It was 8:30 pm, and Powers and Johnson parked about a block away and walked inside the nightclub operating as Decades for the evening. It was '70s night, and Bud apologized to Paul that it wasn't '80s night. They were stopped in the front by the tall bouncers as both detectives flipped open their badges. They were completely out of place, as most of the patrons were in '70s apparel, mostly reflecting the disco era: silk printed shirts for the men and dresses in either black or white for the women. The club had two levels with the top level serving as an overhang of the bottom level. You could dance, sit, drink, or just stand against the railing looking down on the main dance floor when you were on top. Paul pulled out photos from the videos from the night of the murder from all three clubs and started scanning the crowd.
The music was so loud he pulled Bud's ear to his mouth and said, “Let's check out the bathroom where the murder took place.”
They were directed to a long and narrow hallway away from the dance and bar area and found the men's room, which had the international symbol for men's room but right above it had a sign that said, Elton John. Both detectives didn't get it until they got to the women's bathroom with a sign that read, Olivia Newton-John.
Bud shook his head and said, “Oh no, not this shit; you have to be kidding me,” as he looked at Paul, who had a big smile on his face. Paul's affection for Olivia Newton-John had now become an inside joke and Paul loved getting under Bud's skin.
A young woman came out of the bathroom, and as Bud showed her his badge, he said, “I have a question, ma'am. What's the story with the bathrooms being called Elton John and Olivia Newton-John?”
The young woman was caught off guard but answered, “When the clubs have '70s and '80s nights the bathrooms are always designated that way.”
“Thank you, ma'am.”
Paul interjected as he looked at Bud, “I like this place already.”
The doctor told Ellyn Baker to stay home for a few days. So, since she was now on her own time, she decided to go dancing at the club as an off-duty cop.
As Carol Walker was getting ready to enter the club, Lynagh spotted Ellyn Baker going in. Lynagh yelled into Wright's earpiece, “Hold up! Don't go in until advised. Confirm copy!”
“Copy that,” Wright answered.
“Shit!” Lynagh said aloud. He called Powers to inform him of Baker entering the club.
“Damn!” Powers answered. “Send Wright in to the bar to keep an eye open, give her ten minutes, once you go in even in civilian clothes you will be recognized as a cop. Let's play this out now that Baker decided to spend her off time there. Damn!” he said again before pushing the end button.
Baker's silk, sequined dress outlined her almost perfect body, enhancing her breasts and waist. The back was so low-cut that Detective Lynagh wondered if you could see the top of her ass if you were close up. He found himself talking to himself as he watched her go into the club. “Good thing she doesn't have a gun,” he said. “There would be no place to put it.”
Ellyn Baker cleaned up nice, he thought. In civilian clothes and makeup she was in the same class as the young women who were killed. Lynagh wasn't sure if he could wait ten minutes as he instructed Officer Wright to go in and stay at the bar.
Ellyn Baker made heads turn. She moved to the music and enjoyed the atmosphere of the club, which included beautiful people watching both men and women. She ordered herself an iced tea as she walked her way through the round tables of people to get a glimpse of the area where the private rooms were. She did not notice the bartender telling one of the bouncers that he just had an attractive sexy customer who ordered a drink with no alcohol.
As the detective walked by the private rooms she heard a voice behind her say,
“May I help you, Miss?” She would not have heard it, but the DJ was making an announcement and no music was playing.
Ellyn turned around to face an obese man who must have weighed over four hundred pounds, with long, black, greasy hair. As he walked toward her she couldn't help but notice that he kept pulling up his pants. The bouncer noticed the look on her face as he stepped in front of her.
“What's a beautiful young woman like you doing here all by yourself, walking around the club with an iced tea in her hand?”
“Listen,” Ellyn said, “I was looking around the club. I've never been here before, so I would appreciate it if you and your fake Izod shirt would leave me alone.” Ellyn walked around the bouncer, which seemed like forever, but once her back was to him he grabbed the back of her hair and pulled her inside the closest private room.
Within seconds Lynagh walked in the front door and the bouncers in front notified the owner, Brian Branca, they had a visitor. Lynagh spotted Carol Wright at the bar sipping a drink.
Inside the private room the large man wouldn't let go of Baker's hair as she reached to open her pocketbook. The bouncer swatted it away as the contents of it slid across the floor, including her backup piece, which was a 32 caliber semiautomatic pistol.
“What are you doing here, bitch?” Baker tried to get out from under his hold as she struck his stomach with her knee. He promptly hit her harder in the stomach and she went down to the floor. Baker could not catch her breath even as he grabbed her hair again.
“What are you looking for here?” he asked as he spotted the pistol on the floor.
Baker caught her breath and said, “If I was looking for you, it would not be so difficult.”
The obese bouncer hit her hard again in the stomach as she was gasping for her breath. Lynagh couldn't find Ellyn anywhere and went inside the women's bathroom as some women screamed as he called out her name. There was no reply, and he realized there could be a very serious problem. He called Powers, who said he was on the way with Bud, but it would take twenty minutes to get to Setauket.
“Get the owner immediately,” he told Lynagh, who was in civilian clothes tonight. “If she's in trouble, he most likely can get it stopped.”
As they disconnected, Lynagh went up to one of the bouncers, flashed his badge, and said, “Bring me to the owner now, or I will start shooting bullets in the ceiling, causing a mass panic.” The bouncer looked at him in disbelief until Lynagh yelled “Right now!” as he pulled out his weapon.
The bartender moved his head away from Officer Wright and started to send a text when the young officer took ahold of his ear until his head hit the bar. “No texting on the job, handsome. Stay here with me or I'll be insulted and may shoot you.” He looked at her with his head sideways on the bar and couldn't believe such a young, petite women was pinning him down on his bar.
The young bouncer put up his hands and replied, “OK, OK, calm down. I will bring you to his office now.” Lynagh put his gun back in its holster under his jacket as he was led into a hallway with a hidden door that looked like part of the wall if you did not know it was a door. He looked back at Wright, and she nodded to him.
Ellyn tried again to get out of the grasp of the oversized man, but he would not let go of her hair. She twisted her body and maneuvered her legs to where she was able to kick his face so hard with the heel of her shoe that it knocked out his front teeth. He was enraged as he let go of her and she got up to run for the door, but he was able to grab her again, and this time he hit her hard in the face as she went down to the floor and didn't move. The man got up breathing hard for he had hit her so hard he lost his balance and almost fell on her, which would have most likely killed her. He went to the bathroom inside the private room to wash up as he tried to contact the boss, Brian Branca, who had his hands full with Lynagh. The officer pulled out his weapon again and held it down on his pant leg as he spoke to Branca and his cronies.
“We have a friend here who disappeared. I want her found now before I start doing things you may regret.”
“Tell me about your friend,” Branca said. “Is she a cop with a gun on my premises?”
“
Stop stalling!” Lynagh yelled as he raised his gun. “I've already had two of your employees try to kill me today. I'm insulted because I'm only worth $100,000. I guess if I shoot you I'll be worth more.”
“You are threatening me, Officer?” Branca yelled back. “In front of my attorney?”
Edward Larson put out his hand and said, “Nice to see you again, Officer.”
Lynagh ignored him as he pointed his weapon at Branca and said, “Where is she?”
Branca looked at one of his employees and said, “Open up the videos.” A button was pushed as twenty-four monitors opened up, sharing all parts of the club.
Lynagh still had his gun on Branca as he spoke again.
“Find the brunette in the black glitter dress, and make it fast.” Two employees looked but were not getting anywhere.
Lynagh was persistent. “Find her in the next sixty seconds or start emptying out this club.”
Branca's attorney began to speak. “Officer, you shut this club with no proof that your coworker friend is here against her will, and we will sue you and the police department for damages. The club just reopened; it will destroy our business.”
Ten minutes had already gone by, and Lynagh did not know how much longer he had left if Ellyn was in trouble.
He spoke again. “Where are the videos for the private rooms upstairs?”
Branca quickly answered, “We can't use them while they are occupied. Four of the seven rooms have clients in them.”
Lynagh spoke louder. “Put them on the screen now!”
Branca looked at his attorney, who said, “Show him, Brian. We will use it in the damages case, and the clients in the rooms will have a case as well.”
The first video was opened and it was a woman performing oral sex on a man.
“Oh great!” Branca yelled.
The officer wasn't deterred and said, “Keep going.”
The second video showed the room empty. “Move it!” Lynagh yelled. The third video showed a group of people making out and singing karaoke. The next room video opened up and showed Ellyn Baker on the floor motionless as Lynagh called an ambulance and yelled at Branca, “Bring me to this room now!”
Larson, now nervous, said, “Officer, we can't go out there with a gun in sight; it will cause panic in the club.”
Lynagh raised his gun and replied, “Do you think I give a shit right now?”
There were six men in the room, all ready to make a move as Branca continued to sit looking for guidance from his attorney. Lynagh called Powers back requesting backup at the club and informing him of what was on the video. The two detectives were minutes away as Bud called for more backup while Paul kept Lynagh on the line. The detective sergeant told his officer he didn't want him moving from the room while he was the only cop in the club. It was another three minutes when George Lynagh spoke again as he looked at the video.
“She's not moving.” He looked back at Branca, still sitting, and said, “For your sake you better hope she is taking a nap.”
Brian Branca began to speak but his attorney put his arm on him to remain silent. Larson looked back at the officer and said, “Mr. Branca had no knowledge of this unfortunate situation, and we are very concerned for your friend. If this is the result of one of our employees, they will be fired immediately and we will also press charges. We are very sorry for what has happened.”
As he finished his sentence one of the other employees moved his leg from getting stiff and Lynagh pulled out his backup gun and now had two guns extended in two different directions.
“All of you move over here to your dipshit boss. I'm very angry right now. Quick, move!” he said as he waved his gun. The rest of Branca's entourage walked over to Branca and Larson.
The bartender begged Wright to let go of his ear, for he had drinks to serve. The place was so busy that only a few patrons who were close by noticed what was going on.
Wright let go of his ear as she said, “Serve your drinks, but if I see you go for anything other than a glass or bottle, I will shoot you. I am a police officer and I have partners here in the club. They better come out of here tonight breathing.” It was eerie to the bartender how she continued to talk so tough with such a disingenuous smile on her face.
Powers and Johnson pulled up to the front of the club at the same time as four squad cars did, as well as O'Malley and Wyatt. Paul stood at the door and started giving orders for officers to guard all the exits and to inspect everyone leaving the premises. He ordered O'Malley to supervise the outside perimeter and the officers while he went inside with Bud and Wyatt. O'Malley started selecting officers for specific locations at the back and second levels. Before going into the building as he looked at his watch, Paul turned around and looked at the elder detective. “William, if you don't hear from me within ten minutes, come in after us with everyone.”
O'Malley nodded as Paul asked, “In your long career have you ever shot anyone?”
“No,” O'Malley answered. “I never had to, but I would not hesitate if things had to change.” Paul turned around to head into the building as the ambulance pulled up. O'Malley met with the medics and sent them into the building. Powers called Lynagh to get directions to where he was. It was not easy because the club was full and the noise was getting louder. Bud went up to the DJ, flashed his badge, and told him to take a break from the music. There were so many people in the club drinking and talking that the only change was people leaving the dance area.
They reached Lynagh within three minutes and Paul started yelling to Branca, “Where is Baker? Bring us now!”
He told Wyatt to stay in the room with the entourage as Branca got up and brought Paul, Lynagh, Bud, and the medics to the room where Baker was still lying on the floor. Bud went over to her with the medics and determined she was still alive. Bud put his hand on her head as he looked at the black eye that was forming on her face.
The senior medic who was examining her spoke. “Someone beat the shit out of her. From the way she is breathing she probably has broken ribs as well.”
As Bud gently took his hands off her face he thought about Deborah. It seemed like only yesterday he first met her after being held in the house, but this was a physical beating. Bud was getting emotional as Ellyn opened her eyes and tried to talk to Bud. The senior medic motioned for his crew to put her carefully on a stretcher as Ellyn tried to speak to Bud again.
“Hold on,” Bud said as he put his ear to her mouth. Paul kept looking around the room for any clues about what may have happened, but he could see from Ellyn's throat she was speaking in Bud's ear. Bud moved his mouth over to Ellyn's ear as he whispered to her then touched her forehead with a gentle rub. He got up as the medics put the young detective on a stretcher as Paul ordered Lynagh to escort the medics and Baker to the ambulance.
“If anyone gets in your way, shoot them.”
Branca started yelling, “You can't shoot in here. You'll ruin my club!”
“Your club?” Bud answered. “You have bigger problems, my friend, right now. And speaking of bigger, who is the large four-hundred-pound man that looks like a slob that you have working here?”
Branca hesitated as Bud spoke again. “I'm not going to ask you again, because I think you are resisting arrest.”
Branca replied, “I had nothing to do with this!”
Bud got in his face as he yelled back, “This is your club! I want a name right now!”
Paul started to leave the room, and suddenly Branca realized he would be alone in the room with Bud.
“His name,” the club owner replied, “is Kevin Sysco. I will get him.”
“No,” Bud said, “no you won't. I have a better idea. Set it up with your tech man to get me on the PA system from here.”
Branca shook his head and said, “I want my attorney here. What the fuck do you guys think you are doing?”
Paul
called O'Malley outside to get Lynagh back to the owner's room after the ambulance left and to bring Edward Larson back to the private room.
After disconnecting, he handed his phone to Branca and said, “Get your man from the control room to let the PA system come through here now.” Branca took the phone and called Steve Lewis, who was near the DJ waiting for the authorization for the music to start again.
“Never mind that, make arrangements to allow a PA system to be controlled out of Private Room 4. Now!” Branca said as he disconnected.
Within five minutes Lewis was up in the room with a cord and a microphone, and in minutes they had a PA system hooked up to the stereo system. It was ready. As Bud took the microphone, Lynagh brought Larson to the room.
Bud tapped the microphone as Branca asked, “What are you doing?”
Paul looked over at Larson. “Are you going to advise your client to be quiet, Mr. Attorney?”
“Yes,” Larson replied.
Bud had a puzzled look on his face as he looked at Paul and said, “I have a question. Should he be advising Bullshit Branca here if the attorney is also a suspect?”
Paul took a deep breath and shook his head. “I really don't know. I think we should check with the ADA on that one,” he said, looking back at Larson. “But I don't want to take any chances, so let's leave him here for the moment.”
Then he called Wyatt into the control room and said, “We are sending down Steve Lewis. He is going to turn on the master control and then he is going to make a copy of the video from the cameras here.”
As Lewis started to leave the room, Bud called to him, “Excuse me, if the video accidently gets deleted, I just want to let you know I will find a way to tie you into the murders of Detective Cronin, Hansen, and Officer Walter Dugan. So be careful.”
Steve Lewis stared back at Bud as he looked at Brian Branca and left the room. It was another five minutes when Wyatt notified Powers that the PA was on. Paul looked over at Bud and nodded. Bud tapped the microphone a few times, which caused most of the people to look up at the ceiling with a puzzled look as if they were not sure what to look for. Bud began to speak as Branca looked at his attorney for help, but Larson just shook his head in silence.
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