Julius Katz and Archie

by Dave Zeltserman

  “I’ll have my assistant be as discreet as he’s capable of being,” Julius promised.

  I tried my best. And I have to give Burke credit. He wasn’t kidding. Neither of them were happy when I called them. I patched Julius through when I spoke with them so he could listen in. The girl Burke was looking for had run away two years ago when she was fifteen. At the time she was into drugs, alcohol and other bad behavior, and when she disappeared her dad hired Burke. After six months of dead ends, Burke was taken off the case, but her dad heard rumors recently that his daughter was seen in the city and put him back on the case again a week ago. The tip was also legit; at least Burke’s informant sold Burke that the tip was legit. According to the informant, Charlie Worack, a low-level drug dealer with three prior arrests but no convictions, he heard from reliable sources that the daughter would be showing up in that East Boston alley over the next few nights to make a drug purchase. He wouldn’t give me these reliable sources, but he swore on his mother’s grave this was true. When I mentioned that his mom was still alive, at least according to the Department of Motor Vehicle records, he claimed that fact didn’t change anything since she’d already prepaid for her grave, and I decided who was I to doubt the word of a low-level drug dealer.

  Before I made these calls, Julius offered Burke and the crew coffee which they all accepted; Burke grudgingly and the crew gratefully. I had both these calls made and Burke checked out before the coffee finished brewing, and while I did this I also kept a watch over Burke and the other two to make sure they behaved themselves while they were left alone in Julius’s office. Without Julius asking, I also called Cramer to check on what information he might’ve given Burke, and he confirmed that he told Burke about Julius being shot at.

  “He wasn’t going to submit to questioning without a lawyer present if I didn’t tell him what it was about, and I figured he’d know soon enough anyway if he didn’t already.”

  “How about the caliber used?” I asked.

  “He knew that Kingston was shot with a thirty-two. I didn’t tell him, but he bought the information from a civilian employee who has since lost his job. When we told Burke about your boss being shot at, he guessed it was a thirty-two also and we didn’t deny it.”

  “Alright, thanks.”

  I disconnected the call. The coffee had finished brewing and Julius was pouring it into a thermos. He’d already put together a plate of biscotti, probably figuring both he and Burke could use the sugar rush.

  “So that’s it?” I asked Julius. “You’re going to be teaming up with him, huh?”

  Julius nodded grimly as he picked up his tray loaded with the thermos of coffee, sugar, cream and a plate of biscotti.

  “It’s appears that way,” Julius acknowledged without much enthusiasm.

  Chapter 16

  Julius distributed coffee to his guests and passed around the biscotti. A cup of Julius’s special French Roast along with a couple of biscotti did wonders for Burke’s coloring. The caffeine and sugar gave him some life and made him look more like he usually did in the news. Julius also looked different since returning to his office. It was subtle, and I doubt anyone who hadn’t spent as much time with Julius over the years as I have would’ve picked up on it, but he seemed more relaxed. Again, it was extremely subtle, but I felt a rush of excitement thinking that I’d finally figured out Julius’s tell.

  “Were you able to check me out?” Burke asked without bothering to hide his disgust.

  Julius nodded. “Your associate, Charlie Womack, doesn’t seem the most reliable of sources.”

  Burke smiled at Julius referring to Womack as an associate instead of an informant. “He’s scum,” he acknowledged, “but his tips have paid off in the past, and he’s not making any money on this one unless it leads me to Deana.”

  Julius nodded again, accepting this. “It’s too bad you don’t have any witnesses for last night,” he said with a sigh.

  Burke shrugged lackadaisically. “The whole point was not being seen in that alley. And yeah, it is a shame. If I knew you were going to be shot at I would’ve made sure one of my crew members spent the night camped out with me.” He gave a wink, adding, “And not these two. You should see the blonde they’ve got producing the show.”

  Julius ignored his last remark and asked, “Did you see drug activity in that alley?”

  “Yeah, every night I’ve been there. But no Deana. At least not yet. So what do you say, Julius? About time we start working together to catch the creep who shot Ken and most likely tried doing the same to you?”

  “Not most likely,” Julius said, his voice harsh. “Definitely.”

  “You know this for a fact?”

  Julius nodded, his lips pressed too tightly together for him to speak at that moment.

  “So how about it then?”

  Julius breathed slowly and deeply through his nose and nodded again. He then placed his coffee cup down on his desk and focused his attention fully on Burke.

  “Please fill me in on what you’ve done so far,” Julius said.

  Burke’s demeanor shifted to something more serious as he proceeded to do just that, telling Julius that he’s been putting the word out on the street to find out if anyone’s purchased an illegal thirty-two caliber gun.

  “I figured it would be a waste of my time looking for witnesses,” he explained. “Whoever killed Ken must’ve gotten in through the building’s back fire door. If there are any witnesses to be found, the cops are better suited for it. I’ve been putting the word out to every lowlife I can find about who might’ve sold a thirty-two on the street. I’m figuring the gun’s going to be the key here. When that turns up we’ll have our guy. At least I hope so.”

  Burke stopped to refill his coffee cup. After adding a good amount of cream and sugar and taking a long sip of it, he showed Julius a humorless smile, adding, “I’m also spreading the word among a certain element about whether anyone’s heard of a hit being ordered. The thirty-two being used doesn’t make it sound too likely but the way Ken was hit, one shot in the heart, I thought it was worth checking into. Knowing that an attempt was made on you and the shooter missed makes it sound less likely. You claimed a minute ago the guy who shot at you is the same one who shot Ken. That was my guess, but how do you know that? Was a thirty-two used to shoot at you also?”

  “Yes,” Julius acknowledged. “And to save you the trouble of asking, the same gun was used. Ballistics verified it.”

  “There you go,” Burke said with a hard grimace. “I noticed your front door’s just been painted. I take it you were shot at outside your door and it took a few hits?”

  “Correct.”

  “So what do you think? Could a pro have missed you?”

  Julius shrugged. “It’s possible,” he said. “It was a fluke that I escaped unhurt. Whether or not a hired hit man was used, it doesn’t matter. I’ll be catching the person responsible.”

  “Yeah? What are your ideas?”

  “I have a few, but I also have additional questions for you before I share them. When did your film crew join you?”

  “Yesterday at ten in the morning. I was able to finalize my deal with the network the night Ken was killed, and the next morning they showed up ready for work.”

  Julius turned to DiNatale. “Can you verify what Mr. Burke’s been saying?” he asked.

  DiNatale nodded. “Yeah. All of it is good. We met with Paul yesterday at ten in the morning, split up at eight last night, and between then we went to some pretty seedy areas while Paul spread the word like he told you. I could show you the video we took. The informants are all off camera or shot in ways so you can’t make out their features, but you’ll get the idea from it.”

  “That won’t be necessary, but thank you.” Julius turned back to face Burke. He took a deep breath and smiled in a guilty fashion, as if he were letting Burke in on a secret he was embarrassed about. I’d seen the same smile before in an old movie still where a young child actor has his hand c
aught in a cookie jar. “I sold the police on an outrageous premise, which is that we have only six suspects and all I need to do is question them while looking into their eyes and I’ll know which of them is our killer. In most cases, there would be a chance of it; after all, this person tried to kill me early this morning. A normal human being, even someone capable of murder, would find it difficult to sit with me only hours later without giving away some physical clue, either through their body language or voice. Unfortunately, this person is not a normal human being but a pure sociopathic personality. There is no doubt about that, not after murdering Kenneth Kingston and then sitting in my office only hours later without giving any clue over what he or she had done—”

  “Wait a minute! Are you saying that the guy we’re after was one of the people Ken had at your office?” Burke squinted as if he was in deep concentration, and I could almost see him counting the number of other guests that were in Julius’s office during that ill-fated meeting. Julius didn’t answer him; instead he watched as Burke performed his mental calculations.

  “That’s why you mentioned six suspects before,” Burke said as if waking up out of a dream.

  “Yes, of course. The murderer and my attempted assassin is one of the six people Kingston arranged to be here,” Julius said.

  “Wow,” Burke murmured. “I thought the police were just giving me a hard time with their grilling because they thought I was stepping on their toes. And with you, I was assuming you were being cautious, that since I had a long relationship with Ken you had to be absolutely sure there was nothing to be suspicious about before teaming up with me. It didn’t occur to me that you considered me a viable suspect.”

  “I did.”

  Burke mulled that over, his scowl showing he wasn’t at all happy about it.

  “Man, was I dense,” he said. “I thought your assistant, Archie Smith, was only busting my balls earlier with the things he was saying to me. I didn’t realize he was being serious.”

  “With Archie it’s sometimes hard to tell,” Julius offered diplomatically.

  Burke nodded slowly to himself. “How do you know it was one of us in your office?” he asked.

  “By the fact that an attempt was made so quickly on my life. Either this person said something which he or she later realized was a mistake that could lead me back to them, or after sitting in my office and watching me, became terrified that if I investigated Kingston’s murder I would catch him or her, whichever the case might be.”

  Burke nodded as he thought over what Julius said. “What you’re saying makes sense,” he agreed. “But there’s still a chance it could be someone else.”

  “If that was all there was to it, you’d be right. There would still be a remote chance our killer could be someone else. But I picked up something during my questioning two days ago that makes it a certainty our killer was in my office with us that day.”

  “Yeah? What did you pick up?”

  Julius shook his head. “It’s too tenuous right now,” he said. “I’m afraid if I let it out at this stage, I could lose it. An awkward glance or a change in the intonation by you or one of your crew members, and it could be gone forever. No, before I mention it I need it to solidify in my mind. Once I am able to form a plan around it I will tell you. Until then, I will perform my due diligence and interview all of the suspects, and hope that by doing so that this bare wisp of an idea solidifies into something I can use to trap our killer.”

  Burke was back to squinting again, this time his features pinched and his forehead deeply lined with grooves as if they’d been carved out of his skin. He wanted to argue with Julius, but he probably realized how fruitless that would be. Finally, he grimaced painfully at Julius to show his forced surrender.

  “I won’t push you, Julius,” he said. “When you’re ready you can tell me what you’ve got. I was also thinking back to two days ago, and you’re right. If one of those people killed Ken a few hours before coming here, I have no idea which. Jesus. Outside of Gail, I wasn’t even thinking it could be one of those others.”

  “How well do you know Gail Kingston?”

  “I was friends with Ken so I know her, although I wouldn’t say I know her at any sort of a deep personal level. I never spent any one-on-one time with her, but I observed her enough to know what she’s about.”

  “And what is she about?”

  Burke smiled brutally enough that his incisors showed. “Hysteria and drama,” he said.

  “How was their marriage?

  “Strained. At best.”

  “Did she lie to me when she told me she was concerned about Kingston being late?”

  Burke thought about Julius’s question and shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “They were a tough couple to read. There was a lot of passive-aggressive stuff going on with them.”

  “But you thought she could’ve killed her husband?”

  “Yes and no. The timing of it with when she left her condo that morning makes it possible. And as I said, their marriage was strained at best. But I can’t imagine Gail having the nerve to shoot someone face to face like Ken was shot. If she is behind this, she hired someone. Or she’s a sociopath who had me completely fooled.”

  “I appreciate your candor,” Julius said. “What I have next is for your ears only. Your crew will have to leave my office. They will also not be able to know what I’ll be telling you unless it leads to our killer.”

  Burke didn’t like this. It was clear from the face he made as if he had just bitten into a lemon that he didn’t like this. While he demonstrated with his facial pantomime how much he didn’t like this, he pushed a hand through his hair and shook his head.

  “I can’t agree to that,” Burke said finally. “The deal I have with the network is that I don’t hide anything from them with any of the investigations they follow me on.”

  “You won’t be, I will. But if you can’t agree to this condition, then I’ll have to exclude from you what I have, which would be a pity because you could help me with this matter. But what I have to tell you requires a great deal of discretion, and if a camera crew were involved it wouldn’t work.”

  Jerry Cantrell opened his mouth as if he were about to volunteer something, but then remembered Julius’s insistence that they remain completely unobtrusive, and he wisely closed his mouth without uttering a peep. Burke looked helplessly at Cantrell and DiNatale. Both of them gave him shrugs to indicate it was okay with them. Burke looked back over at Julius and nodded, defeated.

  “Alright,” he said, “I guess we’ll do it your way. Jerry and Leonard can go on their lunch break. How much time do we need without them?”

  “Two hours should do it,” Julius said.

  Burke reached into his back pants pocket and removed his wallet. He fished out a hundred dollar bill which he handed to DiNatale.

  “You heard the man,” Burke said. “You two have a leisurely lunch and beers on me. If you walk back to Pinkney Street and down it, you’ll get to Charles Street, and no shortage of places to camp out there for two hours. If you walk in the opposite direction, you’ll get to Faneuil Hall, and same thing. I’ll call you when I’m done with this top secret stuff with Julius.”

  DiNatale put the hundred dollar bill away and nodded. He looked at the sound equipment he was holding, then his case, and he asked Julius if they could leave their equipment there. Julius told him that would be fine. DiNatale packed up what he had and left his case in the corner of the room so it would be unobtrusive. Cantrell did the same with his video camera. Julius told them he trusted them to find their own way out. The two of them left then, with DiNatale closing the office door behind him. I followed them over the webcam feeds to make sure they didn’t cause any trouble, and I informed Julius once they were on the other side of his front door. Julius had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes half-closed until that moment, but after that he moved in an almost imperceptible manner straightening in his chair.

  “Have you heard of a M
argaret Herston?” Julius asked Burke.

  Burke shook his head. “No. Should I have?”

  “Possibly, depending on how close you were with Kenneth Kingston.”

  Burke looked puzzled. “Why?” he asked.

  “Because Kenneth Kingston was having an affair with her for over a year.”

  Chapter 17

  That was a shocker to me. When I built Kenneth Kingston’s profile, I didn’t come across anything that pointed to him having an affair. Once Julius said this, I began putting together a profile on Margaret Herston, and sure enough, once I cross listed her phone records, credit card receipts and air travel against Kingston’s, it was obvious. I felt like a dunce. I should’ve picked up on this, and I made a note to myself that I needed to adjust my neuron network so I’d recognize this type of pattern in the future.

  Julius didn’t bother explaining to Burke how he discovered this affair, but I was guessing he had put either Tom or Saul on it while I was having my almost 48-hour nap. Instead, Julius told Burke what he needed from him, which was for Burke to collect Herston and bring her back to his townhouse.

  “I tried calling her early this morning but I didn’t get anywhere,” Julius said with a haphazard shrug. “I’d go myself, but after already striking out with her, I thought you might have better luck. And I have other reasons for needing to stay put in my office right now.”

  “Yeah, I can see that,” Burke said. “Especially with someone gunning for you.”

  “True. But I have other reasons than that.”

  Burke sat for a moment and chewed on his thumbnail as he considered what Julius was asking.

  “I thought you’re convinced it’s one of those others?” he asked.

  “I’m mostly convinced. I could be proved wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time. Regardless, I believe she could be the key to solving this murder, and you can see why I needed you to send your crew away. As it is, it will take someone with a great deal of finesse to convince her to meet with me.”