Lethal Legacy

by Linda Fairstein

  “What do you mean?” Mike asked.

  “Tina screamed at the cop. Told him that’s how the guy got in. The fireman. That he showed her his badge and she opened the door.”

  “It was the fireman who was inside her apartment? You knew, Coop?”

  “That’s why Mercer called me. We don’t know who the man was, why he was using such an elaborate disguise, why he went inside, and what he did to this woman. Okay? Don’t come any closer, Mike. Let me talk to her.”

  I walked the short corridor to the rear of the hallway, glass crunching under the soles of my shoes.

  “Tina? It’s Alex Cooper. We’re all still here. The police officers won’t leave until I convince them that you’re unharmed. I’ll keep them outside the building if you’ll let me in for just a few minutes.”

  “I’d rank that a toss-up,” Mike said. “Ten minutes with you or the quick punch of a battering ram? Tough call.”

  “You think this helps? You think she can’t hear you?” I threw up my arms in frustration as I turned to Mike. “Mercer, please take him upstairs.”

  The men marched back to the first floor as I made another attempt to persuade Tina Barr to let me in.

  “I’m the only one in the basement now, Tina. The men are all outside. I don’t want them to break down your door any more than you do. But they’re worried that you’ve been injured. There was a lot of smoke down here. Can you just tell me if you’re hurt?”

  There was no answer for more than a minute. Then a soft voice spoke a word or two, which sounded as though the woman was still sitting or lying on the floor inside. I couldn’t understand her, so I crouched beside the door and put my ear against it.

  “Sorry. What did you say?”

  “Not hurt. I’ll be okay.”

  She spoke haltingly, her words caught in her throat.

  “Tina, are you having trouble breathing?”

  No answer.

  “We can give you oxygen, Tina. Is it the smoke? Is there still smoke in your apartment?”

  “No.”

  “The man who was dressed like a fireman, did you let him come into your apartment?”

  She was crying again as she tried to speak. “No, no, I didn’t let him in.”

  “But you told the police officer that-”

  “I only opened the door because he showed me a gold badge and told me there was a fire. I could smell the smoke and then saw it. I believed him.” Tina Barr’s words came out phrase by phrase, embedded in sobs. “He forced his way inside. I didn’t let him in.”

  “You can trust us, Tina. Now you know that man wasn’t actually a fireman. His badge wasn’t real.” Mercer had already checked that with the department and had been telling that to Barr before I got there. “The cops think the man started the fire himself in order to break in to your apartment.”

  She was taking deep breaths on the other side of the door.

  I took one, too, and tried to get at what had so far been un-spoken. “I work with victims of sex crimes, Tina. That’s all I do. It’s why the police thought I might be able to help. I deal with the most sensitive cases you can imagine,” I said, closing my eyes, which burned from the lingering smoke. “Did this man assault you tonight?”

  She coughed again.

  I didn’t know how long he’d been within the apartment before Billy Schultz saw him running from the building at twelve-thirty in the morning.

  “Did he awaken you when he knocked, Tina?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know what time it was when you first went to the door?”

  “Five,” she said.

  “Five o’clock in the afternoon?” She must have been confused. “Look, I’m going to have to let the police work on your door, or the back window in your kitchen, Tina. You may be a little woozy. He couldn’t have been inside there that long.”

  There was a noise before Tina Barr spoke next, as though she shifted her position. She had gotten to her feet, perhaps angered by my comment. I stood up, too, as she pounded on the door. “I know exactly what time it was when the man knocked, do you understand? It wasn’t the middle of the night, Ms. Cooper. It was five o’clock.”

  All the cops and I had assumed the events had occurred within minutes of Schultz’s arrival home. Fast, like most break-ins, and while the smoke bombs were steaming. We were wrong.

  “I apologize, Tina. That’s even more reason for me to know what he did to you.” I didn’t want to suggest the word rape to her. I needed her to reveal to me what had occurred.

  “I don’t want to talk to any cops, Ms. Cooper. I’ll tell you what happened if that will make them go away.”

  “I’m alone down here now. The men won’t come in.” I paused before I spoke again. “I give you my word.”

  Tina Barr sniffled, then was quiet. I heard the dead bolt turn.

  The door opened a few inches and I could see the young woman peering out from behind it, clutching the lapels of her white chenille robe with one hand. Her dark brown hair was disheveled, her eyes reddened from at least an hour of crying, and what looked to be remains of adhesive tape forming a rectangle on the skin around her mouth, where she had probably been gagged.

  I reached out a hand to her, hoping to comfort her with a touch, but she recoiled at the movement in her direction.

  “You’re mistaken if you think this was about a sex crime, Ms. Cooper. He wanted to kill me,” Tina Barr said. “That man left me for dead.”

  TWO

  “I don’t want to press charges.”

  Tina Barr was seated in an armchair in the cramped living room of her apartment, and I was opposite her on a small loveseat that was sorely in need of reupholstering.

  “That’s not even an issue right now, Tina. I’d like to know what happened to you. We don’t have a suspect, so there’s no one to prosecute.”

  “You told me you wanted to make sure I was all right. You see I’m not hurt, so now you can leave.”

  She was unnaturally pale and rested her forehead in her hand, as though she needed that support to keep it upright.

  “A couple of minutes ago you told me a man tried to kill you. You told me he was with you in here for more than six hours. How can I walk away from this? You don’t look well, Tina. You must be terribly frightened.”

  “I’m nauseous. I just want to lie down.”

  I tried to make eye contact with her, but she was staring at the floor.

  “Who did this to you, Tina? Do you know that?”

  Her entire body trembled. “No idea. There was some horrible black mask covering his face.”

  I didn’t want to press her, to cross-examine her, but it seemed unlikely that her attacker had had the mask on for so many hours. “The whole time he was here? Didn’t he ever take it off?”

  “I don’t know what he did. I don’t remember.”

  I expected her to be a difficult interview after the experience the cops had when they got to the building. But I hadn’t thought she would stonewall me once she opened the door.

  “You don’t remember?”

  “I was unconscious the entire time that man was here, Ms. Cooper.” Tina lifted her head and looked at me. “He pushed his way in and threw me down. He put a cloth over my mouth and I couldn’t breathe any longer. I just felt dizzy and watched the room turn upside down. I thought I was going to die. I don’t have any idea what he did after that.”

  Now I had even more reason to be concerned, and greater need not to express it.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’ve told you already. I’d like to go to sleep.”

  “Do you know what he drugged you with?”

  Tina rested her head on the back of the chair and snapped at me. “Now how could I possibly tell you that?”

  “I didn’t think you’d be able to. That’s my point. All the more reason to let the doctors examine you, have them test your blood. You’ve undoubtedly still got something in your system.”

  “I don’t want anyon
e else coming in here-can you understand that?”

  “I’d like to take you to the emergency room. There’s an excellent hospital less than ten blocks away.”

  Tina Barr started to cry again. There was a box of tissues on a desk behind her chair. I crossed the room to get a handful of them, glancing around for any obvious signs of a disturbance. Bookcases lined the walls. End tables, like the desk, were cluttered with a messy array of papers and journals.

  “Why don’t you take a minute to compose yourself?”

  I handed her the tissues and reached out to stand the waste-basket upright. There was a large rag in it, and as I leaned over, it smelled sickeningly sweet. I used a tissue to remove the cloth from the basket and put it in the pocket of my jeans.

  “Would you like some water, Tina?”

  “I’m too nauseous to drink. I’m very thirsty, but I doubt I can hold anything down.”

  I retraced my steps to the loveseat. I could get more facts later. I wanted to talk to her about medical treatment. “I just have a couple more questions, okay? When you regained consciousness, were you still here, on the floor?”

  She searched out another spot in the dark pattern of the cheap Oriental rug and stared at it. “I was on my bed, Ms. Cooper. I was naked. Completely naked. There was some kind of tape over my mouth, and my hands were tied to the headboard with a pair of my stockings. Loose knots, they were. I was able to work them off easily.”

  “While the man was still here?”

  “No,” she said, breathing deeply. “I came around just a few minutes before he left. I could hear him in this room, so I just played dead and didn’t move till the door shut.”

  “Tina, you’ve got to see a doctor.” I was on the edge of the seat cushion, pleading with her to let me take her to Mount Sinai Hospital. “They’ve got a wonderful advocacy program for victims of violence. I just have to call ahead and someone knowledgeable about the process will be with you through the entire exam.”

  “I told you before I wasn’t raped.” Tina got to her feet and steadied herself before she started walking toward the back of the apartment. “I’m going to be sick.”

  I stood up to follow her. “Let me-”

  “Please don’t come inside. I’d like some privacy.”

  A door slammed and I couldn’t hear anything until the toilet flushed and water ran in the sink. The dozens of questions I had would be answered, I knew, when she was made comfortable and felt safe. I needed to get her to the ER as fast as possible. Once crime scene investigators had access to her bedroom, the trace evidence on the linens and clothing might tell us more about what occurred than Tina Barr could.

  About ten minutes later, Tina emerged from what must have been her bedroom and bath area. She was dressed in khaki slacks and a cable-knit sweater.

  “If I go with you to the hospital, does it mean I’m pressing charges?”

  “Not at all. You have weeks to make that decision, if we catch the guy. This is all about your health, about trying to figure out what he did to you. If you aren’t examined now, the tests will never yield the same results in two or three days, when you might have second thoughts about all this.” I knew that if she had been penetrated by her assailant, the natural forces of gravity would eliminate any fluids that could be tested for DNA. Whatever she had been drugged with would be gone from her bloodstream, too. “It’s your own best protection.”

  “I’d prefer to take a cab, Ms. Cooper. I can do this myself.”

  “There’s an ambulance waiting near the building. We were all so worried about you. I can cut through a lot of administrative red tape if I’m along.”

  She hesitated again, then went back inside and returned with a small tote. “I’ll go with you. Just don’t ask me any more questions, okay?”

  “Let me call the detectives, so the ambulance is right in front.” I pressed Mercer’s speed dial on my cell.

  “You need me?”

  “Ms. Barr and I are coming out. I’m going to ride to Sinai with her in the bus. Maybe you can meet us at the ER. And get rid of the guys with the heavy equipment.”

  “Done, Alex. Will she let crime scene in to process the apartment?”

  I turned to ask her. I wanted the bed linens and bathrobe, the tape and the pantyhose, as soon as possible. I wanted to know if there were any more rags inside, whether he had applied the substance to her face more than once. “Tina, would you mind if the detectives got to work on looking for evidence in your bedroom? Fingerprints, possible DNA sources-”

  “Nobody comes in here while I’m gone,” she said. “I don’t want any other strangers inside my home tonight. Do you understand?”

  “Of course I do.” I knew Mercer had heard it, too. I shut off the phone.

  Tina walked behind me on the staircase, bracing her hands against the wall. When we reached the stoop, I was relieved to see the police cars and trucks were all gone, and that two EMTs were standing at the rear door of the ambulance, with the gurney between them.

  I offered her my arm and she accepted it for the short walk. I introduced us to the EMTs, and they asked Tina to sit down so they could lift her inside after I climbed up and wedged myself into a jump seat.

  “How you doin’?” the medic asked Tina as his partner got into the driver’s seat. “You okay?”

  “I’m sick to my stomach, actually.”

  “Take it slow, Howie. Don’t bounce in any potholes,” he called out to the driver. “My name is Jorge Vasquez. I’m just gonna get your vitals, miss. Gotta do that.”

  Tina reclined on the gurney and pushed up her sleeve for the blood pressure cuff.

  “How old are you, Ms. Barr?”

  “Thirty-three.”

  “Date of birth?”

  She gave the year first, then told him March 14.

  “Your height and weight?”

  “Five-four.” She was six inches shorter than I, and weighed almost the same. “One thirty-five.”

  “What kind of insurance you got?”

  Tina covered her mouth with her hand, as though she was going to be sick again.

  “You got insurance?”

  “No.”

  The EMT looked over her head at me and I nodded. The hospital would get its money from the crime victims compensation board if Barr didn’t pay. This wasn’t the time or place to dicker about who’d foot the bill for the expensive sexual assault examination.

  “How about your occupation?”

  “I’m-uh-I’m a librarian.”

  “Nice. You like books. Me, I don’t have time to read.” Vasquez was filling in the blank spaces on his form. “Who’s your employer? Would that be the city?”

  “I’m not working at the moment. I quit my last job just a week ago.”

  “City’s got good benefits. You should think about it. Which branch, Ms. Barr? It’s regulations. I gotta put something in this box.”

  “No, it wasn’t the city. It was private. It’s over.”

  The driver made the turn onto Madison Avenue and we headed north. Vasquez put his clipboard on his lap, took Tina’s pressure, and recorded the numbers.

  “You mind if I check your eyes?”

  The young woman shook her head from side to side and Vasquez leaned in, studying her pupils and making a note, I guessed, about how dilated they were.

  “You want to start with what happened to you, miss?”

  “I’m not really sure. I know I was drugged, but that’s all I can tell you,” Tina said. “And I’ve got a terrible headache now.”

  “Any idea what kind of drug?”

  “Like I told Ms. Cooper, I don’t know. But I’m really thirsty,” she said, licking her lips.

  “Sorry. You’re dehydrated, but the triage nurse will see you in a few minutes. No point giving you anything before that. She may want to start an IV.”

  We were at the hospital in less than five minutes. It was background information about Tina Barr that I wanted-something to lead me to why she was victimized thi
s way-but Jorge Vasquez had as much pedigree as he needed.

  When he opened the rear doors of the ambulance at the hospital receiving bay, Mercer was waiting for me. I stepped around the gurney and jumped down, holding on to his hand.

  “I think we’re better off keeping Ms. Barr right here till she’s called in for triage. It’s kind of zooey in there,” Mercer said.

  “We can hold,” Vasquez said. “I could use the break.”

  “They got a gunshot wound in the chest. Fifteen-year-old kid caught in the crossfire of two dealers. A bad car crash on the FDR Drive -three passengers with head trauma-and the typical assortment of fractures and bellyaches. You know a possible rape won’t be seen till daybreak unless you can pull some strings, Alexandra.”

  Most victims of sexual assault presented to treating physicians without any external physical injury. To an emergency specialist, the trauma had occurred when the crime was committed. The survivor who presented at the hospital was not in need of life-saving treatment like the other medical patients, but rather was there for evidence collection and psychological counseling. Without advocates or forensic examiners on call, these women were often the most neglected emergency room visitors, waiting hours to be evaluated.

  “We’ll try to get you in as quickly as we can,” I said to Tina, leaving her in the care of Vasquez and his partner as I turned to follow Mercer into the ER.

  The security guard stood back as Mercer flashed his gold shield and the automatic double doors swung open to admit us. A dozen curtained cubicles-all seemingly occupied-formed a semicircle around the nurses’ station, where Mike had settled in with his feet on the counter, eating chocolates from a box on the desk.

  “Have you spoken to the head nurse?”

  “Yeah, we’re somewhere between the heart attack in that corner and the domestic dispute racheted up till the missus settled it by hurling a meat cleaver at the bum’s neck,” Mike said.

  One of the nurses emerged from behind the thin curtains of the first treatment area, and Mike waved him over. “This is Ms. Cooper, Joe. You any good at splinter removal? She’s had a stick up her ass for the last couple of months, and I was hoping-”