Luca Mystery Series Box Set

by Dan Petrosini

  “Sure. She’ll be in the clear.”

  “I’m telling you, man. You better keep your word.”

  Luca yanked out a pocket recorder. “I’ll put it all on tape.”

  Chapter 40

  A sky that had turned to dishwater couldn’t put a damper on Luca as he breezed into the precinct. He patted the lump in his breast pocket and smiled as he turned the corner into his office.

  “Guess what I got us for Christmas?”

  Cremora peered over his reading glasses. “Not underwear again?”

  Luca whipped out the recorder, placed it on his partner’s desk, and rolled over his chair. Luca smiled. “Nope, my boy. I got us Jimmy Johns confessing to the Wyatt murder.”

  “What?”

  “The plan worked, bro. Ole Luca’s a genius. Johns sang like Sinatra to get his sister off the hook.” Luca looked both ways and lowered his voice. “Not that she was in—anyway, that’s between us girls.”

  Cremora grabbed the recorder. “I gotta hear this.”

  When Luca clicked the recorder off, he said, “Pretty sweet, huh?”

  “I donno, Luc. It kinda seemed like you were leading him a bit.”

  “What d’ya mean? You heard him. He said he beat Wyatt over the head.”

  “I know, but—”

  “But what? It’s the same way we always do. Weren’t you listening?”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s just hard to believe it after all this time.”

  “I can’t believe it either. We finally got him!” Luca high-fived his partner.

  “It was all you, bro. But I gotta admit, I thought you were going off the deep end again.”

  “Well, you weren’t alone.”

  “So, what’s next? I mean, Hill’s been put away for this.”

  “School me. Stanley’s going to freak out,” Luca said. “Man, I’m gonna enjoy playing this for him.”

  “You gotta play your cards right here. You make a lot of noise and embarrass him or that egomaniac Weinburg, and—”

  “Yeah, I know. Much as I’d like to jam it up his—

  Captain Gesso blew into the room like a tropical storm. “I told you to keep away from Johns. Now we’ve got some mess on our hands.”

  “Come on, Sarge. The Hill kid didn’t do it. I wouldn’t call that a mess.”

  Gesso shook his head. “You’re right, Luca.”

  “You mean again?”

  Gesso’s eyes flashed fire. “Don’t push it!”

  Luca put a hand up and spun the recorder with the other.

  “Okay, let’s hear what you got.”

  Gesso took his hands off the desk when the tape ended and nodded slowly.

  “Good work, Frank. Damn good work. Now we’ve got to do this right with Stanley. We’ve got to handle this internally. Keep it quiet. For God’s sake, don’t be running to the press.”

  Luca said, “Nobody knows but us.”

  “Good, good. Let me go to Stanley—alone—okay?”

  “It’s your call, Sarge. Whatever you say.”

  Gesso turned to Cremora. “Boy, how many times have I heard him say that?”

  Gesso picked up the recorder and turned to leave.

  “Hey Sarge, what about the Hills?”

  “What about ’em?”

  “It’d be nice if they knew what has happened.”

  Gesso wagged his head. “Didn’t I just hear you say, ‘Whatever you say’? I’m telling you to keep this wrapped up. If word gets out, trust me, this thing will blow up.”

  ***

  Luca closed the front door and headed for the stairs.

  Debra came out of the kitchen. “So how did it go today?”

  Luca undid his tie. “Johns confessed.”

  “To the Wyatt murder?”

  “Yup.”

  “Well you don’t seem happy about it.”

  “What do want me to do, cartwheels?”

  Debra put her hands on her hips. “Every day it’s something new with you, Frank. You obsess over this guy, and when you finally . . . oh, oh, I get it now. Now that you don’t have something to focus on, some wrong to right—”

  “Come on, Deb. It’s not like that.”

  “Yeah, what’s it like?”

  “Let’s just forget this and start over.”

  Luca backpedaled to the door. He quickly opened and closed it and flashed a smile. “I’m home.”

  ***

  Luca straightened his tie as he stepped into Sergeant Gesso’s office. “How’s it going, Sarge?”

  Gesso tightened his lips and nodded to a chair.

  Luca gingerly lowered himself into the chair. “How’d it go with Stanley?”

  Gesso scratched his neck. “I ain’t got to tell you, he wasn’t too pleased with what he called”—Gesso fingered quotation marks—“a development.”

  “Ever the politician.”

  “Let’s keep it to the case for once, okay?”

  Luca nodded. “What did he say?”

  “Well, I played the confession for him, and then he brought in Weinburg to hear it. They had some concerns about you leading him and also what the motivation was.”

  “Could be his conscience.”

  “I threw that out as well.”

  “Great minds think alike.”

  “Yeah, but they shot holes in it. Last time he pleaded out but insisted on a chance at parole.”

  “Like he’s got a shot at parole?”

  “I know, but what don’t jibe is, why he’d risk any chance at parole with a new charge?”

  “You know, Johns was in the infirmary. Could be he’s really sick and maybe just wants to unload. Maybe it’s eating him up.”

  “I don’t know, but they got questions.”

  Luca threw his hands up. “Lawyers, don’t they always?”

  “Hey, can’t say I blame ’em. They gotta be careful how this goes. Their mitts are all over it.”

  “What’re they going to do?”

  Gesso explained that the prosecutor’s office was first going to ask a judge for a gag order to prevent any news about the confession—and its repercussions—from leaking out.

  “This shit gets out, and the press is gonna be all over Stanley. Not gonna help his campaign.”

  “Yeah, but it shouldn’t be a problem. He’s got plenty of friends in the court.”

  Gesso nodded. “Anyway, after they get the gag in place, they’re gonna want to verify the confession. Shouldn’t be any issues with that, right, Frank?”

  “Yeah, sure. Why should there be?”

  Gesso paused, looking straight into Luca’s eyes. “Just checking. Well, then they’d take Johns’ guilty plea to the judge who took the original plea from Hill and ask him to allow Hill to withdraw the plea.”

  “And Hill will walk?”

  “Yup, but Stanley said he’d have to get a suppression order for that as well. He doesn’t want the Hills to run to the press.”

  “I can’t believe Stanley’s really gonna play ball here.”

  “It looks that way, Frank. I know. It kinda caught me by surprise.”

  Luca nodded. “Not that I’m complaining or anything, but it seems like they just pulled this plan outta their desk drawer.”

  Gesso cocked his head. “How long you been around, anyway? You think this is the first time anything like this has happened?”

  Chapter 41

  I couldn’t believe the news. Now I knew how people felt when they won the lottery. Nah, this was frigging bigger than winning Powerball. When Vinny told me that Jimmy Johns had confessed to killing Billy Wyatt, I was confused as all hell, just blown away. I mean, why would he do that? I know he was in jail and all for murder, but helping me out? I didn’t even know the guy. Did I?

  Anyway, we agreed to keep quiet about it all. I mean, I felt so lucky, I wouldn’t be saying anything to anyone. In fact I wanted to disappear before I woke up and realized it was a dream. Maybe I should go down to Texas with Vinny. Last thing I wanted was anothe
r reversal. I wanted to get away from it all, away from Mary, Billy, and fucking New Jersey before it slipped away.

  I just can’t really believe it—this guy, Jimmy Johns, confesses, and I’m off the hook? Maybe things are evening out for me. First my mom getting sick and all her suffering. Man, that sucked. And Dad—shit. He doesn’t deserve that title. He splits when we needed him most. Then to top it off, Mary dumps me for that tyrant Billy? I’d say I was due, man—way overdue. Damn right I was. Who knows, maybe he paid it forward.

  ***

  “Hey Luc, you hear that Johns is dying from lung cancer?”

  Luca’s gaze shifted from his monitor. “You shitting me?”

  Cremora shook his head. “That’s what Weinburg told me. Said he received a petition for some mercy release bullshit into hospice.”

  Luca fell back into his chair. “You know, J; I had a feeling.”

  Cremora frowned.

  “No, I really did. You know, when I went to see him, in the infirmary, he was sick and something he said stuck with me. He said they would give him something stronger for the pain once they saw the X-ray. It was like he knew that he was real sick.”

  “Think that’s what made him fess up and bail out his sister?”

  “I donno; could be.” Luca lowered his voice. “You know, all along he really denied doing it, even when we cooked up the scheme with his sister. I gotta see him.”

  “You better hurry. Weinburg said he’s in rough shape.”

  “They gonna let him out?”

  “No way, man. Weinburg said Stanley would never allow it. Guess he’s not taking any chances the press gets their mitts on the Wyatt debacle.”

  Luca nodded.

  “He’s banking the details die with Johns. Can’t say I blame him—the case turned into one royal fuckup.”

  “And how.”

  Luca checked his watch and picked up the phone. “I’m gonna call, see if I can run down and see Johns. I don’t gotta be in court till two.”

  Luca put the phone gently in its cradle. “Guess that’s it. We’ll never know.”

  “What happened?”

  “Johns is in a coma. They induced a coma. It’s the only way to control the pain. Cancer spread to the bones, and this guy said he’s only got a few days, max. Pain meds affect the breathing, and with his lung cancer . . .”

  “I know it’s hard to believe, but I kinda feel sorry for the bastard.”

  Luca’s voice trailed off. “I know what you mean. He got what he deserved, but . . .”

  The partners remained silent for a minute until Luca said, “You know, this really puts one of my tenets on its head: Sometimes you solve a case but never know what actually happened.” Luca shook his head. “Forget about understanding what happened. Now I’m starting to wonder if we really got the right guy.”

  “I donno, Luc. You ever meet anyone who sucked up a charge unless they really did it?”

  “Man, let’s just hope it was a real deathbed confession.”

  Chapter 42

  The next morning, as the partners had their coffee, Luca brought up the Wyatt case.

  “Come on, Frank. How many frigging times we gonna go over this?”

  “I know, it’s just—”

  “The guy’s dead. Hill’s out. Geez, get over it.” Cremora threw his hands up. “We got cases up the wazoo, so let’s move on.”

  “Okay, okay, but can I walk it through one more time?”

  Cremora sighed. “If it’ll make you happy, partner.”

  “So, last night I couldn’t sleep, again, and went over the transcript of Johns’ confession.”

  “What? You took a transcript home?”

  Luca shrugged.

  “Geez, get a life, Frank.”

  “Excuse me for caring.”

  “That’s what you call it?”

  “Anyway, something’s bothering me.”

  “Here we go again.”

  “Johns said he was out back of Wyatt’s.”

  “Yeah, we know, Frank. We have witnesses.”

  Luca thrust a palm forward. “Saw the back door open and went in. What’s bothering me is he said he saw the wallet on the kitchen counter and took it.”

  “So? Mary said Wyatt didn’t like to carry a wallet.”

  “Right, but the thing is, Johns was a first-class thief. He could’ve snatched the wallet and been outta there clean.”

  “Maybe he was looking for more stuff to steal.”

  “That fits, and it’s what’s gnawing at me. Johns was a junkie who stole to support his habit. He needed money for a fix, and he got it with Wyatt’s wallet. He should’ve been hightailing it outta there to get his hit. It just doesn’t fit with reality.”

  “What the fuck don’t fit, Frank? The guy was a junkie. By definition, that made him unpredictable.”

  Luca rolled his chair over. “I’ve been thinking a lot about how we got him to confess with his sister and all. And now, knowing the guy was sick as hell, I mean, the guy was a scumbag, no doubt, but I don’t know, maybe I was too anxious to nail him.”

  “Look, Frank, I know I’m talking to the wall, but you gotta put this behind you. You gotta find a way to move on.”

  Luca nodded.

  Cremora stood. “Let’s get moving. We’ve got a full plate to deal with.”

  Luca and Cremora entered the precinct after a day of running down leads on a second double homicide in the county—this time in Neptune. Luca stopped at a secretary’s desk and grabbed a fistful of message slips. As the partners headed to their office, Luca stopped to chat with a curvaceous policewoman who had transferred in from Ocean Township.

  Cremora had to pry his partner away, and Luca lamented, “Damn shame to hide such fine china in a uniform.”

  “You’re a piece of work.”

  Luca smiled and flipped through the messages before he handed them off. “I ain’t hanging around. Nothing here seems to be boiling.”

  “Maybe you can catch her in the parking lot.”

  Luca shut his computer down. “Very funny, wise guy.”

  Cremora thumbed the messages. “There’s two from Franco. You’re not calling your buddy back?”

  “I promised him I’d help him at St. Mark’s soup kitchen this weekend.”

  Cremora reached for his ringing phone. “Ever the saint, ain’t you?”

  “Look, I gotta go. I’m meeting Deb at Zoes. If I’m late again she’ll have my head.”

  Luca grabbed his jacket as Cremora spoke into the phone. “Hey, Franco, how you doing?”

  Luca waved at his partner, who told the caller, “No, he just left. Anything I can help you with?”

  Cremora nodded and held up a forefinger to Luca. “Okay, okay, maybe I can catch him in the parking lot. You know how he likes to chat up the girls on the way out.”

  “Ha ha. What did he want?”

  “Wants you to head straight down to Freehold.”

  “What? Now?”

  “Yup, sobito. You’re not gonna believe it, but it’s about Johns.”

  Luca checked his watch. “He’s dead, and I ain’t got the time. Deb will skin me alive.” He reached for the phone. “I’ll call him instead.”

  Cremora watched his partner's face break out into a huge smile as he spoke to Franco. When Luca hung up, he threw up his hands. “Man, what a frigging roller coaster.”

  “What’s up?”

  “You’re not gonna believe it, but it really was Johns who killed Wyatt.”

  “How did he know that?”

  “Franco confirmed the blood on the shirt was Wyatt’s.”

  “What shirt?”

  “The tee shirt we got from Johns’ car.”

  “But they said it wasn’t a match.”

  “Yeah, school me. But thank God for the Jordan case. After that one, the department mandated all crime scene blood samples to be checked for matches in the database; you know, looking for links to other cases.”

  “Yeah, I heard about that.”

>   “Anyway, they ran the blood, and bingo, they got a hit on the Wyatt case.”

  “You’re losing me.”

  “When the lab results from that double homicide in Cliffwood Beach produced a match with the Wyatt case, they told Franco.”

  Cremora nodded as Luca continued. “When Franco saw it was Wyatt’s, he pulled the evidence out. He questioned it, probably because of all the fuss I’d been making. He reran the test on the shirt. The results confirmed it was Wyatt’s blood all the time.”

  “You shitting me? How the hell did this happen?”

  “Said the lab might’ve switched samples, or maybe they could’ve tested the same one twice or something.”

  “Geez, what frigging clowns. That could’ve saved us a whole lot of heartache.”

  “Man, I can’t believe it, but at least we know it was Johns.”

  “Yeah, but I just wish we knew what really happened that night.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Luc.”

  “It does to me.”

  “You know what you say: ‘You can solve a crime and not know what really happened.’”

  “Guess you got me there, partner.”

  Cremora smiled. “Make it a real celebration tonight.”

  Luca nodded as he reached for his jacket. “Oh yeah, I'd better get going.”

  Vanished

  A Luca Mystery Book 2

  Chapter 1

  Stewart

  “No amount of travel on the wrong road will bring you to the right destination.” - Ben Gaye, III

  May 3rd

  I shifted in my chair as Kevin Greely made his case to our largest client. They had a huge contract for a desalination plant we wanted, no, we needed, but I couldn’t help thinking my boss’s groveling was sickening. My phone vibrated again, the third time in five minutes. I glanced around the table. All eyes were fixed on the PowerPoint presentation, so I dipped into my jacket for a peek. Frozen, I stared at the number as it buzzed.

  It was her.

  I pushed back from the conference table, drawing the attention I dreaded.

  “Uh, sorry. I gotta get this. Family emergency. I’ll be right back.”

  Greely’s eyes bore into me as he said, “Hustle up, Dom, we’re moving to your wheelhouse next.”