by Bill Bernico
The smile fell from my face. I didn’t like Burns, but I’d never have wished this fate on him. Phil invited me to sit and took a seat himself behind his desk.
“You working on anything interesting these days?” I said.
“No,” Phil said. “It’s been pretty quiet these last few days. Not much happening. We’re all pretty much on pins and needles around here just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s only a matter of time. What about you? Had any exciting cases lately?”
“Before I left on my honeymoon,” I said, “I was working on a case for a guy who suspected his wife of cheating.”
“Ooh,” Phil said. “I’ll bet you had trouble staying awake for that one. You find the other man his wife was seeing?”
“Not exactly,” I said. “She wasn’t seeing another man.”
“Even more exciting,” Phil said sarcastically. “What’d you do, give him a refund and send him on his way?”
“Nope,” I said. “There’ll be no refund for this guy.”
“Why not?”
“He was shot dead before I could report back to him,” I said.
“And the cheating wife?” Phil said.
“Turns out there wasn’t another man in her life, but there was another woman,” I said.
“The guy who hired you to see if his wife was seeing another man was seeing another woman?” Phil said, thoroughly confused now.
“He wasn’t seeing another woman,” I said. “But she was.”
“Okay,” Phil said. “You got my attention. Let’s hear the rest. What about the woman she was cheating on her husband with?”
“Also dead,” I said.
“Matt,” Phil said. “Forget what I said about your job being dull. This sounds like a case even I could sink my teeth into. So how’d you leave it?”
“Before I left,” I said, “the coroner had just finished the autopsy on the husband. And by the way, I don’t think Amy’s ever going to ask to see all aspects of my job again. She turned white as a sheet when she saw this guy lying there all filleted and empty.”
“That would be a tough one for most people,” Phil said.
“And the other woman in this case,” I said, “was still waiting for her turn on the slab when we left. I don’t know what the results are yet on that one. The case kind of has us stumped.”
“Why’s that?” Phil said.
“Well,” I said, “if the wife killed them both, why use two different M.O.s?”
“Huh?”
“The husband was shot twice,” I explained, “and the other woman was beat to a pulp. I could see a woman killing with a .32, but it’s pretty rare to find a woman who uses a baseball bat to extract her pound of flesh.”
“You’re right,” Phil said. “That is unusual, but not unheard of. In fact, this whole case of your rings a little familiar with me.”
“How’s that?” I said.
“We had a case here last week involving two lesbians,” Phil said. “Only in this case one of them was cheating on the other with a third lesbian, instead of a man. Almost the opposite of what happened in your case.”
“And what makes that one like mine?” I said.
The second lesbian killed the third one in almost the same way as your case,” Phil said. “Beat her to death with an ax handle. Hit her more times than was necessary, really. Probably killed her with two or three blows but added another twenty for good measure. What a mess.”
“Any other similarities besides the beating death part?” I said.
“Yes,” Phil said. “When the first lesbian discovered what her lover had done to the third woman, she shot her dead with a .25 caliber automatic. Now that’s a similarity.”
“I’d say,” I told Phil. “Too bad they’re twenty-three hundred miles apart. We might have been able to link them together.”
“Not a chance,” Phil said. “So what’s your next move when you get back?”
“First move I’m going to make is on Amy,” I said, winking at my brother.
“Okay,” Phil said. “You second move?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “Lieutenant Hollister said he’d keep me in the loop on this one, but who knows, by the time I get back, it could all be wrapped up neat as a birthday present and I’ll be out looking for another client. We’ll see.”
As we sat there comparing notes, Phil’s office door opened and a woman poked her head inside. When she saw me she turned to Phil and said, “Oh, excuse me sir, I didn’t know you had company.”
Phil motioned her in. “Lola, come in and meet my kid brother, Matt.” He turned to me and said, “Matt, this is my secretary, Lola Cunningham.”
Lola extended her hand and I shook it. “Nice to meet you, Lola,” I said.
“Same here,” she said. “Mr. Cooper’s mentioned you a few times around the office. I almost feel like I know you, sort of.”
I turned to Phil and he shrugged and spread his hands. “You came up a few times around here. What can I say?” He turned to Lola and said, “What was it you wanted?”
“There’s a man out at the front desk who wants to see you?” Lola said.
“He wants to see me?” Phil said.
“Well,” Lola explained, “He didn’t ask for you personally. He just said he wanted to see someone in charge and Captain Burke is off today. I guess you’re next in line.”
Phil stood and came around his desk to meet Lola. Then he looked at me. “Come on, Matt. Let’s go see what he wants.”
As we approached the front desk we could see a small man standing there talking to the desk sergeant. As we got closer the man turned around to face us. Without waiting to be questioned, he started right in with his concerns.
“You in charge around here?” The man said.
“I’m Lieutenant Cooper,” Phil said. “How can I help you today?”
“I’ve been robbed,” the man said excitedly. “Right out there in broad daylight and in front of a police station, too. Don’t you people even watch what happens in front of your own police station?”
“Calm down, Mr…” Phil paused, letting the man fill in the blank.
“Murdock,” the man said. “Herbert Murdock. Now what are you going to do about it?”
“All right, Mr. Murdock,” Phil said. “Tell me what happened.”
“I was coming in here to complain about this parking ticket you guys gave me yesterday,” Murdock said. “When I got to the front door this man stopped me and stuck a gun in my side and told me to hand over my wallet.”
“And did you?” Phil said.
“Of course I did,” Murdock said. “What’d you think I was going to do? The man had a gun, for Christ sake.”
“Can you describe him?” Phil said.
“He had a gun,” Murdock said.
“Yes,” Phil said. “You already mentioned that. What else? What was he wearing? How tall was he? What color was his hair? How old was he? These are the kinds of things we need to catch the guy. Think, Mr. Murdock.”
“I’d say he was about twenty or so,” Murdock said. “A little taller than me. Blonde hair, from what I could see. He was wearing a baseball cap with a C on the front.”
“A C?” Phil said. “Like a Chicago Cubs baseball hat?”
“Yeah, a Cubs hat,” Murdock said. “That’s what it was. He was…” Murdock stopped describing and looked over Phil’s shoulder at a man that was being pulled along with his hands cuffed behind him. Murdock pointed and Phil turned around.
“That’s him,” Murdock said. “That’s the guy who took my wallet.”
Murdock started to walk over to the man, but Phil held him back.
Phil turned to the officer who’d pulled the blonde kid into the station house. “What do you have here, officer?” Phil said.
“It was the darndest thing I ever saw,” the officer said. “This guy was trying to make a drug buy in the alley right next to the station house. The guy with the drugs took off, but I managed to nab this one. Must be higher than
a kite already. He could hardly run at all.”
“He have a wallet on him?” Phil said.
“I haven’t emptied his pockets yet, Lieutenant,” the officer said.
Phil reached into the kid’s back pocket and withdrew a wallet, opening it to the driver’s license behind the cellophane window. He turned to the kid and said, “This your wallet?”
“Yeah,” the kid said.
“And your name’s Murdock?”
“Yeah.”
“What year were you born, Mr. Murdock?”
“Nineteen thirty,” the kid said and then realized his mistake.
Phil shook his head. “Wrong answer.” He looked at the officer. “Take him away and book him. Find out who he is.”
“Yes sir,” the officer said, leading the kid down the hall to be fingerprinted and booked.
Murdock stepped up to Phil. “Thank you,” he said, reaching for his wallet.
Phil held the wallet out of reach. “Sorry, Mr. Murdock,” he said. “We’ll have to hold this for evidence until the trial.”
“But that’s my wallet,” Murdock said. “All my money’s in there, my license and my other cards. I need them.”
“That’s the down side of all this,” Phil explained. “When you lodge a complaint and we catch the perpetrator with your wallet, we have to hold him and the wallet until he goes to trial. Once he’s convicted, you can have your wallet back.”
“Then I’m not going to press charges,” Murdock. “I don’t give a shit about that punk. I just want my wallet back.”
“If you do that,” Phil said, “that punk could go free. Do you want that?”
“That’s not my problem,” Murdock said. “Not having my wallet is.”
I turned to Phil and said, “Couldn’t you still prosecute the kid on the drug purchase charge without Mr. Murdock’s testimony?”
Phil turned back to Murdock and handed him his wallet. “Here’s your wallet, Mr. Murdock. What happens the next time someone holds you up and you come to us looking for justice?”
Murdock stuffed the wallet in his back pocket. “We’ll worry about that next time,” he said and turned to leave.
“Mr. Murdock,” Phil said. “Don’t be surprised if next time the police will be reluctant to help you.”
Murdock left the building without so much as a thanks.
“That’s gratitude for you,” Phil said. He turned to the desk sergeant and said, “If anyone’s looking for me, you can reach me in my radio car. I’ll be out for a while.”
“Yes sir,” the sergeant said.
“Come on, Matt,” Phil said. “Let’s take a ride.”
Phil and I drove around parts of Chicago that he knew would be familiar to me. We talked and caught up on old times and family matters. He asked some more questions about Amy and some about Stella, my first wife.
“Do you miss her sometimes, Matt?” Phil said.
“Stella?” I said. “All the time, but it got easier as time went on and I was able to move on with my life. Amy came along at just the right time in my life and the pain I felt for Stella is almost all gone.”
“That’s great, Matt,” Phil said. “I’m sure you’re going to have a long and happy life together. If anyone deserves it, it’s you.”
It was getting on to twelve o’clock and Phil drove us back to his place for lunch. Amy and Betty had returned from their shopping trip and had already started to make a lunch for all of us. The boys wouldn’t be home for lunch. I’d see them again when school let out.
I walked into the kitchen and immediately stepped over to where Amy was making sandwiches and gave her a kiss. Betty looked at Phil, who hadn’t thought of kissing her. When he saw her look, he made the overture and kissed his wife, too. Then he looked my way and said, “See what you started, Matt? Now she’ll expect it every time she sees me.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” Betty said.
Phil held up his hands in resignation. “Nothing,” he said. “Nothing at all.”
We enjoyed our lunch and some good conversation and retired to the living room. Phil looked at his watch and decided not to sit with the rest of us. “I’d better be getting back to the precinct,” he said. “I may be in charge today, but the captain will be back tomorrow and I don’t want anyone at the station accusing me of slacking off.” He turned to Betty and added, “I’ll see you around five,” and bent down for one more kiss.
After Phil had left I told Betty that Amy and I were going to spend a little time walking the neighborhood and that we’d be back in an hour or so.
“I just want to show her some of my old haunts,” I said. “And she want to show me some of hers.”
“Well, you have fun and I’ll catch you both when you get back,” Betty said.
We got up off the couch and were headed for the door when the phone rang. I waved to Betty as she picked up the phone but before I could get out the door, she was waving me back in.
“It’s for you,” Betty said. “It’s the long distance operator in Los Angeles.”
I took the phone from Betty and held it to my ear. “Matt Cooper,” I said.
The operator’s voice cut in, “Go ahead, sir.”
“Hello?” the voice said. “Matt, is that you?” It was Dan Hollister.
“Dan,” I said, “What is it? Are you all right?”
“Sure,” Dan said. “I’m fine. Listen, I’m sorry to interrupt your honeymoon and all and normally I wouldn’t bother you, but something’s come up.”
“What is it?” I said.
“Well,” Dan said, “You remember Benny Halstead, the guy who raped and beat that fifteen-year-old and got away with it?”
“What about him?” I said.
“He’s dead,” Dan said.
“Thanks for the good news,” I said. “Is that it or can I get back to my lovely wife now?” Amy smiled at me when she heard that.
“There’s more,” Dan said.
“Go ahead,” I said hesitantly.
“He was killed with a .38, Matt,” Dan said.
“And I’ll bet it was a perfect fit,” I said. “Something special about this particular .38 that would make you call me in Chicago?”
Dan sighed. “Yeah,” he said. “It was yours.”
“Mine?” I said. “How’d someone get a hold of my .38?”
“Matt,” Dan said. “They just found Benny’s body this morning, but he’s been dead for four days. You were still here four days ago and…”
“And someone thinks I did this?” I said. “Are they out of their minds?”
“Matt,” Dan said, “I’m just passing along some information as a friend. But be aware that the district attorney’s office here has been in contact with the Chicago police. There’s a pickup issued for you.”
“Dan,” I said. “I’ve got to go. I have to call my brother. I’ll call you later.” I hung up the phone and dialed the precinct before I realized that Phil had just left and hadn’t had time to make it back there yet. I hung the phone up again and turned to Amy.
“What is it?” Amy said, a worried look playing on her face.
“Some thug back home got himself killed,” I said, “and the D.A.’s looking for me.”
“You?” Amy and Betty said almost simultaneously.
I nodded. “Me, can you beat that?”
“Why would they suspect you?” Amy said.
“Because it was my gun that killed this guy,” I explained. “Apparently this guy was killed four days ago, when I was still back in L.A. and if I don’t have an alibi, I could be detained while they straighten this mess out. That’s why I have to contact Phil right away.”
Betty picked up the phone and dialed the ninth precinct. While the phone rang, she held her hand over the mouthpiece and said, “Let me call. They can patch me through to Phil in his radio car.”
She took her hand off the mouthpiece and said, “This is Lieutenant Cooper’s wife. Could you patch me through to Phil? Thank you.” She waited for a
moment and then said, “Phil, it’s Betty.”
“What’s wrong?” Phil said. “Are the boys all right?”
“Far as I know they’re fine,” Betty said. “Hang on Phil, Matt wants to talk to you.” She handed me the phone.
“Phil,” I said. “Can you get back here right away?”
“What is it, Matt? Phil said.
“It’s a long story,” I explained, “And I don’t think we should discuss it over the airwaves.”
“Stay put,” Phil said. “I’m turning around now. I should be there in just a few minutes.”
I hung up the phone and wrapped my arms around Amy. “This will be a honeymoon to remember,” I said.
Phil’s radio car pulled up in front of the house a few minutes later and he hurried into the house to find the three of us still standing in the kitchen.
“What happened?” Phil said.
I explained the circumstances and what Dan had told me about a pickup being issued for me.
“That’s ridiculous,” Phil said. “They have to know you didn’t do this.”
“Can’t say that I blame them,” I said. “The evidence points that way. My biggest problem right now is finding an alibi for last Thursday. That’s when they think he was killed and I was still in town that day, but it’s beyond me how anyone managed to get a hold of my .38 and use it to kill this lowlife without me knowing it.”
“Thursday,” Amy said, thinking out loud. “Thursday.” The she turned to me and said, “Wasn’t that the day you went to check on Mrs. Finch to see if she was playing bridge like she said she was?”
I thought for a moment. “No,” I said. “That was Wednesday, which means that Thursday was the day you and I trailed the Finch woman to Bullock’s Department Store, remember?”
“We did,” Amy said. “Then you were supposed to tell Mr. Finch that his wife was not seeing another man, but another woman.”
Betty looked surprised. “Is that what goes on out in California?”
Amy spread her hands. “Not among my circle of friends,” she said.
Phil looked at me. “Then you’re in the clear, aren’t you, Matt?” He said.
I shrugged. “I’d need to know exactly what time Benny Halstead got plugged before I’ll know for sure that I have an alibi. I’ll need to talk to Lieutenant Hollister again.”