Cooper By The Gross (All 144 Cooper Stories In One Volume)

by Bill Bernico

  “That’s right, Mrs. Manning. My son, who is also my partner in our investigations business, is on his way to see your mother and brother. I thought I’d talk to you. Would it be all right if I asked you a few questions? I promise I won’t stay long.”

  Alice Manning gestured toward the living room and invited Elliott to sit in the recliner while she and her husband sat across from him on the sofa. “What is it you’d like to know, Mr. Cooper?”

  Elliott pulled out a note pad and pen. “Do you mind if I take some notes?”

  Alice shook her head.

  “Can you tell me if either of your sisters was seeing anyone on a regular basis? I mean did they have gentlemen friends?”

  The question seemed to surprise Alice and it showed in her face. “No one that I’d exactly call a boyfriend. They both dated from time to time, but mostly just kept to themselves. They lived together in the same house, you know.”

  “Yes, Lieutenant Cole mentioned something about that,” Elliott said. “What about other women? Did they have women friends that they saw regularly?”

  “Mr. Cooper,” Alice began, “You have to understand that Emma and Edna were very close and actually preferred each other’s company.”

  “Yes, I imagine twins can get very close with each other,” Matt said. “I’ve heard stories were one twin would get hurt and the other would claim to feel the pain.”

  Ralph Manning jumped in now. “You have no idea how close these two were, Mr. Cooper.”

  Alice held one arm across Ralph’s chest to silence him. She turned back to Elliott. “Mr. Cooper, my sisters were closer than most twins because they were originally conjoined.”

  “Conjoined?” Elliott said.

  “Siamese Twins,” Ralph added. “They were separated when they were almost twenty-three years old.”

  “Conjoined,” Elliott said again. “That must have been traumatic for them both. Why did the doctors wait so long to separate them? Don’t they usually elect to do that when they’re very young?”

  “They couldn’t,” Alice said. “The technology of the day wasn’t advanced enough. Those two spent the first twenty-three years of their lives attached to each other.”

  Elliott was taken by surprise. “I’d never heard of anyone that old being separated before.”

  “Sure,” Alice said. “Many years ago doctors tried a new procedure on two twenty-nine-year-old woman from Iran. They managed to separate the women but discovered too late into the operation that they shared a major vein that was hidden from the scan. Unfortunately they both died.”

  “And your sisters still decided to go through with it?” Elliott said.

  “Mr. Cooper,” Ralph said, “They were desperate by that time. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but neither of them was…”

  “Ralph,” Alice snapped and then calmed herself. She turned to Elliott.

  “Mr. Cooper, my sisters were never considered good looking by any stretch and being conjoined didn’t help matters any. Apparently they had both discussed the option of an operation and had decided that the benefits far outweighed the risks. They decided to give themselves one last chance at a normal existence.”

  Elliott shook his head. “All that trouble only to end up like this. Doesn’t seem fair somehow, does it?”

  A single tear rolled down Alice’s cheek and she hung her head.

  “One last question, if I may,” Elliott said. “Can you give me the name of anyone that your sisters might have been acquainted with? Maybe there was someone they mentioned recently that they’d become friendly with. Can you think of anyone?”

  Alice wiped the tear from her cheek and took a deep breath. “No one comes to mind, except…” She turned to her husband. “Ralph, what was the name of that fellow that Emma met last month? You remember, she said she ran into him in her photography class at the college.”

  Ralph snapped his fingers and shook his fist, trying to remember. “Cody or Casey or something like that, wasn’t it?”

  “Cassidy,” Alice said. “Greg Cassidy. I remember because it made me think of that kid from that old TV show, The Partridge Family, David Cassidy. Emma told me that Greg had been to their house a few times during the last few weeks and then suddenly stopped coming around or calling. Just like that, no explanation.”

  “Any idea where I can find this Greg Cassidy?” Elliott said.

  The both shook their heads. “Sorry,” Ralph said. “That’s all we know about the guy. You could check with the college. They’d probably have a record of him attending that photography class.”

  Elliott rose from the chair. “I won’t keep you any longer,” he said. “Thank you for your cooperation.” He headed for the front door.

  “Mr. Cooper,” Alice said. “Would you call me if you find the answer to why my sisters were killed? It’s driving me crazy not knowing.”

  “Of course,” Mrs. Manning,” Elliott said before he exited to the street.

  Matt pulled up in front of Mathilda Frost’s address and let out a deep breath before walking up to the house with the hanging flower basket on the front porch. It was a blue house that made The Manning’s house look huge by comparison. This one couldn’t have had more than seven hundred square feet in all. Matt stepped up onto the porch and knocked when he didn’t find a doorbell.

  An older woman, perhaps in her early sixties, answered the knock. “Who is it,” she said from behind the closed door.

  “Mrs. Frost,” Matt said. “My name is Matt Cooper and I’m investigating the death of your daughters. Could I talk with you for a few minutes, please?” He held his badge and I.D. up to the small window in the top of the door and a moment later the door opened. Matt took one look at her face and knew she had to be the mother of The Tut Twins. This woman had the same bug-eyed look about her.

  Mathilda Frost invited Matt inside and closed the door. When he stepped in, Matt noticed a teenage boy, perhaps seventeen or eighteen sitting in the living room watching cartoons on the television. The boy turned to look at Matt, smiled and waved enthusiastically and turned back to the television.

  “That’s Sammy,” Mathilda Frost said.

  “Good looking boy,” Matt said. Something on Matt’s face told the old woman that he was trying to do the math in his head.

  “That’s right,” the woman said. “Sammy was an ‘oops’ late in my life. People told me I should have aborted but I just couldn’t. They told me there was a good chance that a baby born to a woman in her forties might be born with problems, but I have to tell you, Mr. Cooper, Sammy has been the light of my life.”

  Matt looked over at Sammy again and noticed he had the business end of a fly swatter in his mouth.

  Mathilda saw the look on Matt’s face and eased his anxiety. “Don’t worry, Mr. Cooper. That swatter was brand new when Sammy started playing with it and I never use it to swat flies. For some reason he just found it fascinating and I just let him play with it.” She paused momentarily and said, “You said you had some questions concerning Emma and Edna?”

  “I’m sorry to have to bother you at a time like this,” Matt said, “But they are questions I have to ask. Whatever I learn from you could help find the person responsible for your daughters’ deaths.”

  “Won’t you have a seat, Mr. Cooper?” she said, gesturing toward the dining room table. It was obvious she didn’t want to discuss this matter in front of Sammy.

  Matt sat on a plaid sofa while Mathilda sat opposite him. “Mrs. Frost, what I mainly would like to find out is if you know of anyone that either of your daughters might have seen on a regular basis.”

  “You mean, did either of them have boyfriends?” she said.

  Matt nodded but said nothing.

  “Mr. Cooper, Emma and Edna never married. They seemed to prefer each other’s company and have lived together ever since they were twenty-three.”

  “Twenty-three?” Matt said.

  “Oh, you probably don’t know about Emma and Edna. Perhaps I should explain.”
She told Matt the same thing that their sister, Alice had told Elliott about the girls having been conjoined twins that were separated later in life. “They tell me that’s one of the strongest bonds there is between siblings.”

  “I can imagine,” Matt said. “And you other daughter?”

  “Alice?” Mathilda said. “We adopted her when she was just a baby.”

  “And then Sammy came along,” Matt said. “Ironic, isn’t it? Anyway, is there anyone you can think of who might have spent some time with either of the twins?”

  “There was one guy,” Mathilda said. “If I could only remember his name. Let me see, I think it was something like Craig or Greg. Greg, that was it. Don’t ask me what his last name was, because I never heard it. Emma said something about this Greg having stopped by their house on a few occasions. I wish I could be of more help, Mr. Cooper.”

  “You’re doing fine, Mrs. Frost,” Matt said. “By any chance, would Mr. Frost know anything about this Greg?”

  “I really doubt it, Mr. Cooper. Gordon left me shortly after Sammy was born. I guess he couldn’t handle his only son being special.”

  “Well, thank you for your time, Mrs. Frost,” Matt said, jotting the name down on his notepad. “If I hear anything I’ll certainly let you know. Good day.” He let himself out and slid beneath the wheel of his car. He dialed Elliott’s cell phone and waited. Elliott answered on the third ring.

  “What’d you find out, Matt?”

  “I spoke to Mrs. Frost and all she could give me was the first name of some guy who she’d heard had spent some time with the twins. All I got out of her was Greg.”

  “Greg Cassidy,” Elliott said. “I got the same name out of the sister, who, by the way looks nothing like the two trolls. Thanks for sending me there. She was really easy on the eyes.”

  “That’s because she was adopted,” Matt explained. “Mom looks like the twins and the kid brother, well, it looks like he’s gonna be a kid for the rest of his life. What are your plans now, Dad?”

  “I thought I pay this Greg Cassidy a visit. And you?”

  “I thought I’d go and see Lieutenant Cole. Maybe this Cassidy fellow has a record. It wouldn’t hurt to know what we’re up against before we get there. How about if you hold off until I have him checked out?”

  “You going straight over to the twelfth precinct, Matt?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then I’ll meet you there in, say, fifteen minutes?”

  “You’re on,” Matt said. “I’ll wait for you in the lot behind the station.”

  Elliott was already parked in the lot when Matt pulled in and parked next to him. They walked into the twelfth precinct together. Kevin Cole was in his office when they arrived.

  “Well, well, if it isn’t the Coopers,” Lieutenant Cole said. “What brings you here in the middle of the day?”

  “You get anywhere in your investigation of the murdered twins?” Elliott said.

  Cole shook his head. “Not so far. How about you?”

  “We interviewed the family and we both came up with the same name,” Matt said. “A guy named Greg Cassidy popped up in both of our interviews. Sounds like he’d be worth checking out, but we thought we’d both check with you and see if he’s in your system.”

  Cole swiveled around in his chair and poised his fingers over his keyboard. “Okay, give me the name again.”

  Elliott gave him the name and Kevin entered it into the computer. A second later the screen opened up with a photo of Greg Cassidy and just one entry. “Got him,” Cole said. “Just one record for him—assault and battery. Looks like Greg got into a fight outside of a tavern on Santa Monica.”

  “What was the outcome?” Matt said.

  Kevin scrolled down to the details section of his screen. “Got in a fight with some guy named Alfonso, Manuel Alfonso. Ooh, looks like Mr. Alfonso ended up in the hospital. According to the arresting officer’s notes, Mr. Cassidy was able to convince him that Alfonso started the fight and that he was just trying to defend himself. They brought him in anyway and put it into the record. They let Cassidy go that night. Alfonso apparently spent three days in a hospital bed. That’s all it says.”

  “Sounds to me like this Cassidy guy could have a short fuse,” Elliott said. “Think he’s worth checking out? He did know The Tut Twins and he was at their house on several occasions.”

  Kevin jotted down Cassidy’s address and closed his computer screen. He got up from behind his desk and looked at Matt. “You two care to come along with me on this one?”

  “Thought you’d never ask,” Matt said.

  The three of them all rode in Lieutenant Cole’s cruiser to Greg Cassidy’s house and stepped up onto the front porch. Kevin pressed the doorbell, didn’t hear any chimes inside and then knocked on the door. He could hear someone moving around inside and instinctively rested his hand on his sidearm. A moment later the front door opened and a scraggly-looking man peered out at the three men. “Greg Cassidy?” Cole said.

  The man agreed he was Greg Cassidy. “What do you want?”

  “I’d like to talk to you for a moment, Mr. Cassidy. Can we come in?”

  Greg reluctantly let the three men in and closed the door behind them. “What’s this all about?” he said.

  “Mr. Cassidy,” Cole said, “Are you here alone?”

  “Yeah, I sure am.”

  When was the last time you saw Emma and Edna Frost?”

  “Who?”

  “The Tut Twins,” Matt said. “Heckle and Jeckle, the Imogene Coco Twins, take your pick. Did you know them?”

  Cole held one hand up toward Matt. “I’ll handle this, Matt.”

  “Sorry, Kevin,” Matt said.

  Cole turned back to Greg. “Well, did you know them?”

  “Not well enough to know their real names,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

  “Just answer my question, Mr. Cassidy,” Cole said. “When was the last time you saw them?”

  Greg thought for a moment before offering, “Must have been a week ago, maybe longer. Now would you tell me why you want to know?”

  “They’re both dead,” Cole said bluntly. “Are you telling me you didn’t know? It was in the papers.”

  “Like I said,” Greg told him. “I didn’t even know their real names, so even if their murder was in the paper, the names wouldn’t have meant anything to me. What happened to them anyway?”

  “I can’t get into specifics,” Cole said. “It’s an ongoing investigation.”

  “What about the Gallo brothers?” Elliott interjected. “Do you know them?” The blank look on Cassidy’s face told Elliott that the names were meaningless to Cassidy. “You might have heard them called the Truckin’ Triplets. They all hang out at Frank’s Bar where the Frost sisters went a lot.”

  Greg held his flat palm over his head, indicating height. “Tall, skinny dudes? Long greasy blonde hair? Dirty jeans and stubbly beards? Those guys?”

  “How many other triplets do you know?” Cole said.

  Just then a toilet flushed somewhere down a hallway and Kevin’s hand went to his gun. He looked at Greg Cassidy. “You told me you were alone here.”

  Cassidy’s face couldn’t hide his real feelings. He’d been caught in a lie.

  Kevin turned to Elliott. “You carrying?”

  Elliott nodded and drew his piece, training it on Cassidy while Kevin and Matt quietly stepped down the hall toward the bathroom. Matt had his .38 out now, too. As soon as the bathroom door opened, both of their guns were trained on the man emerging. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights and froze where he stood.

  “Who the hell are you?” the man said.

  Kevin pulled his badge and I.D. from his pocket, flipped it open and let the man see that he was a cop. “Now suppose you tell me who you are.” Kevin gestured with his gun for the man to come out into the hallway and then led him back to where Elliott still held Greg Cassidy at bay.

  Greg exchanged looks with the man and softly shook hi
s head as something passed between them.

  “Why do you want to know who I am?” the man said.

  “Never mind,” Kevin said, “Just break out some I.D.—slowly and carefully.”

  “That’s one of the Gallo brothers,” Matt said upon recognizing Mick, or maybe it was Nick or Dick. He couldn’t tell.

  The man plucked his wallet from a back pocket, opened it to the driver’s license and held it out for Kevin to examine.

  “This one’s Mick,” Kevin said over his shoulder. He aimed his next question at Mick Gallo. “What are you doing here?”

  “It’s a free country,” Gallo said. “I can go wherever I want to and you got nothin’ to say about it.”

  Kevin yanked the wallet from Gallo’s hand and gestured toward the sofa. “Go sit down and shut your yap.” He turned to Cassidy. “You, get your ass in the kitchen. Matt, stay with him.”

  Matt led Greg into the kitchen, out of earshot of Kevin’s interrogation.

  Gallo plopped himself down on the sofa and just sat staring at Kevin with contempt. Kevin holstered his weapon and stood over the man. He looked down at Gallo. “I’m not going to ask you again. What are you doing here?”

  “Greg’s a friend of mine,” he said. “I just stopped over to have a beer and watch a little TV. So what?”

  “Suppose you tell me about that last time you saw the twins,” Kevin said. “Which one were you seeing?”

  “Beats me,” Greg said. “I met them at that bar and they invited me back to their house. I never bothered to ask them which was which. I didn’t really give a shit. As a matter of fact, the second time I went over there, one of the sisters was gone and the one who was still there acted like I was supposed to know her. I was drunk and couldn’t tell them apart even sober, so it could have been either one that I took to bed. There a law against that?”

  “In the kitchen, Matt pulled Greg Cassidy aside and said in a low tone, “So tell me why Gallo came here tonight.”

  “Why, are you a cop, too?”

  Matt stuck the barrel of his .38 under Greg’s chin and pushed upward.

  “All right,” Greg said. “Put that thing away and I’ll tell you.”

  Matt slowly lowered his .38 and noticed that he’d left a small round indentation under Greg’s chin. “Come on, Cassidy, spill it.”