The Key to Betrayal

by John Matthew Lee

  “What do you mean?” asks Liam.

  Detective Molina answers, “Do you mean there's nothing else, or just nothing else you want to tell us?”

  “I have nothing else I can think of at this time, but if I remember something, I'll sure let you guys know,” says Liam.

  Lieutenant Tibedoe reaches over, turns off the recorder and says, “Liam, this sure is a strange burglary, if that’s what it ever was.” Liam looks at both detectives and says nothing.

  Liam asks, “Where is Officer Youngblood? Does she still have Sandy?”

  Detective Molina replies, “She's still outside with the dog.”

  “Am I free to go outside now?” Liam asks.

  Tibedoe says, “Liam, we're done processing the place. We may have more questions in the future, but we know where to find you.”

  Liam starts to go to the patio door to check on Sandy when in from the outside rain comes Officer Youngblood and Sandy.

  “Thank you,” says Liam, looking into the eyes of Youngblood, then down at Sandy, who just sits and looks up at the both of them.

  “She's not usually so friendly toward people. She usually keeps away from most folks.”

  “Well, you can never tell why dogs see things in certain people,” says Officer Youngblood.

  “My wife used to say that,” says Liam. He takes the leash from Officer Youngblood and lets Sandy loose into his home.

  Lieutenant Tibedoe says loudly, “We’re done here. Check your gear, let's go, everyone, wrap it up.”

  All police personnel begin to file out of the condo, along with members of the county coroner's office. Liam sees that both detectives are near their vehicles talking to their chief and other department personnel, when Mrs. Sandrini looks at Liam standing near his front door and says, “What happened?”

  Liam replies, “Rats! I've got problems with rats.”

  Mrs. Sandrini looks over at the coroner’s body removal van and says, “Seems like the problem was taken care of.”

  Liam says, “I wish it was that simple.”

  Liam continues to look outside and watch the detectives by their vehicles. That's right, don't even search the neighborhood or check the parking lot for possible suspect vehicles. We wouldn’t want to do any real detective shit here, would we, thinks Liam. He checks his home and as he thought, his gun and spare magazines were seized by the Port Saint Lucie Police.

  “It's all right, Sandy,” says Liam. “Seems I've become relevant again to someone, but to who and why?”

  He knows this was no robbery or burglary gone bad. This was a hit attempt. Liam also knows that it won't be long before whoever sent these two would send more, until the task is completed.

  “Lieutenant Tibedoe, did you see the citations from the Boston Police Department for valor and bravery in his office?” asks Molina.

  “Yeah,” says Tibedoe, “along with many more commendations over a thirty-year period.”

  “There were even more in a drawer in the closet, along with several photos of O’Connor in uniform and as a plain-clothed detective,” says Officer Youngblood.

  “Is that right?” says Molina. “What were you doing checking the closet?”

  “It's all right,” says Tibedoe.

  “I was looking for a dog leash,” Officer Youngblood replies angrily as she walks away.

  “What do you think?” asks Lieutenant Tibedoe.

  “It looks like a professional hit attempt to me,” says Chief Green.

  “You said that both dead guys had no ID on them, nothing but an envelope containing money and O’Connor's address? O’Connor told you the subjects entered through his back slider and immediately began searching for someone? They weren’t looking to steal. They came for O’Connor,” says Chief Green. “But why?”

  “You need to find out more about O’Connor,” says Chief Green. “See me in the morning, and I'll give you the number of Deputy Superintendent Finnegan of the Boston Police. He and I went to the FBI academy together several years ago. He's Deputy Superintendent of Personnel. He might be able to help with O’Connor. He might give you a little more background on him.”

  “Thanks, Chief,” says Tibedoe. “Anthony and I will see you when we can get the autopsies done. Maybe we can identify these guys, then that might tell us something.”

  “Okay, that sounds good. Sometime, you and Officer Youngblood should go talk to O'Connor's mother. She might give you some background on her son.”

  “Okay, Chief. Since you have more experience in murder investigations than I do, is it normal for a person to show little to no emotion after killing two people?” asks Tibedoe.

  “Who's to say what's normal?” says the Chief. “People process things differently. I killed in combat. In war it bothered me at first, and then it didn't. I did what I had to do, just to get through the day. O’Connor fits the type,” says the Chief.

  “What type?” asks Molina.

  “The type of man who's at the end of his rope, someone who doesn't give a shit about anything anymore, just trying to exist from day to day.”

  Officer Youngblood returns back to Lieutenant Tibedoe's location and states, “I've checked with the neighbors to see if they heard or saw anything suspicious prior to the shooting. I got nothing. No one saw or heard anything.”

  “Good work,” replies Lieutenant Tibedoe. “Detective Molina, would you be so kind as to have yourself and several of the patrol officers do vehicle registration checks of all of the vehicles in the complex? See if you can account for all of them. These assholes got here somehow!”

  “Yes sir, Lieutenant!” says Molina.

  “I'm taking off, Tibedoe. Call me if you have something tonight. Otherwise, I'll see you in a few hours,” says Chief Green.

  He begins to walk to his vehicle, and after a short distance away, Lieutenant Tibedoe says to Officer Youngblood, “I told you, never date someone in the workplace.”

  She looks at Tibedoe and says, “What do you mean?”

  “It's obvious that you and Anthony aren't seeing eye to eye,” says Tibedoe.

  “We aren't dating anymore,” says Youngblood.

  Lieutenant Tibedoe shakes his head in disgust.

  “Anthony,” he says. “Anthony! Of all the people in the department. Officer Tina Youngblood, you're better than that,” says Tibedoe. “Don't you watch Oprah?”

  Youngblood looks up at Tibedoe and says with a smile, “I get cold at night, too.”

  Detective Molina returns to Tibedoe and Youngblood and says, “Tee, it's going to take several hours to get this done. I mean, there are a lot of vehicles in this complex.”

  “Welcome to homicide, Anthony,” replies Tibedoe. “Let’s get on it.”

  Officer Youngblood and the detectives continue to search for any vehicles that might have been left behind by the suspects, but after several hours of checking registrations, all vehicles in the complex were those of the residents.

  Tibedoe says, “We're done here. Go ahead and clear.”

  Tibedoe looks at Molina and says, “Be back at the station by noon. We've got autopsies to schedule, and a lot more follow-up to do.”

  Liam continues to watch Lieutenant Tibedoe and the other officers search the complex for foreign vehicles. He calls several cab companies stating that he and a friend had been dropped off earlier at the Lake Charles complex and would like to be picked up by the same driver, but just couldn’t remember the cab company’s name. He tells the dispatchers they had been drinking and are a little out of it. After several cab companies say they have no record of a drop-off earlier at that location, Paradise Cab Company tells Liam they have a record of one of their drivers having a fare earlier in the night from the airport to that location, and would they like him to return for a pickup. Liam tells the dispatcher not at this time, but that he would call in a few hours after they sobered up. He looks at his watch. A few more hours, and T.J. should be working. He sits down in his favorite chair and thinks, who wants to fuck with me now, and why? He
dozes off to sleep as Sandy lies beside the chair.

  Chapter 2

  MAMA O

  “WHAT, NO COFFEE?” Lieutenant Tibedoe asks Molina. “Tony, you look like shit!”

  “Hey, I got maybe three hours of sleep before I'm back in the office again. How come you look so good? You got about the same amount of sleep,” says Molina.

  “I guess I just need less beauty sleep than you,” replies Tibedoe. “The Chief wants us in his office in ten minutes to brief him on what we've got so far, before he meets with the press.”

  “What do we have?” asks Molina.

  “The autopsies are scheduled for 13:00 hours today. I need you to attend and let me know if the coroner can identify either of the subjects, and what criminal history comes up on them, if any,” says Tibedoe.

  “I'm on it,” says Molina.

  Officer Youngblood enters the detectives' office and hands Molina a piece of paper with the name Issaic Rodriquez written on it.

  “What's this?” asks Tibedoe.

  “This is the cab driver at Paradise Cab Company who drove two subjects to O’Connor's place early this morning. You were right, sir, they took a cab. The owner of the company said Rodriquez will be into work at 22:00 hours tonight. He said that Rodriquez works the night shift and picked the two subjects up from the airport at around midnight, and then took them to Mickey's and was told to wait a few minutes until they left the bar, and then drove them out to O'Connor's complex at around 01:00 hours or so.

  “He said the fare was paid in cash.”

  “Good!” says Tibedoe, “good work, Youngblood. You and I will go speak with O’Connor's mother. She's staying near the Wanamaker Club at the Carriage House. It's an assisted living place.”

  “Hey Tee, why does she get to go with you, and I have to do the autopsies?” asks Molina.

  “Tony, I need a woman to be with me when I talk to Mrs. O’Connor. It just might be easier for her to talk, and Tina has never gone to an autopsy,” says Tibedoe.

  “Got it,” replies Molina.

  After briefing Chief Green on their current status with the case, Lieutenant Tibedoe and Officer Youngblood drive to the Carriage House to meet with Mrs. O’Connor.

  “Mrs. O’Connor, my name is Detective Lieutenant John Tibedoe, and this is Officer Tina Youngblood. We're with the Port Saint Lucie Police Department. We'd like to talk to you about your son, Liam, if that's okay with you?” asks Tibedoe.

  “Is Liam okay?” asks Mrs. O’Connor in a soft Boston Irish accent.

  “Yes, ma’am,” says Officer Youngblood, “he's fine.”

  “Ma’am, there's been a bit of trouble at your son's condo earlier this morning, and we were hoping you might provide us with some information that could help us in this investigation,” says Tibedoe.

  “Investigation into what?” asks Mrs. O’Connor.

  “Ma’am, earlier this morning two individuals entered your son's condo, armed, and tried to kill him. However, Liam shot and killed them. When we made contact with Liam, he didn't appear to be too disturbed by what had just happened,” says Lieutenant Tibedoe.

  “I see,” says Mrs. O’Connor in her soft voice, “but Liam is okay...right?”

  “Yes, ma’am, he's fine,” says Youngblood, “and his dog was unharmed as well.”

  “Well that’s good. That old dog means a lot to him these days,” says Mrs. O’Connor.

  “Ma’am, it doesn’t look like Liam did anything wrong, but these guys weren't there to rob or burglarize. It looks to me like they were there for Liam,” says Lieutenant Tibedoe. “Do you know why someone would want to harm your son?”

  “My son was a homicide investigator with the Boston Police Department for over twenty years. He worked as a lead investigator for about fifteen years, and then as a lieutenant before he retired. I don't know how many people he put in jail for murder, but I can tell you two things for sure. One, in his entire time in homicide as an investigator and lieutenant, he never had an unsolved murder.

  And two, the Boston Police Department just about killed my boy!” says Mrs. O’Connor. “I was never so glad as to see my son retire. I thought I would get a call from Kelley one night telling me Liam was dead, shot down on the job, but as it was, I got a call from Liam telling me he lost Kelley in a traffic accident on I-90. After Liam lost Kelley, he left the department.”

  “Ma’am... Kelley, was that his wife?” asks Youngblood.

  “Yes, Liam and Kelley were married for thirty-four years when she passed. She was a music teacher,” says Mrs. O’Connor.

  “I think we saw a picture of her, and of their daughter,” says Tibedoe.

  Mrs. O’Connor points to a picture of Kelley, Liam, and their daughter Molley, and says, “That was his wife and daughter. Molley lives in Atlanta now. She's a human resource manager for a big Catholic hospital.”

  “That was them in the picture,” says Youngblood.

  “Molley is not close with her father. She blames Liam for the death of her mother. You see, Liam was to drive Kelley to a school function the night Kelley died. Kelley was the music teacher at Brighton High School, and Liam was a coach for the football team for over twenty-five years. He was known at the school as Coach O. Kelley had a concert, and usually Liam would drive Kelley to her activities if it meant driving in the snow or wet weather conditions on the interstate. Kelley didn't like to drive when there was snow on the ground,” says Mrs. O’Connor.

  “Liam was to be off work by five o'clock that day, but was working overtime on a homicide call out. Molley blames her father for not being there, not driving Kelley to the school, and I think Liam blames himself too,” says Mrs. O’Connor.

  “Would the two of you like a cup of coffee?” asks Mrs. O’Connor.

  “Please,” says Officer Youngblood. Lieutenant Tibedoe looks at Youngblood with some surprise and asks, “You said earlier that you weren't happy with the Boston Police Department's treatment of your son. Why?”

  “Well, Liam, like his father Joseph, loved being a cop. After the Korean War, Joseph became a cop in Boston. He worked the streets for thirty years. He retired, and he and a few friends bought a bar. He worked at that old neighborhood bar until he died of a heart attack several years ago. So you see, Liam is a second generation Boston cop. His father didn't want him to be a cop. He always thought Liam would be a football player. He was an outstanding football player at BHS and earned a scholarship to Boston College. The day Liam went to college, Joseph was one proud father—proud that his son was at Boston College, and proud that he was playing football. Since Liam was a boy, he always wanted to be an Eagle, but Liam had a hard time making the team,” says Mrs. O’Connor.

  “I think he realized his talent level was only going to take him so far. He injured his knee his first year at college, and the damage so bad he couldn’t play football again. The college pulled the scholarship after Liam's freshman year, but he continued his schooling,” says Mrs. O’Connor. “Liam worked as an orderly, while going to college, to help pay for his schooling. I had hoped he would have become a doctor. He seemed to like the work at the hospital. But he and Kelley wanted to start their life together, so Liam became a police officer like his father.”

  “Ma’am, why didn't your husband want your son to be a police officer?” asks Officer Youngblood.

  “Well, I think he wanted better for Liam. I know I didn't want him to join the force. I now had to worry about my husband and son not coming home from work on any given day...it was really difficult for me, but I prayed and believed that God had a plan. In the early days, Liam's father worked the streets in the South Boston area on foot. You know, certain parts of Boston are pretty rough. Gangs of all colors were working to take control of areas of Boston. It was a rough time for the Boston Police Department,” says Mrs. O’Connor.

  “Mrs. O’Connor, do you have any idea who might want to harm your son?” asks Tibedoe.

  “I don't know, I just don't know. Liam keeps so much to himself,” says Mrs. O�
��Connor.

  “Thank you for your time, ma’am, we'll be going now. Here's my card. If you have any further information that might help us, please call me,” says Lieutenant Tibedoe.

  Lieutenant Tibedoe and Officer Youngblood leave the Carriage House and return to the station. Once back at the station, Chief Green meets with both Youngblood and Lieutenant Tibedoe at Tibedoe's desk,

  “Well, John, did you get anything from Mrs. O’Connor?” asks Chief Green.

  “Yes sir, we got some background on her son and what he did for the Boston Police Department, and what happened to his wife.”

  “John, while you two were out, I called and spoke with that friend of mine in the personnel department of the Boston Police Department. His name is Deputy Superintendent Finnegan,” says Chief Green. “He told me some interesting things about your man Liam.”

  “Is that right?” asks Tibedoe.

  “He said he and Liam's father, Joseph, came on the department at around the same time. He said Joseph worked the streets most of his career and never wanted to be promoted within the department. He said he was a tough old Irish cop who loved the streets and wasn't afraid to bust some heads. He worked the streets for his entire career, right up to the last day on the job. Finnegan told him that it's pretty common for the older cops to get off the streets, but it was no surprise that Joseph didn't. If there was ever a cop who loved the streets of Boston, it was Joseph. He just figured Joseph would have completed his entire career on the streets. Finnegan said Liam's old man was a cops' cop! He also told me that Liam was a chip off the old block. That early in Liam's career, he worked the streets and was involved in several shootings, in which he helped save many officers' lives. He said according to his personnel file, Liam received over seventy commendations for outstanding work, and three medals of valor for bravery. Liam was promoted to detective sergeant and moved into the homicide unit after about eight years on the streets.” Chief Green continues to say that, “Finnegan said Liam had been shot in the line of duty some six or seven years ago, while trying to arrest a homicide suspect. He was shot through the front door of a third-floor apartment with a twelve-gauge shotgun. Liam returned fire and advanced into the apartment, where the suspect was killed.”