No Mercy
Page 38
Rachelle continued her studies at Empire State College and knew there was a book in her future as well as a life with Paul Powers. Cronin's smile disappeared as his thoughts turned to Officers Blair and Lawrence from East Hampton. Lawrence's involvement with Branca and in the attempted murder of police officers landed him in the Nassau County Correctional Facility with no bail. It was ADA John Ashley who made arrangements for Lawrence to be placed there instead of the Suffolk County Correctional Center. The ADA felt strongly that Lawrence would not survive being in a facility run by the Suffolk Sheriff Department after shooting at Suffolk cops. The move most likely saved his life. Regardless, he was placed on suicide watch and was in Enforcement Protective Custody at the jail. Officer Blair was arraigned at his beside in the hospital and had bail posted. Still, Ashley had a police escort at the hospital to be sure he wasn't eliminated. Cronin's relationship with Ashley continued to be of utmost respect for each other, yet when there were disagreements there was no backing off from each other. Cronin knew they complemented each other more than ever. If actual details of what went down and the protocol utilized to solve the case went public, it would most likely be career ending for both of them. The Detective Lieutenant knew in his heart he did the right thing regardless of the outcome and it was important to him that good won over evil.
His thoughts were interrupted when the teenage boy came into the Mount Sinai diner with his mother and saw the man raise his arm. Tanya Fillmore and her son Jeremy walked to the booth as Kevin Cronin asked them to sit down.
“Thanks for coming,” he said.
“We didn't have much choice from the way you made it sound,” Tanya responded.
Cronin tightened his lips to her remark as he looked at the boy. “You are a tough young man to find.”
Jeremy looked at his mom and did not speak.
“On October 9 of last year you are on video taking money from someone in a car and speaking into a phone. Please tell me what that was about,” Cronin said.
The mother spoke with her hand out to be sure Jeremy was quiet until it was OK with her. Her voice had a sound that appeared to be regretful that she came.
“Mr. Cronin, you told us . . .” she could not finish the sentence, for the man interrupted her.
“It's Detective,” he said with a smile. “Detective Lieutenant, actually.”
Tanya stared at him in almost disbelief as she started again.
“Detective Lieutenant,” she said and hesitated for him to acknowledge it. “You told me if Jeremy came here and tried to help you that you would leave him completely out of it. No matter what the fallout. I have your word on this?”
The detective tilted his head and looked out the window at the cars driving by on Nesconset Highway. He looked back at Tanya Fillmore and spoke.
“Ma'am, I always keep my promises. Just know that.”
The mother looked at her son and nodded that it was OK to speak.
Jeremy said, “The car drove up and she called me over and offered me $100 to make a call for her disguising my voice.”
“Do you still have the money?” Cronin asked.
His mother laughed. “You would have been too late if you asked the next day, Detective. You don't have teenagers, do you?”
Cronin ignored her comment as the boy told him the money was spent within a couple days.
“I'm going to show you photographs. I want you to point to the photo if any of them are the person that gave you the money.” He laid out six photos on the table as Jeremy looked over at the photos for what appeared to be a long time. Cronin almost expected the boy to point to Sherry Walker's photo, but he did not.
“It's none of these photos,” he said.
Cronin pushed the photos closer to the boy as he touched Sherry Walker's photo.
“No,” the boy said. “The woman who gave me the money was white.”
There were few times when the detective was surprised, and this was one of them.
“Anything else?” Tanya Fillmore asked.
“No, no thank you for your time,” he answered with a tone of disappointment. The mother and her son left the booth without saying good-bye as Cronin sipped his coffee with his mind filled with thoughts.
He shook his head as he continued to think about the car and who was behind the mystery killings. He looked at his phone, picked it up, and sent a text to ADA John Ashley. Let’s get a list of everyone who has visited Madison Robinson from October until now. He grabbed the photos to put them back in his briefcase and looked at Sherry Walker's photo. He was nodding at her image and almost grinned when he closed the case on the photographs.
JANUARY 19
Madison was surprised to see Sherry Walker visiting her at the facility.
“I didn't think you would ever come.”
“Well,” Sherry said, “I think enough time has passed.”
“Is it completely over?” Madison asked.
“There's no evidence, no link unless John loses it.”
“He won't,” Madison replied. “What about you?”
Sherry was quick to answer, “Those people were the fallout from the Face of Fear. They took my ability to ever have a child when I was stabbed. I have no regrets.”
Sherry smiled. “Cronin questioned a boy that was given the money to call Ashley. Thank God I paid another $300 to a stranger to take the vehicle and do the transaction for me.”
“What about video where you paid the stranger and how did you know where to be? The club garage, the Sherman house?” Madison asked.
“Not every building and street has video cameras, Madison. As for the other places, I still have friends.”
“I don't want to know who your other friends are, do I?” Madison asked.
“No,” Sherry answered. “There was someone who knew where everyone was, including videos from the buildings, but I will tell you this . . .” Madison smiled as Sherry said, “Payback is a bitch.”
TO MY FATHER HENRY
You came into my life at age 12 and gave me all the milestones every child growing up into a adult should have. And you gave my Mother the best years of her life. You gave my bride to me at my wedding and you lit up the world with those blue eyes and your sense of humor. You are loved and will be missed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R. J. TORBERT continues his work at Fun World, which includes protecting the trademark and copyrights of Ghost Face. R. J. has entered his twentieth year at Fun World, creating and developing over one thousand items sold around the world. He is currently working on his third novel, R. J. holds a Bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing.