The Harry Starke Series: Books 1-3: The Harry Starke Series Boxset

by Blair Howard

  They were still there when I went to bed, so I retrieved the nine from the safe, set the alarm, and was soon lost in a whirl of thoughts and fantasy.

  Chapter 19

  As always, I was awake early the following morning, Sunday. The first thing I did was go to the kitchen window. The Beemer was gone. Not a big deal. I didn’t know for sure, but I was pretty certain it belonged to Shady’s two goons, or even Shady himself, though why he would get down and dirty and follow me himself made no sense. No, it was Duvon and Henry.

  Rarely do I do anything work related on Sundays, and I was determined that this Sunday would be no different from any other. So I got up, straightened the bed — no maid today — showered, made some coffee, toast, scrambled eggs with cheese, and settled down to read the paper.

  About eleven o’clock, I called Kate, asked her to lunch, and then went to pick her up.

  “Where d’you want to eat?”

  She screwed up her face, shook her head, and said, “I dunno. You pick it.”

  I nodded. “Somewhere in the Art District, I think. I’d like to take a quick walk first, if that’s okay.”

  “Sure. Where?”

  “I’d like to take another look at the bridge.”

  “Walnut Street. Fine. Let’s go.”

  I slipped the car into gear and headed north to I-24. We arrived in the downtown area just after noon and parked off Walnut Street. From there it was a walk of a few hundred yards to the bridge. The day was sunny, but chilly. Even so, the walkers were out in force and the traffic on the bridge was heavy.

  We strolled to the place where Tabitha Willard had taken her dive into eternity and sat down on the same bench we had occupied the night she killed herself.

  We sat and talked for a moment, then I stood, left Kate on the bench, and wandered over to the rail. It all came flooding back. I could hear her heels clicking on the pavement, see the wild looks back over her shoulder as she ran, and finally those huge, scared eyes that bored into mine, and then.... I shook the images out of my head and returned to the bench.

  “Come on, let’s walk.” I took her hand and we walked across the bridge to the north side of the river, past Coolidge Park and out onto River Street. There were some nice places to eat there, but nothing I fancied.

  We strolled back over the bridge, onto Walnut. The walk had been a waste of time. I had been hoping that a return to the scene might jog my memory, but it didn’t. It looked very different in daylight and with people churning around everywhere.

  We made our way slowly up to the Bluff View Art District. It was almost one o’clock and I was getting hungry.

  “Tony’s Pasta Shop okay?”

  She looked sideways at me, and nodded.

  We went inside. Lunchtime is always busy up there, especially on weekends. We had to wait for a table, but not for long. After only ten minutes or so, a couple by the window got up and walked to the register. We dropped into their seats.

  I had chicken parmesan. Kate had a Sicilian salad. As always, the food was excellent. Kate, however, was in a somewhat pensive mood.

  “Harry, I’m going to see Harper tomorrow morning. You’re welcome to come with me, if you want.”

  “Sure, but do you think it wise to go without a positive I.D? We still don’t know if it’s Falk or not.”

  “Oh, it’s him all right. I found a photo of him on Harper’s website. He was with a bunch of other people, but it was him. I have the itch, Harry, and I need to scratch it. I’d go today if I could, but... well, he is a congressman and it is Sunday. It can wait until tomorrow. So you’ll come with me?”

  “Yup. You want me to pick you up? What time? Where?”

  “Pick me up on Amnicola, outside the Department. As early as you like. I’d like to get to him before has time to settle in, get comfortable.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll be in the lot out front at eight-thirty. What do you want to do the rest of today? You want me to drop you off at home, or what?”

  “No. Let’s go to your place. We can have a nice quiet afternoon, I’ll make us something nice for dinner, and then... well, we’ll see.”

  I grinned at her. “We can do that.”

  Chapter 20

  I picked Kate up at the police department just before eight-thirty on Monday morning, and we headed right on over to the tower where Harper had his offices.

  “Where’s your boy?” I asked. I was referring to her new partner, Lonnie Guest.

  “Left him at his desk. He wasn’t happy, but what the hell.”

  We headed for the elevator, and she punched the button for the top floor. I watched her face as we rode on up. Kate is really two people: one is the nice girl with the bright smile and easygoing attitude everyone loves; and then there’s the tough, intimidating no nonsense cop that nobody dares to fool with. I watched her attitude change from one to the other as we rode the elevator. By the time we reached the top floor, the transformation was complete.

  The elevator doors opened and without a glance in my direction, she strode out into the corridor. She opened Harper’s outer office door and strode in, badge in hand.

  “I’m here to see Congressman Harper,” she told the young man behind the reception desk.

  “I’m afraid he’s busy. Is there something I can help you with?”

  “So am I, busy.” She looked at me. I pointed to Harper’s inner office door. She walked past the receptionist, opened it and strode inside.

  “What the hell?”

  “Congressman Harper. I am Lieutenant Catherine Gazzara.” She held her badge out for him to see. “I need a moment of your time. I have some questions about Michael Falk. I believe he’s an employee of yours.”

  “He is, but what the hell is Starke doing here? He’s not a police officer.”

  “That’s correct, Congressman. He is here at my invitation, as a consultant, and with the full knowledge of my superiors. If you have any objections, you may take it up with them. Do you need the number?”

  He shook his head, looked around at Jackson Hope, who was seated at a small desk, far too small for him, on the far side of the room opposite the window, and said, “Take notes, Jackson.”

  Hope took a small digital recorder from his desk drawer, turned it on, and then swiveled his chair around to face us.

  “Take a seat, Lieutenant. You, too, Starke,” Harper said.

  We sat. He looked across his desk at us, switching his gaze from Kate to me and back again.

  “So what about Falk? What’s he been up to?”

  “He’s dead. That’s what he’s been up to,” Kate said, never taking her eyes off his face.

  He sat back in his chair and stared at her. Hope didn’t even twitch an eyelid. No reaction; he already knows.

  “Dead? How? An accident? What?”

  “Murder, Congressman. He was murdered. Shot in the head. Twice. We fished him out of the river at Ross’s Landing late Friday night.”

  “The hell you say. All right. What does that have to do with me? He worked here, that’s all. I let him go last Friday, more than a week ago. Jackson here,” he twitched his head in Hope’s direction, “escorted him off the property and I haven’t seen him since.”

  “So you fired him. What for?”

  “He was one of my speechwriters, but he thought he knew what I wanted to say better than I did. He wouldn’t listen to me; so I let him go. No big deal.”

  I watched him carefully as he said it. It rang true, but... Why have him escorted off the property for such a minor infraction?

  “You fired him for bad writing?” Kate asked “That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

  “I fire people for all sorts of reasons, Lieutenant. I can’t abide inefficiency, nor the lack of will to learn or take direction. Falk was all of that.”

  This interview was going nowhere fast. Harper wasn’t about to give Kate an inch.

  “What about his office? His computer? Can we take a look?” Kate wasn’t giving up, not just yet.

/>   “His office has been reallocated, and his computer has been recycled. It was an older laptop and it needed to be replaced. I have no idea what could have happened to it. Anything else, Lieutenant?”

  “When was the last time you saw him?”

  “That Friday morning when I let him go. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him since.”

  “How about your staff? What about him?” She nodded in Hope’s direction. He opened his mouth to speck, but Harper beat him to it.

  “He hasn’t seen him either, and the only permanent staff I have here is Jackson and my receptionist, and he never leaves this office. Now, if there’s nothing else....”

  I decided it was time for me to jump in.

  “I have something,” I said. “When I left this office the other day, you had me followed. Why?”

  Harper stared at me, unblinking; so did Hope.

  “Starke, you have a vivid imagination. No one from this office followed you.”

  “That’s a typical politician’s answer. I didn’t say it was someone from this office. I said you had me followed. Care to try again?”

  Hope started to rise. So did I. Kate put a hand on my arm. Harper raised his hand and gestured for Hope to sit. He did so, reluctantly. Very wise of him.

  “Lieutenant, I suggest you leave my office and take your half-wit side kick with you, right now. I am a United States Congressman, and I don’t have to put up with your crap. You can be sure that I’ll call the mayor and lodge an official complaint about your conduct; yours and your amateur G-man’s. Now get out of here, and don’t come back, either of you.”

  We both rose to our feet. “Oh, I’ll be back, Congressman. You can bet on it.” She wasn’t the least bit intimidated by him. “In the meantime, if you think of anything that might be helpful, especially about Michael Falk, I’d appreciate a call. Here’s my card.”

  She offered it to him, but he didn’t lift so much as finger. She placed in front of him on the desk and we left. I could feel his stare burning a hole in the center of my back.

  “Whew.” She heaved a big sigh as walked toward the elevator. “Nice one, Harry. You sure know how to get under someone’s skin. We were not there to antagonize him, just to feel him out.”

  “We did that, Kate. They already knew Falk was dead, you know that. You could tell by their reaction, or rather the lack of it. Not much from Harper, and none at all from Hope, which tells me that he at least must have known that Falk was dead. The media hasn’t gotten hold of it yet, have they?”

  She shook her head.

  “Okay then. So how could they have known? I guarantee it was that son of a bitch Hope that killed him. But why? Fire him? Yes, I can see why he might do that, but kill him? He must have gotten himself into something... but what?”

  Kate pushed the down button and we waited.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “But you’re right; neither one of them seemed surprised.”

  “Precisely. We know Falk must have worked closely with Harper. Had to have done. He was his speechwriter, for God’s sake. You’d think there’d be some reaction, surprise, some small sign of shock on their part.”

  “Stranger things, Harry. Stranger things.”

  “By the way,” I said, as we entered the elevator. “Did you notice Harper’s ring?”

  “I did. It’s a smaller version of the pendant, right?”

  “Yup. I noticed it the first time I interviewed him, but I didn’t mention it then because I wanted Tim to see if he could find out anything about it. He hasn’t, so far, but here’s the thing. I had dinner with Dad last night, at the country club. I showed him the pendant. He thinks he might have seen it before, on one of the lady members. He couldn’t remember who it was, but he said he’d try to find out. That’s three of them. It can’t be a coincidence. There has to be a connection. We need to find out what it is. I asked Harper about his ring when I was here the other day. He showed it to me. Said it was a gift from a friend, and that he had no idea what it meant.”

  “So what’s your plan?

  “I don’t have one yet. I need to go back to the office. I have a couple of things that need to be done. After that, I’ll get some lunch. You want to join me?”

  “Hmm. Me, too, go to the office, that is, so I can’t.”

  “Okay. I’ll drop you off, then.”

  ---

  It was less than an hour later that Kate called. I took it my office.

  “What do you know, Harry? I’d barely walked in the door when I was called in to see the Chief. Harper didn’t waste any time. He’d called the mayor, and the mayor called Johnston. I got my ass chewed and I’ve been warned off. I have to stay away from Harper, and I was told to tell you to stay away from him, too. I can’t go near him now unless I have probable cause.”

  “But it’s a murder investigation. How’re you supposed to conduct it if you can’t question Falk’s employer and his staff?”

  “I can’t, unless I have a good reason, and even then I have to clear it with Johnson first.”

  “Now you know why I quit the Job. Too much damned bureaucracy. Too many rules. Well, I don’t have any rules. I can do as I please. As far as I’m concerned, Harper is just another bad guy, and I’m going after him.”

  “How did I know that? Be careful, Harry. Harper is a very powerful man, and he won’t hesitate to cut you down, if he can. You may not have to follow the same rules I do, but they can pull your license any time they want.” That might be tougher than you think, Kate.

  She was right, of course, but what the hell. I have powerful friends, too, including a Federal judge.

  “I’ll be careful.”

  “Good. I’ll help any way I can, but you must keep me in the loop. Don’t let me get sideswiped. You know what I mean, right?”

  “I do. Don’t worry. I have your back.”

  “One more thing, I have the autopsy results on Falk. The cause of death was two in the head: nine millimeter. One was mashed all to hell when it hit the skull; the other has some damage, but there are clear lands and grooves. If we can find the weapon, we should be able to make a match.”

  “Anything on the time of death?”

  “Not much more than we had,” she said. “Midnight, Friday night, the sixteenth, give or take eight hours. That puts it roughly between four in the afternoon and eight in the morning on Saturday. Dressed as he was, I’d put it earlier rather than later. You said he was in the Sorbonne at nine-thirty, so say between then and midnight, but it’s just a guess.”

  “Yeah, maybe. It’s something to think about.”

  “All right. Talk to you later.”

  I hung up the phone, sat back in my chair, and stared up at the ceiling.

  Okay, so Falk is murdered and tossed into the river on Friday evening between nine-thirty and midnight. His girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, is scared out of her brains and throws herself off the bridge two days later. Why was she so scared? Did she know Falk was dead? Duvon and Henry? Had to be. But why? Nasty pair of.... What were they after? Had to be something for Shady... or Harper. Nope, Harper wouldn’t be seen dead around those two... but, if Shady works for Harper.... And who the hell killed Falk, and why? Hmmm. Harper, Hope, Shady, Stimpy and Ren. And then there’s this.

  I fished in my pocket for the pendant. Turned it over and over in my fingers. What? What are you all about?

  I picked up my phone, dialed, and waited. He picked up on the second ring.

  “Dad, it’s me. Any word on who was wearing the pendant?”

  “No, Harry. I’m at the club now, for lunch. I’ll see what I can find. If I come up with anything, I’ll call you back.” Click.

  I dialed again. “Kate. Can you go and check out the gym? Today, if possible. Maybe you should join, work out, and the two clothing stores. I can’t do it. Tree and his crew know me.”

  “Okay. It’s about lunchtime. I’ll head over there now.”

  “Great. And don’t make any plans for tomorrow night. We’re going to dinner
, at La Maison Ducat. Call me if you find anything. Later. Bye.”

  I disconnected.

  More. I need to know more.

  ---

  I was just about to leave the office, to go get some lunch, when my cell phone rang.

  “Harry, it’s me.” It was my father. “I found her. She’s the wife of one of the members. Can you come over? I’ll introduce you.”

  “Good timing. I was just heading out to lunch. I’ll be there in twenty.”

  When I walked into the club lounge, I spotted them sitting at a table in one of the bay windows overlooking the ninth green. She was quite something, a little older than I’d expected. Why I was expecting someone younger, I had no idea, but I was. Anyway, she’d obviously been playing tennis. She was dressed in whites: white shirt and skirt with pale blue accents, the same with the tennis shoes. I had the idea she might be quite tall, although it was hard to tell, sitting at the table as she was. I could tell she was fit: her calf muscles were sharply defined, and so were her arms. Her breasts were a little on the small side, but also clearly defined. Her blond hair was short, sculpted to the nape of her neck. I figured she must be in her mid to late forties, but she didn’t look more than thirty-five. This was one classy lady.

  I approached the table. My father rose, but she remained seated.

  “Ah, Harry. There you are. This is Olivia Hansen. Olivia, this is my son, Harry.”

  “Hello, Harry.” The voice suited her looks, breathy, mid-toned. “It’s nice to meet you. Please, sit down.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Hansen.”

  “Oh please, call me Olivia.”

  I nodded, smiled, and sat down opposite her; my father was between us with his back to the window, facing the room.

  “So, Harry. You look fit. Sports?” She was making small talk. Oh my... there it is.

  Around her neck, on a thin gold chain, was the twin of the pendant I had in my pocket. For a moment, I was speechless.

  “What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She leaned forward as she said it.