‘Can you blow it up a bit?’ asked Mac, leaning over his shoulder.
‘Sure.’ Tariq was using a Mac Book pro and pinched his thumb and forefinger and spread them out until the open window filled the screen. On the fifth shot the barrel of a hand gun was clearly visible.
‘See. There. That’s the weapon and you can just see a hand, although it’s a little dark. Can you do anything about it?’
‘Yeah, I can digitally enhance it and lighten it up a little. Let’s see.’ Tariq clicked an icon at the top of the screen and kept clicking until the interior of the car was brighter, with more definition.
‘Look.’ Mac was looking at shot nine and a face was coming into view from the back seat. At first all you could see was a blurry profile of someone. Mac thought it was a woman’s face.
Stone was listening into their conversation and went around to Tariq’s desk to have a look for himself. Tariq continued to enhance the shots one by one and the details were getting clearer and clearer. It was a woman’s face but it was still too indistinct.
‘Can you sharpen that up Tariq?’ asked Stone.
Tariq clicked around from icon to icon, enhancing and using special techniques to sharpen each pixel. The face was now clear for all to see and Mac and Stone exchanged a knowing and anxious look.
It was Rachel Parker.
Mac had taken so many shots with the Nikon motor drive that they looked like a movie film advancing across the screen frame by frame. From the first frame to the final frame she could be seen stretching a hand forward towards the gun.
‘The hand was actually touching the gun at the time it was fired,’ said Tariq. ‘Look at this frame, there’s a red glow just at the end of the barrel, which is when the shot was fired.’
‘If she hadn’t have done that Stone you might have been history,’ said Finch who was now standing behind Stone and Mac.
‘Go a little further Tariq,’ asked Stone.
Tariq moved down the frames as quickly as he could. The car had advanced now until it was tangential to the camera at ninety degrees and the driver and passenger alongside him was coming into view.
They were all riveted to the sequence and frame-by-frame, and inch-by-inch, the driver’s face, which was also the shooter, became clear. It was a Chinese guy.
‘No prize for guessing who that is,’ said Mac.
‘What do you mean Mac? You know him as well?’ said Finch.
‘Oh yeah-h-h. That’s Chang, Shadow’s sidekick. Almost got me killed at the siege in San Fernando, it’s a long story.’
‘Tariq if you clear up just a few more frames for sure you’ll see a black guy sitting beside Chang who will be wearing shades,’ said Stone. ‘It’s the killer of Guy Randall.’
Tariq’s fingers were clicking away furiously and in less than ten seconds the frames began to clear. The man sitting on the other side of the Chinese guy was Shadow, and was exactly as Stone described.
Stone, Mac and Finch were huddled around Tariq’s computer and they all stared at the last chilling frame showing the gun still protruding out of the gap above the window, Chang’s expression was one of anger as the outstretched hand of Rachel Parker had just ruined his shot and just behind Chang was the menacing image of Shadow, the gangster who had order the hit.
At that moment the doors swung open and Senior Detective Eduardo Ramirez entered the room and they all turned their heads in unison to look at him. Finch felt obliged to advise his boss what was going on.
‘Sir, Mr. Stone and Mr. McLeish came in to make out a report about yesterday’s shooting.’ Ramirez’s eyes flipped to look at Stone’s arm, which he’d put in a sling at the hotel. ‘Mac was able to get off shots of the car as it cruised by, it’s interesting stuff Sir,’ said Finch.
‘Yeah, to who? For all we know it could have been staged.’ Stone could feel his blood pressure rising.
‘But the footage shows the killer of Guy Randall, a…Chad Loman, a.k.a. Shadow.’ Finch was trying to remain professional.
‘It proves nothing,’ retorted Ramirez.
‘Sir, Stone was nearly killed, if he hadn’t…’
‘Look Detective, Stone…’ Ramirez flicked his head across to look at Stone. ‘Is still under investigation for murder, don’t you forget that. Now finish the report and see me, we’ve got work to do.’
Stone’s fuse was lit, he responded angrily at Ramirez’s flippant dismissal of the shooting. ‘What is wrong with you? You have nothing on me yet you are still convinced that I’m a killer. And where’s the evidence bag that Mac brought in yesterday? Why aren’t you following that up? We’ve practically laid the guy on a plate for you,’ said Stone.
Ramirez walked over to Stone, he took the matchstick from the corner of his mouth and waved it around like a weapon as he spoke.
‘There is no evidence bag, and this little scratch here…’ Ramirez pointed to Stone’s arm, ‘is a diversion to put us off the scent. You’re guilty Stone, it’s just a matter of time.’
Finch didn’t know what else to say, to tell Ramirez what he thought would have been gross insubordination and he could make his life difficult for stepping out of line.
Stone jabbed back at Ramirez, ‘There’s something going on here Ramirez and it stinks. The bag was delivered here and recorded at the front desk.’ Stone told Mac they were leaving and they started for the double doors, he turned around for one last punch before leaving, ‘If you can’t do your job we’ll do it for you, I’ll bring Loman in myself.’
Stone and Mac left the precinct.
‘Boss?’ said Scarface.
‘Yeah go ahead, you still at the precinct?’ asked Maloof.
For the second time the dark four by four SUV with smoke grey windows had managed to park up at precinct #113 without being noticed.
‘Yeah but they’re on the move again, driving a dark blue Porsche 911.’
‘What the hell is Ramirez doing, he’s had too much time now. Follow them Habib, don’t lose them.’
‘Don’t worry Boss I’ve got a tracker on them.’
‘Good. Report in later. We may have to pay Ramirez a visit.’
‘Okay Mr. Maloof.’
Maloof flipped the phone closed and replaced it in his inside pocket. He took out a cigar, clipped the end and lit it up. He stood looking out over the east river watching the tugboats and barges, contemplating what to do next. Maloof had other, serious business to attend to and needed the Stone situation resolved. It was dragging on too long.
Chapter 22
Since Rachel had been told the address for the man who had bought the flowers for Rebecca she couldn’t stop thinking about seeing her sister again. The only thing to do, she thought, was to go right away, today. Rachel had her own private limousine with a full time chauffeur; she called and gave him her instructions for the day. The limousine arrived and Rachel set off for Brooklyn. On the journey over she could hardly think about anything else but seeing her twin sister for the first time in thirteen years.
She wondered how Stone was after the shooting at the cemetery, she saw that he had reached for his arm and consoled herself that he would still be alive at least. She had no real way of finding out other than to call Bloom, the lawyer, but she would not be able to explain to him how she knew about the shooting, so she decided to put it out of her mind. One thing for sure though, she thought, was that any future involvement with Shadow would be crazy, she had to find a way to get him out of her life permanently, he knew where she lived. Perhaps she would sell the apartment after all, if it meant she would be free of him.
Her thoughts were disturbed by her cell phone ringing, she hadn’t heard it at first, she looked at the screen and saw it was Maloof. They hadn’t spoken since he had left the apartment the previous day, just before Bloom’s call about the funeral. She had learnt not to question him about his business although it still baffled her as to why the manager of a billionaire’s property portfolio kept strange business hours and worked in such a secretive way. She
picked up his call.
‘Hi baby, how’s things?’
‘Good. Good. Where are you? What are you doing?’ he asked. He was becoming possessive. He disappeared at any time of the day or night but he always insisted on knowing where she was. She wasn’t used to being monitored, she cherished her independence. Rachel just needed a little more security and she’d dispense with the likes of Maloof and Shadow once and for all. For now though she had to show a measure of subservience.
‘I’m just across town doing a few errands,’ Rachel replied.
‘I’ll be back around seven p.m. we should go out to dinner, we’ll talk more then, I just wanted to know what was happening about the arrangements, I hope you're on top of them?’
Rachel had to think fast, it wasn’t good to lie to Maloof, he somehow always found out. She had called a contractor but hadn’t set up a meeting with them yet to discuss in detail the room refurbishments for Maloof’s guests who were arriving in a few days’ time. She figured she’d phone them directly after Maloof’s call and meet them later that afternoon. She had to show some progress.
‘Baby, that’s where I’m going now. I called the contractor yesterday and we’re meeting up to go over things, I’ll be back by seven. Dinner sounds great.’
‘Hmm okay I want to know what’s going on so we’ll talk over dinner. See you back at the apartment okay?’
‘Okay babes.’ Rachel thought she had rescued the situation quite well, now she really did have to meet the contractor so she called and fixed the meeting up.
A few minutes later her mind wandered back to Rebecca, they were approaching Prospect Park and her anxiety intensified. The street was up ahead. She sat on the edge of her seat and looked at the houses searching for the number.
She told the driver to slow down.
Rachel was craning her neck to look at the house numbers on each house trying to find number 1189, 34th St. She was getting anxious with anticipation now that they had found the street, now all she had to do was find the house. The pain of thirteen years of waiting and the bitter and frustrating memories were swimming around her head clouding her ability to think straight. She wondered how she would look now, had Rebecca missed her?
Why hadn’t she tried to find me?
They were getting closer, 1179, 1181. ‘Slow right down driver I don’t want to miss it,’ Rachel instructed. Then she saw it, house 1189, a featureless townhouse, the same shape as all the others in the row. The yard was unkempt, just a few trees and shrubs, there was an old’ish looking car on the drive but no other redeemable features.
‘Stop. That’s it.’ The car slowed right down, moved into the kerb and stopped. ‘Driver I won’t be long, okay?’
The driver said okay and Rachel stepped out and her feet seemed to drag along the ground nervous at the thought of seeing Rebecca after so many years. What would she say to her? What if she didn’t want to see me? We have so much to talk about, she thought.
Without realizing she had reached the front door and saw it had a bell. She rung it twice and looked up at the house, her heart was pounding in her chest. She heard a dog barking inside the house, another ten seconds or so later and the door clicked and started to open. A tall, dark haired man, about thirty years old answered the door. He looked as unkempt as the yard and was holding back his dog by the collar. It must be Mark Fielding, she thought. Rachel had hoped that Rebecca would be there to open the door.
The man was taken aback; he was shocked and couldn’t speak. Rachel suddenly realized why. Mark Fielding was looking at Rebecca’s identical twin sister.
‘Hi. Mr. Fielding? My name is Rachel, Rebecca’s sister. Is she at home?’ Rachel’s voice was a little shaky; she couldn’t disguise her nervousness and looked around to the side of Fielding into the house to see if she could see Rebecca. ‘Is she home?’ she repeated. Fielding still hadn’t spoken a word; he was still stupefied by the sight of Rachel. Apart for the hairstyle they had the same color hair - Rebecca always tied her hair back, Rachel usually kept hers loose, letting her natural curls and ringlets fall to her shoulders – they were identical. Rachel was the same height, about five-four, had the same complexion and the same mesmerizing dark brown eyes above high cheekbones. There was no mistaking, that Rachel was every bit as beautiful as Rebecca. Fielding realized he was staring and tried hard to avert his gaze.
‘She err…she’s not here,’ he said. He was definitely having trouble knowing what to say. ‘How did you know where we…’ he started.
‘The flowers. I mean…I visited my mom’s grave a little while ago and there was a fresh bunch of flowers and a message from Rebecca on her grave. Your name was on the back and I…well I found where she lives.’
‘She doesn’t anymore. Not for some time,’ said Fielding.
‘But the flowers…’
‘I had them sent by the florist, she asks me every birthday, Christmas and Easter to make sure she has fresh ones on her grave.’
‘I don’t understand…she asks you? Where is she?’
‘Look this is not easy for me; I didn’t even know she had a sister, to learn now that she has a twin well…’
‘She didn’t tell you about me? Did she tell you anything about the Parker family?’
‘Parker? Her name’s Rebecca Loman, that’s all she told me.
Rachel was trying hard not to show just how upset she was, she’d waited thirteen years to find her sister. She had to know the truth.
‘Where is she? I need to see her. I’ve just got to…’
‘You don’t know?’
‘Know. Know what? How could I? I’ve only been in New York three months and as I said I haven’t seen her for such a long time.’
‘She’s in an institution Rachel. She’s been in and out for years. When we first met things were fine. She told me about her mother’s death and hinted at some bad stuff that went on but that was all. About five years ago she started to have real problems, she got messed up with drugs and alcohol and…’ It was obvious that Fielding had been through a lot with Rebecca and the sadness was clear to see in his eyes. ‘I helped her through it and she went into rehab time after time but…’
‘Where is she Mr. Fielding? I appreciate what you’ve done and it must have been very difficult for you but she’s my sister I need to see her.’
‘She’s in the Claremont Center over in Queens. I visit once a month and she comes home for the holidays but…I don’t know if she’ll ever…you know, get better.’
‘Thank you Mr. Fielding.’ Rachel turned to walk away back to her car. Fielding called after her.
‘What are you going to do?’
‘I told you, I’m her sister, I need to see her. After that I’ll make arrangements to have her cared for, not in some institution.’
Fielding stood against the open door. The dog started barking again. Rachel got into the limousine and it drove away with Fielding staring after it until it was of out sight.
Chapter 23
‘We should get over to Mrs. Randall’s buddy. Sure you don’t mind driving?’ said Stone.
‘No sweat mate, sides it’s hardly a chore driving this beauty.’ Mac held up his hand gesturing to emphasize that driving the Porsche was actually a pleasure.
As they left the precinct car park and headed for the Queensboro Bridge they drove in silence. They hadn’t noticed the four by four pull out of the car park and start to follow them. Mac was waiting for Stone to calm down after the spat with Ramirez and after about half an hour Mac spoke first.
‘What were you getting at back there mate, about Shadow, bringing him in ourselves?’
‘We’ve got to do something. Without that evidence bag Ramirez could still try to set me up. We need to get Shadow’s fingerprints. If we found out where his office was we could get in somehow and find something he’s touched, or better still a weapon or bullets, anything, and then force Ramirez to take us seriously.’
‘Break in you mean?’
‘If necessary yeah.
’
‘First we’ve got to find out where his office is, that’s not going to be easy.’
‘I know someone who’ll know.’
‘Who? Stone you don’t mean…’
They exchanged a sideways glance, Mac’s was one of incredulity. Stone’s was one of desperation.
‘Surely if we knew where the stalker was or even had her number we’d turn her in in a heartbeat.’
‘First things first Mac, I’ve got to shake this murder charge. We’ll get them both before we leave this town I promise you. I owe it to Karla, Mrs. Randall and the Police Chief,’ he added.
They made good time through the mid morning Manhattan traffic, Stone and Mac found Mrs. Randall’s apartment on 76th St and as instructed they parked up in the underground private parking and took the elevator up to the penthouse suite. They first had to buzz her doorman who asked them to wait for him, he’d be down in a moment. The only way to access the penthouse suite was when escorted by the doorman who had a key to allow the elevator to reach the top floor. The apartment wasn’t even mentioned on the floor indicators or anywhere inside the car.
Sharp, the doorman duly arrived down at the parking level and he summoned Stone and Mac with a nod of his head into the elevator car. They rode up in silence to Mrs. Randall’s suite. From the evident athletic build and steely air of confidence it was plain to see that Sharp, who must have been six-four and around two hundred and fifty pounds, doubled as a bodyguard for Mrs. Randall. Sideways glances at the bulge on the right side of his jacket left them in no doubt that he took the job very seriously. Mac just about edged Sharp for height and breadth but his raised eyebrow let Stone know that even Mac would think twice about dancing around with him.
Moving stealthily a dark four by four entered the underground car park. Scarface circled around and located Stone’s Porsche and found a parking space a safe distance away, but still in his line of sight. He would sit and wait patiently until they reappeared.
DEAD MAN'S JUSTICE - A Place of Evil (Stone & McLeish Thriller Series of Stories Book 2) Page 9