by Saurav Dutt
“We don’t believe in coincidences” Russo replied “Gina Rossi always loved sailing close to the edge; if Dennis Rossi didn’t want to kill her, someone else would..this is a woman who ran a casino for Rossi, siphoned away hundreds of thousands while she slept with the guy Rossi put in charge of the place with her and ran off with him. Rossi tracked ‘em, killed him and tried his best to get her out of the picture too for testifying against him…and if that wasn’t enough for her glittering resume of using people, she’s extorted, blackmailed…a regular black mamba..”
“She was the only one to know where the bodies were buried….literally” Dzunda interjected “but she wasn’t content turning state’s evidence to put her husband behind bars for the rest of her life; she took his money too, left her daughter, shacked up with one of Rossi’s right hand men…until she got tracked down…somehow she escaped..somehow she got here…”
“…and she winds up in your apartment of all places” Russo smiled “kinda strange when you put the pieces together, ain’t it?”
“Even if all of this were true” John sighed “is it a crime to sleep with the ex wife of a pile of puke like Dennis Rossi?”
“Listen up smartass” Dzunda leaned forward “Rossi’s people tried to kill her once, if the FBI eventually found her here, his people will too…it’s a matter of time…she’s got a suitcase full of money that isn’t hers, that’s all he cares about, it doesn’t matter if its impounded downstairs…all we know and got to go on is that she has a daughter somewhere in New York, that’s why she’s here, that’s why she isn’t on a beach somewhere in the Bahamas…”
“And you think I know where you can find her?” John shook his head as he leant back in his seat “you two are dumber than I thought, why don’t you talk to that FBI prick who gave you that manila envelope. Guys, I’ve been in this job too long, I wouldn’t be surprised if this lady-if she even is Gina Rossi-knows more than you’d like her to..you can’t have her running around New York out of the hands of the FBI’s protection now can you?”
“John” Captain Durning piped up as he shuffled his feet in the corner of the room “stop being a prick about this, if you know something, then you tell us and tell us now goddamn it..”
“She came to my apartment the other day” John paused for a moment before continuing “her and some guy on the street..she told me she ran away from that Agent who hatched her from the hospital when she was recovering..”
“And?” Russo demanded.
“And I wanted nothing more to do with her” John explained with a shrug of his shoulders.
“You let an FBI informer, a protected witness; just walk out of your apartment, clear as day?” Dzunda scoffed as he exchanged concerned glances with Russo.
“Yeah, something like that…like I said before, I have no reason to believe she is Gina Rossi or isn’t.” John yawned.
“Did she tell you anything about her daughter?” Russo asked as he fluttered through sheets of paper and forked one across the table of a sulky looking young girl wearing a straw hat and clutching a doll. The ominous figure of Dennis Rossi was crouched behind her, one hand on his daughter’s shoulder and the other pointing menacingly towards the camera.
“As far as I know, she’s just a tramp on the streets of New York with a bad memory and a big mouth…” John replied as he stared at the picture, scowling at the mere glimpse of Rossi’s pockmarked face.
“Dennis Rossi is up for parole in less than a week” Russo explained “we’ve been told he has advanced prostate cancer so he’s trying to get released on compassionate grounds…we’re trying to verify the state of his health with independent medical examinations. But cancer or no cancer, if Rossi is out, he’ll be on the rampage. He’ll find Gina and he’ll kill her, and if the daughter is there, she’ll be caught in the crossfire…a lot of innocent people could get hurt Detective, so if you know something, do yourself a favour…”
“We have our doubts about you..” Dzunda smiled as he rocked back and forth in his seat “you’re barely meeting the rent, visa cards maxed, you’re deep in the red, car payments months behind…if someone like Gina Rossi is forking over hand-outs… you’re taking ‘em”
“Captain” John turned to Durning “I don’t need to hear this shit, not from IA, not from anyone.”
“Let me put it to you like this Detective” Russo cut in “we don’t believe you just happened to make friends with a transient on the street on your way to work, we don’t believe you wined and dined her because you thought it was all good fun, we don’t believe you slept with her because you wanted to…we believe you’ve been harbouring her all this time, sharing in her spoils, hiding her from the authorities and assisting in her safe passage out of New York.”
“Maybe you should both find out exactly where her daughter is” John replied, barely concealing his anger “then you wouldn’t be wasting my time, you’re barking up the wrong tree, both of you mutts..”
“You’re sitting on a time bomb here buddy” Russo scowled “you have no idea the kind of shit storm you’re in the middle of.”
“So arrest me” John smirked “otherwise, please both of you, get the fuck out of my face.”
He rose to his feet, staring nonchalantly at the whirring wheels of the tape recorder and then at the stunned faces of the officers in front of him.
Captain Durning shook his head as John walked past his sweaty figure, slamming the door behind him. He walked steadily down the corridor; half expecting Durning to rush out barking orders, but the door remained closed.
He walked into his office after noticing the door was open, he stood there rifling his fingers through his hair as he looked over the files mounted on his desk. His neck ached, an unsettling feeling of nausea sat within his stomach. He needed alcohol. “Detective..” a voice muttered behind him. He turned to face Officer Frankling, twenty years old, new on the force, a good kid.
“Yeah?” John enquired, noticing the worry spread across the younger officer’s face.
“Last evening’s shooting…” Officer Frankling began “did you sign off on the paperwork?”
“Last night…” John searched his thoughts “oh right..yeah…yeah where’s the stuff?”
“In your office, I’ve left it there since it happened…you haven’t been able to see it?” Officer Frankling asked again with a look of surprise.
“I’ve been up to my ass in this IA bullshit” John lied “my mind has just been all over the place, I’ll check it out now…even if I am on suspension, don’t you say nothing to no one though.”
John entered his office, closing the door behind him and slumped down into his seat. He whirled round in the chair momentarily before glaring down at the paperwork in front of him.
As he took a pen from the breast pocket of his suit he quickly read over the details of the file and glanced over the photographs, pausing when he realised he recognised the pale, oval shaped face of the victim of the shooting. His eyes darted across the necessary information, reading that his last known name was Michael Pukowski and one of his aliases was ‘Pollard’. He recognised the face and scanned the notes Officer Franklyn had written up of the shooting. He rose to his feet, clutching the file, and marched out into the corridor. “Franklyn…” he shouted “where is Megan? Where is Officer Fellows?”
“She’s about to go home” Officer Franklyn explained as he noticed her walking towards the office “the Cap said she could take a few days off after what happened, IA doesn’t want to interview her.”
Officer Fellows looked concerned as she followed John into his office. He closed the door and asked her to take a seat. “I’m not gonna harass you about what happened” John explained “I just need to ask you some things about this report.”
“I…I..thought you were on suspension Detective…” she stuttered as he stared at her.
“I am” John shot back “but this is important, this is very important.”
“Detective” she sighed, her face drained “I r
eally thought this guy had a weapon, that he was going for his gun….I’ve…I’ve never had to use my weapon before, six months on the force and I’ve never had to use it…I..I..just broke, I..”
“-listen it’s okay” John reassured her “IA don’t want to interview you and if they do, I’ll support you. But you have to tell me more, tell me what’s not in this report?”
“What do you mean?” Officer Fellows asked as she stared up at him.
“You’ve gone by the book, tell me who else was there, what was the victim doing before you shot him; don’t give me the by the book answer.” John urged her.
“He looked shifty the minute I saw him..” Officer Fellows hesitated “I was just there getting some smokes after my shift..he was obviously off the street, I saw him come in with a woman..they split up and then…when I approached him he was shoplifting..but I could see him speaking to somebody over the shelf, it must have been the woman.”
“The woman” John interrupted “dark blonde hair, mid to late 40’s? Attractive?”
“She came up from behind me, she must have been less than ten feet away from me, she called his name out…when I turned back to face him he was coming towards me, I just panicked, I…” Officer Fellows sighed as she looked down at the floor.
“The woman…what did she do after the shooting, where did she go?” John asked, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
“She fell down by the guy’s side, talked to him for a while..whispering in his ear, kissed him on the cheek..I asked her if he was related to her, if they were married or anything…she just said he was her friend..I had to call it in and a crowd gathered, and then she was gone when I turned around.”
“You’re sure…?” John probed.
“I’m sure. I looked for her…my mind was elsewhere, so much was going on..” she replied.
“Okay, don’t worry about it, you’ve done what had to be done” John sighed “these things happen on the force, you can go home now, thanks for sparing the time to talk to me.”
He sat back at his desk, flicking through the crime scene photos again, before it sunk in. She was now out there all alone, and he realised that if she was Gina Rossi she was utterly defenceless. Just as quickly as he dropped the folder into the top drawer of his desk, he immediately rose to his feet and marched out of the door, determined to find her.
*
The rain scattered across the streets later that evening, John sneezed as he approached his block of apartments and flicked a quarter into the hat of the figure squatting outside. He stopped in his tracks and looked down at the crumpled figure; the face turned away, an oversized black jacket obscuring the head but which was tattered and swaying wildly as the wind began to pick up. He glanced at the rim of the hat and discerned a handful of quarters and dimes and it was then that he noticed the pale outstretched hand, the blue veins prominent, the fingers long and warped. They were trembling. Instinctively he knew it was her.
“I kinda expected to find you here..” he smiled as she looked up at him. Her face was pale white, her eyes twinkling like red rubies as tears glazed their surface. Her dark blonde hair was messy, damp and deliberately organised so that the strands fell across her face, obscuring her features.
“I’m sorry about your friend..” John said as he extended his hand, clasping hers and immediately taken aback by how bitterly cold it was to the touch.
She rose uncertainly to her feet and then he noticed the empty beer and wine bottles stacked behind her, no doubt the takings from last night’s failed supermarket heist. He held onto her, realising she was drunk on her feet. She parted her lips, trying to speak but began to sob uncontrollably. “Come on, come inside.” John muttered, ushering her through the doors to the apartment block. He stopped to pick up the hat, instinctively stopping in his tracks to grab the suitcases, but remembered they were being held in evidence at the precinct.
They stood apart in the elevator as it slowly dragged itself upwards, rain dripping down from her jacket onto the ground. He glanced at her, noticing she was staring straight down at her shoes which were tattered, frayed at the edges with her toes poking out through the rips in the leather. The elevator doors parted and she walked behind, groggily following him as he made his way down the corridor.
As he closed the door to his flat behind him he immediately rushed to the bathroom to grab a towel. He dried her hair and brought a shawl, wrapping it around her once he had helped her take off her coat. “They just shot him in cold blood, he wasn’t doing anything…the bitch.” she mumbled as she slumped down onto the couch, her voice crackling, her breath reeking of alcohol.
“I spoke to the officer” John replied, lighting up a cigarette and forking it in her direction “she’s a rookie, she thought your friend had a weapon..she asked him repeatedly to just put his hands up and listen to her..it still doesn’t change what happened, but I’m sorry..I really am.”
“You know something” she smiled to herself “he’s from a family of, like, filthy rich banker assholes..they disowned him when he was young..he wasn’t a bad person…he found me on the street…I had collapsed, all I had were these suitcases, a coat, and he told me I was just lying there on the sidewalk, blood coming out of my head..unconscious..I was fucked, screwed up, until he came along..and now your people just shot him down like a dog in the street.”
“I need to know this” John asked, kneeling down at her feet as he stared up at her with an intense glare “if you are Gina Rossi you need to tell me now, you have to remember, you have to think back. I know about the injury to your head, it’s obvious you were attacked…I know you can only remember thoughts, they’re all scattered…but please just try to remember…”
“..I remember being attacked, my head hurting…that’s all” she sighed “the only thing I have that reminds me of who I am is that I have a daughter, that I know she lives here..I don’t know what she looks like now, where exactly she is, but I know she’s here..I can’t remember how I know…I..I wouldn’t have come to Manhattan without knowing that..”
“There are no other Rossi’s in the phone book, not even unlisted. If she is here she has a different name” John replied “if you are who everyone thinks you are, you have to come with me.”
“..Let me stay here” she groaned “…I just want my things, my suitcases, my coat, my hat..God my head hurts.” she sighed as she sunk deeper into her seat.
“You need a hospital, that’s where you belong right now, that’s where I’m taking you, you look like you have hypothermia” John replied as he caressed her trembling hand. She shot him a fierce glare, angrily pushing his hand away “You want to take me away…” she hissed “just like everybody else, you want to take me away…”
“Take you away where?” John asked as he rose to his feet.
“That man took me from the hospital, with the glasses, that…that.. agent or whatever the hell…” she trailed off, shutting her eyes.
“Whether you remember or not” John went on “a helluva lot of people seem to think you are somebody else, maybe you can’t remember everything but believe me the best place for you is in hospital right now, and then you have to let the authorities deal with you..get to the bottom of this-they can help you find your daughter.”
She rose up from the chair, fury burning in her eyes, and slapped John with such force it jerked his head back. “They killed Pollard….they shot him in cold blood…they want to kill me…they all want to fuckin’ kill me you understand??” she whimpered.
He stared back into her eyes, seeing nothing but undiluted fear and sadness within. He embraced her and gently caressed her hair “Nobody will hurt you” John whispered into her ear “not while I’m here, okay?”
He tilted his head back to look carefully into her eyes as he cupped her chin, taking a moment to wipe a solitary teardrop trickling down her cheek. “I apologise for the way I treated you the other time when you came here with your friend” he shook his head “I got suspended, I was drinking…it
was just the wrong time…all I can say is that I’m sorry.”
“I never meant to hurt anybody…” she wept “..I mean it, I promise to you I’m not crazy… I swear I’m not crazy.”
“You’re no more crazy than I am” John embraced her “why do you think I kept walking to work the same way every freakin’ morning…just so I could talk to you..”
“…I’m gonna miss Pollard..” she whimpered, burying her face into his shoulder “if it wasn’t for him, I…I don’t know what would have happened..”
“You don’t have to worry about that now” John cut in “I want you to stay here in my apartment, at least until we sort all of this crap out. I’m gonna try and get back as much of your stuff I can from the lock up…but I want you to stay, all I need to know is if you want to..”
“What…turn down this for another night on the street?” she smiled as she rubbed the tears from her eyes “I’m no walk in the park, you know that.”
“Well neither am I” John smiled “I’ll get you the help you need, and we’ll get to the bottom off everything, you know you can trust me..”
John knew somebody was standing outside the front door of his apartment. He placed his finger against his lips and listened closely, fully aware that somebody was outside and listening in. He nodded his head towards the bedroom and motioned for her to move there and lock the door behind her.
He moved forward and placed his ear against the front door, sensing the subtle masking of the usual sounds of pattering feet and hoarse shouting that usually permeated the corridor; indicating somebody was leaning in against the frame. He contemplated running to his bedroom to get his gun, only to realize the one kept at home was unloaded and the one he needed was sitting along with his badge on Durning’s desk back at the precinct.
He glanced behind his shoulder, confirming that she had locked herself inside the bedroom and then carefully cracked open the door. He recognized the figure standing outside as Agent Pearce, jerking his head away from the door, clearly having listened in as intently as he could to what was happening on the other side. “Detective…” Agent Pearce smiled “well I…” “No” John interrupted “I’m on suspension, what do you want?”