“Did he have any recollection of where he originally picked up the knife?”
“He thought he got it along with a bunch of other hunting and fishing items at a sale he attended in Tennessee last fall. He is going to check his records, such as they are. I left him my card and asked him to call if he remembers anything about the buyer or saw the person again.”
“How about security footage, Jackson?”
“There’s none available. Apparently Mr. Goldbleum recycles the tapes. Says it’s more economical.”
“At least he verified the knife in question didn’t belong to Mr. Bailey.” The Chief leaned forward and put his big hands on the desktop. He examined the backs of his hands carefully, as if he were looking for answer. “Lieberman may have been involved in some unseemly way with Geraldo Guzman, so he killed him and took his phone. He then roped Riley into the mess somehow, maybe by threating his job or paying him off. Lieberman’s pretty well situated financially.” Kelly pulled out a pair of nail clippers and took care of a hangnail, putting the small piece of skin contemptuously in the trashcan under his desk before replacing the clippers. Reightman watched impatiently as he finished his inspection of his hands and then turned them over. Just as he started to inspect his palms, Nancy buzzed from her desk.
The Chief picked up the phone. “Chief Kelly,” he announced. “Yes, ma’am….thank you….yes...that’s good. I appreciate the turn-around. I do have one more which will need the city attorney’s review… Yes, ma’am – Officer Helliman…Yes, that’s the one. No, ma’am...apparently he tipped off Lieberman…No, ma’am, but we’re working on it. Yes, I understand…thank you again...Yes, I will. Goodbye,” he concluded as he hung up the phone.
“That was the assistant city manager. Lieberman is officially suspended and so is Doctor Riley. Assuming Riley’s not in this up to his neck and has some kind of reasonable explanation for the missing evidence, she may agree to change it to suspension with pay until the investigation is over – if we don’t arrest him.” The Chief looked tired. “It’s a damn shame. I liked Riley. She also confirmed they’ll be bringing in an acting Coroner and an assistant for the time being. They should be here by tomorrow afternoon. Given Lieberman’s involvement, he’ll have to start over with the autopsy to make sure the findings are valid.”
“Understood, sir. I’ll let Mr. Bailey know there’ll be a delay in releasing the body. He’s going to be upset.”
“There’s no other option. He’ll just have to understand.”
When neither of the two detectives responded, Kelly picked up his phone again. “Nancy, any word from Judge McLarity’s clerk?...What?...Why in the blazers didn’t you tell me?...Okay, just simmer down…” He turned to them with an astonished look on his face. “She hung up on me. She’s really pissed at you, Reightman.”
“Yes, sir,” she agreed. “I’m aware.”
“Buy her something nice. It doesn’t even have to be expensive, just bright and colorful. Women love a gift and that’ll smooth things right over. Believe me, you don’t want Nancy up your butt.”
Reightman tried not to react to his chauvinistic comment about women loving gifts, but thought his idea about smoothing things over with Nancy might have merit. “Yes, Chief. Thanks for the advice.”
He nodded and stood, rolling his neck. “The warrant’s here. One of the Judge’s clerks dropped it by about ten or fifteen minutes ago.” Reightman winced as a couple of vertebrae were jostled into position by the neck rolling and popped. “The warrant covers Lieberman’s arrest, as well as search and seizure within Lieberman’s home and of any personal transportation. The office, the morgue and any equipment are already covered under city policy. Keep me informed about your discussion with Riley. I’ll be available by cell phone.”
“Yes, sir, will do.”
“One more thing, Reightman. I’ve seconded Detective Jones to your team for the remainder of the investigation. I’ve pulled him off his regular duty in Vice, and he’ll report in to you tomorrow morning.”
Reightman liked Jones, but she wasn’t sure she could stand working with both him and Jackson at the same time. They both dished out a fair share of crap individually, but the two teaming up together was too much to contemplate. However, done was done. “Thank you, Chief. The extra help will be appreciated.” She hesitated, and then added, “If I might make a suggestion, sir?” At his nod she continued, “Could I have Mitchell, too?”
“Officer Anthony Mitchell?” the Chief frowned.
“Yes, sir. He stepped up to the plate today. Another body would be helpful right now.”
The Chief considered the request, undecided if Mitchell was the right choice. “I’m assuming you want him in plain clothes rather than a uniform.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That would effectively be a step up for him.”
“I understand, but you could make it provisional, sir.”
The Chief chewed his cheek for a minute and looked to Jackson. “You agree?”
“Yes, sir. Mitchell’s proven to be a good cop and deserves the chance.”
“I’d still need him for the weekend.”
“Hopefully things will be tied up by then.” Reightman hoped they would be, because if not, they’d have a whole different set of problems on their hands.
Kelly considered the request a moment more before giving her a curt nod. “I’ll agree, but just until we’ve wrapped this up. I’ll review what might be next for Officer Mitchell after this case is closed. I’ll inform him in the morning. If you see him, tell him to drop by here early tomorrow.”
“Will do, sir.”
They met Officer Mitchell heading toward them as they approached the interview room. “Detectives, you have perfect timing. I was just coming to get you. Dr. Riley’s attorney has arrived.”
“Thanks, Mitchell”
“You’re welcome, Detective Jackson.”
“How long ago?” Reightman asked, wondering if Riley had come up with a plausible story yet.
“Fifteen or twenty minutes ago. I thought you were probably with the Chief, but when no one answered over there, I figured I’d just head on down.”
“Chief Kelly must have gone home, as well as Nancy. Maybe she’ll be over her snit by tomorrow.” Reightman doubted it, but decided it didn’t hurt to hope for the best. “Good thinking, Mitchell. By the way, Chief Kelly wants to talk to you in the morning. You’d better make it early, before he gets pulled away for something.”
“Did he say why, Detective Reightman?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s not about anything bad, Mitchell. You’ll find out tomorrow.” She thought about telling him the news herself, but the Chief was very protective of his territory, and this was very much his territory.
“It’s probably about the weekend assignments,” Mitchell decided. “I hate holiday weekends.”
“We all do,” Jackson commiserated with the young officer. “At least it is supposed to be a little cooler this weekend. I’m past ready for the heat to break”.
“Me too, Detective Jackson. It’s been pretty brutal.” Mitchell looked toward both of them, eager to clock out. “Detectives, if you’re through with me…? “
“Sure, Officer. Get on out of here. We’ll talk later.” Jackson gave him an encouraging smile as the young man turned and hurried down the hall.
“Hey, Mitchell?”
He turned and looked back her way, a little warily. She had that kind of reputation. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Thanks for the assist. You did good today.”
He ducked his head a little shyly at her praise. “Thanks, Detective. I’m just glad things didn’t end up ass over elbows.”
“That makes two of us. Good night.”
“Good night, ma’am, and you as well, Detective Jackson,” he replied, before making his way to his locker to retrieve his things.
Outside the interview room, they both greeted the officer stationed in the hall. Reightman knocked on the door, announcing their a
rrival. As she entered the room, she noticed Riley was seated behind the table next to another man, who must be his attorney. Their heads were bent together, and they looked up as they heard the detectives enter. They both stood and Reightman examined Riley’s lawyer, noting an uncanny resemblance between the two.
“Dr. Riley,” Jackson acknowledged as they all took their seats.
Reightman looked across the table to the other man, waiting. He hesitated as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do, then dug a card out of the leather case on the table and presented it to her. He also handed one to Jackson, who looked it over and handed it back. “One will be sufficient, Mr. Riley. But thank you anyway.”
“Edmond G. Riley Family Law,” Reightman read from the card in her hand. “You’re related, I assume?” she asked, looking from one to the other. Two almost identical faces looked back.
“Yes, Detective, we’re brothers. Some people think we’re twins, but I’m about eighteen months older,” Mr. Riley, Esquire answered with an open smile.
“I can see the resemblance.” Reightman considered her next words carefully. “Your brother and client, is in what may be a lot of trouble.” She indicated his card, “This could end up being a long way out of the ballpark from dealing with your normal Family Law clients.”
“I understand. If needed, someone else from my firm will take over from me, but I was the one available tonight and when Peter called, I came.”
“Alright, Mr. Riley, why don’t we get started then?”
Dr. Peter Riley had watched the exchange intently, obviously worried about the interview ahead. After Mr. Riley, Esquire shot him a stern look, he nodded and his brother faced Reightman and Jackson. “We’re ready, Detectives.”
“I’m sure your brother…err…client has filled you in on the basics, but I think it’d be best to summarize the mess he is in, just so we’re all on the same page,” began Jackson. “If that’s acceptable?”
“It is.”
“Earlier today, Detective Reightman, with the help of one of our crime technicians, Tom Anderson, retrieved photographic information from a phone verified to have belonged to Mr. Gerald Guzman, who was found murdered at the Time Out Spa, located in the downtown district. One piece of this evidence, in addition to a print found and determined to belong to Dr. Benjamin Lieberman, lead Detective Reightman, assisted by Officer Mitchell, to attempt to detain Dr. Lieberman. To accomplish this, they entered the lab at approximately 4:15 PM this afternoon, and discovered Lieberman had been tipped off, and had left the premises before the Detective could apprehend him. The informant was identified by your client, Dr. Riley.” Jackson paused and looked toward the attorney. “Does this information align with that provided by your client?”
“It does, Detective. Peter has provided his version of the events, which matches yours exactly.”
Jackson nodded. “To continue then, moments after Detective Reightman and Office Mitchell learned they’d be unable to detain Dr. Lieberman, they were joined in the morgue area by Tom Anderson. At that time, they were informed another print on the phone had been identified as belonging to your client.” The attorney nodded his agreement with Jackson’s summation of events. “Following this disclosure, Dr. Riley was escorted from the area and brought here. He was allowed to make arrangements for representation, which he determined he needed.”
Again, Edmond Riley indicated his agreement.
Jackson looked at Reightman and she indicated he should continue. “What you may not yet know, Mr. Riley, is following those events, an inspection was carried out by Detective Reightman and Mr. Anderson. During their search, items were found in one of Dr. Riley’s desk drawers. Those items are believed to have belonged to Mr. Guzman and are also believed to be items missing from the logged inventory of his personal affects.” Jackson paused again to await their reaction.
Mr. Riley inclined his head toward the Detectives. “Peter warned me such evidence might be found.”
Reightman watched Peter Riley closely while his brother spoke. The young man was pale but very composed. “Aren’t they a cool, calm and collected pair?” She wondered when or if there’d be a break in their composure.
“Perhaps this would be a good time for Detective Reightman to continue?” Jackson suggested.
“Thank you for the summation, Detective Jackson. I think it’s time to ask Dr. Riley a couple of key questions – the answers of which will determine how we proceed.”
The two Riley’s waited across the table.
“Mr. Riley, the questions are very straight forward. My first question relates to the phone which belonged to Mr. Guzman and is a fairly obvious question. Tell me, Dr. Riley, why did the phone have your print on it?”
Edmond nodded to his brother, indicating that he should speak. “Go ahead, Peter.”
“It’s kind of a long story,” the doctor warned.
“We have plenty of time. I don’t have anything else planned for tonight.” she assured him sardonically, thinking of everything still to be done, including tracking down Lieberman.
“Remember I told you Dr. Lieberman was acting weird?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, I was watching him very closely. The night we brought in Mr. Guzan’s body, he made a call, and I overheard him tell the person on the other end not to worry, because he had the phone.”
“Did you, or do you have at this time, have any idea who Dr. Lieberman was speaking with?” asked Jackson.
“No Detective, I didn’t then and I don’t now.”
Jackson made an entry on his notepad. “Please continue, Dr. Riley.”
“Well, Dr. Lieberman became increasingly agitated and I overhead him mention the phone a couple of times in conversations he had that evening, and the next morning. I finally asked him which phone he was worried about.”
“What did Lieberman say when you asked him that?”
“He blew a gasket, Detective Reightman! He told me to mind my own business and reminded me very harshly that I was his assistant and shouldn’t be asking questions of my own superior. He said if I needed to know, I’d be told. Until then, I was to keep my mouth shut.” Peter took a drink of water from the bottle in front of him. “Later the next morning, he told me my performance review was coming up, and said he was afraid he’d have to give me a negative rating unless I towed the line. He implied it could seriously impact the completion of my residency, and I might find myself without a job and without a way to complete my certification process.”
So, the Chief was right in thinking Lieberman had pressured him. “Why didn’t you report him to someone, Riley?”
“I don’t know, Detective Reightman. I guess I was just scared.”
“Alright. Please continue.”
“He made another call that morning, and it got really loud. I heard the word ‘phone’ again before he shut the door. I could see him through the window but didn’t want to get caught looking. Every time I snuck a look, I could see him waving his arms and shouting and he knocked his briefcase off the desk. I couldn’t see him anymore for a while. I guess he was on the floor picking stuff up. Pretty soon, he came out of his office with his briefcase and told me he was going home because he wasn’t feeling well. I asked if I should continue on with Guzman’s autopsy and he nearly bit my head off. He told me it would mean my job if I went anywhere near Guzman. Then he stormed out.”
“What happened next, Riley?”
“Detective Reightman, I waited until he was gone. Then I looked in his window and saw something silvery underneath one corner of his desk. I figured it was something from the briefcase and I… well, I was curious.”
Jackson looked up from his notetaking, and after a glance at Reightman, nodded for him to continue. Riley took another drink of water. He looked at his brother and cleared his throat. “I opened his office door with the spare set of keys and went in. I got down on my hands and knees and reached under the desk and gave the thing underneath a little push. That’s probably when my fing
erprint got on it. Anyway, it came scooting out from under the desk and stopped right near my knee. It was a phone, and I thought it might be the phone Lieberman was shouting about.”
Riley took another drink and looked down at the table to collect his thoughts. “I started to pick it up, but then I thought about finger prints. I should have thought about that a little sooner, I guess. I went and put on a pair of gloves and picked it up. I turned it on and saw whose it was by the photo and name on screen. I thought I heard someone coming, so I put it in my pocket and locked up the office before I got caught. I didn’t know what to do with it then, so I just kept it in my pocket and took it home with me, hoping that I’d come up with some idea. By the time I got home, I was pretty worried and knew I shouldn’t have taken it. I didn’t know what else to do with it, so I just kept it with me.”
Jackson thought over the man’s testimony as he reviewed his notes. “If you had the phone with you, Dr. Riley, how did Reightman come to find it in her purse?”
She felt perspiration on the back of her neck for the first time in several days. She answered before Riley could. “Mr. Riley went to the grocery store that night.” She looked across the table at the doctor. “Didn’t you?” Peter Riley looked down at the table and stared at its battered top. He didn’t answer. Reightman thought back to that night at the grocery store and everything that had happened: Falling to the ground after colliding with someone, her disorientation, the push of a foot that sent her face down into the concrete. “Didn’t you, Riley?”
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