The Dead Detective

by William Heffernan

  Vicky paused a beat. “While we’re checking for the car, let’s drive around the neighborhood a little more? I’m not familiar with this part of Tampa and I’d like to be.”

  “I’m familiar with it,” Harry said. “I lived a couple of streets away until I was ten years old.”

  Vicky wondered if this was why he had seemed so tense while coming here. She decided now was the time to find out. “Show me,” she said.

  Harry drove through the neighborhood, his mood suddenly distant; his body language setting up a shield between them. You’d make a lousy criminal, Harry Doyle, Vicky thought. Your emotions come off you like sweat.

  Vicky studied the streets as they drove. It was a typical lower-middle-class neighborhood, each house, each apartment building in a varying state of repair, each announcing the degree of affluence of the people who lived within its walls. The main streets were much the same, a neat block adjacent to one where the sidewalks and gutters were littered with debris. There were lower-end shops and Mom-and-Pop stores, all announcing sales in their windows. There were fast-food chains and discount clothing and shoe stores, all still open late into the evening, racks of clothes and tables of shoes out on the sidewalks. Harry slowed as they passed a small evangelical church and Vicky looked across the front seat and saw that he was staring at it.

  “Your church as a kid?” she asked.

  “My mother’s church. She was always there for something.”

  “She didn’t drag you along?”

  She watched as Harry shook his head, saying nothing.

  “You’re lucky. We were Greek Orthodox, and there was always something going on. My mother dragged me to everything. When I was a teenager it drove me nuts.” She laughed. “Now I don’t go at all. Probably the result of being dragged there so much.” She smiled at the memory. “So where did you live?”

  She was still smiling when she looked back at Harry, but the smile died quickly when she saw the cold, hard look in his eyes.

  “What?” she asked.

  “What’s all this crap about wanting to see where I lived?” They were stopped at a light, and he was looking straight into her eyes. His voice was still soft, but so cold Vicky could almost feel the icy vapor rising from the words.

  “Hey, it’s nothing special. I was just curious,” she said.

  “You wanna see where the dead detective got his name, is that it?” Again, the ice in his voice almost made her shiver.

  Vicky began to stammer. “Jesus, no … I mean … I didn’t know it had anything to do with that.”

  “Alright, forget it,” Harry said. The light had turned green, and he turned his attention back to the road and drove. “Let’s get back to work and forget all the other crap.”

  They drove in silence for almost ten minutes before Vicky spoke again. “Look, Harry, I didn’t know I was getting into your baggage back there. I’m sorry if I went someplace I shouldn’t have gone. We’ve all got baggage we don’t want to talk about.”

  She could see his jaw tighten, and wondered if she had gone too far again.

  “So what’s your baggage?” he said at length.

  His words had a challenge in them, and she knew if they were going to have any success as partners she had to answer. She was sure Harry knew that too.

  “A week from Saturday I was supposed to get married in that Greek Orthodox church I was telling you about.”

  “So you decided not to.” Harry spoke the words dismissively.

  Vicky paused. “No, I didn’t decide anything. He decided.”

  Harry glanced at her, then back at the road. There had been a look of regret in his eyes and she realized that it was as much of an apology as anyone would ever get from Harry Doyle.

  “Guy was obviously a jerk,” Harry said at length.

  “Thanks,” Vicky said. “But I think he just realized that a cop who made a lousy girlfriend because she was never available, well, the chance of her becoming a good wife and mother down the road just wasn’t in the cards.”

  Harry was quiet again, then said: “Maybe wives and mothers are overrated.”

  There was another long pause and Vicky allowed it to draw out.

  “The house back there, the one I grew up in,” Harry finally said. “My mother murdered my brother and me in that house.” He drew a long breath, almost as if he needed it to steady himself. “One morning she just decided we had to die. So she drugged our orange juice and dragged us into the garage. Then she laid us out, side-by-side, put small silver crosses on our foreheads, and covered our faces with hand towels. Then she started her car and left.” He shook his head. “She went to that church you saw.” He punctuated the sentence with a mocking breath. “Anyway, a neighbor heard the car running and called the cops. Two Tampa uniforms forced the garage door open and found us. We had both stopped breathing; no heartbeat; nothing. They worked on us anyway, and they were able to bring me back. But my brother was younger and smaller. They couldn’t help him.”

  Now Vicky drew a long breath. “When was that?”

  Harry kept his eyes on the road. “Twenty-one years ago. Twenty-one years ago today.”

  “Where’s your mother now?”

  Harry glanced at her briefly. “Central Florida Women’s Correctional Facility. She copped a plea to avoid the death penalty. She got life.”

  And that’s where you were today, Vicky thought. On the anniversary of your brother’s murder. And that’s where you told that correctional officer you were going to take his Glock and shove it.

  “Do you ever see her?” Vicky asked.

  “Never have, never will. She writes to me once a year. Always makes sure it arrives on this date. There should be a letter waiting for me when I get home.” He turned and stared at her. “I don’t answer the letters.”

  No, you just visit the prison and sit outside, she thought. “She have any shot at parole?”

  “Not if I can help it,” Harry said.

  They were quiet for several minutes. Then, as they pulled up at a stop light, Harry turned to her.

  “Did you notice the look on Darlene’s face?” he asked. “The look of surprise that seemed to be changing into terror as she realized that her throat had been cut and she was going to die? Then how it froze, halfway between those two sensations, as she lost consciousness?”

  Vicky nodded, unable to form any response.

  “Well, I remember that. I remember lying on the garage floor, starting to wake up from the drug my mother had given me, but still too knocked out to pull myself together and get up. I remember seeing the exhaust fumes coming out of the back of her car; smelling them, but being too weak to force myself up so I could pull my brother and myself out of there. And then I remember the terror I felt when I knew I was going to die … how everything started to cloud up and fade away as I lost consciousness again. It was like my head was suddenly being filled with cotton.” He stared at Vicky for a long moment. “That’s how it was for Darlene. That’s how it is when you know you’re going to die and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

  The light changed and they drove on in silence, Vicky thinking about what Harry had told her. She couldn’t even imagine what a heavy weight he carried around inside. But she did know it was heavy enough to be a problem in the case they were working. She also knew it was a concern she couldn’t voice, at least not yet. But there was no getting around the fact that Harry Doyle might be the wrong cop to be working the murder of a child-harming monster like Darlene Beckett.

  The dark sedan stayed three car lengths back in the far right lane. Traffic was light so it was easy to maintain a safe, unobtrusive pace, to speed up whenever it was needed to make a light; then fall back and blend into the traffic again.

  He had almost missed them. He had gotten tied up by things he couldn’t avoid, and it had taken longer than expected, and he had rushed out to Darlene’s apartment complex, assuming it would be one of the first places they would visit after finding her body. The local radio and t
elevision stations were full of the news; were already running special reports reliving every detail of her corrupt life, and he had no doubt the networks would soon pick up the story, if they hadn’t already done so. It was the only part of her murder that displeased him, giving her more of the notoriety that she had so clearly enjoyed. But that couldn’t be helped. He couldn’t dwell on that, had to force himself to ignore it. Now he had to concentrate on the detectives who were working the investigation. He had to know what they were doing so he could stay one step ahead. One of the news reports he had heard claimed the sheriff’s department had assigned one of its top homicide investigators to handle the case. Harry Doyle. Well, we’ll see, won’t we? We’ll just see just how good Harry Doyle is.

  When the car carrying the two detectives made a turn on to Nebraska Avenue, he knew exactly where they were going. One point for you, Harry Doyle, he thought. You got here faster than I thought you would. Now we’ll see if you’re good enough to find anything. But I don’t think you will be. Oh, no. In fact, unless I’m very much mistaken, you won’t ever find what you’re looking for, not here, not now, not ever. You see, I’m very sure that all traces of the whore’s killer have already disappeared.

  The Peek-a-Boo Lounge was located on Nebraska Avenue in an area dominated by street walkers and their pimps. It was a windowless white cinder-block building with a massive air conditioner hovering above a wooden front door that had been painted red. On each side of the door the name of the bar had been painted in large, block red letters along with the silhouette of a naked dancer. The only other decorative touches were the four scraggly cabbage palms that lined the adjacent crushed-shell parking lot. All in all it was a depressing sight and Harry and Vicky both knew it would be even more so in daylight.

  Harry pulled the car into the parking lot, gathered up a photo of Darlene Beckett that they had taken from her apartment, and headed for the front door. Vicky hurried to catch up.

  “You always in such a hurry to get into a place like this?” she asked his back.

  “I lead a lonely life,” Harry said over his shoulder.

  “Don’t we all.”

  Harry pulled open the door and stepped aside. “Ladies first,” he said.

  “You’re cute,” Vicky snapped back.

  The interior of the Peek-a-Boo Lounge was as original as its name, a central stage with two fireman’s poles stretching from floor to ceiling, a battered collection of tables and chairs gathered before it, and a long bar off to one side. There were two dancers working the poles, each wearing only the briefest of thong underwear, the tops of which were stuffed with currency. The dancers glistened with sweat and the smell of that sweat and the sweat of those who had preceded them mixed with the odor of cigarettes, spilled booze, and stale beer, and seemed to permeate the room. The heavy beat of rap music pulsated from speakers set above the stage.

  “Nice place,” Vicky offered. “I wonder if they do wedding receptions.”

  It took a moment for their eyes to refocus as the door closed behind them. Except for the stage, which was engulfed in lights that presented a continuous change in color, the room was dimly lit and filled with a haze of cigarette smoke. Through that haze they could make out men sitting at the tables set before the stage. The men stared dully at the women who gyrated before them, occasionally luring one closer by extending a hand that held a folded bill. When the dancer reached the edge of the stage, squatted and rolled her hips to the beat of the music, the men would stuff the bill into the string of her thong.

  There were men at the bar, filling half the stools, most turned toward the dancers, some just staring blindly into their drinks like drunks the world over. Harry moved toward the bar with Vicky at his side, stopping at the far end and raising his shield for the bartender when their eyes met.

  The bartender, a thickly built thirty-something with a shaved head and one gold earring, gave a heavy sigh to let Harry know he wasn’t pleased to have cops in his bar, then moved slowly toward them.

  “You need somethin’?” he asked.

  Closer up Harry could make out part a barbed-wire tattoo that showed through the open collar of his shirt and appeared to encircle his neck. There were matching tattoos encircling each arm.

  “I need you to look at a picture,” Harry said.

  “I’m not too good with pictures,” the bartender replied in the raspy voice of a heavy smoker.

  “What’s your name?” Harry asked.

  “Name’s Jack.”

  “Well, Jack, if you’re not good with pictures, it’s probably the lighting in this pisshole of a joint.” Harry made a show of looking around the room and squinting. “I think it might help if we took you someplace where the light is better.”

  “I’m workin’,” Jack offered.

  “Yeah, so are we,” Vicky said. “And guess whose work comes first.”

  Jack turned his head away to demonstrate his disgust. “Show me your picture,” he said. “I’ll light a match if I need to.”

  Harry handed him the photo of Darlene Beckett.

  Jack looked at it and snorted. “This is who you wanted me to ID? Shit, that’s Darlene.”

  “How do you know her?” Harry asked.

  “I know her ’cause she’s here a couple times a week,” Jack said.

  “She’s a regular?” Vicky asked.

  “As regular as they get here. Hell, she was here last night.” Jack jerked his head toward the front entrance. “Her car’s still in the parking lot. I saw it there when I came to work.” He gave them an evil smile. “She musta got lucky and found somebody to take her home last night. Not that it would take much. I mean she’s a good-lookin’ broad.” He grinned again. “And, what the hell, she’s a fuckin’ celebrity, am I right?” The grin widened and returned to its distinctly evil quality. “I mean a real fuckin’ celebrity.”

  Harry and Vicky ignored the comment.

  “You ever take her home?” Harry asked.

  Jack shook his head. “Never got that lucky.”

  “You sure?” It was Vicky this time.

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  How come you know what her car looks like?” Now it was Harry. They had Jack’s head swiveling between them as though he were watching a tennis match, and small beads of sweat had formed on his upper lip.

  “Hey, I helped her get it started once, that’s all.”

  “Just a good Samaritan, huh?” Vicky said. “Just the kind of a guy who offers to help when a lady finds herself in a tough spot, is that right?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Bullshit,” Harry snapped.

  “Hey, what the fuck is goin’ on here? What’s this all about?”

  “Who was Darlene with last night?” It was Vicky again. “Who was she talking to?”

  “How the hell do I know? I mean she was a friendly broad. She sat here at the bar and talked to lots of people.”

  Harry leaned in closer. “You better talk to us, Jack. You better stop the shit, and talk to us.”

  “Hey, look, I don’t want no trouble, alright? I don’t remember who she was talkin’ to, not what guys, anyway. I know she was talkin’ to Jasmine. She’s one of our dancers. Darlene likes to talk to the dancers. I always thought maybe she goes that way too.” He tried a knowing sneer; then gave it up when he saw it wasn’t working.

  “Is Jasmine here?” Harry asked.

  “Yeah. She’s in back.” He inclined his head toward a black velvet curtain between the stage and the bar. “She’s doin’ a private lap dance.”

  “Get her,” Vicky ordered.

  “Hey, that’s a fifty-buck gig for her. Maybe more, you know what I mean? She ain’t gonna be too happy I break it up.”

  “Guess what, Jack? We’re not here to bring sunshine into your lives,” Vicky said.

  “Get her,” Harry said. “Get her … now.” As Jack moved away Harry leaned in close to Vicky. “While we’re waiting, check the parking lot and make sure Darlene’s car is there.” He j
otted down the plate number the DMV had given him and handed it to her. “If it’s the right car, call the CSI unit and tell them we have another job for them. Then give Tampa P.D. a call and tell them we need backup. At least four uniforms. When we get through with Jasmine we’re gonna shake this place down.”

  Jasmine was dressed in her thong, a white see-through rayon beach robe, and a sour expression when she came to the bar a few minutes later.

  “You just cost me money,” she snapped.

  “Life is hard,” Harry said. He matched Jasmine’s stare. “Sit down,” he ordered.

  Vicky returned from the parking lot just as Jasmine eased herself on to a stool. Harry moved to one side of her, Vicky to the other, effectively pinning her between them.

  Harry glanced at Vicky. “You find it?”

  Vicky nodded. “The team is on the way. So’s the backup.”

  They both turned their attention to Jasmine.

  “Now, you’re going to answer some questions,” Harry began. “And if I think you answered them straight you get to go back to work. If I don’t think you answered them straight that cute little butt of yours is going to be sitting in the back of a patrol car headed for the Pinellas County sheriff’s office. You got that?”

  “I got it,” Jasmine said.

  “Be sure you got it,” Vicky said. “Because if you screw with him, you’re gonna find out this policeman is not your friend.”

  Jasmine raised her hands and let them fall back to her lap in a gesture of surrender. “Alright, alright. You ask, I’ll answer. I just wanna get back to work. It hasn’t been a very good week, okay?”

  Jasmine was a beautiful woman, hard around the eyes and with far too much makeup, but someone who would be eye-catching if she cleaned herself up. She had a lean sensuous body, with full breasts and long shapely legs. Her hair was short and black, and her eyes were a vivid blue and seemed to jump out of a sharply defined face. She was also chewing gum with her mouth open, snapping and popping it with each movement of her jaw, which for Harry destroyed whatever sensual effect she hoped to achieve.