Mischief

by Ed McBain

  That out of the way, Kling said, “Mr. Colbert, there are a few things we’d like to show you, and then we’d like to ask you to do something for us, and then we’re going to call the District Attorney’s Office, and get them to send someone here to do a Q and A. First, we want to show you this report that was just faxed to us from the fingerprint section, which positively identifies your fingerprints with the ones we lifted from the paint cans we recovered in your partner’s closet, would you like to read this, please?”

  Colbert read the fax.

  Silently, he handed it back.

  “Next, we would like you to read this signed statement from a girl, a woman, named Miriam Hartman, positively identifying you as the man who purchased those cans of paint on the afternoon of March twenty-fifth, would you care to look at this, too, please, sir?”

  Colbert looked at the signed statement.

  He handed it back.

  “Next, sir, what we’d like you to do for us, if you will…”

  “What we want you todo ,” Parker said impatiently, “is write something on a piece of paper for us, the identical words we’re going to give you, that’s what we’d like you to do.Sir ,” he added, and shot a glance at Kling.

  “I don’t want to answer any further questions,” Colbert said.

  “Well, we haven’t reallyasked you any questions yet, sir,” Kling said, “even though you waived your rights to an attorney other than yourself and said you’d behappy to answer whatever questions we may have. But this isn’t aquestion , sir, this is a request. It’s the same as if we asked you to put on your hat or touch your finger to your nose or appear in a lineup or let us take your fingerprints…”

  “Which we alreadydid , by the way,” Parker said.

  Without a fuckin peep from you, he thought.

  “It’s what you might call the difference between testimonial andnon testimonial responses,” Kling said helpfully.

  “What do you want me to write?” Colbert asked.

  “Five words,” Kling said, and eased a piece of paper and a pen across the desk to him.

  Colbert picked up the pen.

  “What are the words?” he asked.

  “‘I killed the…’”

  “No, I won’t…”

  “‘…three up…’”

  “…write that,” Colbert said, and put down the pen as if it had caught fire.

  “I guess you know that we can get a court order forcing you to write those words for us,” Kling said.

  “Then get it,” Colbert said.

  “You want to play hardball, huh?” Parker said.

  “I don’t like being charged with murder. Does that surprise you?”

  “Who does?” Parker agreed. “You want us to ask for a court order or not? I get on the phone, I make an oral application, a judge’ll…”

  “No judge in his right mind’ll grant…”

  “Wanna bet?”

  “You can’t force me to write a confession.”

  “Come on, Mr. Colbert,” Kling said. “You know this isn’t a confession. We’re looking for a…”

  “No? You want me to put in writing that I killed three…”

  “All we’re looking for is a handwriting sample, and you know it.”

  “Oh, that’sall , huh?”

  “We’re wasting time here,” Kling said. “Do we make application, or don’t we? Five’ll get you ten a judge signs the order in three seconds flat.”

  “While we’re at it,” Parker said, “let’s ask for a warrant to toss his apartment. Find the fuckin murder weapon.”

  “Let’s not press our luck,” Kling said. “How about it, Mr. Colbert? Do we apply for a court order? Or do you write what we’re asking you to write, without all the fuss and bother?”

  “Get your court order,” Colbert said.

  Kling sighed.

  12.

  AT FOUR O’CLOCKthat Friday afternoon, just as Nellie Brand was trying to create some order out of the chaos on her desk so she could get out of the office by five, her beeper went off. She had tried desperately to get off the Chart today because it happened to be her wedding anniversary and she was supposed to go home and shower and make herself glamorous for a romantic candlelit evening out with her husband. The Chart was thehomicide chart, and in this city any D.A. of quality or experience landed on it every six weeks or so, and was then on call for twenty-four hours. The number on the beeper readout was 377-8024. The Eight-Seven. She returned the call and spoke to Meyer Meyer, whom she knew, and who asked her could she get uptown right away, they had what looked like real meat on a possible Murder Two.

  Nellie sighed and said, “Sure.”

  Hoping this would be a quick one—though none of them ever really was—she phoned Gary to tell him what had come up, and then hailed a taxi outside her building downtown on High Street.

  Walking familiarly into the station house, she nodded to the desk sergeant, and then took the iron-runged steps upstairs to the second floor of the building. She was wearing a tailored blue suit, a white blouse with a stock tie, and low-heeled navy pumps. After years of wearing her hair in a breezy flying wedge, she was letting it grow out; it fell now in a sand-colored cascade that reached almost to her jawline. Meyer and Hawes were waiting in the squadroom for her.

  “Let’s try to make this a fast one,” she said.

  Meyer filled her in.

  “What do you think?” he said. “Have we got a Murder Two?”

  “Let’s go talk to the man,” Nellie said.

  Hamilton had asked for a lawyer the minute they told him they’d be trotting him around town to visit hospitals hither and yon. The attorney he’d called was a man who’d handled Hamilton’s daughter’s divorce for her; his name was Martin Campbell, and Meyer guessed he was in his early fifties. By now, a lot of identification had taken place, and Campbell was suggesting that his client call off any further questioning. But Hamilton seemed to be enjoying all this; maybe he still felt he could beat this one; maybe he was right.

  They went through all the rights business yet another time, making certain that Hamilton was still willing to answer questions, this time with a video camera going. Campbell objected to the camera, but his client had already consented to it, and he knew he was whistling in the wind. Nellie shot him a look that said Come on, counselor, let’s not play games when I’ve got a heavy date, and Campbell harrumphed a bit about making sure the backup stenographer took down everything that was said, just in case anybody later on tried to tamper with the tape, as if anyone would.

  “Mr. Hamilton,” Nellie said, “I just wanted to confirm for the record that notwithstanding your attorney’s advice, you are still willing to answer any questions I put to you.”

  “I am.”

  “Fine then. The police officers tell me that you’ve now been positively identified by three persons…”

  “Twoof them incompetent,” Campbell said.

  “Turn off that camera,” Nellie ordered at once. The operator looked at her, puzzled for a moment, and then hit the OFF switch.

  “Counselor,” Nellie said, “this isn’t a court of law, nor am I taking a deposition. Your client has consented to my questioning, has further consented to the videotaping, and I’d like to continue this without any further interruptions from you, if that’s not too much of an imposition.”

  “For the record,” Campbell said, “I merely want it noted…”

  “This isnot on the record,” Nellie said.

  “I merely want itnoted ,” Campbell repeated, “that one of the witnesses is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease…Rubin Hanks, is that his name?”

  “Shanks,” Meyer supplied.

  “Shanks, thank you, his wife has stated that he is an Alzheimer’s victim. And the other…”

  “His wife hasalso identified your client as…”

  “Theother manalso seems to be suffering from some sort of dementia,” Campbell said, “unable to tell us where he lives or who he is, other than Charlie
. So if you’re counting on these twoincompetent persons to make your case, I would strongly suggest that my client be released without being charged, and I would further suggest that you pray he doesn’t sue the police department for false arrest.”

  “Gee whiz,” Nellie said. “I’ll bet these detectives haven’t been threatened with false arrest in a long time. I think you’ll agree, however, thatMrs. Shanks is a competent witness, andshe has stated that she paid your client one thousand dollars to…

  “You know,” Campbell said, “if hearsay is being permitted on the record…”

  “The record is the videotape,” Nellie said, “all this isoff the record. And I’d like to start the tape again, with your permission, and get on with the questioning. Or, if you think there are grounds to release your client, why don’t you ask for a writ of habeas corpus, hmmm?”

  “Go ahead, ask your questions,” Campbell said, and waved her away with the flat of his hand.

  Nellie nodded to the camera operator, who started the tape rolling again.

  “Mr. Hamilton,” Nellie said, “didMrs. Shanks pay you a thousand…?”

  “No,” Hamilton said.

  “May I finish the question, please?”

  “I never saw the woman in my life until this afternoon.”

  Meyer looked at Hawes. Both men rolled their eyes.

  “I hope the camera isn’t picking up the faces the detectives are making at my client,” Campbell said.

  “Only person I’m on is the suspect,” the camera operator said.

  “Hold it right there!” Campbell said. “Turn that thing off! Right this minute!”

  The operator looked at Nellie. Nellie nodded. The room went dead silent.

  “If you plan to use that tape as later evidence, then I resent my client being called asuspect on it, which carries a negative connotation. I’d like to start this all over again, Mrs. Brand. Rewind that tape, and then record right over what you’ve got. Conduct a proper Q and A here, or by God, if I have to drag my client out of here by his coat collar I willnot permit him to answer another question.”

  “Iwant to answer their questions,” Hamilton said. “They haven’t got a case here, and they know it.”

  “Mrs. Brand? What do you say?”

  “I say absolutelynot . The record stands from the top, the tape willnot be rewound or erased. Moreover, counselor, I understand yourgrand scheme…”

  “I have no grand…”

  “…is to destroy a Q and A to which your client has already consentedad infinitum . But I can tell you that if you continue to be disruptive, I’ll have the police throw you out of here. Is that clear? May I now continue?”

  “Sure, sure, continue,” Campbell said.

  Nellie nodded curtly.

  “Start the tape,” she said.

  Q: Mr. Colbert, is there any doubt in your mind that the words you’ve duplicated for us…how many times, Andy?

  A: Twenty-three times, Bert.

  Q: Twenty-three times now, in accordance with the court order, the same words over and over again, ‘I killed the three uptown,’ is there any doubt in your mind that the handwriting on the note found at the scene of the Henry Bright murder matches your handwriting exactly?

  A: I’m not a handwriting expert.

  Q: Thank you for that information, Mr. Colbert. But wouldn’t you agree that to a layman’s eye…

  A: I wouldn’t care to speculate.

  Q: Well, I can tell you that the D.A.’ll most likely bring in a handwriting expert, and he’s going to tell a jury just what anyone who isn’t blind can see, that the handwriting samples are a perfect match with the handwriting on the note the killer left.

  A: Aren’t we being a bit premature? Talking about a jury when nobody from the D.A.’s Office has evenbeen here yet?

  Q: Let me end the suspense for you, Mr. Colbert. We’re going to call the D.A. just as soon as we finish here. And the D.A.’s gonna ask for the max on each count of Murder Two. You killed four people. You’re going to spend the rest of your life behind bars.

  A: That’s for a jury to decide, isn’t it?

  Q: Who’s being premature now? Let me tell you what the next step is, Mr. Colbert, now that we’ve got a positive handwriting match. The next step…

  A: Please don’t treat me like a child.

  Q: Excuse me, I’m sure youknow what the next step is. The next step is we’re going to ask for a warrant to search your apartment for the murder weapon, which according to Ballistics was a Smith & Wesson .38. That’s the next step. The court order’ll be granted, Mr. Colbert, because now we’ve gotthree things linking you to the murders. If you want my opinion…

  A: I don’t.

  Q: Take it, anyway. Gratis, and for the record. If you didn’t get rid of that gun…if that gun, for example, is still in your apartment or your car, or wherever you’re keeping it…then you can kiss your chances goodbye. We’ve got a strong case even without the murder weapon, but it’ll be airtight once we recover the gun. And don’t tell us again to go for a court order. Youknow we will, and youknow it’ll be granted, and you also know the gun’ll wrap it tighter than Dick’s hatband,if it’s still in your possession. You’re the only one who knows that, counselor. So what do you say?

  A: What are you asking me?

  Q: I’m asking you to tell us all about it.

  A: Why should I?

  Q: Make life easier for all of us.

  A: How will it makemy life easier? The way I see it, you’ve got a bunch of paint cans that don’t link me to anything, and you’ve got a note thatmay or maynot link me to the murder downtown, but that’s all it does,if it does.

  Q: It says in plain English you also killed the threeuptown .

  A: Is it signed perchance?

  Q: It’s in your handwriting perchance.

  A: Itstill isn’t signed.

  Q: How about the gun, counselor?

  Colbert didn’t answer.

  “Arewe going to find that gun?” Kling asked.

  “How would I know? Go get your search warrant. Meanwhile I suggest you take me to a judgefast . You’ve got twenty-four hours from the moment of arrest to have me arraigned—and the clock is ticking.”

  “Let’s say we find the gun…”

  “Let’s say you do.”

  “We’ve got the bullets on the bookstore murder. If they match your gun…”

  “Even if you find the gun, you’d have no way of proving it’s mine. And no way of proving I fired it. But this is all academic. Get your search warrant, go look for the gun. Then we’ll talk.”

  “Maybe we better step outside a minute,” Parker suggested.

  Kling looked at him, puzzled.

  “Sure,” he said.

  “HE KNOWSwe won’t find that gun in his apartment, his car, wherever,” Parker said. “And he’s right. No gun, no case.”

  “We’ve got the handwriting match,” Kling reminded him.

  “Will that be enough to send him away on four counts of Murder Two?” Parker asked. “We get him in court, they’ll put on their own handwriting expert, he’ll testifyI wrote the fuckin note.”

  “Wait a minute,” Kling said. “Ifhe’s not in possession of the gun, then whois ?”

  “Some alligator down the sewer,” Parker said.

  “No,” Kling said. “Where’d we find those paint cans?”

  IN A ROOMdown the hall, Assistant District Attorney Nellie Brand was having a similar conversation with Meyer and Hawes.

  “Let’s say we get a court order to toss his car,” Nellie said.

  “That’s exactly what weshould do,” Meyer said. “Soon as possible.”

  “I agree,” Nellie said. “And let’s say we find some hair or skin samples that match the old lady’s who died of a heart attack…”

  “She’s been buried already,” Hawes said.

  “We can get a court order to have the body disinterred,” Nellie said.

  Meyer looked at her skeptically.

  �
�Okay, maybe not. But let’s say we find fiber samples that match her robe or her nightgown or whatever. Together with the blanket, this would tie him to the old lady, and we’ve got either apotential A—skimpy but who knows?—or a positive C.”

  “Skimpy how? The A?”

  “Samples would put her in his car, but that’s all,” Nellie said. “It wouldn’t mean he was driving the car.”

  “The other two identified him as the one driving the car, the one who dumped them.”

  “The other two aren’t dead,” Nellie said.

  “Not through lack of trying,” Meyer said dryly.

  “But even alive, we’ve got him cold on two good D felonies. I’ll tell Campbell we’re going for Murder Two with the old lady and Reckless Endangerment One on the two gents. He’ll say we haven’t got a case with the woman, which as a matter of fact we don’t unless we come up with something from Hamilton’s car, or unless the party or parties who hired him come forward, which is what I call the Fat Chance Department. So unless we come up with something in the car, I’ll let Campbell talk me into dropping the old lady entirely and concentrating on the others, which he’ll try to bargain down to Reckless Two, your garden-variety Class-A mis. I’ll tell him No, if I forget the old lady, then it’s Reckless One or nothing at all, and he’ll say Okay, but his man pleads to just one count, and I’ll say Come on, we’ve got a perfect D here, depraved indifference, guy drops off these helpless old people with just a blanket wrapped around them, grave risk of death, all that, textbook definition. He’ll say Okay, he’ll advise his client to plea to both D’s only if I’ll agree tojail time,not prison time, a bullet on each count, concurrent. I’ll tell him Don’t be ridiculous, I’ve got a good hammer here for the seven-year max onone D and a consecutive on thesecond D, all in the state pen. He’ll say Okay, how about giving me one-to-three concurrent in a state pen, and I’ll tell him No, the least I’ll settle for is open D’s on both counts. That’ll leave the sentencing to the judge. Or, if he prefers—and if his client would rather try rolling the dice for a lifetime sentence—I’llalso go for Murder Two on the old lady. Campbell will settle for the open D’s. In court, he’ll go for probation or a non-prison term, I’ll go for two-and-a-third to seven consecutive in a state pen. My guess is he’ll end up doing one-and-two-thirds to five consec on each count.”