FORGOTTEN

by Hastings, Gary

  Pat saw Maggie’s black SUV, but had a hard time finding a parking spot. He finally parked around the corner in a loading zone and tossed his Official Business NYPD placard on the dash of the black Chrysler. He walked into the diner and spotted Maggie sitting near the back.

  “You look tired, Pat.”

  “I know, Maggie. I slept at the office, but only got about three hours sleep.”

  “I hate it when you do that. You’re going to drop dead of exhaustion or have a heart attack someday.”

  “Well, you have to die of something.”

  “That’s not funny. You know I worry about you.”

  “I appreciate it, Maggie, but we’ve had some important breaks in the last 24 hours in the Butelli case.”

  Pat quietly shared the progress with Maggie. He figured she had a right to know, since she could have easily gotten killed in the middle of this case. They ordered breakfast and Pat opted for a glass of milk. Maggie laughed at his choice.

  “Since when did New York’s toughest cop have milk with a meal?”

  “I’ve probably had a dozen cups of coffee today and my stomach needs some soothing.”

  “I expect so. I don’t know how you can just pull these leads out of thin air, Pat.”

  “You live right, pray over the cases, and sometimes your prayers are answered with a lead. In this case, I don’t want to celebrate until we catch Daniel Pellegrino.”

  “You’ll catch him. However, I still want you to be careful.”

  “I’ll be careful. I’ve actually started carrying one of my magnums in the pocket of my top coat.”

  “I wish you carried a Glock or something with more ammo capacity.”

  “I hate those damn Glocks. There’re super reliable and a lot of guys love them, but I guess I’m just a wheel gun man.”

  “You, John Wayne, and Dirty Harry.” Maggie joked.

  “Hey, if I miss them with one of these, the noise will scare them to death. I actually feel very well armed with a .357. I’m dating myself a little, but it wasn’t that long ago when the Secret Service and the FBI carried .357 Magnum revolvers.”

  “I know, and President Roosevelt loved them.”

  “It hasn’t been that long, but I’m just a creature of habit and they’re my choice at the moment.”

  “Just carry plenty of ammo.”

  “I always do.”

  Chapter 44

  Wednesday, February 9 - Day 22

  Chief of Detectives’ Office - One Police Plaza

  Borough of Manhattan, New York

  0800 Hours

  Pat went home from the diner and immediately fell asleep. He woke up early and was in the office at 0730 catching up on paperwork. He had almost finished when Lieutenant Angie Wilson popped in.

  “Good morning, Chief. You look rested.”

  “Thanks. I did some serious sleeping last night, and I feel much better.”

  “I think I’ve found our lawyer victim. Nathaniel Moses was killed in October 2001, within a week of Judge Fitzpatrick’s hunting accident. He was walking across the street on 49th Street and was apparently struck by a hit-and-run driver. There were no witnesses, and the case remains unsolved.”

  “What else do we know about Nathanial Moses?”

  “He was an African-American trial lawyer. He did a lot of legal-aid work for the defense.”

  “Did he handle Kings County cases?”

  “He sure did.”

  “Did he have any survivors?”

  “Yes, a wife, Gloria.”

  “I’d really like for you to find her and see if she knew anything about her husband hiring a private investigator.”

  “You think he’s the one, don’t you, Chief?”

  “It makes sense, and apparently he created a pretty good motive for murder. Try not to give her too many details. We don’t want her to get her hopes up.”

  “Chances are the perp’s already dead.”

  “The guy who killed him is probably dead, but not the one who ordered it.”

  “If you can spare me, I’d like to try to find her this morning, while you’re in the office.”

  “Sounds fine. Take Dickie with you if you like.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  Pat decided he should update the commissioner on the progress. He reached him on the first ring.

  “Longstreet.”

  “This is Pat O’Connor. I need to update you on our progress in the Butelli case. Is this a bad time?”

  “Actually, Patty, I have a 0900 meeting across town. I’ll call you back from the car in a few minutes.”

  “Thanks, Commissioner. I’ll wait for your call.”

  Pat rounded up a couple of doughnuts from the suite of offices, and in just a few minutes the commissioner returned his call. Pat explained the progress in general terms, informing the commissioner of the possibility of another murder. The commissioner was concerned.

  “At what point are we going to bring the other Super Chiefs in the loop on this, Patty?”

  “It’s still too soon. We’ve been flying under the radar and are making a lot of progress. Once we get a better handle on Daniel Pellegrino, we can get everybody up to speed. I don’t want to read about this in the paper.”

  “They wouldn’t be Super Chiefs if I couldn’t trust them, Patty.”

  “Trust them, yes. Keeping their mouths shut around good looking young reporters, not a chance, and you know it.”

  “You’re probably right, but I don’t want to keep them in the dark too long.”

  “I’ll keep you posted, Commissioner.”

  “Thanks, Patty. You’ve done a good job with this old case.”

  Pat hung up the phone and almost immediately his cell phone buzzed.

  “Pat O’Connor.”

  “Chief, it’s George McBain. You win the prize for persistence. The Colt Detective Special is a match for the bullet recovered from the car where Butelli’s body was found. It’s also a match for the spent casing in Butelli’s Smith and Wesson. It looks like Harry Pittsford probably fired the shot into the headliner with the Colt and then switched the spent casing with one of the cartridges in Butelli’s Chief’s Special.”

  “I appreciate it, George. I know you had to push to get these things examined so quickly.”

  “Of course I did, but I always tell them it’s by order of the Chief of D’s and they give me absolutely no crap about it.”

  “Good for you!”

  Chapter 45

  Wednesday, February 9 - Day 22

  Major Crimes Conference Room - One Police Plaza

  Borough of Manhattan, New York

  1500 Hours

  The task force was assembled for the 1500 briefing. Angela Wilson had called Pat, letting him know she had located Gloria Moses, and was meeting her in the office at 1530. He hoped Gloria could shed some light that would connect her late husband and Forrest Butelli.

  Pat opened the meeting with the usual progress reports from different leads being pursued. Mike O’Neal volunteered to go first. “I’ve been staying in touch with the computer forensics guys, Chief. They’re still crunching the computer. They’ve found a lot of stuff that may be relevant, but it’s too early to tell. They’re doing key word searches and have found a few emails that may be from Pellegrino. They’re somewhat coded and then have the initials DP at the bottom of the messages. One of them said, ‘Handle this last order and our project will be completed.’ It was received by Harry Pittsford on the Sunday before you guys left for DC on Monday afternoon.”

  “That’s important. Have we traced the sender yet?”

  “Not that I know of, but this cyber-geek stuff is a little over my reading level.”

  “Do you have any idea when they’ll be completed?” Pat asked.

  “Hopefully, they’ll be finished by Friday, Chief, but it’s hard to say.”

  “Keep us posted, Mike.”

  “You bet.”

  “Do you have anything on the fugitive search, Karla?
”

  “I’m afraid not, Chief. I told the Marshal your thoughts on the Top 15 ideas, and he understands. The offer should still be available if you decide to go that route later, unless some other bad-ass crops up.”

  “Thanks, Karla, please express my continued appreciation.”

  Pat O’Connor had always placed a high priority on the relationships needed to conduct the wide range of investigations handled every day by the NYPD. The Marshal’s Service was legendary about catching wanted fugitives, and the federal law gave them awesome authority. For example, most federal agents had very limited subject matter and arrest jurisdiction. There were many crimes, including murder, in which they had absolutely no jurisdiction. The U. S. Marshals, including those like Pat who were federally deputized from local departments, not only had nationwide jurisdiction, but also had the same authority as sheriffs in any state where they were working. This gave Marshals the authority to enforce almost any law. He hoped Daniel Pellegrino would soon be in U. S. Marshal’s handcuffs, but he was starting to worry.

  There were no other developments in the investigation, and the task force meeting ended in less than an hour. Pat encouraged everyone to hit their street sources and do everything possible to find the elusive Pellegrino. He scheduled the next meeting for 0900 on Friday. In the meantime, Daniel Pellegrino remaining at large made Pat O’Connor worry about the consequences.

  Chapter 46

  Wednesday, February 9 - Day 22

  Lieutenant Angela Wilson’s Office - One Police Plaza

  Borough of Manhattan, New York

  1700 Hours

  After the task force meeting was over, Pat returned a few phone calls and pulled files that he would need for a COMPSTAT meeting on Thursday morning. Although he was someone primarily asking questions and not answering them, he liked to be prepared. He looked at the detective’s work schedule and crime trends in each reporting command to determine how well the assigned detectives were solving the cases and if the investigative resources were being effectively and appropriately deployed. He was occasionally asked by the Chief of Department or the Police Commissioner about department-wide policies and strategies for addressing emerging crime trends. Luckily, most statistics showed crime had declined in the past few months. That was a good thing.

  Pat walked out of his office and saw that Angela Wilson was still in her interview with Gloria Moses. They were in a small conference room near the reception area, often used for interviewing witnesses and people who came to the office suite of the Chief of Detectives for various reasons. Pat waited in Angie’s office for a long time.

  It was almost 1800 hours when he heard Angela Wilson open the conference room door. She walked into her office and said, “Hi, Chief. Did you need me to take care of something?”

  “No, I was just waiting to see what you found out from Gloria Moses.”

  “Not much, I’m afraid. She denies knowing anything about her husband’s being involved in anything.”

  “Do you believe her?”

  “Not entirely. She got teary eyed a few times, and I thought she was going to acknowledge something, but she would bristle back up and stick to her original story of not having any idea what I’m talking about.”

  “Is she hostile toward the police?”

  “No. She’s very courteous.”

  “Does she have family?”

  “Yes. She has two sons, David, who is 17, and a younger son, Eric, who is 14.”

  “Are you going back in?”

  “Yes sir, Chief. She’s in the bathroom.”

  “After you go back in, I may come into the conference room for a few minutes and try my luck.”

  “That would be great. You take a stab at it, but she’ll probably stick to her story.”

  “We won’t know unless we try.” Pat reminded her.

  Pat waited about 10 minutes after Angie had resumed her interview with Gloria Moses. He tapped on the door and Angie Wilson opened it. Pat walked in and shook hands with Gloria Moses.

  “Mrs. Moses, I’m Patrick O’Connor. I’m the Chief of Detectives of this department. I truly appreciate you coming in and helping us. I know your husband would be proud of you. I know he was a man who respected justice and believed in the rule of law.”

  “Yes, he certainly did. Chief O’Connor, you must have known my Nathanial well.”

  “Actually, I didn’t know him at all.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I only know him by his actions, which reflect a tremendous amount of character. He was fed up with the corruption in the Kings County Courts and wanted it stopped. He risked his career, his future and his very life to do something about it. He approached another honorable man, a retired NYPD Detective named Forrest Butelli. I believe he hired Butelli, who was a respected private investigator, to look into the sad state of affairs. You have two sons. Forrest Butelli had two beautiful daughters who are now without a father. He was teamed up with your husband, and they died, trying to do the right thing.”

  Gloria Moses started to cry. At first it was a whimper, and then the floodgates opened and she sobbed uncontrollably. Pat offered her his handkerchief and resumed his conversation. “Those two fine gentlemen can’t tell us the story, Gloria. We know a lot, but we need to confirm the details and we need your help.”

  She did not respond but continued to sob, Pat knew his next statement would break her or they might never get the details.

  “Mrs. Moses, one day your sons will want to know why their father died. Was it in vain? Was it a freak accident? Or was he pursuing his passion for justice?”

  “They deserve to know the truth, and the person responsible for this deserves to be held accountable. His killer will not face judgment without your cooperation.”

  Pat remained completely silent and just stared at Gloria Moses. He could tell his words were causing her to examine her soul. Angie Wilson also remained motionless and didn’t say a word. After what seemed like an eternity she spoke quietly. “My husband worked very hard in his law practice. He was a great lawyer and a fine husband and father. He could not understand why another lawyer could just move cases through the system and constantly get cases dismissed or not even prosecuted. He knew something was wrong and was going to do something about it. He took the money out of our savings to hire the private detective. He wanted the corruption stopped.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Moses. Do you remember the name of the attorney who was involved?”

  “I will never forget him. It was Daniel Pellegrino. That bastard came to Nathaniel’s funeral. We always wondered if he had something to do with Nathanial’s death.”

  “Has he ever contacted you?”

  “Never!”

  Gloria Moses regained her composure and spoke to them both. “Chief O’Connor and Lieutenant Wilson, I’m so sorry I wasted so much of your time. If all these other people have been killed, why will I be safe?”

  “We have no reason to believe you’re in danger, but if you need protection, we’ll provide it.”

  “I’ll be okay. Just nail this monster once and for all.”

  “I promise you, we’ll do our best!”

  Pat walked out of the conference room delighted they had reached the truth. Angie Wilson remained in the room while Gloria Moses wrote out a detailed statement. Pat felt good about the progress in the case. Daniel Pellegrino would soon be his prisoner.

  Chapter 47

  Thursday, February 10 - Day 23

  NYPD Computer Crimes Lab - One Police Plaza

  Borough of Manhattan, New York

  1400 Hours

  Pat O’Connor was glad the COMPSTAT meeting had not taken all day. He was also pleased his Detective Bureau had fared well. The greatest concern in his bureau was not the detectives. It was the sergeants, lieutenants, captains, deputy inspectors, inspectors and assistant chiefs. The problem was that the bosses always worried about things going on above their rank which they could not control, instead of doing the best job of inspiri
ng and leading the men who actually worked the cases. They were ambitious and mostly worried about their own careers and promotions. Pat had always heeded the advice of a Chief of Detectives who had been a strong mentor many years earlier. “Stay on task solving these cases, and only worry about what you control.” It had been good advice.

  Mary McDonald came by the office, and accompanied Pat to the Computer Crimes Squad, where they met Mike O’Neil. They were anxious about what the computer forensics examination had revealed on Harry Pittsford’s computer. The computer forensics lab looked like a mission control center. The overhead lights were dark, but there were dozens of computer monitor screens lighting up the room. Each workstation looked like a cockpit filled with technology. It was where the cyber-sleuths did their magic. The computer crimes detective’s eyes lit up when the Chief of Detectives walked in. The supervisor, Sergeant Matt Sheldon, stood up.

  “Good afternoon, Chief. I’m Matt Sheldon, the whip of this squad.”

  “It’s nice to see you, Matt. I believe you know Mary McDonald and Mike O’Neil.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “I’m not trying to rush you, but I was wondering if you’d completed the examination of Harry Pittsford’s computer.”

  “We’re still looking, but we think we’ve found some related emails, based on the information Mary and Mike provided us.”

  “Can you show us what you’ve found?”

  “Sure, Chief. We can start with the one which has the most potential so far. It’s recent and has some text which seems to be right on target.”

  Sergeant Sheldon handed Pat the email, which he and Mary read with great interest.

  “My man Harry, I know we’ve been through a lot, but I have one more task for you to complete. You’ve done well on the others. I know you want out of this, but they do have your name when you witnessed the judge’s unfortunate accident. I will leave you instructions in the usual manner. As you said, he is going to DC on Monday. He needs to have a bad day. Don’t let me down, Harry. You know I can destroy you. DP”