Joey Mancuso Mysteries Box Set

by Owen Parr

  “Talk all you want. I ain’t moving.”

  Blue suit finally asked, “Are you, Joe Mancuso?”

  “That would-be Joey Mancuso, yes, I am.”

  “Mr. Mancuso,” said gray suit, “You’ve made a whole bunch of people very unhappy. They have lots of questions for you also.”

  “Fucking A, that makes my day, Mr. Gray suit. Now, why don’t you ask Miss Martinez, your questions so that we can get out of here.”

  Gray and Blue went on for about an hour asking and taking notes from what Marcy was relating, as to the events of the abduction. When they concluded with the questions to her, they realized from her answers, that it was Giuseppe Mancuso, who uncovered the Red Ribbon serial killer, otherwise known as, Special Agent Anthony Belford.

  “Mr. Mancuso,” said Blue suit, “since we have you here, we might as well ask you about your investigation, and how it led you to Belford.”

  “Of course, I’m happy to discuss that,” I replied, smiling, “except, I’m not doing it here, or with you,” I said, widening my smile. “No, there’re a lot of people involved in this investigation, and I report to the NYPD. I’ll do my report to my supervisor, Captain Alex Johnson, in New York. You know what I’m talking about?”

  Blue glanced at Gray, or what is it the other way around, they grunted almost in unison, got up, shook hands with Marcy, avoided me altogether, and walked the hell out of my life.

  Unfortunately, MBPD homicide detectives had waited their turn, and they too had questions for both of us. However, this hour-long session was much more pleasant, especially since Mr. Pat, had brought both Marcy and me, two Cuban sandwiches, diet drinks and a large very hot café-con-leche for each.

  Both the FBI and the MBPD heard from Marcy the entire story of the abduction and Belford’s confession about killing his mother and stepdad. Marcy didn’t have the details of the other serial killings, although Belford had admitted to killing about twenty women.

  Marcy’s shooting of Special Agent Belford was ruled justifiable. After all, he shot at Marcy and me, ten times, and had a second gun at the ready. I think he expected Marcy to use up the four rounds on the shotgun she had taken from him, and then, shoot her with his thirty-eight special. I don’t think he expected Marcy to shoot him as she did. My questions were; did she know he had an ankle holster with a gun? He had pulled the gun out of the holster, but, did she see that?

  It was almost ten in the morning, and we were free to go. Angela and Patrick were headed back to New York on an afternoon flight to Newark. Marcy’s mother, Rosa and her husband, Alberto, were coming to Miami Beach tomorrow, to be with Marcy. Bob Seger’s song; We’ve got tonight, came to mind. But, I wasn’t sure what kind of mood Marcy was in. And, officially we were still ‘taking a break from each other,’ as she had wanted to do, what, a month or two ago? I had nothing to lose. I was turning to ask her, when the elevator door opened with two guys bringing out Belford, or most of him, in a body bag.

  “Hang on a second,” I said to Marcy, as the gurney with Belford’s remains was wheeled right next to me. Standing up, I turned to the two men pushing the gurney. “Guys, can you stop for a second?”

  They looked at me surprised. The young man on the back of the gurney asked, “What do you need, sir?”

  I moved closer, and said, “Do you mind if I open the bag and look at something?”

  They glanced at each other, both raising their shoulders. “Be our guest, just don’t touch anything,” said the other member of the coroner’s team.

  “Can I borrow a pair of gloves?” I asked.

  “Who are you, sir?” One of them asked.

  Angela and Tico were now standing next to me. “I’m MPD, open the bag, and give him a pair of gloves, please,” said Tico.

  They handed me a pair of latex gloves, as they started to unzip the bag. Fortunately, the feet were the first to be exposed, I said, “You can stop, I don’t need the whole bag open. Anyone have a measuring tape?”

  Everyone looked at each other. No tape was available from anyone. “Tico, you got two bills?”

  Tico took a step back, “I don’t understand, Joey. You want two hundred dollars?”

  “No brother, I just need two bills, any denomination is fine.”

  Tico pulled out a five and a one dollar bill, handing them to me, he asked, “What are you going to do?”

  “Tico, come over. Give me a hand,” I said, as I placed the two bills together, one after the other. “Hold the bag while I do this.”

  Tico asked again, “What is it you’re doing, bro?”

  I placed the bills under the sole of Belford’s right shoe. “What do you see, Tico?”

  “What do I see?”

  “Tico, is the sole of the shoe bigger, or smaller, than the two bills?”

  Tico bent his head to take a closer look. “The bills are longer than the sole of the shoe, is that what you’re asking?”

  “Exactly. That is the question. So, you agree that sole is shorter than two bills?”

  “Yeah, sure. What does that mean?”

  By now I had a group gathered next to me. MBPD, FBI, and others involved in dealing with this scene. I spotted Mr. Pat and Angela standing next to Marcy.

  “Sir, are you done?” asked the young guys responsible for the body.

  “Yes, yes. Sorry,” I replied.

  An MBPD detective approached me and asked, “Mr. Mancuso, what were you doing?”

  I looked around and just replied, “Oh, I just wanted confirmation of something. We’re good here.”

  The detective asked, “Anything we need to know?”

  “No, we’re good,” I replied, taking off the latex gloves, and walking towards my team.

  Mr. Pat knew I had something, as I got closer to him, he asked in a whisper, “What you got, Joey?”

  I glanced at him, winked, and said, “Give it a few minutes. Let the lobby clear itself.”

  Marcy came over to me, “Let’s get out of here,” she said.

  “What do you want to do?” I asked, turning to face her.

  “I don’t know. Can we rent a convertible, and drive around?” she asked, excitedly.

  “Of course, let’s do it. What about —?” I paused.

  “What about tonight?” she finished my sentence, “let’s stay at The Four Seasons on the beach.”

  That was not going to be my question. However, I liked her answer. Looking at Mr. Pat and Angela, I replied, “Sounds good. I’ll rent the car and book a couple of rooms,” I said.

  “A couple of rooms, why? Who else is staying with us?” she asked, smiling.

  “So, we’re not taking a break from each other anymore?”

  “No, Mancuso. Is your offer still open?”

  “What offer is that?”

  “You and me, silly. You did say, it was open-ended, no expiration date. Right?”

  “You mean my marriage proposal?”

  “Mancuso, I’m waiting for an answer. My Mom and stepdad are going to be in town tomorrow. Your mother is near here. How about we tie the knot tomorrow?”

  Angela and Patrick were smiling next to us. I was overwhelmed by her proposal. I’ve been waiting for this for over two years. “Marcy, I accept. But, I want to do this back in New York. Father Dominic has been waiting for this moment for two years himself. He will be devastated if we don’t do this at his church, with him presiding, besides, all our friends are back there.”

  “You’re on Mancuso. But, we start the honeymoon today.”

  I was ready, but, was she? In the last three months, she had killed a terrorist in a plane at Newark airport, almost lost her life after being shot during the same incident. Just this morning, she stood in front of a man shooting at her, and she didn’t flinch. Then, she killed the man that had abducted her, and held captive for three days? She wasn’t at fault for the killings in New York, but, would she ever blame herself for the five horrific murders by Belford, a man she was friends with and visited her apartment for a few weeks. Thi
s was all happening a little too quick. I was concerned that she was reacting irrationally to so much stress in a short period.

  But, I was happy for us. Maybe I was playing a psychologist and worrying too much about nothing. This time, I was not going to miss the boat, as they say. Marcy and I were soul mates, and we were meant to be together.

  I embraced her in the lobby, “Miss Martinez, you are on. Honeymoon now, wedding next week.”

  Patrick said, “Congratulations you two. Finally, we have a wedding to plan.”

  Marcy turned to Pat, and replied, “Thank you, Patrick,” hugging him.

  I saw Marcy turn to Angela, whom she had not met, and did a double take. “Marcy, this is detective Angela Asis. She was with vice here in Miami and is hoping to join NYPD. She was helping us in your search.”

  “Hi Marcy,” Angela said.

  “Thank you for helping Angela,” Marcy said, as she moved in closer to exchange a kiss on the cheeks.

  I added, “Angela’s husband was transferred to New York, and Angela would like to continue working. She wants to join Captain’s Johnson squad.”

  “Great welcome to New York,” Marcy said.

  Patrick said, “Sorry to change the subject, Angela and I, are headed back today. We’re flying out at three pm. I assume you guys are hanging around?”

  “Pat, I’m staying with Marcy tonight. Her parents are coming in tomorrow. I’ll be back tomorrow in New York.”

  My phone rang and vibrated giving me a jolt. The ID caller read; Captain Johnson. “Hello, this is Mancuso.” I motioned to Patrick to come with me, as I moved away from the ladies.

  “Joey,” Alex Johnson said, a tad agitated. “Why haven’t you called me back? I’ve left ten messages at least.”

  “Captain, my phone was not working. Remember Belford had taken it and he had removed the SIM card. I just got it to work.”

  “Well listen, I need to meet with you before the Mayor has his press conference tomorrow. He would like for you to be present for that.”

  “Captain, I didn’t hear all of that, we have a bad connection,” I said, although I heard him perfectly. “This case is not completely solved. I think we have another person involved in these killings.”

  “Joey, you’re kidding, right?”

  “No, Captain, I’m not at all. We don’t know about the extent of the involvement, but for sure there’s another person involved.”

  “Do you know who it is?”

  “Sir, we think we do. But, we have no proof. We’re trying to put a plan together. My suggestion, Captain, is not to have a press conference.”

  “That’s not going to be received very well by the brass,” Johnson said.

  “At least cover your ass, Captain. I suggest they wait a day or two. Let us do our thing. Otherwise, the Mayor is going to be embarrassed a second time. Not that I give a shit.”

  “I’ll mention it, Joey. You’re right I’ll CYA it. Stay in touch please,” said the Captain.

  “Another thing, sir.”

  “What is it, Joey?”

  “We need to keep what happened here, under wraps for a day, at least,” I said, knowing it would be almost impossible.

  “That’s a mission impossible. Too many people involved; FBI, Miami Beach Police, and press. Then, there are you guys. How can we do that?”

  “Can it be reported as an abduction or a chase after a criminal? We need to keep Belford’s name out of the news, and the fact we think he was the Red Ribbon Killer.”

  “Why Joey?”

  “Like I said, Captain. There’s an accomplice or a second person involved in these killings. If we tell the world we got the killer. We might not get the second person.”

  “MBPD and FBI are waiting for my call. They don’t have all the facts from our end. Perhaps I can ask them to stall for a few hours.”

  “I need forty-eight hours, sir.”

  “I don’t know Joey. Are you in New York now?”

  “No, I’m still in Miami.”

  “Flying back today?”

  “I was going to spend the night here with Marcy. Her parents are coming in tomorrow morning.”

  “You should be here if you’re telling me there’s a second person. We need to get this done.”

  “I understand Captain. Here’s the thing; in less than two months, Marcy has shot two people dead. She was injured in the first shooting. Then, she’s facing losing her FBI job, due to physical impairment from the damage to her shoulder. Add to that, the abduction at the hands of this animal and the fear and stress she must have felt. I’m not leaving her behind alone tonight.”

  There was silence for few seconds. “I’m sorry Joey, you’re right. Marcy has gone through more than anyone should. Stay there as long as you have to. Let me work on the story, and see how we can spin this.”

  “Remember what I said, the Mayor does not want to be embarrassed twice. Let him know we need to wait. He’ll find a way to spin it for you. Let his office do it.”

  “We’ll talk tomorrow, Joey.”

  I hung up with Johnson. Hopefully, we could hold off on naming Belford as the killer, for a day, or two.”

  Patrick stood next to me listening to the conversation. “Lad, can I ask you a question?” queried Pat.

  We were still in the hotel lobby. “What is it, Pat?”

  “You were going to share what you did with Belford’s feet, or shoes. What’s up? I can see you were deep in thought.”

  “Patrick, the last victim,” I paused and looked around.

  Mr. Pat followed my gaze around the room. “What about the last victim?”

  I whispered, “The person that went back in the room after the vic was dead, you know, the one who went in to retrieve the Motorola Bluetooth gadget?”

  “What about it?”

  “The shoe prints on the carpet I found, were measured to be thirteen inches from tip to heel.”

  “Yes, I remember that,” he said.

  “Okay, you saw me measuring Bedford’s shoe. Each currency bill is six inches long. I placed two bills together. Therefore, that would measure twelve inches. However, Belford’s shoe was smaller than the twelve inches. His shoe size is probably ten, not thirteen.”

  Mr. Pat snapped his head back, “Are you saying Bedford is not the killer?”

  “Belford admitted to killing twenty women. I just don’t know if he killed the last one. At the very least, he was not the one who entered the room last.”

  Patrick grabbed the bottom of his red beard with his right hand, and asked, “Shit lad, are you then saying the serial killer is still out there?”

  35

  “More coffee?” I asked.

  We spent the night at the Miami Beach, Four Seasons Hotel, and dined in their oceanfront restaurant Le Sirenuse. Now, breakfast was served in our corner room that faced the Atlantic Ocean. The floor to ceiling glass walls, allowed us to fully appreciate the orange sunrays that brightly shone on the sparkling, and warm blue-green waters in front of us, as the baby blue sky with puffy white clouds seemed to melt into the horizon.

  “No, I’m good. Come back to bed and make love to me,” Marcy said.

  “Give me two minutes to get some nourishment, and I’ll jump back in there with you,” I said, as I swallowed a piece of hickory smoked southern bacon.

  Marcy covered her entire body with the comforter, and pleaded from under it, “I’m lazy. I want to stay in bed all day with you.”

  “Love to stay, but, I on my way back to New York. Plus, I have more than forty messages on my phone, which I recovered from the back of Belford’s car.”

  “Mancuso, are you passing up an opportunity to stay in bed with me all day?”

  How do I answer that? I thought. After a few moments, I said, “Nothing would give more pleasure and satisfaction, than being in bed with you all day.” I probably die as a result of it, but no, I didn’t say that. “However, this case is not over, and your parents are going to be here in an hour, or two.”

  “D
id you make reservations for them at the hotel?”

  “Marcy, they have the condo in South Beach. You guys are going to be staying there.”

  “Shoot, but this hotel is so nice,” she replied.

  Nice and freaking expensive. “Yes, it is very nice. You and I will come back and spend more time here, I promise you.”

  “Okay,” she said, as she yawned. “Get your ass in bed.”

  “By the way, we are all over the news. You’re a hero again. I think you’re going to need to wear a cape and come up with a hero’s moniker and logo.”

  “Oh no, I don’t want any more press. Do they know we’re here?”

  “No, we’re incognito. No one knows. And fortunately, they're not aware of the connection between what we did and the Red Ribbon Killer. So far, they’ve kept Belford’s name out of the news. I don’t know how long that’s going to last.”

  “Wonderful. Let’s kept it that way.”

  An hour and a half later, I drove my red Mustang rental to Miami Airport. Marcy’s parent's arrival coincided with my departure. She was to keep the car for the time she was to stay with her parents.

  Everything came in bunches. Great food, comfortable sleep, and incredible sex. All three things alluded me in the past few days. The sex, was a bit longer than that since Marcy and I had been apart for almost two months, all I know it felt like a year. But, we made up for it.

  No new killings took place in New York City, since the last victim. I still knew, that the person that was last in the room of our previous victim was not Belford. The possible other three suspects; the two officers first on the scene, and the apartment manager, well, we knew that none of them had a thirteen-inch shoe size. Who was it? And, were they involved in the serial killings?

  My flight lasted close to three hours. And, I took an Uber back to the pub in the Financial District of Manhattan. “Good morning gents,” I said, entering our office.

  “Congrats Joey. We heard you got engaged,” Agnes said.

  “Thank you, we did get engaged,” I replied.

  Patrick and Agnes were in the office. Father O’Brian was to join us in a few minutes. Also, I had asked Detective Lucy Roberts, to come in. Our office was looking good. Flooring had finally been installed, and what I thought was a bright and smart squad room had taken shape. Our private detective agency had a comfortable feel to it.