She went over their earlier conversation, and her mind stuck on Banyon. He’d never cropped up in any of Jerry’s written interviews, or with Mary Elizabeth. Yet he had claimed to be a friend, enough of one to ignore ten years of absence and Ryan’s conviction when no one else had He’d had to be a good friend. But then why had he never contacted Ryan in prison? Ryan had had no visitors, according to the records. And then up pops Banyon Why hadn’t she wondered about it before? Perhaps because she’d had so many other things to wonder about. Usually, though, her prosecutorial mind seldom slipped like that.
Yet Ryan seemed determined to meet him, enough to walk nearly a mile to phone him.
She wrote the name down. Maybe Jerry ought to check on him, too.
Then she went in to check on an altogether too quiet Nicholas.
Chapter 14
Ryan was fighting a host of conflicting emotions late Sunday when he heard a knock at the door. Surprised, he went to answer it.
Banyon.
“Hi, Buddy,” his visitor said “Got your message.”
Ryan didn’t know what he’d expected when he left it. He certainly hadn’t expected Banyon at his door.
The detective held a big flat box and a bulging paper sack. “Thought you might like some pizza and beer.”
“I can’t drink alcoholic beverages,” Ryan said as if reciting a page of rules. He’d certainly memorized them all. And surely Banyon, being a cop, should be aware of them
“You mean you haven’t had a cold brew since you got out?” Banyon pushed past him into the center of the room, eyeing it carefully. “Hell, I won’t report you.”
Ryan didn’t say anything, but he had no intention of violating his probation, particularly in front of a police officer, no matter what Banyon said. He wasn’t going to let Julie down. Or himself.
Pizza? Now that was another matter. He hadn’t had any in either the hospital or prison. But he’d seen the advertisements on television.
“Thanks,” he said cautiously.
“No trouble.”
Instincts. How much could he trust them? Ryan wished he knew. He only knew that pizza or not, he wasn’t sure he liked the big burly man with the “hale fellow, well met” manner but eyes that never seemed to smile even though the edges around them wrinkled as if he was trying
Listen. His instincts were also telling him that. Since he didn’t have much else to go by, he decided to do just that.
“Have a seat,” he said, indicating the small table with its two chairs Ryan went to the fridge and took out a cold soft drink and sat down himself, noticing how Banyon’s gaze studied the soft drink before the man shrugged, and opened the box.
The pizza smelled good. Ryan had to admit that. But he was far more interested in the man across from him as he took a bite.
“You called,” Banyon said. “Do you remember anything?”
Ryan shook his head. “No. I didn’t mean for you to come out here. I just wanted to know what you remembered about...Christmas Eve ten years ago.”
Banyon looked thoughtful, as if he was trying to recall those events. “I arrived after the...shooting.”
Strange. In all that he had read, Ryan hadn’t come upon Banyon’s name. “You were there?”
“Half the precinct arrived after you made an Officer Down call ”
“I was still there?”
Banyon nodded. “You were covered with blood. Cates was dead ”
“What did I say?”
Banyon’s brows furrowed together. “You kept saying Cates shot first. But Cates’s gun wasn’t out In fact, his gun was never found. It was finally decided some passerby had picked it up ”
“Wouldn’t that indicate he’d taken it from his holster?”
Banyon shrugged. “Not necessarily. There was a lot of confusion. Several people tried to administer aid. A number of people could have slipped it from the holster. Some even said you threw it away before making the call so they wouldn’t find a fully loaded gun”
“All I had to do was fire it once.”
Banyon looked startled. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything?”
“No, but I’ve read the reports. Some of it just doesn’t make sense ”
“Maybe you didn’t have time to fire it.”
“But I had time to throw it away?”
“Maybe someone did it for you,” Banyon said uncomfortably “Hell, I don’t know.”
Ryan tried another tack. “Did I say whether Cates had said anything?”
Banyon stared directly into his eyes. “Not to me.”
“How well did you and I know each other?”
“We worked a couple of cases together before you partnered with Cates.”
“What cases?”
“Why do you want to know that?”
“I want to know everything about the years before...my injury.”
“Damn, Murphy, let it go You have a chance to start over, and you have a damn fine looking counselor. Real ripe for the picking from what I hear ”
Fury rolled through Ryan like a tidal wave. He’d been angry before. God only knew he’d felt like exploding those first few weeks in the hospital, and then at Reidsville. But it was nothing like the white hot rage he felt now Before, he’d figured he probably deserved whatever treatment he received. Julie, on the other hand, was guilty only of a compassionate heart. He took in a breath of air and slowly exhaled it. His hands were clenched in fists. He used every means he’d learned not to strike Banyon.
Then he wondered whether that was exactly what the man wanted. Hitting a police officer? That would send him back a lot faster than a can of beer.
“Come on, Murphy. How did you get her to let you move in?”
“I pay rent,” Murphy said steadily. Then he wondered how Banyon knew to come to the garage in back. Had he mentioned that when he left the message? He thought he had just left Julie’s street number, or had he stopped at Julie’s home first?
Banyon was on his third piece of pizza and his third beer. Murphy tried to consider the man as a friend. Had he been this arrogant as a police officer? Probably. A lot of people had said so. A shudder ran through him at the thought.
The pizza he was eating went from good to pasteboard.
Banyon apparently sensed it “Sorry if I said something out of line. She’s just real pretty. The guys say she was a good D.A.” He hesitated, then added, “Been hearing she’s asking questions about your case.”
If Banyon wanted him to answer, he would be disappointed Ryan had no intention of talking to anyone about Julie Farrell. He took a bite of pizza
“How’s the job?” Banyon was trying hard.
“Fine ” He wondered how Banyon knew about it, or perhaps it was all in some police file. Privacy, he’d been told frequently, was not one of his rights.
“You remember how to do that stuff?”
“Some of it.”
“The sawbones think you’ll get the rest of your memory back?”
“They don’t seem to know, or agree.”
“Crazy thing, the way you can remember some stuff and not others.”
“Frustrating,” Murphy corrected him, realizing Banyon was far more intent on obtaining information than giving it. Why? Whys were taking over his life
“Tell me about some of the cases we worked together,” Murphy said again.
“Now you sound like a cop again You were good. Real good. Tenacious-like. You’d get your teeth into something and nothing could stop you”
“We worked well together?” Ryan persisted.
“Hell, no one could touch us,” Banyon boasted
“Can you give me specifics?”
Banyon looked startled. “Well, there was a murder. Drug related. Victim was a young girl who was a mule for some drug dealers. You rousted every street hustler in a ten-block area Dried up an entire neighborhood until someone started talking You were hell-on-wheels, Buddy”
“What about a man named Castilani?”
B
anyon seemed to choke on a slice of pizza. “Where did you get that?”
Ryan ignored the question. “Did we ever work together on a case involving him?”
“No,” Banyon said flatly “You sure as hell haven’t lost your touch at interrogation. You sure you can’t remember anything?”
“Nope,” Ryan said He’d hit a nerve Too bad he didn’t know what nerve. Or why.
Banyon rose from the table. “Gotta go. You need anything, you call me. I’ll be in touch.” He looked down at the mess on the table. “I’ll leave those beers here. You might just remember how much you liked them.”
What in the hell did that mean? Ryan worried over it. Had he been a heavy drinker? No one else had mentioned that. Another blank Another puzzle. But then Banyon was at the door.
Ryan thanked him for coming, then shut the door behind him
Banyon had posed more questions than answered them
He looked at the three remaining cans of beer Even the possession of alcohol could send him back to prison He took the three, snapped the tops and emptied them. then put the cans in a bag and went down to put them in Julie’s trash can
Ryan sat at Julie’s kitchen table Monday night with the investigator named Jerry Kidder. He tried to concentrate on Kidder, not on the woman across from him. But his gaze kept returning to her. Julie was wearing a dark blue turtleneck sweater that gave her gray eyes a blue hue and complimented her dark hair. A pair of comfortable-looking worn jeans left little to the imagination.
Nick was in bed. Julie had set the meeting at 9.00 p m for that one reason. She said she didn’t want little ears listening.
A newspaper lay on top of the table. Ryan had already read it. A headline on the front page proclaimed.
Citizens Petition Against Killer In Neighborhood
The writer reported that area residents were preparing a petition, protesting Ryan’s residence in their neighborhood, to present to both the state parole board and the city.
His stomach clenched as he’d read it. What was he doing to Julie and her son? The only thing that kept him there was knowing that Reidsville was his only current alternative. He already knew that Julie had tried to find him an apartment elsewhere, but no one would take him Neither did he have the money for deposits that, according to the paper, were usually required. He figured it would take no less than a thousand dollars in deposits and even then he would have no furniture. For now. he didn’t have an alternative
Ryan realized immediately that Jerry Kidder was not an ally. But even then he preferred Kidder’s open skepticism and honest hostility to Banyon’s false heartiness.
Kidder reviewed his efforts to find the priest He’d been able to track down all but one of the priests who had been in Atlanta during the five years prior to Ryan’s arrest. The last had apparently left the priesthood, but Kidder had a name, and he would go back and interview other priests who might have known the missing man or have information about his current whereabouts He’d talked to police officers who’d first arrived at the scene of Cates’s death There had been four patrolmen and then four detectives. Banyon was not listed among them.
Five of the eight were no longer with the Atlanta police department: two had joined smaller police departments at higher ranks, one had died and two had left the state. Jerry had talked to the three still with the department and the two who had joined other police departments in the state They’d all told the same story Now he was trying to find the two who had left the state, though it was obvious he expected little
The highest ranking officer had been a Captain William Lewis who was now an assistant chief of police, the same man who had called Julie earlier and warned her about Murphy She had not told either Murphy or Jerry about the call but now she did “I think that’s a bit odd,” she said.
Kidder grimaced. “I don’t know why He was involved in the earlier investigation It makes sense that he felt he knew more about the case and would have reason to be involved ”
Ryan looked from Kidder to Julie and back again, suddenly recognizing the look in his eyes. Kidder waited Julie Therefore, he wanted Ryan to be guilty
Julie didn’t seem to notice
Ryan decided to take charge. “Julie said you knew me. before ”
Kidder’s eyes narrowed. “Yes ”
“Did we ever work together?”
“Not really. I was only slightly involved in one case.”
Murphy paused He saw undisguised dislike in Kidder’s eyes. “It didn’t go well?”
“You could say that ”
“Why?”
Julie was listening, eyes going from Kidder to himself.
“We needed the name of a snitch. You wouldn’t give it to us.”
“Why?”
“You never saw the need to give us reasons ”
“What kind of case was it?”
“Drugs.” Now Kidder was practically combative He said the words triumphantly as if it proved a point. “We were trying to make a drug case against a man named Castilani You were the closest we got to him.”
Ryan saw Julie’s eyes widen Castilani again “How?”
“One of your snitches told you about a drug deal going down, said Castilani would be there We had men there at the site No one showed up. Later, we heard it went down someplace else We wanted the name of your snitch. You wouldn’t give it to us.”
“Did I say why?”
“You were ‘protecting’ him Hell,” Jerry said “We were the good guys.”
Ryan was trying to follow the logic. “If no one was at the drug buy. that must mean someone warned them ”
“That’s what you claimed. We thought the snitch was sending us someplace else do it deeoy”
“Who are ‘we’?”
“A task force Dan Watters, top police officers, some feds ”
“How long was that before. my partner was shot?”
Jerry shrugged. “Six months, maybe a few months longer.”
“Was Jack Banyon involved?”
“Not that I know of. Why?”
“He says he was a friend of mine. Said we worked several cases together ”
For the first time, Jerry looked surprised.
Ryan persisted “Can you find out what cases I worked during the year prior to that Christmas?”
“It will take some time.”
That meant money Everything meant money How could he keep stacking up bills.’
“I might be able to find out on my computer.” Julie said
Jerry arched his left eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.
Minutes later, though, he prepared to leave “Let me know if you want me to track down those cases,” he said. “In the meantime I’ll work on finding that priest, though God knows what he could tell us. That’s a real long shot ”
But Ryan hoped not. The priest might have been a friend, and Ryan apparently had damned few friends If he had told anyone anything, wouldn’t he have confided in a priest who could never speak of it?
Jerry looked at the newspaper “There’s gonna be more of this stuff, you know.”
Julie shrugged her shoulders “I expected it.”
The detective glanced over at Ryan accusingly “And your law firm?”
“I just finished a case,” she said in a light tone
Jerry didn’t bother to hide his disapproval as he started to leave “I’ll be in touch as soon as I have anything to report” Then he turned to Julie alone “Call me if you need.. anything ”
Kidder meant protection, Ryan realized. Protection from him- He stayed at the table as Julie showed the detective out. He was still mulling over what Kidder said about the drug case so many years ago Castilani The name echoed in his head
Castilani Banyon. Dan Watters Kidder All were connected in some way, tied together in a puzzle he had to unravel
He’d been good at puzzles in all those damned tests they’d given him Why couldn’t he figure this one out?
Because he didn’t have enough pieces. Not yet<
br />
Julie returned. “Come with me,” she said.
He followed her into another room down the hall. A desk with a computer faced a window. A second desk was set at an L-angle. A stack of law books occupied part of it, the rest was clear. A sign of some kind was leaned against the wall Two chairs sat in front of the desk, one with a seat that was several inches taller than the other She took that one and motioned for him to take the other
“Nick likes to play computer games,” she said in brief explanation. “Let’s see if you remember anything about computers.”
She turned it on, and started typing. Then she stared at the screen for a moment She typed in several words and the computer spelled out “Access denied.” She tried something else, and again, “Access denied.”
“Da..m it,” she said.
A smile built inside him She’d meant something stronger and had caught herself in time He’d had to rein in similar urges Those weeks in prison had given him a vocabulary he’d soon learned was unacceptable among most people, even if it was colorfully descriptive of some of his frustrations. If she’d worked among cops and crooks, she must have been similarly exposed
After several moments she gave up her attempt “I’ll have to find the passwords,” she said. “Let’s try something else”
She showed him how to access newspaper files, national news magazines, and the Library of Congress, then moved over so he could sit at the computer. In minutes, his fingers were moving rapidly over the keys He went to the newspaper’s library and asked for Castilani In just seconds, the screen filled with a number of stones, including a story about the man’s murder three years earlier
She leaned over and started reading with him.
Castilani apparently owned a number of businesses, including several restaurants. He also owned a multi-million-dollar home in an exclusive northwest Atlanta community. Several stones told of large gifts to chanties and contributions to various politicians. Nothing about drugs.
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