She's Not Coming Home

by Philip Cox

  He ran out to the fire escape. Looked down. Weber was right: he could see two police cars, and there was an ambulance pulling in from Sutton Place South. He took a deep breath, took a hold of the handrails and began climbing up the fire escape.

  There were just two more floors to the roof. On the intermediate floor there were no signs of entry, so Matt continued to the roof. Once on the roof himself, he looked around: he could see Roosevelt Island across the East River, the towers of Midtown Manhattan, and the Queensboro Bridge. He could make out the outline of a subway train crossing the bridge.

  Then he saw Clark. He was on the roof also, further along, darting between elevator buildings and air conditioning equipment. As Matt began to make chase, Clark must have heard his feet on the gravel on the rooftop, and turned round. As he saw Matt following, he turned and fired a couple of shots. Matt ducked but Clark must have fired wildly as Matt did not even hear the shells ricochet.

  He chased further along the roof. Although Clark was now out of sight, Matt still took the same route across the roof. As he got nearer the far end of the roof, he paused: Clark was nowhere in sight. He looked around, then suddenly Clark was upon him, leaping out from behind a wall. Matt assumed the gun was empty, otherwise Clark would have used it.

  The force of the impact knocked Matt to the ground, with Clark on top. Clark grabbed the sides of Matt’s head and began knocking it against the hard surface of the roof. On top of the previous bump, Matt felt himself losing consciousness again.

  ‘I’ll do the job properly this time, motherfucker,’ Clark snarled.

  Matt gave a push against Clark’s right shoulder, and they rolled over. Now Matt was on top. Not sure what to do now, he tried to pin him down by holding his lower arm on Clark’s throat. He lacked the force to do this for long, however, as Clark managed to push him off. While Matt was getting back up off the floor, Clark started to run towards the other end of the roof, where there was another fire escape. Matt made a dive at Clark’s legs, but was just an inch or so too late to grab the legs. Instead, he succeeded in knocking Clark off balance.

  All in one second, Clark wavered, tried and failed to correct his balance, and fell to his left, onto a dirty glass skylight. The glass panel on which he landed smashed and Clark’s body disappeared into the panel frame. Clark managed to cling onto the frame. His body hung in the void. Matt looked down. The building they were on now had some kind of atrium. There was a sheer drop down to the ground, where there were numerous tables, chairs and tall artificial trees, almost reaching the skylight itself. The floor downstairs was deserted. Matt guessed it was an office cafeteria area, closed as it was Sunday.

  ‘Help me up,’ Clark called out, glancing between Matt and the drop below. Matt shuffled over to the frame.

  ‘Help you up?’ he spat. ‘Why should I?’

  ‘It – it was all Gail’s idea,’ he said. ‘Selfish little cunt.’

  ‘And Aki Watanabe?’ Matt asked. ‘Her as well?’

  ‘That was Gail’s idea as well. She’s evil, man, evil. Help me up.’

  Matt stood up at the frame, looking down at Clark and the floor below.

  ‘You hurt my son,’ he said calmly.

  ‘What?’ screamed Clark. One hand had slipped off; now he was hanging by the other. Panic stricken he looked desperately at the remaining hand, then up at Matt. He tried twisting his body in mid-air to try to get his hand onto the frame again. ‘I can’t hold on much longer. Please.’

  ‘You hurt my son,’ Matt said again.

  Then, Clark’s weight was too much for one hand. He lost his grip and, with a scream, plummeted down to the floor below.

  Matt watched him fall, brushing against one of the trees and landing on one of the empty tables below. The table collapsed, knocking over two wooden chairs in the process. Table, chairs, and Danny Clark’s body now lay on the floor below. As Matt leaned over and stared down at Clark’s prone body, a dark shape grew from the head as he lay on the ground.

  Matt stood up and turned away. As he turned round he saw a figure standing by the fire escape, watching.

  It was Lieutenant Weber.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Limping slightly, Matt slowly made his way over to the fire escape where Weber was waiting. The Lieutenant was leaning on the iron banister. He seemed out of breath. He said nothing as Matt approached, out of breath himself.

  Matt opened his mouth to speak, but stopped as two other men appeared at the top of the fire escape. They joined Weber on the roof. One was in police uniform.

  ‘What’s happened up here, Sam?’ the officer out of uniform asked. Matt glanced anxiously at Weber.

  ‘The suspect attacked Mr Gibbons here,’ Weber answered. ‘Lost his balance and fell through the skylight. Mr Gibbons tried to save him, but…’

  The officer nodded. ‘Okay. I see.’ He looked at Matt. ‘Do you need medical attention?’ he asked.

  Matt looked down at the scratches on his hands. Shook his head. ‘No, I’m okay.’

  ‘Go to the hospital,’ said Weber. ‘Take your son. Get both of you checked out. Be there when your wife comes round.’

  The NYPD officers stood aside as Matt climbed back down the fire escape, followed by Weber. Matt could hear Weber puffing as he followed him down. When they had gotten down to the fifth floor, Matt turned to speak to Weber, but the Lieutenant spoke first.

  ‘Take Nathan downstairs. There’s a second ambulance there. Go with him; both of you get checked out.’

  ‘But -’ Matt stuttered.

  ‘There’s nothing else to say. Get.’

  Matt gave Weber a brief nod which the Lieutenant acknowledged, then limped over to Nathan, who was sitting with a female uniformed officer. Nathan ran over to him as Matt kneeled down to hug him.

  ‘Daddy,’ he said.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Matt whispered into his son’s hair. ‘Daddy’s here. It’s all over now. All over.’

  Then he picked his son up and carried him downstairs. Outside, on 58th Street, an ambulance was waiting. The two paramedics helped Matt and Nathan climb into the back. Matt laid Nathan down on one of the gurneys and sat next to him, holding his hand and stroking his hair. The paramedics closed the doors and Matt felt the ambulance move away.

  Chapter Fifty

  After 9/11, when over 1,500 victims needed treatment – the largest disaster response in American history – a campaign was launched to construct a new, state-of-the-art facility.

  The new Emergency Center at New York Downtown Hospital was officially opened five years later. It is the only emergency facility in Lower Manhattan, and is vital to the community’s millions of residents, workers and tourists.

  Matt sat back in the chair in the waiting room. He looked down at Nathan, who was asleep, resting his head in Matt’s lap. Matt gently stroked his hair. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

  ‘You look like you could use a coffee,’ said a familiar voice. Matt looked up at Lieutenant Weber.

  ‘Oh, it’s you,’ he smiled. ‘Yes please.’

  ‘Soda for your boy?’

  ‘No thanks. Let him sleep.’

  ‘Okay.’ Weber left, to return a couple of minutes with two paper cups.

  ‘Any news on your wife?’ he asked as he sat next to Matt.

  ‘Still in surgery. Just waiting for news,’ replied Matt as he took a cup from the Lieutenant.

  ‘Okay.’ Weber sipped his coffee and leaned forward in his chair. ‘Gail Smith has made a confession,’ he said.

  Matt looked over. ‘Really?’

  ‘Yeah. She and that asshole Clark had been holding your wife under duress. A kind of duress.’

  ‘A kind of duress? You mean she didn’t leave voluntarily?’

  ‘No. Not really. Let’s start from the beginning.’ He sat back and took a deep breath. ‘Her real name was Ruth Dubois. At least till she married you. Though I wonder if her using a false surname when you guys married invalidates….’

  ‘Mm,’ said Matt. ‘Mayb
e it does.’

  ‘Anyhow, she was originally Ruth Dubois. Raised in Rochester with Ira and Elisabeth Dubois. She was still in High School when she met Gail Smith. They became friends. One Saturday night, the two of them were out. Ruth was driving. She was DUI. On the way home, they hit a guy. Killed the poor bastard outright. Buried the body.’

  ‘What? You’re kidding.’

  ‘No, not according to Smith. The body wasn’t found until a year or so later. Naturally it was decomposed. Now, in those days, forensic science was pretty much in its infancy, so the victim was never identified.’

  ‘But wasn’t he missed? Dental records?’

  Weber shrugged. ‘I don’t know at this time. Remember, this is what she told the NYPD officers.’

  Matt nodded, staring into space.

  Weber continued. ‘Well, it seems they – your wife – got away with it. Then Gail and her sleazy boyfriend -’

  ‘Danny Clark?’

  ‘Right. Daniel Clark. They had the bright idea of blackmailing her. Said they would go to the police if she didn’t do things for them.’

  ‘What kind of things? What was she doing?’

  ‘Computer stuff. Apparently Ruth is quite a genius on a computer.’

  ‘First I’ve heard of that. She’s okay, better than me. But not what I’d call a genius.’

  ‘Well, it appears she is. They had her hacking into personal and company bank accounts, getting personal details, and taking victims’ identities. Then making withdrawals – phantom withdrawals I understand is the term – and using the stolen identities to launder the money. Of course, in those days online security was nowhere near as robust as it is now.’

  ‘Jesus Christ.’

  ‘All coming as a shock to you?’

  ‘What do you think?’

  ‘I get that, Matt. Well, after a few months of this, Ruth had had enough. She was apparently out walking one night, when she witnessed a bad automobile accident.’

  ‘The car wreck?’

  ‘That’s it. She saw the car blow up. Incredibly, she climbed down to the highway, underneath the overpass where the car was burning and threw her drivers licence on some burning wreckage. Then, she ceased to be Ruth Dubois. Caught a Greyhound to Boston, got a job waiting at tables, and became Ruth Levene.’

  ‘But she had a responsible job at Cambridge Pharmaceuticals. What about social security numbers and stuff?’

  ‘By that time, Clark had moved to Boston himself. Weird coincidence or what? He happened to bump into Ruth there one day. By that time his relationship with Gail was on-off-on. And I think she was seeing someone else at the time. But they joined up again, and started over blackmailing her. Gail’s new partner – Ryan somebody…’

  ‘Ryan Wilson. I know him. They’re still together.’

  ‘Not now they’re not. He was living in Boston already, so Gail moved there. To tighten their hold on her, he gave your wife a job – quite highly paid – at Cambridge Pharmaceuticals, where he, as you know, is an office manager. Provided her with false social security details. Once again, that type of thing was easier back then. Once she was settled they started up their old game again. And he could speak with the authority of a manager when he denied she worked there.’

  ‘More hacking?’

  ‘Yes. They started off with customers of Cambridge Pharmaceuticals, then expanded. Made millions, apparently.’

  ‘She did all that? Ruth did that?’

  ‘At first, no. She apparently told them to screw themselves and go to the police if they wanted. Then they began to make implied threats to you and to your son.’

  ‘Oh, Jesus Christ.’ Matt stopped stroking Nathan’s hair and held onto his body.

  ‘Which was why,’ Weber went on, ‘Ruth left. Wanted to make her way here to start afresh, maybe. Maybe call for the two of you later. Or return to Boston. But Gail caught up with her before she even left Boston. She and Clark decided to go to New York with her, away from you, to set up somewhere to do this online stuff. Somewhere the ISP address couldn’t be traced.’

  Matt shook his head. ‘I – I’m not very IT minded.’

  ‘Me neither. But the upshot is: she left you and your son here, to protect you.’ Weber paused. ‘A lot to take in?’

  Matt looked over and said slowly, ‘When…if she recovers, what’s she looking at? In terms of jail time?’

  Weber shrugged his head. ‘Too early to say. There’s the DUI, the various frauds; we’ve no idea as to the extent of what happened.’

  ‘Oh.’ Matt looked down at Nathan and continued stroking his hair. Nathan stirred slightly.

  ‘But,’ Weber continued, ‘at this time we only have Gail Smith’s version of events. If Ruth denies what she told us, then – then we’ll have to see. There are some mitigating circumstances.’

  ‘What circumstances?’ Matt asked.

  ‘Well, the threats Clark and Smith made against you. And that text message she sent you. The one which led us to them.’

  ‘Do you think she knew you could trace it? That she did it on purpose?’

  Weber shrugged again. ‘A good defence attorney would claim that.’

  ‘What about that Japanese girl? The one I saw with Clark in that bar. Akira…’

  ‘Akira Watanabe? Yes, well; she was his girlfriend. Or at least they were sleeping together. It’s quite simple: she discovered what the three of them were doing. Challenged Clark – he must have been at her apartment at the time – and he killed her. The clever son of a bitch made it look like an accident. I guess he just held her head underwater in the bath until…. Or just hit her with the shower head.’

  ‘You said there were marks on the back of her neck.’

  ‘Yeah, I did. The initial theory was that they were caused by the impact of the shower head. I wasn’t convinced.’

  ‘Where he held her down?’

  ‘Possibly. She said Clark did it all on his own. Not sure about that. But we’ll see. After he or they killed Ms Watanabe, they removed all traces of him from the place. Nobody would know he’d even been there.’

  ‘The son of a bitch.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Weber put his hand on Matt’s shoulder. ‘You never did like him, did you?’

  Matt shook his head.

  ‘No death penalty in Massachusetts, I’m afraid,’ said Weber.

  Matt shrugged. ‘Doesn’t matter.’

  ‘What are you going to do now?’ Weber asked, standing up.

  ‘Not sure yet. Wait around here, I guess.’

  ‘It could be ages before there’s any news. You look dead beat. Why not book into a local hotel, get some rest, and come back in the morning? You can leave your number with them here.’

  ‘Yeah. I might just do that.’

  ‘Look, I need to go now.’

  ‘Back up to your sister-in-laws?’

  ‘Jeez, no. Back to Boston. But you have my number, don’t you? Just in case.’

  ‘Yeah. I do.’

  ‘See you then. Look after yourself.’

  Weber stretched and began to saunter off.

  ‘Sam?’ Matt called out. Weber turned round. ‘Thanks. For everything.’

  Weber winked. ‘You just stay out of trouble when you get back home.’

  Matt smiled and nodded, and looked back down at his son. Nathan stirred again and muttered something unintelligible.

  Matt looked around. Around at the medical staff and members of the public milling about. He could hear a female voice over the PA system, trying to page a doctor.

  He took a deep breath. Weber was right: he should book him and Nathan into a hotel. Somewhere near here.

  He looked down at Nathan and stroked his hair again.

  He would get a hotel. But later.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  ‘you want eggs?’ Matt called out a few days later, his voice competing with the sound of Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny on the television and the first batch of eggs cooking on the stove.

  No answer. Matt shrugged and contin
ued stirring the eggs.

  ‘More Coco Snaps, Daddy,’ called out a voice from the table behind him.

  ‘Hold on a second,’ said Matt, quickly turning some eggs over.

  ‘I’ll get them, Daddy,’ came the reply.

  ‘No, wait. I’ll -’ Matt moved the pan off the stove and turned round, just in time to see his five year old son lean over and knock the cereal box on the floor, spilling its contents over the floor.

  ‘Oh, Nathan, no,’ Matt wailed as he knelt down to pick up the box.

  ‘Sorry, Daddy,’ said Nathan quietly.

  Leaning over, Matt reached under the sink and pulled out a small dustpan and brush. He swept up the mess and emptied the grains into a bin. Stood up and put the box back on the table.

  ‘More Snaps, then?’

  Nathan thought for a few seconds, then said, ‘No. I don’t think so.’

  ‘Fine. Want some eggs then? Or just toast?’

  ‘Just toast please, Daddy.’

  ‘Okay. Let me just finish the eggs.’

  Matt turned back to the pan of eggs.

  ‘Just toast please, Daddy.’

  ‘Yes, I heard, sport. Just hold a second.’

  ‘And jelly.’

  ‘Is it nice to be back at Bambinos?’ Matt asked, through a mouthful of toast.

  ‘U-huh.’

  ‘Well, don’t forget you won’t be there tomorrow.’

  ‘Won’t I? Why not?’

  ‘I told you. We’re going away for the weekend.’

  ‘We are? Where are we going?’

  ‘Have you forgotten already? We’re putting a few clothes and things in a bag, and first of all we’re driving over to New York to see Mommy.’

  ‘Ah, yes. I remember.’

  ‘Maybe we’ll stop off on the way and get her some flowers. To keep by her bed.’

  ‘And some chocolate?’

  ‘Maybe. As long as you don’t eat it on the way. And as long as the doctors say it’s okay for her to eat it.’

  ‘Everybody eats chocolate, Daddy.’

  ‘Hm. Then – once we’ve visited Mommy, we’re going to drive over to see your grandma.’