New York Chief of Detectives (6 page)

“I don’t suppose the camera caught the tag or pictures of its occupants.”

“No, Captain, that would’ve been too easy. It’s actually a black and white camera and there’s some glare, so we can’t see much or determine the color or anything like that.”

“See if Tech Services can get us some still photos from the video.  Let’s get them over to the Auto Theft Squad and see if we can get the year, make, and model narrowed down.”

“We’ll get it done today, boss.”

“Thanks, Mary, we’re starting to pick up some momentum.”   

“Dennis, any luck with the computers?”

“Captain, we’ve done a preliminary examination and found nothing unusual. Tony had a laptop but we can’t find it. I’m assuming it’s in his car. His desktop had a few sent messages on it from Friday, but they were mostly simple and not related to cases. Messages from the Detectives Endowment Association and a few training messages were about it. We’re looking for any hidden files, but I haven’t found any. When we find the laptop we may learn more.”

“Thanks, Dennis, I like the ‘when’ we find it, better than ‘if’ we find it.”

“Thanks, Captain. Also, Caroline Rodriguez gave us permission to examine their home computer. Tony was a music nut, and there were a lot of messages related to that, but nothing work-related.”

“Thanks, Dennis.”

“So what have our crime analysts been able to determine?”

“Good morning, Captain and Chief O’Connor. I’m Polly Greenburg from the RTCC. I’ve looked for any activity city-wide involving Detective Rodriguez and have also looked for any unusual calls in the area where the body was found. I’ve identified a few car stops in the area, and will see if anything is close to the time that Chevy Caprice was in the lot. I’ll also search for older Caprices in the database. If you get an exact year, let me know and I‘ll run some searches in the state motor vehicle registry, as well as our NYPD databases.”

“Thanks, Polly, anything will help.”

Brian Flannery turned to Pat.

“Do you have anything for us?” Flannery asked.

“Thanks, I really appreciate all the work. I feel like finding Curtis Gee is our most likely way of getting to the bottom of what Tony was working on and maybe who killed him. We need to get out there as soon as possible and see what he has to say. Whatever you need, you have it from me. Keep me posted.”

CHAPTER 12

Monday, April 5-Day 4

Chief of Detectives’ Residence

Borough of Manhattan, New York

1700 Hours

Dickie
dropped Pat off at his condo.

“Thanks, Dickie, I’ll see you about 1900 hours when you pick me up to go to the wake.”

“Okay, Chief, are you going to wear your uniform?”

“Not tonight, but I’ll wear the fancy bag tomorrow for the funeral.”

“I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

“See you then.” 

“Okay. Chief.”

Pat took his tie off and got something cold to drink. He went over to his favorite chair and decided to pop in a brand-new, Latin jazz CD by a famous Cuban trumpet player.  He had met him a few times when he played in New York and found him to be a really approachable guy. Pat still loved jazz, but spent all too little time pursuing it the way he had once dreamed he would. For now, the music took him to another place and time.

Pat put his tie on and was combing his hair when the phone rang. It was Bryan Flannery.                          

“Evening, Chief. We have a hot one. Mary and Mike and a few others went over to Curtis Gee’s room. He didn’t answer the door and they couldn’t find anyone who’d seen him since last week. Mike Logan thought he smelled something foul and was convinced it was human decomp. He argued with the uniformed sergeant who didn’t think they had enough probable cause. Anyway, Logan called me and said he was certain it was decomposition. I told him to kick in the door, and he did. We’ve found a person I presume is Curtis Gee DOA on the floor with a couple of slugs in the head.”

“Okay, Brian, who knows about this?”

“Just you and the guys here, but I’m sure that the precinct sergeant has sent it up his chain. As soon as we found the ‘stiff’ we backed out and are getting a search warrant.”

“I’ll be rolling shortly. Dickie is picking me up in five minutes.”

“See you when you get here Chief, we’ve got it locked down.”

Pat picked up his cell phone and dialed Commissioner Longstreet’s cell phone number.      

“Longstreet here.”

“Evening, Commissioner, Pat O’Connor.”

“What is it, Patty? I’m at the wake.”

“Well sir, I think you better listen. We have traced Tony Rodriguez’s last call to a former gangbanger and likely snitch named Curtis Gee who lived in a rooming house over in Queens. My guys went over there hunting for this guy and found him dead, with gunshots to the head. It looks like he’s been there a few days.”

“Do you think he’s our killer, Patty?”

“Too early to tell, but I want to keep the relationship between these two cases between us, until we know more.”

“Why does everything have to be a secret with you, Patty?” 

“Because the rest of the brass couldn’t keep a secret if their lives depended on it. I just need some breathing room because we’re making progress.”

“Patty, I appreciate the heads up, but please continue to keep me in the loop.”

“Will do, Commissioner.”

When Pat walked out of his building, Dickie was waiting at the curb. Pat hopped in the car.    

“Change of plans, Dickie. They’ve found our person of interest, Curtis Gee, dead at his rooming house in Queens. Here’s the address.”

Pat handed Dickie a slip of paper. He looked at the address, and then hit the red lights and siren as he sped away from the curb.

As they neared the scene, he cut the lights and siren.

“It looks like they’ve kept the lid on this one, Dickie. I really hope we can find out what all of this means before we get invaded by the media vultures.”

“Wishful thinking, boss.  There’s a news truck behind us.”

“Too bad. They’re not getting anything anytime soon.”

Pat could see Bryan Flannery walking toward the Chrysler. Pat motioned for him to get in the car. 

“Got a search warrant yet?”

“No, Chief. They’re hunting a judge.”

“What can you tell me?”

“It looks like he’s been there a few days. He’s pretty ripe, but you can see two bullet holes in his forehead. He is right inside the door on his back. Looks like the door was opened, and he was executed. Hard to tell if there was a forced entry after Mike Logan nearly knocked the frame off the door with his size thirteen.”

“What does your gut tell you?”

“The same thing I’m sure yours tells you, Chief.  This is somehow related to the murder of Rodriguez.”

“I agree, and we’re going to try to keep that fact between us until we can figure this out.”

“That’ll be hard, but I’ll read the riot act to the task force, and make sure they know our intentions.”

“Dickie and I’ll be heading over to the wake. Once you get in with the search warrant, let me know as soon as possible what we find.”

“George McBain is already here, and is calling some CSU personnel that he knows he can trust.”

“Okay, Bryan, I’ll talk to you later tonight.”

“Talk to you then, Chief.”

Brian got out of the car and Dickie drove off as a reporter was walking up to their car.

It took about thirty minutes for Dickie and Pat to arrive at the funeral home in Brooklyn. NYPD cars were double parked for blocks, and lines of blue uniforms were formed around the block waiting to get inside the funeral parlor. Pat and Dickie could have easily bypassed the line and gone straight in using the RHIP (“Rank has its Privileges”) justification, but Pat found it distasteful so he went to the back of the line.  It took about an hour to get inside. Pat hugged Caroline Rodriguez.

“I’m so sorry that I haven’t been in touch more, Caroline, but we’ve been working day and night.”

“You’re doing exactly what Tony would want you to do, Pat, by trying to find out who did this to him. Are you making progress?”

“We have some leads, but everything is still pretty preliminary.”

“You’re not talking to a reporter, Pat, and I can tell you don’t have anything at all.”

“Well, Caroline, I won’t lie to you. We still have no clue about what Tony was working on and have yet to find his police car. But we’re slowly piecing some things together that may help. If it does, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Thank you, Chief.  I mean Pat. I know you’ll do your best. Tony always said you were a born detective.”

“I appreciate your confidence, and I’d be honored to speak at the service. I’m very touched.”

Pat and Dickie left the funeral home and returned to the homicide scene in Queens. Bryan Flannery was still on the scene.

“Chief, I’m sorry I missed the wake. Was there a big crowd?”

“Yes, they were lined around the block. The NYPD did Tony proud tonight. There were lots of gold shields there, especially from OCCB. I know Tony’s family understands why you weren’t there.”  

“How’s his wife doing?”

“She’s being strong, but is also asking the same questions we are, wondering what Tony was working on Friday night and how he ended up dead in a vacant lot.”

“What do we have here with Curtis Gee?”

“He has two slugs to the head. They’re probably 9 mm. CSU found two 9 mm shell casings inside the door.”

“It looks like he was shot at point blank range. There are dark black powder burns around the wounds. Mike Logan says the door was locked tight before he kicked it, so Gee probably knew his killer. The dead-bolt wasn’t locked, but the door knob lock was locked. There’s not much in the room. But we did find Gee’s cell phone in his jacket pocket, and we’ll do forensics to see who he was talking to.”

“Has the media shown much interest?” 

“There’s actually been little interest. They know we have a body but no real details. We played it low key without a big show, and for once it worked. They probably think some drunk has died in this rat hole.”

“Thanks, Bryan. I appreciate you staying on top of this thing. How long do you think you guys will be out here?”

“Hard to say, Chief, but you can be sure we’re looking under those little rocks under the rocks for a lead.”

“If you need anything else, please call me.” 

“I’ll call you. Goodnight, Chief.”

CHAPTER 13

Tuesday, April 6-Day 5

Chief of Detectives’ Residence

Borough of Manhattan, New York

0600 Hours

Tuesday
morning came quickly as Pat O’Connor’s alarm went off at 0600 hours.  Pat knew he had a lot to do today and could not afford to hit the snooze button. He poured himself a cup of coffee and turned on the news. They were already talking about Tony Rodriguez being laid to rest today. Pat knew that it was going to be a difficult day for everyone.  Pat had laid out his dress blues for the funeral. He had placed the black mourning band over his Chief of Detectives three star shield.

Dickie arrived promptly at 0700 hours. He was also dressed in his uniform.

“You know, Dickie, it’s never a good thing when we have to wear these bags.”

“I know.  It seems it’s always for funerals or something else bad.”

“When you’re a detective and you have to put a uniform on, the only good thing that could be happening is that you’re getting promoted.”

“I never thought of that, Chief, but you’re right. But of course I’ve only been promoted one time to detective. How about you, Chief?”

“Let’s see Detective 3rd Grade, Detective 2nd Grade, Detective 1st Grade, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Inspector, Inspector, Deputy Chief and Chief of Detectives. How many times is that?”

“That’s ten times.  You’ve been promoted more times than I have years on the job. Wow!”

“I’ve been very lucky, Dickie, and you will be, too, if you keep your nose clean. The most important thing about getting promoted is timing. There has to be a slot for you. It gets harder as you move up, because there are fewer opportunities, but you’ll still have more opportunities, because you work in the largest police department in the country. You just need to work hard, use some grey matter, and hit those promotional books until you’re sick of them. Have there been any developments overnight?”

“Not that I’m aware of, Chief.” 

“We have to catch a break in this case.”

“Don’t worry, before this is all over, you’ll pull that famous rabbit out of a hat.”