BODY IN THE BOX a gripping crime thriller full of twists

by E. R. FALLON

  Henry laughed slightly. “Yeah, I was quiet. Nobody noticed me.”

  “Not even your parents. But they and everyone else noticed Jake, right?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, he was in the limelight.”

  Henry shook his head. “That’s not how I remember it.”

  “No, it’s the truth and you know it. Hell, even I remember Jake and he’s not around anymore. But I didn’t remember you even though you’re still right here. Because you, you were invisible. You still are, aren’t you? I mean, I didn’t even remember you until you came into the station a few days ago. I forgot all about you. Does that happen to you a lot, Henry? Do people forget about you?”

  Henry jumped up and faced Dino. His face was bright red. “Don’t say those things.” He held his arms at his sides and his hands were fisted.

  Dino backed away. “You’re right, Henry. I’m sorry. Forgive me. But how did you do it? How did you get Lev Ilyin? I’m right, aren’t I? You’re the one that did him in?

  “I didn’t get him. He was just there one day . . .” Henry stopped mid-sentence.

  “Go on, tell me.”

  Henry sat down on the bed again. “They didn’t want him.”

  “Who didn’t want him?”

  “His folks. Just like my parents and me, they didn’t want him. They left him there, alone. He was all alone.”

  “Lev was, Henry? Was Lev alone?”

  Henry nodded. “I was coming back to my place from the school where I used to work as a janitor, you know, and I took a walk through the park. It was quiet that day. I saw them dump him on a bench. Then they walked away. He was so cold that I put my coat around him. He looked just like Jake.”

  “Who dumped him, his parents?”

  “Yeah. He said that was who they were. They had funny accents. The woman was crying. The man, he just looked mean, like how my father was to me. I was glad they left him.”

  “So you took him home?”

  Henry nodded. “He was sick. I guess that’s why they dumped him. They didn’t want to deal with him. I think his father beat him. Isn’t that terrible?” He shook his head. “I figured out what was wrong with him. I went to medical school, you remember?”

  “Yeah, I do. Go on, tell me what you did. You said the kid was sick. What happened next?”

  “I . . .” Henry stopped and put his hands to his face again, then he sat up. “I fixed him.”

  “Fixed him? How?”

  “Operated on him. But not here. I did it in the house I used to live in. I bought painkillers from a dealer, this Russian guy. He supplied me for my medical work.”

  “Medical work? You operated on Lev?” Dino yelled, moving closer and grabbing Henry by the collar of his shirt, forcing him to stand up. “You sick son of a bitch.”

  “Please, don’t.”

  Dino let go of Henry’s collar but stayed close.

  “I used to have this bag with my medical tools in it. I threw it away after you cops wanted to talk to me,” Henry said. “Sometimes I’d help the, uh, bums, who hung around where I used to live. They’d pay me a little money and I’d help them if I could.”

  “Did you kill the bums, Henry?”

  “Never on purpose.”

  Dino scowled at him. “Where did you used to live?”

  Henry sat on the bed again and stared at the window curtain. “I had a house on St. John’s Street, but I lost it after Lev started getting sick again. I couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage after I got fired from the school. So I went to a church and spoke to a priest there.”

  “Which church?”

  “St. Ann’s.”

  “Did you confess to the priest?”

  “No. But I told him I drank too much and I was about to become homeless. He helped me find a place to live. The Second Avenue House was the only place that had room. Lev died just before I moved in here. I had to get rid of his body. I couldn’t take him with me. Do you know why I was fired from the school? They said I talked to the kids too much. Can you believe it? It’s like you can’t do anything these days. I was only trying to be polite.”

  “What the fuck did you do to that kid, you sick bastard? Tell me.” Dino reached down and grabbed Henry again, pulling him to his feet and shaking him.

  “I didn’t do anything to him. He looked like Jake but he wasn’t like Jake. He was like me. They didn’t want him. I helped him.” Henry clenched his teeth.

  “Helped him?”

  “They threw him away like garbage. I found him. He was mine. They didn’t want him anymore, and so he was mine.”

  Dino shook Henry again. “And you cut him up? What the hell did you do to him?”

  “No, it wasn’t like that. I told you, I helped him.”

  Dino slapped Henry hard in the face, and Henry stared fixedly back at him. Droplets of sweat wet his forehead.

  “Did you touch him?” Dino said. “You locked him up in that little hell house of yours and screwed around with him, didn’t you? You like to screw little boys, don’t you, Henry?”

  “No, I never touched him!”

  “Oh, yeah? Then why did you want him? What did an old man like you want with a little boy?”

  “Because he was me!”

  “What the fuck do you mean, he was you?”

  “My mom and dad loved Jake. They hated me. Jake left because I made him leave.”

  “You killed Jake?”

  “My parents left me in charge of him when they went to visit their friends one weekend. I took Jake on a bus to Times Square. This was back when Times Square was a mean place. I let him wear my red hat. He always liked that hat a lot.”

  Henry simpered to himself and it freaked Dino out.

  “I promised him we were going to the circus. Ringling Brothers was in New York. He’d get to see the elephants.” Henry chuckled softly.

  “You think that’s funny, do you, Henry?” He raised his voice. “Tell me, you sick fuck, what did you do with him? What did you do with Jake?”

  “I let go of his hand in the street. I don’t know what happened to him after I left him. The police never called my parents, so they must’ve never found him. I told my mom and dad that he disappeared in front of our house. The bus driver never called the police. I guess he didn’t notice us that well. This was before they had cameras everywhere like they do now.”

  Dino released him from his grasp, and Henry fell down to the bed.

  “You left him there alone, in Times Square?”

  Henry sat up and snickered. “I didn’t really mean to do it. I walked away, and then turned around a few blocks later and came back. I tried to find him, but I couldn’t.” A faint white crust had formed around the corners of Henry’s mouth as he’d continued to laugh.

  Dino shook his head in disgust. “He was your little brother!”

  Henry dried his mouth with the end of his shirt. “Everybody loved Jake.”

  “Bullshit. That’s no excuse. You dumped him, just like you dumped Lev.”

  Henry shook his head and rose from the bed. “No.”

  Dino reached out and grabbed Henry’s collar again, shaking him. “Tell me what you did to Lev. Tell me, you fucking son of a bitch.”

  Henry pushed Dino hard in the chest with both hands. “I never hurt him. I helped him. He got better for a while. I treated him like a brother. Then he got worse and died. In the end, I called you guys because I felt bad I’d left his body out there alone, and I wanted someone to find him. A long time ago I read about an old unsolved crime. I thought that because that case was never solved this wouldn’t be either.”

  “Why did you come forward about calling 911?”

  “I wanted to see how much you knew.” Then Henry smirked. “You didn’t know much.”

  Dino pushed Henry back and glared at him. “You kept him locked up for two years, didn’t you? And you wanted to touch him, didn’t you?”

  Henry shook his head. “I didn’t do that!” He spoke fast and wild. “I
asked Lev to call me his big brother, and after a while he did. He was okay for a long time. Then he started getting sick again, and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t take him to the hospital because they’d ask me too many questions. So I let nature take its course. He said he didn’t like me anymore. He cried and said he wanted to go back to his parents. But they were the ones that ditched him. He didn’t appreciate me.”

  “Who could like you, Henry?”

  Henry reached for Dino’s gun.

  * * *

  Clara had left by the time Terry quietly walked into the station, startling Rebecca at her desk. She turned around.

  “Hey, it’s just me,” Terry said. “I thought I’d stop by for a bit.”

  Rebecca drummed her fingers against her desk. “I was just about to call you again.”

  “Again?”

  “Yeah. I tried a little while ago, but you didn’t pick up.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t get your call. I was grabbing some food. There must’ve been no reception in the place. Where’s Cooper?” Terry looked around the room.

  Rebecca sighed. “He went to Henry Riley’s place. He insisted that he go there alone.”

  “Why?”

  “To talk with him. He thought Henry would be more responsive if it was just him there because they knew each other growing up.”

  “Talk about what?”

  “A homeless woman came in a little while ago. I talked with her. She said that Henry Riley’s a doctor for her and the other homeless people. That’s why I called you, to tell you.”

  “A doctor?”

  Rebecca nodded.

  “And you let Cooper go there alone?”

  “He insisted. He didn’t want me to go with him.”

  Terry slapped his hand down on Rebecca’s desk, causing her to jump back.

  “Jesus, Everhart,” he said. “Didn’t they teach you anything in Jersey City? Your first priority is to back up your partner, you can’t let any personal issues get in the way. You’re always a cop, don’t you forget that.”

  “Dino told you?” she said, her face burning.

  “Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking. Cooper really likes you.”

  Rebecca nodded.

  “So, what was the plan?” Terry asked in a softer tone.

  “Dino said he’s going to call when he’s done talking to Riley. We still don’t know if Riley has anything to do with the boy’s—”

  “I don’t like the sound of this.”

  “I’m sorry, like I said. I tried to call you.”

  “What’s Riley’s address again?”

  “The Second Avenue House, it’s—”

  “I know where that is.” Terry made a move for the door, then turned around and said, “You coming?”

  “I sure am.” Rebecca got up and removed her gun from the bottom drawer of her desk.

  “Good,” Terry said. “Now, I don’t know how you did things back in JC, but around here we do things as a team. No matter what. Got it?”

  Rebecca nodded. “Got it.”

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Tulia took a gulp of wine after Andrew had refilled her glass.

  “You drink more than I remember,” he said.

  Tulia shrugged.

  “Wait until you see what I’ve prepared for dessert,” he said. “Are you enjoying that beef?”

  “Yes, it’s very good,” Tulia replied quietly.

  She was on her second helping and shoving the food down to calm her nerves. There was no sign now of the aggressiveness that Andrew had displayed earlier. It had been like a stain on the evening, yes, but she felt he had finally accepted the fact that they were just two old friends having dinner, and that it would be nothing more serious than that unless she wanted it to be.

  Tulia mentioned the trouble her family had had with a guy Terry had busted.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Andrew sounded sympathetic. “Who’s the guy?”

  “I’m not supposed to say, but I guess I can tell you. His name’s Carl Richardson. He’s a drug dealer — a very bad man.”

  Andrew sat back and looked at her. “I believe Cheryl’s father defended Richardson. Isn’t that interesting? What a small world it is.”

  The news unsettled Tulia and she looked away from him. “I remember you said you did a little work on the side for Cheryl’s father. You didn’t work for Richardson, did you?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Andrew ignored her question. “You seem, I don’t know, nervous?” he said. “Are you still angry about before?”

  “No.” Tulia set down her fork. “Nervous, really? I’m not. How’s your mother?”

  “She’s as well as can be expected. You really do seem nervous.” Andrew rose and walked around to where Tulia sat. “Very nervous.”

  “Andrew?”

  “Shh,” he said softly to her as he placed his hands on her shoulders. His hands felt surprisingly cold against her bare skin.

  “What are you doing?” she said as he tried to massage her.

  Ignoring her, he continued to knead her shoulders. At first, gently, and then he increased the force.

  “I’m trying to relax you,” he said. “Is it working?”

  “No.” She pulled away from him.

  But he placed his hands on her shoulders again, pulled her back into the chair, and slid his hand into the front of her dress.

  “Maybe this will relax you.”

  His fingertips touched the inside material of her bra then moved around her nipple and squeezed down lightly.

  “Stop that, now,” Tulia shouted the last word.

  “Remember our kiss at my wedding? Didn’t you feel something between us then? I did.”

  All she could feel right now were Andrew’s fingers pinching her nipple roughly, and it creeped her out. She grimaced and she swatted his hand away.

  “Why are you doing this? Think of your mother.”

  “My mother’s not really sick. They thought she was, but she wasn’t. Anyway, I thought you were enjoying my touches. It seemed like you were. You seemed to be really responding to me. You know, you have terrific breasts. Has Terry ever told you that?”

  “Get the hell away from me,” she shot back, rising from her chair.

  “Tulia. Please sit. Just forget about it, okay? I’m sorry. We’ll have dessert now.”

  His apology sounded fake.

  She turned to face him. “How about, I’m leaving?”

  “Come on.” He reached out to grab her arm. “I said I was sorry. That’s not good enough for you?”

  She pulled away and smacked him across the face. “Don’t you dare touch me, you asshole.”

  Andrew put his hand to the side of his face. He chuckled lightly.

  “All right, Tulia. Who needs you anyway? You’re getting on in your years, and you’re losing what you had before, believe me.”

  She slapped him again. Harder this time.

  “I wonder what Terry would think of our little dinner tonight?” he said.

  “Terry was right about you!” she shouted as she turned to leave. She grabbed her purse and slammed the door behind her.

  She left without the lambswool coat.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Henry’s hand slipped over Dino’s automatic, but Dino landed an uppercut to Henry’s chin. He fell back onto the floor.

  “He deserved it.” Henry sat up on the floor and rubbed his jaw. “They both did, him and Jake. They didn’t appreciate me.”

  Dino bent down to cuff Henry, who reached for his shoe. Dino felt the sharp then unexpectedly numbing pain of a cold blade puncturing his big toe, and gasped. Why hadn’t he searched Henry’s pockets?

  He reached down to pat the top of his shoe. “Holy shit . . .” The leather was wet with blood. His blood.

  Henry stood up and kicked Dino in the side of the face. His neck cracked as he spiraled backward to the
floor.

  Above him, Henry murmured, “Now it’s time.”

  Dino felt him grabbing the gun from the holster but he was too stunned to resist.

  “Police. Open up!”

  Terry. Thank, God. Terry, shouting from the hallway outside Henry’s door. Dino wanted to warn Terry that Henry had his gun. But there was so much pain — he struggled to open his mouth.

  “No,” Henry called out. “You’re not taking me anywhere.”

  Someone kicked in the door. Terry. Dino saw Henry’s finger clamping down on the trigger.

  “No, Terry, he’s got my gun!”

  Dino reached out for Henry. But Henry had already fired the automatic, blasting Terry in the chest. Henry’s hand shook and he held the gun loosely. He gripped the bloodstained knife in his other hand. Dino moved to grab the gun from him and came face to face with the barrel. Henry pressed the tip into Dino’s forehead. He felt the warm, hard pressure of it against his cold skin. He glanced at Terry, eyes closed, bleeding on the floor, clutching his chest and moaning.

  “What do you think it feels like to get shot in the head, Detective Cooper?” Henry said. “Have you ever killed anyone before?”

  Dino shrugged.

  “Doesn’t matter anyway. Because you won’t be able to now. It’s over for you. Come on, tell me what I did was wrong.” Henry spat on the floor where Dino knelt. “How come nobody ever told Jake and my dad what they did was wrong?”

  “Drop your weapons.”

  Dino nearly smiled when he heard the voice in the doorway.

  “No. That pretty face of yours isn’t going to work on me now. Drop yours or he’s dead.”

  Rebecca fired a shot into Henry’s kneecap before he had the chance to shoot. He fell to the floor, his knife and Dino’s gun landing nearby, and began to groan and cry.

  “I asked you to drop your weapons, Henry,” she said, handcuffing him. She collected the gun and knife from the floor.

  Rebecca turned to Terry and tore off her coat. She hunkered down and pressed it firmly to his chest. The beige coat was soon soaked with blood.