“Donovan.”
“Detective, this is Linda Johnson, Keisha’s mom.”
Frankie sat up straight. “What’s going on? Is everything all right?”
“I don’t know. Keisha said a woman from CPS was here asking questions about Alex. Now he’s missing.”
Son of a bitch. “I’ll be right there.”
Frankie ran two red lights before deciding to put the siren on. Even with that he had to lean on the horn several times to get people to move. Assholes have no respect anymore. He didn’t know what he would do if CPS got Alex. That boy deserved a lot more than some fucked up foster home. Frankie slammed the brakes, swerved to miss a delivery truck, then hit the gas to scream through an intersection. A near miss with a motorcycle scared him. He eased off the gas. Even with the reduced speed he made it home in record time, screeching around the corner and coming to a stop in the middle of the street. Linda rushed to greet him.
“Anything?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Keisha is out looking with some friends, but so far, nothing.”
“Son of a bitch.” Frankie looked up and down the street. “Anybody check the bodega?”
“I did. He hasn’t seen Alex.”
“How about the one a couple of blocks over? Alex knows him. He might have gone there.”
“I didn’t go there, and I don’t think Keisha did, either.”
Frankie jumped in his car and drove over. He left it in the street in front of the other store. “Kim, you seen Alex around? I can’t find him.”
Before Kim could answer Alex raced out from the back room and threw his arms around Frankie.
“I ain’t goin’ with them, FD. No way.” He cried and wrapped his arms tighter. “What are we gonna do?”
“For now, we’re going home to eat. We’ll figure out the rest later.”
Frankie handed Kim his card on the way out. “You ever need anything, call me. I owe you.”
Keisha and her mom were waiting outside. Frankie parked and walked to the apartment with Alex still hanging on him. He stayed that way until Keisha grabbed him. “Boy, where’d you go? I was lookin’ everywhere.”
“I hid out at Kim’s. I figured they wouldn’t look there.”
Linda hugged Alex and kissed his head. “Why don’t you two come up for dinner? I’ll throw some hotdogs on.”
“I’d love to, but Kate is bringing stuff over to cook.” Frankie paused. “You and Keisha are welcome to join us.”
She waved him off. “No, I’ll—”
“Come on, Mom.” Keisha tugged on her arm. “Kate cooks almost as good as you.”
Linda shook her head, laughing. “This girl is too smart already. You hear that, Detective? Almost as good.” She laughed more. “All right, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“I don’t. We’d love to have you up. Give me half an hour to get cleaned up.”
“I’m going with Alex,” Keisha said.
“Girl—”
“It’s all right,” Frankie said. “They won’t bother me.”
“We’ll see you in half an hour then.”
When Linda arrived, Frankie handed her his card. “I’ve got my private cell phone on here in case you ever need me.”
She reached for her purse, sitting on a small table by the door, and slipped the card inside. “Good. I didn’t know where to call today.”
“I don’t mean to put you on the spot, Ms. Johnson, but can I count on you as an emergency contact at his school?”
She smiled. “First off, it’s Linda. I got enough people calling me Ms. Johnson.”
“All right, Linda. Like I said…”
She stared at Frankie for a second, then grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Detective, there was a time when I didn’t trust white people. Didn’t even like them. But I see the way you treat my girl, and I know what you’ve done for that boy…” Her eyes teared up and she leaned over and kissed Frankie on the cheek. “I’ll do anything I need to help Alex. He’s a good kid.”
A warm feeling rushed through Frankie when she said that. “Thanks,” he said.
“Used to break my heart to see him being raised by that no-good woman. I never told him this, but I’m glad she left.”
Frankie didn’t say anything, but he’d often thought the same thing. “Come for dinner,” he said. “I’ll introduce you to Kate.”
Half an hour later, Linda arrived. Alex and Keisha set the table while Frankie introduced her to Kate.
“What’s for dinner?” Alex asked.
Kate tapped him on the shoulder, and said, “Breaded chicken, mushroom risotto, and pencil-thin asparagus cooked in garlic and olive oil.”
“Hot damn.”
Frankie booted him in the butt. “Alex!”
“Sorry, FD. But you know that’s my favorite meal.”
Frankie poured wine and, throughout dinner, Alex and Keisha filled the gaps in conversation with laughter, mostly about silly things at school. Frankie cleared the table while Kate and Linda got dessert. Kate was pouring coffee when Frankie’s phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Frankie, it’s Sherri.”
“What’s up?” Frankie said.
“I was just checking to see if everything was all right with Alex.”
“He’s good. Thanks for asking.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow.”
Frankie thought it odd that she called just to ask about Alex. “That’s it?”
“That’s it,” Miller said. “Sounds like you have company. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Frankie hung up and slipped the phone in his pocket.
Kate took a sip of coffee, watching Frankie out of the corner of her eye. “I thought she was sidelined.”
“She was pulling desk duty while she recovered,” Frankie said. “Morreau wanted her back with us since Lou is retiring. I can’t believe she’s back so soon after being shot. Girl’s got guts. I’ll give her that.”
Kate flipped a quick smile. “And she’s going to take his place? Be your partner?”
“That’s the plan for now,” Frankie said.
After finishing her coffee, and more chatting, Linda stood and stretched. “I really have to be going,” she said, and took her coffee cup to the sink. “Kate, thank you so much for dinner. And for a lovely evening.”
“It was nothing. We’ll have to do it again.”
“I’d like that,” Linda said. “I see nothing but kids all day. It’s nice to talk to an adult now and then.”
Linda picked up her purse and called to Keisha. “Time to go.”
“I’m staying,” Keisha yelled from the other room.
“Young lady…”
“She can stay,” Frankie said. “We might watch a movie.”
“Not for me,” Kate said. “I’m following Linda out the door.”
“Guess it’s just me and the kids then.” He leaned over and kissed Kate goodnight, then said goodbye to Linda. “Thanks again for your help.”
“Anytime. See you tomorrow.”
After they left, Frankie grabbed the remote. “Okay, what do you guys want to watch?”
“Why did Kate go?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know,” Frankie said. “Guess she was tired.”
“She was pissed,” Keisha said.
“No way,” Frankie said.
“Oh yeah, trust me, she’s pissed. She don’t trust that bitch.”
“Whoa. Watch the language,” Frankie said. “Are you talking about Sherri?”
“What’s the matter with you?” Keisha said. “Don’t you see nothing?”
Frankie sighed. He didn’t want to stop and correct the grammar, but… “You mean, don’t I see anything and, yeah, I think I do. I am a detective.”
“And people wonder why the criminals get away.” Keisha laughed. “You missed Kate rolling her eyes when you talked about that girl. And she cringed when you bragged on her, and worst of all, she damn near puked when Sherri talked in that sickening sweet voice.
”
“You heard all that?”
“Heard it? Girl’s got a megaphone for a voice.”
Frankie rolled his own eyes. “How old are you?”
“Old enough to know shit like that don’t fly,” Keisha said. “But don’t be telling my mom I said nothin’ like that.”
“Whoa,” Frankie said.
“Sorry,” Keisha said. “I know you don’t like me cursing.”
He shook his head. “I’ll say whoa again. I was correcting your grammar not your cursing.”
Alex wagged his finger at Keisha. “And you know dat ain’t allowed in dis damn house, girl.”
Then he laughed so hard he fell to the floor.
Keisha kept her seat but barely. Frankie tried to keep it in, but he couldn’t and soon joined them. “All right. I guess I deserved that.”
He grabbed his coffee cup and started for the sink, but Alex took it from him.
“We’ll get this, FD. You got enough to worry over.”
Keisha helped Alex with the rest of the dishes. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Listen to me, and I’ll have you square with Kate in no time.”
Alex reached out his hand to bump fists. “And you thought busting criminals was tough.”
Frankie didn’t sleep well that night. Between nightmares about CPS getting Alex and worrying over Kate, he barely slept an hour. Sometime around six he thought he heard the phone ringing. A few seconds later Alex barged in.
“Hey FD. Better get your ass up. Looks like you got a body.”
CHAPTER 8
Strange Positions
Frankie pulled up to the hotel and flashed his badge. Mazzetti and Sherri were waiting in the lobby, Lou sucking on a cup of coffee and holding an unlit cigarette.
“You can’t smoke in here,” Frankie said.
Sherri sighed. “Three hotel employees have already told him. I think he does it to piss people off.”
“You’re finally learning, Miller. Everything he does is calculated to piss people off.”
Lou put the unlit smoke in his mouth and headed toward the elevators. “If you two want to get to work today, we’ve got a couple of bodies on the sixth floor.”
“A couple?” Frankie said.
“Where’s Kate?” Lou asked.
“On her way. Should be here in a few minutes.”
Lou led the way to room 632. The cop who arrived first on the scene was waiting at the door, with an assistant hotel manager at his side.
The cop reached out his hand. “Duncan,” he said to them, and then, “You’re gonna love this.”
“Bad?” Frankie asked.
“Strange,” Duncan said.
An overwhelming smell of cleanser hit Frankie as soon as he entered.
“Somebody do this?”
Duncan shook his head. “It was like this when I got here. It’s mild now.”
“Jesus Christ!” Frankie hated smells, especially chemical smells. “Open some goddamn windows.”
“Would you look at this,” Lou said.
The bodies were on the bed in a sixty-nine position, socks stuffed in their mouths. Both of them had gunshot wounds to the genitals and head. There was a note attached to the woman’s head with a pin.
Sandy, Sandy
Tastes like candy.
To catch the dude who did her in
Look for someone tall and thin.
Frankie leaned closer. “What do you make of this, Lou?”
“Sexual pervert?”
“We know that. I mean, do you think the guy really is tall and thin, or is he the opposite?”
“We don’t know enough yet.”
“Notice how the note only refers to her. Doesn’t mention her partner. This was all about the woman. The guy just happened to be here.”
“Happened to be here screwing her,” Lou said.
“Where’s her purse?” Miller asked.
Frankie turned to Duncan. “Find a purse?”
“Room is just like we found it.” He leaned in and whispered, “Unless the maids took it. Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“What about clothes?” Frankie asked.
“We found them folded and stacked on the nightstand and in drawers. No wallet.”
Frankie glanced around the room. “Check out the maids, Duncan. See if they have a locker, and ask them to look in their cars.”
“We’ve got no—”
“They might be illegal. If they are, they won’t mind. Unless they took the purse.”
“I’ll get on it.”
“Got a twenty on the nightstand,” Lou said. “I can’t see the maids taking the purse and not the twenty.”
“Twenty dollars is a lot to leave the maids for one night.”
“And I bet the last hair on my head the bill is clean. No prints. No DNA.”
Frankie looked at Lou and then Miller. “Do you leave the tip money the night before, or do you wait until you’re ready to go?”
“I wait,” Lou said.
“Me, too,” Miller said.
Lou shook his head. “So this sick son of a bitch pops this couple then leaves a tip for the maids. Talk about screwballs.”
Frankie nodded. “Have a few uniforms question all the employees. And get someone digging through dumpsters.”
“At the hotel?” Duncan asked.
“Further. Take it four or five blocks in each direction. I want every dumpster checked.”
Duncan started to leave. Frankie hollered to him. “Get help. It needs to be done before the pick up.”
Frankie called the assistant manager, who had been standing to the side. “How did you find the bodies?”
“The maids found it when they cleaned.”
“This early?”
“The maids said the door had a ‘Please Clean Room’ sign turned out.”
“Anybody touch it?” Frankie asked.
“I don’t know. I—”
“It won’t matter.” Kate Burns walked in with a smile on her face. Two assistants followed her in. When Kate turned and saw Miller, her smile disappeared. She nodded to Mazzetti and Frankie, then said, “Miller, I didn’t know you were back on duty.” Her voice had an edge.
“This is my first assignment. The lieutenant wanted me out with the best.”
“Good morning, Kate.” Frankie was all smiles.
“What do you have so far?”
“Maids said they opened the door, saw the bodies, and scurried back out.”
“They used that word—scurried?”
“I doubt it.”
Kate stood beside the bed, staring at the bodies. “How many perverts do you think we have in our fine city?”
“One too many for this couple,” Lou said.
Kate knelt to examine the wound on the male. “You think they were a couple, Mazzetti? I mean husband-and-wife type of couple?”
“I’m guessing they were married but not to each other,” Miller said.
Kate looked up at Frankie. “What about you?”
“Don’t know yet,” Frankie said. Then to Lou. “Make sure the unis talk to all of the maids who work this floor. Miller, get the hotel video from last night.”
Frankie moved closer to Kate. “How was Alex?”
“Scared. Which is what took me so long to get here. He stayed with Keisha’s mom, but he seemed okay when I left.”
Frankie breathed deeply. “I have to do something about this.”
Kate was examining the female’s vaginal wounds. “This son of a bitch was really sick.”
“What am I gonna do about Alex? He’s scared to death of CPS.”
“How about you let us process the scene. We’ll talk about the other tonight.”
Frankie got up. “You’re right. Let me know what you get from here.”
“It won’t be much,” one of her assistants said. “This place is clean. No prints, no hair, nothing.”
Frankie stared at him. “No prints at all?”
“Not just no prints. Like I said, no hair in
the tub or sink or toilet. Nothing that I can see anywhere. Whoever did this did a damn good job.”
Kate was done before long, leaving Frankie to go over the scene with Lou and Sherri, and to try and piece together how it went down.
Lou returned to the room and joined the conversation. “How did he get them on the bed?”
“We know he had a gun,” Sherri said.
Frankie nodded. “Yeah, but how did he get inside the room? Did they open the door for him? Didn’t they look to see who it was first?”
“Maybe they knew him,” Sherri said.
Frankie looked at Mazzetti. “You get anything from the maids?”
“They’re scared shitless. Seemed clean to me.”
“How about surveillance, Miller?”
“They’re getting us video now. We’ll have it before we leave.”
Lou tapped Miller on the arm. “Why don’t you rush them?”
She shot Lou a look but headed out the door. Lou turned to Frankie. “Kate okay?”
“How the hell do I know. The day I figure women out I’ll probably die.”
“Or wake up and find out you’re as old as me.”
“Like I said…”
Ten minutes later, Miller returned. “He’s on it. I made sure.”
Half an hour later, Duncan returned from dumpster-diving. “Got a purse. Wallet too.”
Frankie jumped up. “Where?”
“Dumpster down the street, just like you figured. Only had to go elbow deep to get it.”
“Come on, Lou,” Frankie said. “Let’s get this processed so we can see what we’ve got. Miller, wait for them to process everything and meet us back at the station.” Frankie looked through the purse. “No phone?”
Duncan peered in the purse. “Guess not. I didn’t look.”
“And you didn’t find the guy’s phone?”
“You’ve got everything we found.”
Frankie closed his eyes and shook his head. “The guy had to have a phone. Her too. Find them. And hurry up.”
“The phones weren’t in the dumpster.”
“You said you only had to go elbow deep to get the purse. Find the phones or you’ll be spending the weekend at Staten Island going through the dumps.”
“Fuck this,” he said, and stormed off.
Murder Takes Patience Page 4