Hate Crime

by William Bernhardt

  “I do. My pride and joy.”

  “How’s it doing?”

  “It’s turned into a nice little moneymaker. I’m talking to some people about turning it into a franchise.”

  “I’m not surprised. It’s a unique concept. You deserve your success.”

  “Thanks, lady, but I can’t take credit. It was all Tony’s idea.”

  “Tony? Tony Barovick?”

  “Yeah.” Roma waved, and a waitress brought him what looked like a microwaved burrito. “You want something?”

  Christina gazed at the mass of congealed cheese and refried beans. “I already ate. Thanks, though.”

  “When Tony came on as manager, this was a perfectly ordinary singles joint. People flirting and dancing and coming on to each other just like they have for the last fifty years.”

  “And Tony Barovick came up with the idea of modernizing it?”

  “Exactly. He was into computers and video and stuff. Understood all this high-tech jazz. Couldn’t figure out why it had never been used to help people get together. We use technology to improve our businesses and transportation and television reception, so he thought: Why don’t we use it to improve the mating process?”

  “Good point, if a little clinical. So you went for it.”

  “Almost immediately. I can’t take credit for the idea, but I know a good one when I hear it. I took out a loan and invested a million bucks in all these cameras and computers and stuff. We’ve been booming ever since.”

  “That’s great.”

  “Have you checked it out? It’s fabulous. You can scope the action-without embarrassment or awkward situations. Everyone’s more relaxed. It’s a great way to hook up with someone. I mean, compared to this, computer dating services look like something from the Stone Age.”

  “And Barovick also managed the club?”

  “Yeah. Did a bang-up job, too. He was on top of everything. Whatever the patrons wanted, he made sure they had it. They loved him.”

  “So if Tony was your manager-and idea man-you must’ve known him pretty well.”

  “For two years.” Roma took a huge bite, smearing some bean sauce on his gray mustache. “He was a great employee. And friend. I loved him like a brother.”

  “You must’ve been pretty torn up after what happened.”

  Roma’s cheeks sagged. Hard lines formed across his forehead. “Lady, there ain’t no words for what I felt when-when I found out.”

  “Bad?”

  “Let me put it this way. I’m not a rich man-but the second I heard what happened, I put it out on the street that I’d pay fifty thousand dollars to anyone who could catch, hurt, or kill the men who did it. Or better yet, all of the above.”

  “You put a bounty on their heads? You know that’s illegal.”

  “So put the cuffs on me.” He hefted a tall, cold mug of beer. “I did what I had to do.”

  “They were caught very quickly. Right here in the bar?”

  Roma clenched his teeth so hard his head seemed to shrink. “Yeah, they came back here. Bragging about what they did. How bad they hurt Tony.” His voice became quieter. “If I’d had the chance, I’d have ripped their heads off with my bare hands.”

  Looking at the man, his physique, his evident anger, Christina didn’t doubt that he could do it. “I guess you knew Tony was gay?”

  “Sure. Everyone knew.”

  “And you were okay with it?”

  “Didn’t see what business of mine it was who he slept with. Long as it’s between consenting adults, who cares?”

  If only we all saw the world through the eyes of Mario Roma. “Did you know the two boys who were arrested? The frat guys?”

  “I’d seen ’ em before. But I didn’t want anything to do with them.”

  Christina made a mental note. “And why is that? Don’t like fraternities?”

  “More than that.” Mario shrugged. “Could be wrong. But the skinny dark one looked like mob to me.”

  “And that was bad because-”

  “I have to explain what’s bad about the mob? Or maybe you thought that since I’m Italian-American I must be Mafia.”

  “I was just asking questions.”

  “I’ve kept my nose clean my whole life, lady. I put my life together without any help from anyone, including mob bosses. And I’m proud of it. So don’t start in with your insinuations.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Christina peered intently at the man’s face. Methinks he doth protest too much.

  “My club’s a clean joint. We don’t allow people to stumble out and drive drunk. We don’t permit drugs-not even a hint.”

  Christina decided not to tell him about Adam and the back cavern.

  “Remote Control is a good place where a guy or gal can go to meet someone. Safe. Wholesome.”

  “Sort of a Disney singles bar.”

  “Well, yeah, in a way. I mean, there’s a need for this. Used to be, you’d meet a nice girl at church, or a neighborhood dance, or whatever. But those old communities have disintegrated. Hell, with computers, some people never leave home. We got more people, but it’s harder to meet them.”

  Christina couldn’t disagree. Being single in Tulsa was like being an atheist in, well, Tulsa.

  “We provide a valuable community service. So I was mad as hell about what happened to Tony-not only for Tony but for Remote Control. I don’t like hoods running around. For that matter, I’m not crazy about lawyers.”

  “Well, I don’t want to bring the neighborhood down.” She put away her legal pad. “You’ll be around, if I have more questions?”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” He gobbled down the last of his burrito. “You know my motto: At Remote Control, you’re only a click away.”

  “C’mon, baby. Do something sexy.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Please. Who’s going to know?” His voice dropped. “I’ll strip if you’ll strip.”

  The woman tentatively unfastened the clasp of her dress. The man started on his shirt.

  “Now shake ’em, baby. Shake ’em!”

  Without warning, both participants burst out laughing.

  Loving turned off the monitor. “Ain’t that gonna spoil the mood?”

  “They were both kidding all along,” Shelly explained. “It was sort of a video truth or dare, seeing who would crack up first.”

  Shelly Chimka, a petite auburn-haired young woman with an effervescent personality, had been showing Loving the inner workings of Remote Control. “Most of the patrons don’t realize that we can monitor all video conversations. Although I’m not sure it would change anything if they did. Tony and I used to come back here and eavesdrop for hours. We had more fun than any of them.”

  “You and Tony were close?” Loving asked. They were standing in the manager’s office, behind the kitchen and bar-the office that used to be Tony’s. There was not much there-a few chairs, a desk, and a lot of audio, video, and computer equipment.

  “I adored him. I mean it. I’m not just saying that because he’s dead.” She reached instinctively to wipe her eye-but her arm wouldn’t reach. Her right arm was in a sling. “He gave me my big promotion, you know. I was just a lowly waitress with the slow afternoon shift when Tony became manager. He put me behind the bar and gave me the best shift. Used to say sales doubled once the boys knew I was going to be tending bar.”

  “Don’t doubt it,” Loving replied.

  “When Tony was here, work wasn’t work. You know what I mean? He made everything fun.”

  “How?”

  She ransacked her memory. “The last night, before… We’d heard this rumor that there was an undercover cop here.”

  Loving’s chin rose.

  “So we tried to pick out who it was. Tony always had the most absurd theories. ‘That mild-mannered grandmother is really a twenty-five-year-old male Lebanese bodybuilder in drag.’ That sort of thing.”

  “Sounds like a great boss.”

  “He was. And a great
friend. I could tell Tony anything.”

  “Did you have any… hint? ’Bout what happened?”

  “Not at all. Sure, sometimes the frat boys acted like assholes. But I never dreamed-” She looked down, squinting to fight back the tears. “I mean, everyone knew Tony was gay. So what? I didn’t think anyone cared about that anymore. And then-” She pressed her hand against her mouth. “And then you blink for a minute, and one of the loveliest men to ever walk the earth has been killed. Just because of what he was.”

  “Tony was lucky to have a friend like you.” Loving waited a moment before proceeding. “Has anythin’ bad been going down here at the club lately?”

  “We still have frat boys, if that’s what you mean.”

  “I don’t know. Mob contacts? Hit men?”

  “No. My boss won’t have anything to do with the mob.”

  “Gambling? Illicit sex? Drugs?”

  She shook her head. “We don’t permit any drugs in the bar. Zero tolerance.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Roma won’t stand for it. If he gets even a hint, he’s all over it.”

  That was the official policy, anyway, and she seemed sincere about it. “If you think of anything else that might help, ma’am, gimme a call, would you?”

  “I will.”

  “One more thing-would you mind if I ask how you hurt your arm?”

  Shelly tensed. “It-it isn’t relevant. It happened after Tony…”

  “Still. If you wouldn’t mind.”

  Shelly took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. “You already know, don’t you? I can see it in your face.” She tossed her rag down on the bar. “Well, you’re right. I tried to kill myself. Slashed my wrist. Had to go to the hospital. The sling is just to cover the wrist bandages. I didn’t want it to be obvious.”

  “Was this after Tony was killed?”

  She nodded. “I just… I didn’t understand how anyone could have so much hate. So much cruelty. How they could torture a good, sweet man. When I read in the papers that Tony begged for mercy, pleaded for his life, and they ignored him, I-I-” She pressed a hand against her forehead. “Well, I didn’t want to live anymore. Couldn’t.”

  “And how do you feel now?”

  “It still hurts, but… I’m not suicidal.”

  “That’s good. Thank you for your time.”

  “Sure. Oh-”

  “Yes?”

  “I know you’re working for the lawyers representing that Christensen kid, but-they are going to convict him, aren’t they?”

  Loving shrugged. “Certainly looks that way.”

  “Good. Good.” She peered down at a tiny point on the floor. “I don’t want to sound vindictive, but someone has to pay. When someone as beautiful as Tony is taken, in such a… brutal way. He suffered so much. And we’re still suffering-all of us who loved him. Shouldn’t the bastards who did it have to suffer, too?”

  15

  Special Agent Swift raced into Mike’s cubicle, waving a message slip in the air. “Woo hoo!” she squealed. “I got lucky!”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Baxter groused, sotto voce.

  Mike raced to her side. Baxter arrived at a somewhat more leisurely pace.

  “Can I cook, or can’t I?” Swift continued. Mike noticed that her Southern accent seemed to become more pronounced in moments of great excitement.

  “We got a positive print ID on the photocopy,” Swift ex-plained.

  Baxter squinted. “I don’t understand. There was a fingerprint on the photocopy we found in the victim’s pocket?”

  “No. The photocopy was a fingerprint.”

  “I’m lost.”

  “Don’t feel bad,” Mike interjected. “A lot of people-including those in law enforcement-don’t know that photocopiers leave a fingerprint-due to the tiny scratches and dirt on the copier’s glass and optical system.”

  “And this can be traced?”

  “You bet your sweet bippy,” Swift said enthusiastically. “The odds against two copiers having exactly the same pattern are astronomical.”

  “Our victim didn’t have a copy machine in his apartment,” Mike explained, “so I sent plainclothes officers to all the copy shops in town, checking for the same pattern. And it paid off.” He glanced at the message. “Kinko’s. Memorial and 51st. Shall we?”

  Mike was not surprised to learn that Sergeant Tomlinson was the man who had tracked down America’s Most Wanted Photocopier, or that he had pored through three months of credit card receipts before Mike arrived. Tomlinson had always been the king of go-the-extra-mile. That was how he had ended up as Mike’s partner, until Kate Baxter came along.

  “Actually,” Tomlinson said, “I’ve been through them twice. Working from the approximate date and cost. But nothing even comes close.”

  “If he just made a single copy, he wouldn’t use a credit card,” Mike reasoned. “Probably just small change.” Which was too damn bad. Because a credit card receipt would’ve given him a name. And, more than likely, an address.

  He addressed the clerk, a pimply teenager named Sid. “Any record of cash purchases?”

  The kid shook his head, stiff-necked. Mike couldn’t decide if he was intimidated because this was his first encounter with law enforcement-or because it wasn’t. “People come in all the time to make one or two copies. There’s no way to trace them.”

  And you’re not likely to recognize any of them, either, Mike thought, but he was going to give it a try, just in case. He pulled out a digitally reconstructed photo of the victim. “Ever seen this guy before?”

  It didn’t matter what the kid said, because Mike could tell the moment his eyes lit on the photo that he had.

  If nothing else, the boy had the sense not to lie. “Yeah. I recognize him.”

  “He’s been in the store before?”

  He hesitated only a moment before answering, but it was a moment that told Mike everything. “A few times.”

  “But that’s not how you know him.”

  Sid glanced over his shoulder, as if hoping some photocopy emergency might extract him from the interrogation. “I’ve just… seen him around.”

  “You’ve bought drugs from him, haven’t you?” Agent Swift asked, out of the blue.

  “What? God, no. I don’t do drugs.”

  “What about Ecstacy? You probably don’t consider that doing drugs. Right?”

  “Well…”

  “Come clean, kid. It’s the smart thing to do.”

  The kid looked at her, but didn’t answer, which spoke volumes. Mike was impressed. Chalk up one for the FBI.

  “It’s all right, son,” Mike said. “We’re not looking to make a drug bust. We need information about this man.”

  The boy remained silent.

  “Of course, if you don’t help us, I’ll have to consider what I might do to persuade you. Like maybe a search of your work locker. Your car. Your apartment.”

  “His name’s Manny,” Sid said. “Manny Nowosky. And I’ve only seen him a few times.”

  “You know anything about him?”

  “Not much. He was holed up in a rental house not far from where I live. Used to run into him at the pool parlor. I haven’t seen him lately.”

  And there’s a reason for that. “There must’ve been something else,” Mike said.

  “I wouldn’t know what it was.”

  “Did you hear any rumors? Even hints? Maybe about something big going down. A big score. A big bust. Manny coming into a big wad of dough. Anything.”

  Sid shook his head adamantly. “No, nothing. I never had that much contact. We just… did business a few times.”

  “And that was all?”

  “He was a carpenter, I remember. Took his stuff up to the flea market sometimes to sell.”

  “And?”

  “Sometimes we… talked about cars.”

  “Cars? Just cars?”

  “Race cars. Kind of a hobby for us. We were both into drag racing.”
/>   Swift blinked. “Drag racing? Like-zoom-zoom? American Graffiti?”

  “Right. We could rattle on for hours, talking about mag wheels and stick shifts and stuff. He seemed a little old for that sort of thing. But as I learned, he raced pretty regularly.”

  “On the street? When the cops weren’t looking?”

  “No, man. On designated drag strips. It’s safe. Legal. When he talked about his favorite strip, he called it-what was it?-’the happiest place on earth.’ ”

  “And you’re sure he wasn’t talking about Disneyland?”

  “Positive. Drag racing.”

  “I didn’t know there were any strips around Tulsa.”

  “Tulsa?” The kid was incredulous. “He wasn’t from Tulsa. He was just passing through. Taking care of some business. His strip was near Evanston.”

  “Evanston?” Swift’s eyes widened. “As in the suburb of Chicago?”

  “That’s the one.”

  Swift gave Mike a long look. “Well, guess what, boys and girls? I think you’re going to be paying a visit to my neck of the woods.”

  Mike nodded. “Sounds that way. We can’t get a flight till tomorrow morning, though.” He gave Sid his card. “If you think of anything else you know about this guy-anything at all-give me a call.”

  “Okay. Sure.”

  They prepared to leave. “And kid?”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “The federal penitentiary in McAlester is a really ugly place. Take my word for it. You don’t want to go.”

  “No, sir.”

  “So keep your nose clean. Tomlinson?”

  “Yes, Major?”

  “Nice work.” He slapped his old friend and protégé on the shoulder. “Wanna grab a sandwich? You can fill me in on what you and Karen and that girl of yours have been up to. And what’s going down with the uniforms. Especially the gossip. I love the gossip…”

  16

  “Christina!” Loving bellowed. “You’re needed in the conference room. There’s like-thirty of ’em in there!”

  “I’ll be just a minute.” She met him in the hallway. “I’ve been reading your reports. You’ve covered a heck of a lot of ground.”