87th Precinct - The Frumious Bandersnatch Part 19

aQuiet type,a he said.

Which was what most of them said about people whoad committed crimes of violence.

aKept mostly to himself.a Which is what they also said.

aCanat imagine him doing anything wrong.a Ho-hum, Carella thought.

aDid he mention why he was quitting the job?a Hawes asked.

aSaid he had bigger plans.a aLike what?a aSaid he was going to retire to Jamaica.a Jamaica again.

aDid he say how he planned to do that?a aNossir, he did not.a aMention any get-rich-quick scheme?a aNossir. I told you. He kept mostly to himself.a aEver see him with a redheaded girl and aaa aNope.a aaguy about my height?a Carella said. aThey mightave been friends of his. Brown eyes, curly black hair, good build.a aSounds almost like Ave.a aAve? Whoas Ave?a aAvery, I guess was his complete name. Feller worked outside selling records. I saw them together a few times.a aAverywhat? a Hawes asked.

aAVERY HANES,a the manager told them. aHe used to work at The Wiz, selling computers and such. I hired him last year around this time.a aWe understand he was friends with Wilkins.a aI guess maybe so. Theyad talk music together all the time. Avery knew every record ever made. Always coming to me with ideas about how we could sell more records. Was him who suggested we put in the listening booths. I was about to give him a raise when he left. Come to think of it, they both left around the same time. Around Easter.a aMaybe something bigger came along,a Carella suggested.

aMaybe so. He was opportunistic, thatas for sure.a aHow do you mean?a aOh, alert to possibilities. Iad hear him talking with customers, not just the usual do you like jazz, do you dig hip-hop, are you a Tony Bennett fan? Head inquire what line of work they were in, were they musicians, were they in advertising, were they in publishing? I had the feeling he was looking for a better job. Didnat want to sell records all his life, was all the timetrawling, you know whut I mean,trawling? a aYes, sir,a Carella said. aI know what you mean.a aSo maybe he hooked something,a Held said.

aMaybe he did,a Carella said.

aYou wouldnat happen to have his address, would you?a Hawes asked.

IF CARELLAand Hawes had walked around the corner from Lorelei Records on St. Johnas Avenue at precisely five past seven that evening, theyad have seen first a black Lincoln Town car pulling out of the garage under the Rio Building, and next two unmarked Mercury sedans behind it. Barney Loomis was at the wheel of the limo. Corcoran was sitting beside him, a dispatch case with $750,000 in new hundred-dollar bills on his lap. Endicott and Lonigan were in the lead Mercury, the blue one. Feingold and Jones were in the white Mercury behind it. The rest of The Squad was back at Number One Fed, manning the computers. This time, they were playing it their way. This time, the Joint Task Force had every intention of winning the horse race the Commissioner had created.

Carella and Hawes did not walk around the corner to the building in which Bison Records had its offices. Nor did either of the men connect the proximity of Lorelei Records to the company not a hundred yards away on Monroe Street.

Instead, while the caravan made its way south through the last of the eveningas rush hour traffic, the detectives drove in the opposite direction toward 8412 Winston Road, which was the last address the manager of Lorelei Records had for Avery Hanes.

It was beginning to get dark.

13.

THE CELL PHONEin Barney Loomisa Lincoln Town car rang at precisely seven-fifteenP.M. By that time he and Corcoran were on the River Dix Drive heading downtown in thinning traffic. Loomis picked up at once.

ah.e.l.lo?a aWhere are you?a Avery asked.

aOn the Drive. Approaching the Headley Building. Exit 12.a aGet off at Exit 5, park in the little parking area there. Iall call you again in ten minutes. Any tricks and the girl dies,a Avery said, and hung up.

aWhat?a Corcoran asked.

aExit 5 parking area. Heall call again when weare there.a Corcoran was on his own phone at once.

aHe said any tricksaa aYeah, well, we have a few tricks of our own,a Corcoran said.

aEndicott.a aHeas taking us to Exit 5. The parking area there. Why donat one of you get there before us? Keep circling, low profile.a aWill do,a Endicott said.

aHe said head kill Tamar if we tried any tricks,a Loomis said.

aWhat he considers tricks is not what we consider tricks,a Corcoran said. aDo you want the girl back, or donat you?a aThatasall I want.a aWell, the only way to get her is to get these guys first.a aThatas not my view.a aWe tried your way already, Mr. Loomis. And you got double-crossed. Leave this to people who know what theyare doing, okay?a aTamar is with a confederate, you know that. If we try anything funnyaa aLet me tell you something, Mr. Loomis, okay? Tamar Valparaisoaa aI donat want to hearaa aamay already be dead.a aOH JESUS,a Kellie said.

She had just entered the room, and the first thing she saw was blood.

She closed the door behind her, went swiftly to where Tamar lay huddled near the radiator, her hand still cuffed to it, her wrist torn and caked with blood where she had tried to pull the hand free. Her nose was crusted with blood as well, her lips swollen, her eyes puffed and discolored. There was blood on her thighs and higher up on her legs.

aOh, baby, what did he do to you?a Kellie asked, and put the rifle down on the floor, and took Tamaras free hand in her own.

aYOU GONNAnot talk to me forever?a Cal asked.

aJust shut up, you freak,a Avery told him. aSoon as we get this money, youare history.a aShe asked for it,a Cal said. aWasnat my fault what happened.a aI said shut up. You jeopardized this whole deal. This whole deal was we send her back safe. You wrecked her looks, you f.u.c.ked up the whole deal, you f.u.c.kin moron.a aHeall bring the money, anyway. He donat know what she looks like, all he knows is we got her. He donat know nothin happened to her. Heall bring the seven-fifty, youall see, and weare on our way.a aJust keep quiet, Iam not interested in anything you have to say.a Avery looked at his watch.

It was seventeen minutes past seven.

THE SUPERINTENDENTof the building at 8412 Winston Road told them his name was Ralph Hedrings. Hawes thought head said aRalph Headrinse.a That was okay because Hedrings thought Hawes had said aDetective Horse.a When they got there at seven-twenty, the super was still at dinner. He didnat particularly enjoy being interrupted by a pair of detectives looking for someone whoad moved out last month. Particularly someone who Hedrings considered had a superior att.i.tude. But he asked his wife to keep his asuppera warm, was what he called it, and then stepped outside the building with them and lit a cigarette.

aShe doesnat know I still smoke,a he explained, letting out a self-satisfied poisonous cloud. aHer brother had his larynx removed last month, she thinks everybody in the worldas gonna get throat cancer now. I been smoking since I was sixteen, I donat even cough. Why are you looking for Avery Hanes?a aFew questions we need to ask him,a Carella said. aWould you know wherea?a aHim and his girlfriend were living here for almost a year. All of a sudden, he tells me heas moving when the lease expired.a aWhen was that, Mr. Hedrings?a aApril one,a Hedrings said.

aAny idea where he went?a aNone at all.a aAnd you say he was living here with his girlfriend?a aRedheaded girl.a aWould you know her name?a aKellie. With ani.e. a aKellie what?a aDonat know. He was the one signed the lease.a So now they had three names.

Or, more accurately, two and a half names.

JUST AS LOOMISpulled the town car off Exit 5, he spotted the blue Mercury with Endicott and Lonigan in it driving past the parking lot as though looking for an address somewhere on the street, cruising slowly, stop-and-go-ing. He pulled the car into the lot, and sat there, looking out over the wheel at the headlights zipping by on the Drive. Sitting beside him, Corcoran said into his phone, aWeare here. See anything yet?a aNothing,a Endicott said.

The caras cell phone rang a moment later.

It was seven-twenty-sixP.M. on the dashboard clock.

aWHEREare you?a Avery asked.

aOff Exit 5,a Loomis said.

aTake a left onto Fairlane. Drive downtown to the Grace Wagner School of Design on Cronley. Park in front of the statue there. No tricks.a There was a click on the line.

aWhatad he say?a aThe Wagner School of Design on Cronley. Wants us to park in front of the statue there.a Corcoran tapped a b.u.t.ton on the face of his cell phone.

aEndicott.a aHeading downtown to Cronley, Wagner School of Design. He wants us to park there. Check out the building. Careful, they may be watching, same as before.a aMoving,a Endicott said.

aHe told me no tricks,a Loomis said.

Corcoran merely nodded.

aIS THIS PICTUREa mystery or something?a Ollie asked.

aNo, not at all,a Patricia said. aItas Shakespeare, I told you.a aBecause itas calledLooking for Richard, you know,a Ollie said, awhich sounds like a sort of mystery, doesnat it?a aMaybe so.a aLike a missing person or something, you know?a They were sitting watching commercials on the screen, eating popcorn and waiting for the movie to start. Ollie had bought two big cartons of popcorn with extra b.u.t.ter, and two Diet Pepsis because a person couldnat be too careful, and two big bars of Hersheyas chocolate with almonds in case Patricia was still hungry after she finished her popcorn. It bothered him that he had to sit here and watch commercials for restaurants and clothing stores, as if he hadnat paid for the tickets and was getting something free.

It also bothered him that he didnat knowexactly what this movie was about. If it was about a missing person, head had some experience along those lines, you know, and could relate to the movie more easily. But if it was about Shakespeare, the way Patricia said it was, then why had they named itLooking for Richard, which made it sound as if somebody had been kidnapped or something?

aAre you sure this is going to be Shakespeare?a he asked her.

aOh yes,a she said. aItas about doingRichard the Third. a aAh-ha!a he said. aItis a mystery!a aIt is?a aYou just said itas about doing Richard the Third.a aOh. I didnat mean adoinga in that sense. I meant performing the play. DoingRichard the Third. a aSo why are they calling itLooking for Richard if thereas no ticking clock?a he asked. Reminded, he looked at his watch. It was seven-forty-three and the movie was scheduled to start at seven-forty-five. So where was it? Why did they have to sit here watching a commercial for an antiques store, as if anyone would want to buy old used furniture and stuff?

aIam really excited about seeing this again,a Patricia said, and suddenly reached over for his hand and squeezed it.

aMe, too,a Ollie said dubiously.

His hand was sticky with b.u.t.ter.

Which was okay because her hand was, too.

THE GRACE WAGNERSchool of Design had once been called William Howard Taft High School, after the twenty-seventh President of the United States. Back then, it was a so-called academic high school, which meant that its students took subjects to qualify them for college entrance. But that was the good old days.

Nowadays, it was a vocational high school for kids looking for easy entre to the world of high fashion. If you could maintain a C-average and draw a straight line, you were admitted to Grace Wagner, which incidentally had been named after a woman whoad served on the Board of Education and played flute.

A bronze statue that looked like a huge bolt of lightning striking an oversized soccer ball stood on the patchy front lawn of the school. By the time Loomis pulled the Lincoln up in front of the statue, Endicott and Lonigan had already driven twice around the schoolas surrounding blocks. They had seen no one suspicious lurking about, but there was a light burning in one of the schoolas top-floor windows, and they thought theyad seen shadows moving past.

Endicott reported this to Corcoran now.

aMay be using the same M.O. they did in The Wasteland,a Corcoran suggested. aTake the high ground, cover the area through binocs.a aIall wait for the second car to show,a Endicott said. aWeall go in the back way, try to surprise them up there.a aDonat do anything to jeopardize the girlas safety,a Corcoran warned.

Loomis figured this was for his benefit.

Besides, his phone was ringing.

ah.e.l.lO?a he said.

aWe see you,a Avery said. aGet out of the car, both of you. Leave the money on the back seat. Leave the car unlocked with the keys in the ignition. Walk toward the school entrance. Now! Do itnow! a he said, and hung up.

aHe wants us to leave the money and get out of the car. He wants us to walk toward the school. Wants it unlocked with the keys in it.a Corcoran stabbed at his cell phone.

aEndicott.a aTheyare trying an end run,a he shouted. aGet around to the front of the school!Quick! a aWhat?a Endicott said.

The car phone rang again.

Loomis picked up.

aYes?a he said.

aI saidnow! a Avery said, and hung up.

aLetas go!a Loomis said.aPlease!a Both men got out of the car. Corcoran looked up the street, to where he could see a green SUV moving swiftly toward the parked Lincoln.

aHere they come!a he said, and reached under his jacket into his shoulder holster.

aDonat!aLoomis shouted.

IT ALL HAPPENEDso fast that later none of the agents or detectives could reconstruct it in proper sequence. It was rather like one of those movies directed by someone fresh out of film school, with jump cuts and flash forwards and four or five stories unreeling at the same time.

The first story was Barney Loomis wetting his pants the moment all those guns opened fire. Actually, there was only one gun at first, and it was in the right hand of Detective-Lieutenant Charles Farley Corcoran and he opened fire the moment the two men got out of what he now could see was a green Montana, and climbed into the black town car waiting at the curb in front of Grace Wagner. The Lincolnas engine roared into life an instant later, and the car pulled away from the curb just as its rear window slid down and a second gun opened up, a rifle this time spewing automatic fire, which is when Loomis wet his pants because he could actually hear bullets whizzing past his right ear.

The two Mercurys came around the corner at that very moment, Endicott and Lonigan in the lead car, Feingold and Jones in the second. Corcoran had sprinted to the curb by then, and was flagging down the blue Merc. Loomis had thrown himself flat to the ground the way head seen them do in better movies than this one, even though there were no bullets flying at the moment.

At the moment, in fact, and even before Corcoran jumped into the blue Merc like somebody about to yell aFollow that car!a the black Lincoln Town car had raced out of sight like theEnterprise zooming off into a star-filled void.

Where it was zooming off to was a spot a mile away, where they had parked the very last of the stolen cars.

THEY HAD LEFT8412 Winston Road in Calmas Point at seven-thirty, had encountered heavy traffic coming over the bridge, and did not get back to the squadroom till a minute past eight. A minute after that, Carella was calling the number he had for telephone company Special a.s.sistance.

The Joint Task Forceas hi-tech triangulation had ended in something like strangulation, and their Trap-and-Trace routine had proved futile in the face of stolen and disposable cell phones. So it got down to a weary detective sitting behind a cigarette-scarred desk in a grimy squadroom making a good old-fashioned phone call. In many ways the good old telephone company was always reliable if not always courteous. Even dealing with a so-called Special Operator a.s.signed to helping law enforcement agencies working so-called important cases, the civility level was barely acceptable.

aHereas what weare looking for,a Carella told a woman named Miss Young. She had no first name. Just Miss Young. aWeave got an Avery Hanes living at 8412 Winston Road in Calmas Point, for the year prior to this April first. And weave gotaa aWas that Winston as in Winston cigarettes?a Miss Young asked.

aAs in Winston Churchill, yes,a Carella said. aAnd weave got a man named Calvin Wilkins, living at 379 Parrish Place in Calmas Point, from just before Thanksgiving to around the same time, April first. Thatas Parrish with a double-R.a aAnd what is it youare seeking, Detective?a aList of phone calls made from each of those numbers in March. I want phone numbers, names and addresses.a aYouall need a court order for that.a aThatas not my understanding. Weare not looking to put a pen register on those lines. In fact, the numbers are probably no longer in service. All I want is the numbers called and the names and addresses of the parties called. Iam sure you have those. If for billing purposes alone.a aItas my understanding that a court orderaa aMiss, weare dealing with a kidnapping here. Any a.s.sistance you can give usaa aOne moment, please,a Miss Young said.

Carella waited.

aMiss Cole,a another voice said. aHow may I help you, sir?a Carella told her how she might help him.

aWeall need a court order for that,a she said.

aThereas a certain urgency here,a Carella said.

aIam sorry, sir.a aIall get back to you,a he said, and hung up.

It was now five minutes past eight. It would take him forty minutes to get downtown and another forty minutes to shake a judge out of a tree at that hour. By then, Tamar Valparaiso might be dead. He picked up the phone and dialed the number he had for the Joint Task Force downtown.

aTask Force,a a voice said.

aThis is Carella,a he said. aWhoas this?a aSpecial Agent Jakes.a aI need some help, Jakes.a THEY PULLED THELincoln in alongside and slightly to the rear of the Grand Cherokee Laredo theyad parked there earlier today. Cal threw up the hood of the Jeep and jump-started the vehicle. They were on their way again in three minutes flat, leaving the Lincoln with the key in the ignition in a neighborhood where aYour Money or Your Lifea was a nursery rhyme. Avery figured if they had a little luck with traffic, theyad be at the beach house in half an hour or so. Then theyad return the girl and that was that.

End of story.

They never once considered the fact that an armed and dangerous person was in that house, and she was only twenty-four years old, and she had never in her life fired an AK-47.

aDETECTIVECarella?a aYes?a aThis is Miss Cole again.a Carella looked at the clock on the squadroom wall. The time was eight-fifteen.

aI just got a call from an FBI agent named Randall Jakes,a Miss Cole said. aHe faxed me a copy of a court order that would seem to cover the request you made. Do you have a fax machine there?a He gave her the fax number.

Five minutes later, he had on his desk two separate lists of the calls Avery Hanes and Calvin Wilkins had made from their respective telephones during the month of March. Not surprisingly, many of the calls had been from Hanes to Wilkins or vice versa. From Wilkinsa number, there were half a dozen calls to Air Jamaica and American Airlines. From Hanesa number there were a dozen or more calls to American, British Air, Virgin Atlantic, Delta, and Air France. There were calls to Capshaw Boats, the marina from which theyad rented the Rinker presumably used in the kidnapping. There were calls to a person named Benjamin Lu, whoever he might turn out to be. Almost every day in March, Hanes had called a party listed only as aUnpublished.a An asterisk at the top of the page explained: aAT THE CUSTOMERaS REQUEST, THIS NUMBER IS UNPUBLISHED.a In the month of March, Hanes had also made seven calls to a real estate agent in Russell County.

Carella pulled the phone to him and began dialing again.

BY EIGHT-TWENTY-SEVEN, he had dialed the number for Margaret Holmes Realty twice, on the off chance shead been down the hall the first time. Concluding that she was closed for business at this hour, he dialed Information and told the operator he wanted a residential listing for a Margaret Holmes, as in Sherlock Holmes, in the town of South Beach, which was where the real estate office was located. The operator came back to say she had no listing under that name. He asked her to try all the towns in Russell County, and she said she couldnat do that, she needed a specific town. He told her he was a police officer investigating a kidnapping, and she asked him to wait while she put a supervisor on the line. The supervisor told him he had to have a specific town, did he know how many towns there were in Russell County? It was eighty-thirty-three when Carella once again dialed the number he had for Special a.s.sistance and asked for Miss Cole.