“You’re killing us, Chief! Who did we identify?”

“This is where it gets really interesting.  The first one is Salvatore Cortez. He is a known gang-banger and has a pretty decent rap sheet. He’s supposed to be a part of the 9-24 Gang and is from El Salvador. I’m certain that he likely has MS-13 connections as well.”

MS-13 was one of the most violent street gangs in the world. Many members were military-trained in El Salvador.

“Chief?” Rosa Sanchez asked.

“Yes, Rosa.”

“Just for starters, I saw this guy in the center of the protesters in front of the Blue Goose on Saturday.  He’s definitely connected somehow.”

“Good observation, Rosa. Do you know this guy?”

“Not really, but I’ve seen him collared a few times.”

“Since, you have a little information; I want you to focus on this guy Cortez. Check with ICE, our intelligence guys, and any other sources you can think of. I want to know everything possible about him.”

“I’m on it, Chief!”

“Also, Public Disorder snapped some pictures of the protest. Get in touch with Lt. Ellis, and see if he can email them to you. I’d like to use the pictures to identify his associates.” 

“I’ll talk to the doctor that delivered him, if I can find him.”

“Thanks, Rosa. The second identification is of someone many of you will remember. It’s an ex-cop named Joey DeCarlo. He was known for ‘tuning up’ suspects and never made it to retirement. He’s always been shady, and used to hang out with a bunch of wise guys. We can get some information from IAB, but most of it may be protected. I think he last worked in the Safe and Loft Squad in Brooklyn, but Personnel can tell you for sure. I assure you that if he was in there, he was up to no good, and we’ve already established that he was there. Andy, you and Alverez check this guy out.”

“Absolutely! Do you want us to contact him or hold off?”

“Let’s see what we can put together first. If they’re connected, I don’t want to spook them just yet.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“The last prints that have been identified are the most interesting and puzzling. They belong to none other than Donald Harrison, the multi-millionaire entrepreneur.”

There was silence in the room and then a lot of mumbled curses.

“It caught me by surprise as well. I can’t think of one legitimate reason why a man of his stature would be in a place like the Blue Goose Cantina. It makes no sense. Mary, I’m going to let you and Mike check him out and see what’s going on.”

“Thanks, Chief, I need new friends.” Mary joked.

“I doubt that, but dig into everything we can find public, and private, about Mr. Harrison. If there’s a ripple, I want to find it. It might not matter, but get with someone who works financial crimes, and let’s see how influential he really is. I want to know what he owns, what he has bought, and what projects he has on-going. If something is wrong, we have to find it. Once we get the basics on these guys, we’ll probably start some surveillance. We need to get phone records and see who has been calling who. I probably shouldn’t mention it, but Donald Harrison put up a big chunk of the reward money up for Tony’s killer. I stress that it makes absolutely no difference. We’ll follow what the evidence tells us.”

Mike Logan spoke up. “Do you think we’ll get a lot of interference, Chief?”

“I’m assuming you’re talking about political interference.”

Everyone chuckled, and the jokes started.

“Guys, the Captain and I will worry about that. Do your jobs and let me know immediately if there’s a problem. Most of all, we have to keep a lid on this thing, and try to keep it out of the press. It would destroy our chances of breaking this case. Also Karla, I’d like for you and Wilber to start getting drafts on some court orders for phone records. We’ll hold off on getting them signed until we do some research on these guys.”

“Yes sir, Chief, we can handle it.”

Karla Adams and Wilbur Stone slapped hands, giving each other a high five. Pat knew they were the best at phone investigations in the NYPD. They were probably better than anyone in country, except maybe the National Security Agency, but the NSA didn’t need court orders.

“There’s one last thing. The little prick lawyer, Ed Romano, is a real estate lawyer. He fits in this somehow, but I’m not sure how he fits. Make sure we do a trace on his little pistol and see if it leads us anywhere. Are there any other questions or comments, guys?”

There was no response.

“Let’s meet back at 0900 in the morning and we’ll report on what we’ve learned unless something breaks off. Karla, let’s let the Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force start looking for Marcus Johnson. Treat him like a fugitive. Arresting him may save his life.”

CHAPTER 43

Monday, April 12-Day 11

Chief of Detectives’ Office- One Police Plaza

Borough of Manhattan, New York

1030 Hours

Pat
and Bryan walked back into Pat’s office. Pat closed the door and walked over to his coffee pot.

“I’m making some of the good stuff, Bryan, if you want some.”

“If you’re talking about that high-dollar Jamaican coffee you brew, I’d love some.”

“That’s exactly what it is.”

“Wow! That is some fantastic brew. I could never make myself pay forty dollars for a pound of coffee.”

“It was a gift.”

“Was it from the U. S. Secret Service?”

“No, but it was from a very beautiful Secret Service Agent.”

“I remember the last time we enjoyed it.”

Pat walked over to the conference table and handed Bryan a piping hot mug of coffee. Bryan sniffed the aroma and smiled. Pat sat down beside him with his own mug.

“This information we’ve developed concerning Donald Harrison will eventually get out. The commissioner and the other talking heads here at One PP will stress out, and all of that worry and stress is going to be funneled at us. If this guy, Harrison, is as connected as I think, we will suddenly become the focal point of a tornado spinning out of city hall.”

“When are you going to tell the commissioner?”

“I should probably tell him now, but I just know that he’ll overreact and we’ll not be able to fight our way through the storm of political bullshit. They’ll be worried that he won’t give any money to their pet projects, and it’ll end up all being the NYPD’s fault, namely one Chief of Detectives, Patrick O’Connor.”

“You sound like you may not tell him just yet.”

“The minute we establish him as a suspect, I’ll tell him, but I feel like we need to have a chance to develop more evidence and get some questions answered. Once Longstreet knows, he’ll have to tell the mayor and that’ll be the prelude to investigative chaos. It’ll complicate everything.”

“Do you really think that this guy is a suspect?”

“I don’t know for sure, but can you think of any legitimate reason why this guy would be there?”   

“Not really. It’s very strange!”

“I know and I don’t like strange. I want to see what we can find out about these characters and if the shoe fits, we’ll pursue the trail, wherever the evidence leads us.”

“You know you’re taking a risk?”

“Yeah, but it is a political risk. If this ‘Gazillionaire’ turns out to be a perp, he’ll be treated like one. We always talk about how we treat everyone the same, but if you’re politically connected, the
NYPD is expected to do more for you than for the people who really need our help. I’m not all that far from retirement, so I’m willing to risk it. I’ll deny we had this conversation, because I know you have some years to survive.”

“I’m going to say negative on that idea, Chief. We talked and we agreed on it. We need the room without interference. I’m in it with you, Chief, and I’ll have it no other way.”