Body on Pine

by DeMarco, Joseph R. G.

  I massaged my temples, finished the coffee, and kept reading. The night closed in around me fogging up my mind but I had to finish.

  September of that year, Wheeler made an interesting remark about Branko’s arrest on extortion charges. “If they knew more,” Wheeler had written, “they would bring more serious charges.”

  A few days after Branko’s arrest, Berwick visited Wheeler. “He was alarmed. Branko threatened to reveal details of his relationships with the developers if he were to be convicted.” Wheeler told Berwick he had nothing to fear since he, Wheeler, wasn’t involved in anything. “Remy was furious. Insisted I had to help. Said I would regret not participating.”

  Wheeler didn’t seem concerned. He mentioned warnings from other developers and noted, “Our political friends are feeling pressured as well. After all, we fund them. If the sources of campaign money are dirty, so are those who take that money.”

  Made sense. I still had to connect plenty of dots to get from that to Brad’s murder.

  I glanced at the clock in my kitchen as I made more coffee. Four in the morning was beginning to look like my new bedtime. I took the coffee to the table and picked up the final daybook covering Wheeler’s last few months.

  He continued noting visits to Brad’s spa and said he was “delighted” with Brad’s renovation plans. “I made the right decision after all.”

  Wheeler’s notes on the desire to help others didn’t seem contrived. The high regard in which he held people like Xinhan, Brad, Caragan, and a person he referred to only as “T” showed what seemed to be real interest in their welfare.

  He didn’t hold back on those he held in contempt, like Berwick. For some, like a man he called “D” he reserved comments that were both sad and angry at the same time, saying “D” was weak minded, easily used, and lacking confidence in his own abilities.

  In March, Wheeler was approached by prosecutors to testify against Branko. “I gladly agreed. Foolishly dangerous, however, considering the reach of a man like Branko.”

  Maybe he was right about that.

  Soon after, he mentioned someone else. “Hodding asked for my assistance. I told him about the prosecutors. He said I should not worry about them.” That was certainly curious. He never mentions who the guy was or what help he enlisted.

  As the trial got closer, Wheeler’s notes were shorter. He spoke of collaborating with the prosecution but was worried about Hodding and “working at cross purposes.” He never explained that.

  According to his notes, neither Berwick nor any of the other developers would associate with him.

  Wheeler’s visits to Brad continued. After the last massage before the murders, Wheeler remarked, “The spa has been transformed. I can’t believe Brad can afford these changes with only my investment.”

  That certainly made it seem Wheeler was unaware of the infusion of money from Shuster or anyone else. He could have been playing games with the notes he made to keep his image clean.

  Wheeler eventually noted being dropped as a witness. “They say they no longer need me.” He claims they never explained but he suspected they’d found out about Hodding.

  Immediately after the trial ended in Branko’s conviction, Wheeler mentions being approached by Peter Vega. “The journalist suspects the Branko jury was compromised.”

  It confirmed what the photographer had told me. Vega must have thought Wheeler knew something.

  The day of the murders, Wheeler had two notes, the first said, “Met with Berwick and Terrabito. Frustrating!” The other was simple, “Meeting is set with journalist at Brad’s spa.”

  Without details, Wheeler could have meant anything about Berwick and Terrabito.

  His note about meeting Vega confirmed that Vega had been at the spa. It could either mean the spa was a location no one else would suspect or that Brad had some involvement in the jury tampering case. An easy conclusion since Brad had been on the jury. The money transfers now raised even more red flags. I’d have to find a direct connection between the cash and the jury. Then find out who was behind it.

  On the other hand, Branko had been convicted. If the jury had been tampered with, whoever had been turned didn’t follow instructions.

  My mind was swimming in the deepest depths of the ocean. Four-thirty rolled around and coffee or no coffee, I could barely keep my eyes open. I made it to my bed and blacked out.

  ***

  I heard a phone ringing and ran down unfamiliar halls, opened strange doors to gaze at rooms I didn’t recognize. There were no phones in any of the rooms yet a phone kept up the insistent ring.

  The sound seemed to come from another floor. When I saw a set of stairs, I started to climb. The landing at the top was enveloped by a darkness so complete I feared I would slip into nothingness if took another step.

  About to move, I opened my eyes and blinked in the sunlight filtering into my bedroom. My mouth was cottony, my head pounded, and every muscle felt sore. Not to mention the set of kitchen knives still trapped behind my ribs. I forced myself to look at my alarm clock.

  Ten-thirty. At least whoever it was let me get some sleep. Six hours wasn’t much but it’d have to do. “Fontana,” I slurred into the receiver.

  “Still asleep, Marco?” Shim’s voice wasn’t the worst thing to wake up to.

  “Nah, been drinking heavily since six this morning. That’s why I sound this way.” I closed my eyes against the sunlight and conjured up Shim’s face. “Giuliani tell you I was a morning person? If she did, she lied.”

  “Just thought you might like a little information.” The tease. He was good.

  “Always in the market for information. Where are you?” I couldn’t shake off the sleepiness.

  “Actually I’m a block from your condo, I thought we could get coffee and compare notes.”

  “Come on up. The coffee’s free and I’m in no shape to try looking bright and cheery in some café.”

  “You sure it’s not an imposition?”

  “If you don’t mind seeing me unshaven, unshowered, and looking like an unmade bed…”

  “I’ll bring the coffee. Doesn’t sound like you’re in any condition to even boil water.”

  There wasn’t much I could add about Vega’s murder. My theory was he’d run into something lethal because he was investigating the jury tampering story. Did the police even know what Vega was working on? If they didn’t, then I’d have a lot of explaining to do. Like, how did I come by all that information and why didn’t I share? I could maybe bluff about the photographer but no way in hell could I tell Shim about getting Brad’s financials. That would get Nina in a boatload of trouble and put me and her in the iron bar hotel.

  Unless I solved the case first and threw Shim the credit. Then they wouldn’t care how I did it and wouldn’t ask.

  By the time I’d gotten dressed, the phone rang.

  “Front desk. Got a policeman here to see you.”

  “Sure, send him up.”

  Before long, Shim stood at the door, two huge cups of coffee and a bag of fragrant pastry in hand. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until that pastry reminded me.

  “Come on in,” I said.

  Shim’s jeans and PPD t-shirt, emphasized his worked-out pecs and muscular thighs in a way his suits never could.

  “Hope you like your coffee with a little vanilla.” He moved with graceful fluidity into the living room and placed everything on the coffee table.

  “As long as it has caffeine.” I sat on the couch. “That’s my chief requirement.”

  Shim chose the chair to my left, facing the balcony. “Great view. You must feel like Zeus. Above it all.”

  “Never get tired of it, except when it rains and everything is dull gray.” I took one of the coffees. “Then it’s a drag on my mood.”

  “Sugar?”

  “I kinda like the bitter taste,” I said. “So what brings you here? And don’t tell me you just happened to be in the neighborhood.” I smiled.

  “I was so
rt of in the neighborhood. The precinct is close by.”

  “They have casual dress Sundays now?”

  “Okay, I came by on purpose.”

  I watched as his face flushed several shades of red but I silently waited for him to continue.

  “Your missing persons case…” He hesitated.

  “Yes?” Now he had my attention. “Has something turned up? Did you find…?” I didn’t want to think about what they might’ve discovered.

  “We haven’t found anything. Kid didn’t leave a trail. No credit cards came up. No ATM use. We don’t even know if he’s still in the city.”

  “Either the kid knows how to disappear or….”

  “We checked that possibility, too.” Shim said, his voice low. “Nothing matching his description.”

  “What about Harrisburg where Eddie’s family lives?”

  “Still waiting on that.”

  “I appreciate this, Dae.”

  “Your friend, what was his name, Anthony?”

  “Anton. Name’s Anton.”

  “Anton, yeah. He seemed upset so I thought you could let him know I haven’t forgotten. Even if missing persons isn’t my department.”

  “You could tell him in person, he’d like that. The dancers are sorta like his kids even if he’s not much older than they are. He takes care of them. Something like this happens and he feels it.”

  “I thought you two were close and he might like to hear it from you.”

  “Yeah. Maybe...” I figured Anton wouldn’t care who brought him the news. “If the news was better, Anton wouldn’t care who told him.”

  “I’ve got the right people involved. They’ll know what to do. I know how your friend must feel.”

  “Do you?” My tone was colder than I’d intended, but he reminded me that I should know how Anton was feeling and I hadn’t said much to him about Ty.

  “No…I guess…”

  “Sorry I snapped, Dae. I’ve got a lot on my mind. Shouldn’t take it out on a guy who brings me pastry in the morning.” I smiled and ripped open the bag. “Having some?”

  Shim reached for a powdered-sugar twisty thing that looked pretty good. I grabbed a vanilla frosted donut and as I lifted it to my mouth all I saw was several hours on the treadmill.

  “Speaking of what’s on your mind…” Shim looked me in the eye. “Have you gotten anywhere on the case?” He brushed powdered sugar from his jeans. Sometimes the simplest, most innocent action can be the sexiest.

  “When we talked a while back, we mentioned the possibility that Vega was working on a jury tampering story, right?” I said.

  “Think so but…”

  “I’ve been trying to follow that lead. Among others.”

  “Get anywhere?”

  “Truth?” I asked.

  “What do you think?” Shim smirked.

  “Truth is I feel like I’m skirting around the edge of the thing.” That was sort of the truth.

  “So, what’ve you got?” Shim asked then finished off the pastry he’d taken.

  “I’m thinking it’s strange that Vega and Wheeler show up at Brad’s place on the same night.”

  “Maybe…” Shim said and I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. “Maybe not. Wheeler and Brad had a connection to the Branko trial. Stands to reason Vega might want to talk to them about the jury thing.”

  “So you’re thinking Vega pumps them for information hoping they might know something he could run with. He was on a fishing expedition?” I asked. If I told him I had Brad’s financials which made it seem, circumstantially, that Brad might have been the target juror, then Shim would have more to go on, and I’d be in cuffs. I had to continue playing dumb until I found another way to deal with this.

  “That’s what I’m saying. Vega probably didn’t know much of anything. Was trying to squeeze information out of anyone he could find.” Shim shook his head. “Whoever did this, I mean the Vega murder, whoever did it, was thorough. They left nothing. Not a shred of trace, not a witness, nothing.”

  “There’s always something. You just don’t see it yet.”

  “You’re holding out on me, Marco. I can feel it. You like keeping people in the dark or what?”

  “Me? I like bringing things out into the open.”

  “Unless I get a solid lead, this’ll make my record look like crap.”

  “Look at it this way,” I said. “When I solve the case and toss you the credit, you’ll be a hero.”

  “Confident, aren’t we?” Shim laughed then sipped some coffee. He relaxed back into the chair and gazed out the window. “It’s not like all I’ve had were easy cases but this one’s a bear. Giuliani dropped it in my lap quick. Think she knew it was impossible? She’s—”

  “She’s not like that.”

  “You’re defending her? She roasts you on a spit most of the time.”

  “She ever say that I was dishonest? Or that I didn’t play fair? Or anything like that?”

  “Well… no, I guess not. She certainly doesn’t like you a whole lot.”

  “So, she’s got no taste. But she’s an honest cop who worked hard to get where she is. She hates me but everybody’s got flaws. That’s hers.”

  Shim chuckled and went back to staring out the window.

  “Point is, she wouldn’t give you this case if she didn’t have confidence in you. She’s not out to sink you.”

  ***

  Shim hung around a while longer, slowly finishing his coffee and discussing the case. I’d debated telling him about Sorba’s threat but decided to try something else before turning it over to the police.

  After Shim left, I dialed Shuster’s private number to see what he’d come up with.

  “Shuster.”

  “Remember the deadline I gave you last night?”

  “I… there hasn’t been enough… you can’t expect…” Shuster stammered.

  “We need to talk. Now.” I needed him off guard and unready.

  “I can’t. I’ve got campaign business. The primary’s a week away—”

  “My office. Twenty minutes. Don’t be late.”

  I hung up before he could whimper once more, then hustled myself out of the apartment.

  The best sort of cool Spring breezes and clear blue skies tempted people out of their homes. Sunday strollers moved languidly down the streets on their way to brunch or the gym or to sit in a café. I spotted an empty sidewalk table at the Village Brew and wanted to ditch work. Instead I trudged over to my office building.

  Without Olga, the place was an empty shell. I walked through to my office, pulled some files on the case, and sat at my desk. If I was going to finesse information out of Shuster I needed a quick review.

  As I read, I heard the elevator arrive, followed by the heavy sound of thumping footsteps. Shuster stomped into my office, flushed and angry.

  “I’m here,” he snapped. “What is it that couldn’t wait?”

  “You weren’t being truthful last night,” I bluffed.

  “Truthful… are you crazy? I told you everything. You’re the one jumped down my throat calling me a liar.”

  “Never used that word but since you opened the door… Why’d you lie to me?”

  “I didn’t.” He seemed about to stomp his foot to punctuate his words, but he restrained himself.

  “You know all about Brad’s money. You know where it came from and why it was transferred into Brad’s account.” Bluffing sometimes works. Shuster knew more, I was sure of it. Maybe not as much as I hoped but more than he’d told me.

  “What part of ‘I don’t know anything’ don’t you understand?”

  “Guess I don’t understand any of it. When it all shakes out, I’m gonna have documents detailing every tidbit of your financial life. People like Nussbaum, Terrabito, Kelley, and others like Josh Nolan, they’re gonna be exposed to the sunlight, too. All because of you.”

  “If you’ve got the details why not use them now? Show me what you’ve found.”

 
; “That’s not the way it works. I’ve got plenty but I want more. I need to know who killed Brad and Wheeler.”

  “Wheeler.” He snorted. “Didn’t your research come up with anything juicy about him? The old bastard wasn’t as saintly as they say.”

  “Maybe, but he’s dead. Wouldn’t make sense, him having himself killed, now would it? He didn’t have to funnel money to Brad secretly,” I said. “So if you were thinking of pinning the murder on the dead guy, forget it. Nice try, though.”

  “So he was killed. Doesn’t mean he didn’t plan it all. Maybe he didn’t plan well enough and he ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. He could have framed me then accidentally got himself killed.”

  “Could be. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re hiding something. I’m thinking you’re protecting somebody who’s still among the living.”

  “Why would I protect somebody who framed me and is trying to sink my candidate’s campaign? Why would I do that?”

  “Who knows? Love? Maybe it was Nolan. Maybe you’ve got a thing for Nolan. He’s a hot man. You worked together for years then went your separate ways. Maybe you still love the man. Maybe you love him more than you enjoy working for Kelley. I’ve seen the way you look at one another.”

  “This isn’t high school. If I ever had a ‘thing’ as you put it, for Josh, that was in the past. He’s straighter than straight. No matter how I felt, it could never have amounted to anything.”

  “Still, love’s a powerful emotion. People kill over it. So, what’s a little favor like funneling some money?”

  “You forget that I have no idea money was transferred or why. If it happened, it was without my knowledge. It had to have been in and out of my account before I noticed it.”

  “I have some ideas about why you… excuse me… someone… would give Brad so much money.”

  “And that would be…?”

  “What’s the fun in me telling you? The idea is that you’re gonna tell me and then I’ll know if I was right,” I said and leaned back in my chair. A ghost of a pain in my ribs sent a little shock through my body. “I know I’m right. I’m always right about these things.”