Bud put on his radio voice and said, “Good evening, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, drug users, parole violators, prostitutes, pimps, underage drinkers, and all-around shitheads. This is Detective Bud Johnson of the Priority 1 Task Force in Suffolk County. I'm sorry for the interruption tonight, but I did want to bring to your attention that in addition to a murder that happened here a couple days ago, we also had a lovely young lady beaten up tonight who just happens to also be a detective with Suffolk County.”
The club was dead silent as everyone was listening. Officer Wright continued to sit at the bar as she looked around for suspicious behavior from anyone.
Bud continued, “Now, this woman was physically beaten by one of the employees here, who by the way has been fired but is most likely still here in the club at this moment.”
The women in the club were now setting down their drinks as the detective continued, “The coward who beat our detective up . . . well, you can't miss him. He happens to be a big, fat man who smells bad and looks like a complete slob. This is important, because it will make it harder for him to hide due to his girth. Oh, by the way, his name is Kevin Sysco. It is spelled S-Y-S-C-O, which is funny because it's the same name of a company that sells food, but in this case he eats it.”
He continued as people in the club started walking toward the door to leave and gather their belongings. O'Malley and his officers were ready to inspect everyone coming out. Bud looked at Branca, who edged over to the couch to sit down.
Some patrons were enjoying the speech and were giggling as Bud continued, “So we ask for you cooperation. If you know where this man is, please let one of our fine officers know as you leave the building, or better yet, Mr. Kevin Sysco, you can get your big, fat, ugly ass up here to Room 4 and save us all a lot of time and effort. Again, everyone, I'm sorry for your evening being cut short, so to make up for it I would like to sing for all of you.”
Paul started shaking his head as Bud started singing a popular, classic song by War, “The Cisco Kid.”
After Bud sang the entire first verse, he made up his own lyrics for the second verse but was still in tune to the music of the song: “Sysco kid is not a friend of mine. Your ass is so big you won't be hard to find.”
Even the guys in the master control room had puzzled looks on their faces as Wyatt said to himself, “One crazy motherfucking cop.”
Officer Wright tucked her lips in to hide her amusement at Bud Johnson's PA speech.
Bud spoke again into the PA after he finished his singing. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen and the rest of you degenerates. I hope you all have a wonderful evening and also hope never to see you in this club again. It is a bad element here, and I and the other fine officers of the Suffolk County Police Department will be keeping an eye on this place for quite some time. Good night, good luck, and good riddance. PS, all of your handbags will be inspected on the way out, so if you have anything you shouldn't have, please leave it in the club.”
Everyone thought Bud was finished, but he went back on the PA, this time in an airport voice: “Mr. Sysco, paging Mr. Kevin Sysco, please come to Private Room 4. You are wanted in Private Room 4. Mr. Kevin Sysco, please get your huge bodily self up to this room in the next thirty seconds or we will tear this club down with every officer we have. Thank you.”
Bud shut the PA off as he asked for alone time with Branca. Paul started to object, but Bud reassured him, “Paul, I'm fine, really. I just want to talk to him for a moment.”
“I object!” Larson yelled.
“Come with me,” Paul said as he and Lynagh went to the master control room. It was apparent that Bud's PA speech had the entire club emptying out.
Bud approached Brian Branca, who spoke as the detective approached him. “You crazy fucking cop, you just destroyed my business!”
Bud moved in closer as he replied, “I guess my bounty just went up.”
Branca was silent as Bud looked at him. The club owner's eyes spoke a thousand words as the detective spoke again. “I want to know where the fat man is. I want to know where Robert Simpson is, and I want you to call off all the bounties on my fellow cops. Put it all on me and raise mine to a million, I don't care, but if another cop is killed in or out of prison, I assure you my mission will be to be a part of your life until there is no life.”
Branca looked down as he said, “Sysco lives on Grant Avenue; Simpson, I don't know where he is. I had nothing to do with what Sysco did tonight. Why would I bring attention to my club like this?”
The detective spoke again. “Where is all the bounty money coming from?” Branca shook his head in the motion that he could not speak. Bud picked up his phone and called Lynagh in the control room. “Did you see the video of Baker and Sysco?” he asked.
Lynagh replied, “Bud, it's ugly. He beat the shit out of her, but she caught him with her high heel right in the mouth before he laid her out. From his reaction she might have knocked his front teeth out.”
Bud replied, “Can you turn off the video camera for this room?”
Branca raised his head in concern when he heard the question. Lynagh informed Paul of Bud's request. The detective sergeant grabbed the phone and said,
“No, Bud. I'm not shutting the camera off. For your own good, no,” and he disconnected the phone.
Bud disconnected the phone, realizing that Branca did not know his request was turned down. He said, “The camera is off. Tell me where the money is coming from or you won't be leaving this room in one piece.”
Branca spoke. “Simpson, he skimmed, a little at a time while he worked for William Lance. Over the course of fifteen years it was over $4 million, and Lance never noticed it.”
Bud stood up and grabbed Branca's arm, and they went back to the control room. Paul had just gotten off the phone with ADA Ashley and requested an alert for all dentists and oral surgeons to be notified within a twenty-five-mile radius with a description of Kevin Sysco. Bud informed Paul about the information from Branca as Lynagh and Wyatt controlled the rest of the entourage in the room. After their conversation they were all informed that they were being placed under arrest.
Officer Justin Healey, was back on duty after being cleared and was sipping on his coffee. He noticed the light flickering in Lindsey Wilkerson's bedroom. He was getting a little nervous as his concern heightened. He studied the lights and realized it was Morse code. It was a message coming from Lindsey's front bedroom. He turned on the car and drove to get a closer look at it. The message said, “Hello, Officer Healey. Thank you and God bless you.”
He sat in his squad car and looked at the message flickering in the night a few more times. Healey was overcome with emotion that Lindsey would repeat the message as many times as she did to ensure that he saw it. His thoughts took him back to the night eighteen months prior when he was her constant bodyguard, or as Lindsey called him, her protector. It was the night in the house when O'Connor's men made a bold move to eliminate her in her own home. It wasn't just at the house that night. He stayed with her during the day in school and during the night, 24-7. He was within twenty feet of her at all times. He laughed to himself as he recalled her banter with Bud. It seemed she was the only one who could get the best of him in conversation and trivia. Healey's thoughts had taken him so far away from the present that the knock on the glass window startled him. It was his replacement for the evening. As he drove away, he flashed his headlights to say good night to Lindsey. For a fleeting moment he wondered how she knew he had knowledge of Morse code. He smiled as he thought he probably told her on June 22, 2012, at 8:00 at night, during a conversation. He shook his head as he continued to think about the little girl with the eidetic memory.
The drive back to Paul's apartment above Z Pita had the detectives exchanging theories as Lynagh, Wyatt, Caulfield, and O'Malley brought Branca, Larson, and four of their entourage from the control room to the precinct for booking.
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Paul looked over at his partner and said, “You know they're going to get out on bail quickly. All they're going to say is that Sysco acted on his own and he is fired.”
Bud nodded and said,
“Yeah, we'll see. We need to find the fat man, Wiley, and Simpson quickly, before the hit list gets more check marks next to their names.”
Paul turned right on Arden Place, then right again into Trader Cove behind the restaurant and parked his car.
“Listen,” Bud said, “mind if I borrow your bathroom before I go?”
Paul nodded and replied,
“Go on up. I want to check in on Rachelle. It’s close to time to shut down the restaurant.”
Bud had a key of his own and headed up the stairs as Paul walked into the backdoor of Z Pita and greeted Joey Z, who had returned, and also hugged Rachelle. Her face glowed when she saw him, and the three of them sat down to have a conversation.
When Bud reached the top of the stairs, Wes was at the top moving around in a circle, expressing his excitement to see Bud. Craven was curled up on the bed with not a care in the world. Bud loved the dogs, which had been given to him and Paul after the incident at Lindsey Wilkerson's house in Belle Terre. Paul and Bud were so worried about Rachelle being alone after the arrest of her sister Madison that they gave her the dogs to raise. Yet the presence of Lindsey remained, and part of it was these two beautiful dogs given to them by the young girl.
What puzzled Bud was why the dogs were so calm when it was apparent someone was in Paul's bathroom. He could hear the movement of water faucets being turned on and off and towels being taking off the door, as well as a toilet seat cover being dropped. Bud took his 9mm Glock out and stood by the door waiting for someone to come out. He took his phone out and quickly texted Paul a note asking him if Rachelle was downstairs with him at Z Pita. Paul quickly answered him that he was sitting across from Joey Z and Rachelle. The detective wanted to text him back that someone was in his bathroom, but there was no time. The door opened and Bud grabbed the woman wrapped in a towel and threw her across the room onto the bed. Deborah was screaming so loud that Paul, Joey Z, and Rachelle could hear her through the ceiling due to the quiet of the late night in the restaurant.
Paul jumped up, yelling “Stay here!” to Rachelle and Joey Z, but like many times lately Rachelle did not listen.
Rachelle could hear Joey Z in the background as she went out the back, saying,
“I'll stay here. Too much excitement for me.”
Paul ran up the stairs, gun drawn, as the dogs were barking, and he heard the sound of crying. He stopped at the top to keep himself covered in case he had to fire his weapon and saw Deborah Lance lying on his bed with a single towel barely covering her while Bud was trying to comfort her.
“Jesus Christ!” Paul yelled. “What the hell is going on?” Rachelle ran right by him as she went to Deborah.
Bud shook his head and said to Paul,
“I heard a noise in your bathroom. You sent me a text back that Rachelle was sitting across from you downstairs when I asked you. It did not cross my mind that Deborah would be in your bathroom taking a shower at 11:30 at night.”
Paul looked over at Rachelle with an expression on his face that said Bud should be forgiven.
As Rachelle held Deborah, she spoke to Bud.
“May I ask why you came up here when Paul was downstairs?”
Bud answered quickly. “Two reasons: to give you and Paul some private time and, second, to use the bathroom.”
Rachelle brushed her hair back as she replied,
“There is a bathroom in the restaurant, Bud.” He looked over at Paul as his partner smiled and Rachelle noticed.
“What?” she asked.
Suddenly Deborah spoke. “Bud has a phobia about using public bathrooms.” With that Deborah Lance started giggling as Rachelle looked at Bud, sheepishly grinning, and Paul's smile.
She looked back at Bud as she spoke again.
“Seriously? Super cop, crazy cop, hero cop has a problem with public toilets?”
Bud sat down on the bed next to Deborah as he replied,
“I don't expect to see this in one of your articles. It's a private thing.” They all started laughing.
The gathering was interrupted by Joey Z from downstairs: “Is everything OK up there?”
Paul yelled back, “It's all good, Joey, justa misunderstanding.”
The owner of Z Pita replied, “OK, I'm closing up everything and moving forward with my boring life. Good night.” They all laughed again as Paul's ringtone started playing “Let's Talk About Tomorrow” by Olivia Newton-John.
Bud got up as he heard it and said, “Oh fish, I swear he put that ringtone on just to antagonize me.”
The smile from Paul's face disappeared as he said, “Pick up Linda Tangretti and have her down at the precinct for the morning, and make sure Gina keeps an eye on the alert bulletin for all the dentists and oral surgeons in the radius to notify us if they get Sysco in their chair.”
He disconnected as he looked at Bud and said, “It was O'Malley. He did some checking after he spoke with Linda Tangretti, who set up Kate Summers's blind date with Jake Wiley aka Jerry Wakefern. She herself has a relationship with him. O'Malley and Wyatt noticed pictures of them on their visit to her house before tonight's show that you put on at the club. She came to Long Island last year from Connecticut. She is the second cousin of Patty Saunders. If we dig deep enough, she is most likely involved with the calls that were being received from Connecticut during the Face of Fear investigation.”
Bud shook his head and said, “And the hits just keep on coming.”
Paul continued to speak, ignoring his comment as Deborah and Rachelle were on the bed sitting quietly. “We have Branca, Larson, and his four cronies locked up for at least twenty-four hours. Tomorrow we find Wakefern, Simpson, and Sysco or we could lose more cops with the bounties. It's not safe to have the girls with us.”
Rachelle stood up and said, “What's going on Paul?”
The detective started to answer her but was interrupted by a text from Lynagh, who had gone to the hospital. He read it out loud to Bud: “Ellyn has a fractured cheek, concussion, three fractured ribs, and a broken arm. I have assigned two officers from the precinct to stand guard at her room. Advise if you disagree.”
Paul scratched his head as Bud only said,
“Damn.”
Rachelle spoke louder this time. “Paul, what is going on?” Paul looked at Rachelle and couldn't believe how beautiful she was even in a state like this. “Paul!” she yelled again.
He hesitated as he looked at Bud, then spoke. “We believe there is an aftermath of questions unresolved from the Face of Fear case that has created repercussions that we have to handle. We are on what we call the Music Club Murders that has a link to Face of Fear. One of the links is bounties on the cops from Priority 1, especially those connected with the case.”
He looked at Deborah as her face became more concerned. And he continued, “We believe Robert Simpson has become involved with O'Connor and a few others, and his contacts murdered three innocent young women to draw out the Priority 1 Task Force. Simpson was tipping DJs to play certain songs, getting turned on thinking about you, Deborah, and killing them. With this case becoming a Priority 1 assignment, we became targets that resulted in the deaths of Hansen, Dugan, and Cronin, while Baker and Chapman have been severely injured.”
There was silence in the apartment until Deborah said, “I would like to speak to Bud alone if I could.” She said it in such a soft tone that it surprised Rachelle.
Bud put his hand on her shoulder, almost forgetting she had been wrapped in a towel the whole time. He said, “Deborah, now is not really a good time.”
She looked at him without hesitation. “Excuse me? I have always been available for you. I answer your texts. I ne
ver said no to you when you've wanted to see me. Talk to me now, Bud, or you will never see me again.”
Bud was startled by the determination in her voice, and it became awkward for Rachelle and Paul. Finally Rachelle got up and asked Paul to walk the dogs with her for a few minutes, which he quickly obliged just to get out of his own apartment. The door shut downstairs as Deborah tightened the towel around her body. Bud looked at her, waiting for her to speak, and it became uncomfortable until finally she sat down on the bed and said, “Were you ever going to tell me that it's apparent I may be the inspiration of three girls getting killed or there was a bounty on you?”
Bud tried to speak, but the young woman interrupted him. “Bud, I need to know what you think about when you think about me. I don't know what I mean to you. Are we friends? You are the kindest man I have ever met, but I don't want to be hurt anymore. It hurts me to be around you because of the way I feel about you. I don't know the real reasons you are with me sometimes, whether it's to protect me or that you really care about me. We were so close, and now I have to drag things out of you. Tell me once and for all how you feel about me.” The timing couldn't have been more perfect. It was midnight, but William Lance sent his daughter a text that he had not heard from her and wanted a reply or phone call to be sure she was OK.
Deborah started answering her father verbally in a trembling voice. “I'm OK, Dad. I'm just standing naked in Paul's apartment asking Bud to love me. Gee, I wonder how well that would go over with dear old Dad.”
Bud stood silently as Deborah actually typed in, I’m OK, Dad, and I’m with Rachelle, Bud, and Paul. Love you. He returned a smiley face within thirty seconds as Deborah looked at Bud and adjusted her towel again.
“Deborah,” Bud said, “the truth is I rarely stop thinking about you. My feelings for you scare me for so many reasons. If anything were to happen to you as a consequence of who I am, what I do, I could never forgive myself. It's true our relationship cooled as we settled into our careers, but it doesn't change my feelings, especially when I see you like this,” he said with a smile.
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