Eddie hit the padded dashboard with his fist. “Damn.” Then his phone rang.
“Franklin… ”
“Yeah… ?”
“OK. Dead-end here too. An empty lot… ”
“Yeah, you too.”
Eddie put his phone in his pocket, “Carlyle says there’s no New York address for this guy. Orazio drove a camper van so they’re going to canvas the campsites near the fairgrounds. I hate sitting around feeling like an idiot. Let’s go.”
Eddie put the car in gear and drove down the block. When I turned to see if the patrol car followed us, I spotted a red and yellow camper parked in a driveway.
“Eddie, stop.”
“Why?”
“Think I see something.” He jammed on the brakes and the patrol car behind us screeched to a halt.
I looked at the print out of Oscar’s information. “Back up.”
Eddie backed up a foot and the patrol car driver got the message. We reversed and stopped six houses away, at 1107 Magnolia, a small single-family home in a modest neighborhood. Oscar’s license plate matched the red and yellow camper van parked in front.
“Damn it. Misdirection.” Eddie hit the dashboard again. I said, “Probably gets his mail at the empty lot and if he’s caught, it easy to explain the error. Sometimes 7s look like 1s.”
Eddie got out of the car and sent one officer around the back of the house. I looked at the house and spotted some movement through a window.
Eddie drew his gun and said to the cop still in the patrol car, “I saw someone in the front room. Radio your partner, tell him to count to ten and take the back. You and I’ll take the front. Raquel, stay here.”
I didn’t want to stay by the car but by the time I got the courage to approach the house, the two officers came out the front door. One said to the other, “I still don’t get it. How can the place be empty? No one came out the front.”
The other cop, “Don’t look at me, he didn’t come out the back either.” The two cops split up and walked the perimeter around the house from different directions.
I walked up to the front door and looked inside. Eddie stood in the middle of the living room with his hands on his hips. I joined him.
“Look at this place,” he said. “like a cross between a museum and a magic shop.”
Old circus posters covered the walls and small tricks alternated with books on shelves. I saw a few pieces of larger apparatus including a Zig Zag box in a corner.
“Did you look in these?”
“What? You think he’s hiding in a magic box?”
“Maybe.”
“Already looked. He’s gone. Vanished.”
Chapter Thirty-Five – Fool me once…
Eddie kicked at the Zig Zag box. “What is this thing?”
“A woman enters the box and the illusionist inserts two blades to cut her in thirds. Then the middle section slides to the side to make it appear she’s actually cut into three pieces.”
“And that’s entertainment?” Eddie started thumping his feet on the floor. “Maybe a trap door… ”
I pointed to a coffee table on a small rug. “Try here.”
“Where? The coffee table? Why there?”
“If there’s a trap door, it has to be hidden and when it’s closed from underneath it has to hide itself. That rug would cover a door edges nicely, besides, there’s a magazine on the floor next to it. Like maybe, it slid off. Try lifting the table by one end.”
Eddie leaned over and tried to lift one end of the table. It didn’t move.
“No, the opposite side.”
Eddie stood erect and gave me a look. I knew he was thinking, “Why didn’t she tell me which end the first time.” So, I said out loud, “The magazine was at that end. I thought it was obvious.”
He rolled his eyes, but I felt good because I realized I knew him well enough to read his expressions. He bent his knees and lifted the table with a grunt. It pivoted on a hidden hinge to reveal a dark opening in the floor. “Geez, you can be a pain in the ass but boy, I’m glad you’re right about this.”
Eddie took a flashlight from his pocket and started down a ladder lining the hole in the floor.
I said, “I’m coming.”
Eddie hesitated, then reached for his ankle and produced a gun. “Ever use one?”
“Dad’s club had a range in the basement. He used to let me shoot his .22”
“OK. Florida has liberal gun laws. Here, just don’t shoot me somewhere we’ll both regret.”
I followed Eddie down the ladder into a dark tunnel. We walked about 100 feet before we encountered another ladder. Eddie whispered. “Wait here,” and began to climb. When he got to the top, he pushed up the door covering the tunnel. I tensed and aimed my gun at the light coming into the opening. Eddie made a sudden move and exited the tunnel into whatever waited. I held my breath and listened but heard nothing until the door opened wide and Eddie said, “OK, Raquel, it’s safe. Come on up.”
I climbed the ladder and exited the tunnel into a large shed with a dirt floor. Tire tracks led to the door but I didn’t see any vehicles.
Eddie said, “He’s gone.”
We exited the shed into a wooded area behind Orazio’s house and walked back through the yard to the two officers we left behind.
Eddie stationed one of them at the front door and the other in the woods near the shed. He and I went back into the house for clues indicating where to look next. Eddie lowered the coffee table once again covering the tunnel opening. “Don’t want anyone falling in the hole. Speaking of hazards, can I have my gun back, please.”
I gave it to him handle first. “Lucky you said, ‘please’.”
“Always polite to women, especially when they’re armed.”
I bent over and picked up the magazine on the floor next to the coffee table. “Hey, Eddie. This isn’t a magazine. It’s a magic catalog.”
“You mean it does tricks?”
He made me smile. “No doofus, it advertises apparatus magicians use.”
“Welcome to the modern world. Now, even a magician buys his stuff mail order.”
I thumbed through the pages. “No, not buys, sells. This is a catalog for Mendez Magic with an office at 1107 Magnolia.”
“Doesn’t look like a business here. Where’s his inventory?”
“Some of this stuff he sells is made to order. Maybe he’s got a workshop somewhere?”
Eddie pointed to my shoulder bag. “Gotta computer in there?”
“No, but I’ve got a smartphone. What do you want to know?”
“Does it have internet access?”
“Sure.”
“OK, go to the County web site and click on the link to the property appraiser.”
“OK.”
“Search for Oscar Mendez.”
“Only thing listed is 1107 Magnolia.”
“How ‘bout Mendez Magic?”
“1207 Industrial Boulevard.”
“The warehouse district. Let’s go.”
Eddie left the two officers to watch in case Orazio returned. In the car, Eddie called for more backup but we were the first to arrive at Mendez Magic. We sat in the car waiting for the other officers and Eddie said, “Betcha he’s got another tunnel out. Question is ‘Where?’ could lead to one of the other buildings.”
“I don’t think so. He used misdirection at the hospital. He entered Ryan’s room when most folks would be looking at the elevator because it dinged. He misdirected us to an address down the block from his so he’d have more time to prepare.”
“So? He’ll use misdirection again? How?”
“By not doing what we expect. We expect another tunnel. I don’t think there is one and if there is, I’ll bet he doesn’t use it.”
Eddie opened his car door. “Boys are here.” I got out too.
“Raquel, this time you really have to stay with the car.”
One of the officers wearing a helmet and body armor came to talk with Eddie. “My guys ar
e ready. How you want to do this?”
“Circle the place about 100 feet out, then toss in some gas. We’ll wait and see what happens.”
“100 feet?”
“Yeah, in case he’s got a tunnel.”
Armored police spread out from their van. Eddie took a bullhorn from one of the officers and aimed it at Mendez Magic. “Orazio Medici AKA Oscar Mendez. This is the Achalaca Police. Come out the front door with your hands in the air.”
We all sat silently.
Eddie repeated his message and we waited some more. No one replied so Eddie took out his gun and told one of the officers, “OK, Send in the gas.”
The officer crouched low, scooted to the warehouse wall and shot a gas canister through a closed window. Gas started streaming from the broken glass. I watched carefully but saw no one exit the building. Everyone was quiet then Eddie gave the OK to enter. Three of the armored cops donned gas masks and entered through the front door.
We waited and then we waited some more. I opened the car door so I could sit for a while but closed it when I saw people coming out of the warehouse. Two of the officers were holding a coughing man by his arms. The third officer walked behind him.
When they got to Eddie, one of the officers said, “Caught him hiding in a box with a false bottom. If he wasn’t making noise from choking on the gas, we wouldn’t have found him.”
The lead officer said, “All yours now,” and the other two followed him back to their van.
Eddie read Orazio his rights then said, “So then, you know why I’m here.”
He stood with his hands cuffed behind him but spoke casually despite Eddie still holding a gun. “Yes, but it matters no more. What I needed to do is done.”
“You mean you killed those men? Connelly, Burke, Finley and Ryan.”
“Yes, but they were not men. They were animals that deserved to die.”
“How did you get the charm bracelet?”
“I heard that Rosa was dying and I wanted to see her one more time. If I stayed with Rosa, none of this would have happened. She was my true love.”
“So you went to see her?”
“Yes, but I saw it wasn’t her. It was Agnese. I knew only then that I killed the wrong sister. This dying woman was the whore who ruined my life. I wanted to kill her and the men she slept with. When I saw that bracelet I finally realized which men she cheated with.”
“But you didn’t kill Agnese. How come you let her live?”
“She was dying a slow, painful death. Killing her then would have been mercy.”
I pushed my way in front of Orazio and asked him, “What about the reporter? Sean Flanagan, the big Irish guy?”
Orazio stared down at me, then turned his head to the side and looked off into the distance. “I want a lawyer.”
Eddie said to the officers. “Take him.” We watched them lead him away and when they were gone, I hugged Eddie. He hugged me back, shook his head and said, “Dr. Evangilista could have been talking about somebody else. We don’t know that he or Orazio even met your Dad.”
I pressed my head into Eddie’s chest and nodded. He held me for a while and then we got into his cruiser for the ride back to the Precinct. I had nothing to say after witnessing Orazio’s speech. His hatred and malice left me speechless. As we drove in silence, I listened to the sporadic chatter on the police radio until it became background noise. Then, one call got my attention, an APB for escaped murder suspect Orazio Medici, AKA Oscar Mendez.
Chapter Thirty-Six – In the wind
“How could you let this happen?” Lieutenant Haskell stood at the front of the squad room while Eddie and two uniformed officers squirmed. “One suspect. Unarmed. A veteran detective on the scene. Two experienced officers riding in a car with the guy. How the hell does he escape?”
One of the officers said, “I don’t know sir. I cuffed him securely with his hands behind and placed him in the back of the cruiser.”
Eddie said, “Unh, Lou? It’s my fault. I knew he was a magician.”
Haskell said, “Oh yeah? So what did he do? Cast a spell?”
“Well, no sir. He’s been a professional escape artist. I should have realized the cuffs wouldn’t hold him.”
“And the locked car door? You can’t unlock those doors from the inside.” Haskell turned to the uniformed officer that previously spoke. “Did you forget to lock the door?”
“No, sir. I locked it.”
Haskell glared at the man.
Eddie said, “That’s true Lou. We found a piece of duct tape covering the latch in the doorjamb. It prevented the door from locking but wedged it shut so you couldn’t tell. Then, the door came loose when he kicked it open.”
The uniformed cop said. “We got stopped at a light behind a bus. Next I knew, there’s a thump and then a breeze coming into the car from the back. I turn, the guy’s gone. Cuffs lying on the seat. I look up and see him running down an alley. By the time we get to it, he’s gone.”
Haskell rolled his eyes and shook his head. Then he pointed at the two uniformed officers. “Write this up and don’t go nowhere. I’m not done with you two yet.”
“You,” he jabbed a finger at Eddie. “I got cars sent to the house and that place you picked him up. You go figure out where else to look. This time, we find him, use a waist chain with manacles. Keep his hands apart and sit a guy next to him in the car.” Haskell turned his back, waved his hand in the air and said, “Now, get outta here.”
From my hiding spot near the coffee pot, I watched the wall shake as Haskell entered his office and slammed the door. Eddie stared after him for a moment and then came to stand next to me. “I shoulda seen that coming. Maybe I’ve been doing this too long. Maybe it’s time for a change.”
I put my hand on his arm. “It’s not your fault, Eddie. You weren’t in that car.”
Eddie opened his mouth then closed it and shook his head. He sighed and said, “C’mon. Let’s find this guy.”
* * *
One more time, Eddie and I drove out to Dragoni’s place but this trip we had an escort. Two K9 officers followed in an SUV. When we arrived, one officer set dogs loose on the property and the other officer tracked them in his vehicle. Eddie parked near Dragoni’s trailer and then knocked on the door.
Once again, the man came outside, and sat in his chair under the canvas awning. He looked up at Eddie and waited.
Eddie stepped close to the chair and leaned over him. “Where’s Medici?”
Dragoni shrugged.
Eddie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You know, the air here is really fresh. You can smell the plants, the trees. Easy to breathe. Not like in prison. Air doesn’t circulate too well in the cell blocks. Gets kind of stale what with infrequent showers and no air conditioning.”
Dragoni frowned.
“You don’t want to be an accessory to Medici’s crimes. Where is he?”
Dragoni shook his head. “Can’t say cause I don’t know.”
Eddie watched him quietly for a while and then said, “OK, Maybe you don’t but you must have some idea where to – “
A voice came from the radio on Eddie’s belt. “Detective, we found a cabin… ‘bout a half mile down the dirt road from the grave site. We’re going in.”
Eddie spoke into his radio. “Copy that.” and then asked Dragoni, “Whose cabin?”
“Used to be Orazio’s. Empty for years.”
Eddie pulled Dragoni from his chair and cuffed him. “You’re coming with me. Get in the car.”
Eddie’s sedan bounced and lurched as we followed the rutted, dirt road that lead into the woods. We drove by the open grave where we found Rosa and continued beyond where we looked on our previous visits.
After a bit, the road turned, passed a log cabin and formed a circle leading back onto itself. Eddie parked and we joined the officers and dogs in front of the building.
Eddie looked at the house. “You been in yet?”
“Yeah, the dogs went crazy.”
“Yeah?”
“Squirrels, birds, it’s like a wildlife sanctuary in there. Roof’s gone in spots. Some floorboards rotted through. The animals took over.”
“No sign of Medici?”
“Don’t think anyone’s been in there for years.”
“Any trail or signs of him elsewhere?”
“Nothing the dogs can sniff up. If they can’t find him nobody can.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
I followed Eddie back to the car. He pulled Dragoni out of the back seat, uncuffed him and said. “I find out you been holding back on me, you’re going be spending a lot of time indoors. C’mon Raquel.”
As we drove back to town, Eddie seemed angry and upset. I didn’t know what to say so I kept quiet. After a few miles, Eddie’s cell phone broke the silence. He punched the button on his hands free kit and answered, “Franklin.”
“Carlyle here.”
“Whadya got?”
“Something weird.”
“I’m in no mood, get to the point.”
“Why? What happened?”
“We had Medici and he got away.”
“and when did you plan on telling me?”
“Happened too fast. You going to say why you called or are we going to talk about your feelings?”
“I called to tell you we got a hit on Ryan’s credit card.”
“Daniel Ryan? The dead sailor?”
“Yup.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven – Credit where it’s due
“Maybe his family used it?”
“No next of kin.”
“What’d he buy?”
“One way ticket on TAM Airlines, Orlando, Florida to Sao Paulo, Brazil, 3:40 this afternoon.”
“So, someone’s leaving the country. We know who?”
“No, bought the ticket online but from what you tell me, it sounds like our guy Medici.”
“Yeah, it does. Thanks.”
Eddie hung up with Robby and floored the accelerator.
“We have to get back to the station. I gotta talk to Lou and set something up.”
* * *
From my seat at Eddie’s desk, I could hear him and his boss talking. “Good work, Franklin.” Lieutenant Haskell looked pleased. “Call Orlando Airport PD and TSA. Distribute the suspect’s photo and set up some undercovers. Put’em in Disney gear and no one will notice.”
Falafel Jones - The Kewpie Killer Page 21