Trick Turn

by Tom Barber

  Archer turned and headed down 9th, not far now from the school. ‘Those two left behind a kid having to deal with the fallout for how they lived their lives. Dragging her into a way of life she never asked to be a part of.’

  ‘But she was a part of it,’ Chalky said. ‘We can’t change that.’

  Archer stopped at a red light. ‘When Vargas and I were together, we took Issy upstate for a weekend at a cabin in the Adirondacks. Had the doors and windows open for a lot of the day. Every time some butterfly or moth got stuck in the house and she noticed, she’d get a glass and a piece of paper and trap it before letting it back outside. I watched her do it over and over. Told her she was wasting her time but she wouldn’t listen.’

  Chalky nodded. ‘She’s got a good heart.’

  ‘She does. But Marquez didn’t mention everything on the Lombardi’s file this morning. Like how Issy’s dad used to drill the kneecaps of people who pissed him off. Or how her mother didn’t just beat up that waitress, she almost killed her and was arrested multiple times for assault on other people who crossed her. The guy Josh and Harry talked to this morning told them it was well-known she ordered multiple murders too, and he had suspicions she killed two of his friends herself. They might have created this girl, but she’s not who they were.’

  He moved on as the light turned green.

  ‘I’ve been watching for that, just in case it started to surface, but she’s showed no signs. None of their tendencies for violence or cruelty. And Vargas is doing a great job with her. Like you said, the kid’s got a heart of gold.’ Ten seconds later, he pulled into the parking lot for the theater school and switched off the engine.

  ‘And right now, someone wants to cut it out,’ Chalky replied quietly, undoing his seatbelt and opening the door.

  SEVEN

  Isabel attended middle school in Queens, but as Archer had told the Bureau investigation team, the theater program was something totally separate which the girl had begged Vargas to allow her to participate in over the summer. During the past year, she’d shown an increasing interest in acting as well as a skill for applying a cast’s make-up for shows, learning fast from watching videos online as well as carefully studying the adults whose job it was. As it would keep her busy doing something productive while Vargas was working all day for the NYPD, her adoptive mother had been all for it, paying a couple of hundred dollars for her enrolment.

  Walking into the school on that summer Monday morning, Archer and Chalky saw kids ahead of them in the corridors, some plugged into headphones, others talking to each other while a few stowed their belongings in lockers. Vargas and Marquez had already arrived; the latter was nowhere to be seen for the moment, but Vargas was talking quietly in the hallway with a grey-haired man and a middle-aged woman. ‘This is my colleague, Sam Archer and a friend of his from England,’ she said, as he and Chalky approached. The man was balding and slightly overweight; he was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans with glasses perched low on his nose and had a play manuscript tucked under his arm, a cup of coffee in his other hand, looking every bit the cliché of a performing arts teacher. The woman had silver streaks in her hair and was dressed in smart casual clothes; her appearance and confident, slightly severe demeanour suggested she was someone of influence here.

  ‘Hello,’ the woman said, shaking their hands. ‘Are you a detective too?’ she asked Chalky.

  ‘Danny White,’ he replied. ‘Yes. I’m a cop based in London.’

  ‘I’m the school’s principal, Jacqui Del Pasio,’ she replied. ‘This is Pete Brewerton. He’s one of my full-time members of staff. Also runs the summer theater program for the middle school students.’

  ‘You’re aware of the girl’s history?’ Archer asked.

  ‘Aspects of it,’ Principal Del Pasio said, looking at Vargas. ‘It was discussed when Isabel was enrolled in the program. Obviously we have to consider the safety and well-being of all our students, and her application file had some…areas which caused us some concern. I’m hearing these haven’t gone away, as I’d been led to believe.’

  ‘I’m guessing you don’t normally attend rehearsals during the summer break,’ Chalky said. ‘So what’s the deal?’

  ‘Some of the kids who were with Issy at the carnival last night are in the program too. They told their parents what happened and…concerns have been raised. My phone’s been ringing non-stop all morning. More than a couple want Isabel removed from the program for the safety of their children.’

  ‘She’s not a leper,’ Vargas snapped. ‘She’s an eleven year old kid, same as the rest of them.’

  ‘She’s not the same though, is she, Detective,’ Del Pasio said. ‘That’s the point.’

  ‘It would be cruel to exclude her. That file you read doesn’t give the details about everything she’s been through. I was there with her for some of them. She’s earned the right to a normal life.’

  ‘And these children have the right to not have their lives put at risk.’

  ‘You try to yank her outta this program, we’re gonna have issues,’ Vargas fired back, the air beginning to crackle with tension.

  ‘Cool it. We’ll sort this,’ Archer said, putting his hand on Alice’s back as support, as well as a warning, having seen the Principal’s body stiffen. ‘We’ve all got concerns, but the priority is to keep Issy safe. How big is your security team?’ he asked, giving the Principal a smile.

  ‘Four guards are on site at present, but we have a couple more we could call in,’ Del Pasio replied, her expression softening slightly as she answered Archer. ‘After the spate of school shootings last year across the country, we increased our security staff to six. At least two of them are on duty whenever there are students on location.’

  ‘What are their backgrounds?’ Chalky asked. ‘The guards.’

  ‘We hire them from a security firm,’ she said. ‘Think a couple used to be cops. They’re all reliable. Carefully vetted by the company.’

  As Del Pasio was speaking, Marquez reappeared from the other end of the hallway and joined the group. ‘I called the 10th Precinct. They agreed to put a squad car front and back, for today at least, until we can sort something else out,’ she said. ‘All entrances should be protected then, inside and outside.’

  ‘Do you know who you’re looking for?’ the teacher and director of the production, Pete Brewerton, asked.

  ‘Not yet,’ Archer said, as beside him Vargas’ phone dinged with a message.

  ‘We need to go,’ she told her colleagues, looking at the screen. ‘We have to be elsewhere but Chalk- Officer White- will stay behind to keep an eye on Isabel.’

  ‘Very well.’

  She took a deep breath and then glanced at Del Pasio. ‘Sorry I snapped at you. I’m just worried about her.’

  Del Pasio nodded. ‘That’s understandable. We are too.’

  They shook hands again, then she, Archer and Marquez headed for the exit. ‘Is that relevant?’ Chalky asked, remaining behind and noticing something in the principal’s hands. It was folded over, but he saw the edge of the underside. It was a drawing.

  Del Pasio hesitated. ‘Something we found stuck to her locker. I think it’s part of the reason why Detective Vargas was testy.’

  Chalky took it from her and opened the paper. It was a mock sketch of the carnival last night, a big wheel in the background, and showed Isabel with the knife buried in her head, lying on the floor, basic stick figure people standing around her.

  A red coloring pen had been given one hell of a workout.

  ‘A lot of children haven’t developed the empathy yet that comes with maturity,’ Del Pasio said, taking the crude drawing back from him and scrunching it up.

  ‘Let’s call it what it is,’ Chalky said. ‘Some kids are little shitheads.’

  She lowered her voice. ‘They can be. Yes.’

  ‘Did she see the drawing?’

  ‘Yes. I think she did.’

  ‘What happened to your arms, Is?’ one of the kids asked
in the theater as they gathered on stage, ready for rehearsals. Isabel didn’t need to look down to see several naked gash marks on her forearms and on the underside of her triceps.

  ‘Nothing. Just had an accident.’ She noticed some of the girls were avoiding her, and again that feeling of isolation swept over her. Can’t blame them, I guess, she thought. She looked at the auditorium, the rows of empty seats, much of the space dark, and felt her heart start to race. Although she already knew where they were, she double-checked the quickest route for the exits, as Vargas had taught her.

  The door at the top opened and Mr Brewerton walked in. ‘Everyone, center stage!’ he called. ‘We’ve got work to do!’

  ‘Psst,’ a voice whispered to Isabel’s right. It startled her and she turned, but relaxed when she saw Chalky in the wings, beckoning her over.

  ‘Where’d Vargas and Archer go?’ she asked quietly when she reached him.

  ‘They left to work on finding whoever did the things last night. I’m staying here with you.’

  She looked nervous, but smiled. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Better go join the others. I’ll be here all day. Don’t worry.’

  As she peeled off, Chalky watched her go then sought to gain a sense of the geography of the place from where he was standing in the wings. Around him, there was a degree of space for actors to position themselves ready for their entrances; an old piano covered with a sheet was resting alongside some pulleys and light switches on the wall.

  As the director addressed the young actors on stage, Chalky turned and quietly walked towards the rear of the wings. Down a small flight of stairs to his left was the entrance/exit to what he assumed was the green room, where the actors got changed and could come up to the wings without being seen or heard by the audience. At the back of the stage hung a huge black curtain, serving as the backdrop for the performance; he walked over to check behind it and saw there was about a foot’s width of space, allowing someone to creep quietly back and forth during a performance.

  It was clear and allowed a free path of access to the other side, but Chalky chose to turn back, wanting to check out the green room. Once down there, he found racks on wheels holding rows of costumes, some of them in dry-cleaning cellophane bags; he saw the boys and girls each had their own side to dress, with dedicated bathrooms.

  He walked deeper into the space, Pete’s voice indistinct yet just audible from the stage upstairs.

  In the main centre area of the green room were a line of make-up desks, surrounded by lights, each with a mirror, much in the style of what the old-time movie stars would’ve recognised.

  The place was empty.

  He walked through to the back, and found what he’d been looking for, a fire-exit door which had a bar and safety pin on this side, not able to be opened from the other. He tested the door by pushing it a few times and found it was secure. He came up a corresponding set of steps on the stage-left wing, arriving as Pete’s speech ended and the kids separated, some making their way out into the auditorium as others took up positions on stage for whatever scene was about to be rehearsed.

  He saw Isabel glance into the opposite wing, then look around in brief concern, but once she found him again, she smiled.

  He smiled back and gave her the OK sign.

  He just hoped that wasn’t a lie.

  EIGHT

  ‘Nassau police are still interviewing workers from the carnival,’ Shepherd told Vargas, as she, Marquez and Archer re-joined him at the Bureau. ‘But we’ve been focusing on your apartment and the flytrap. I’ve never seen anything like it. Must’ve taken time to put together.’

  ‘Wouldn’t take so long if our suspect’s done it or something like it, before,’ Archer said.

  Shepherd used a laser pointer to specify sections of a photo on the big screen, which showed the bed retracted with the additional springs removed. The blades had punctured through the mattress, and two smaller photos to the side showed one example of each. ‘The knives are heavy-duty, extra-long and store-bought, all the same size. Some kind of jumbo pack maybe.’

  The photos also showed the mattress removed, and with the bare base of the bed pulled apart, it revealed the barbarity of what had been planned for Issy. Like an open jaw full of long, razor sharp teeth. The knives had been secured in place by large clamps.

  ‘The mattress was dumped on top, and the tips of the blades punctured through somewhere into the middle. The underside was set like a mouse trap. Once weight landed on the bed, the springs would snap the two sides up like a deck chair.’

  ‘How many springs?’ Arched replied.

  ‘We counted twelve. CSU needed three guys to force the bed open. You were last at the apartment in the morning, right?’ he asked Vargas.

  She nodded. ‘Issy was with friends all day yesterday, then went out to Long Island. I left for here before 8.30am and was out all day.’

  ‘Anyone else with a key? Like a cleaner or someone?’

  ‘Lisa has my spare,’ she said, looking at Marquez who nodded. ‘Still got it?’

  Marquez held up her key chain, isolating the key in question. ‘No-one could have removed it yesterday. Had these on me all day.’

  ‘There are cameras on 38th Street,’ Archer said.

  ‘At the ends, not covering the building. And whoever did this could have cut through to Steinway above or 37th below.’

  ‘Then we need to check each camera.’

  ‘I’ve been working on the 38th feeds,’ Ethan said, sending the footage up top. The tape wasn’t on fast speed, but was slightly quicker than normal. People walked down the streets either way, vehicles were passing, some pulling in to park, others stopping briefly because of traffic. UPS and FedEx delivery personnel dropped off packages, as well as postmen and women delivering mail. ‘Nothing so far.'

  ‘Finding someone who we don’t have a profile for, in over fifteen hours of tape, on three different streets with six exit points,’ Josh said. ‘Ain’t gonna be easy.’

  ‘So pull up a chair and get comfortable,’ Shepherd said. ‘Let’s get started.’

  ‘Everything satisfactory?’ the theater director asked Chalky quietly, as he took a seat beside him in the auditorium, the kids on stage working their way through a scene. The British cop nodded, having just carried out a thorough reconnaissance of the rest of the school building. Principal Del Pasio’s security guards were posted at each entrance/exit, and he was pleased to see a NYPD squad car positioned on the street near the doors on 10th Avenue, the main entrance, as Marquez had arranged.

  In all, the place felt secure.

  ‘Which play is this?’ he asked quietly, diverting his attention to the performance on the stage.

  ‘The Crucible. Arthur Miller. It’s about the Salem Witch trials.’

  Chalky was watching Isabel, on stage beside two boys. She’d said some lines since he’d walked in and he watched her deliver some more. ‘Heard she’s got a meaty role.’

  ‘Issy’s playing Mary Warren. She’s a servant to the main characters, and one of the girls pretending to be possessed by witchcraft. It’s challenging, which is why I gave her the part. She’s showing a lot of promise.’

  Chalky watched the scene unfold. It was based in a courtroom judging by the set, and Isabel’s character was being rebuked by a lawyer, the young actor playing the part accusing her of faking accusations. Under the strong lights shining onto the set and with no stage makeup, the gash across Issy’s cheek was pronounced. If she hadn’t turned her head at that last second, her understudy would have had her work cut out for her today.

  ‘I heard the other girls screaming, and you, your Honor, you seemed to believe them,’ she said meekly to the boy actor playing the prosecutor. Even from where he was sitting, Chalky saw her lip trembling and was surprised at the emotion she was showing. ‘And it were only sport in the…beginning, sir, but then the whole world cried spirits…’

  ‘Is this healthy?’ Chalky asked the director quietly, as the kids continued t
heir work on stage. He’d agreed with Vargas about needing to keep the girl in the program, but seeing Issy seemingly so emotionally involved in the play, for a moment he found himself having second thoughts.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘With everything going on…is this good for her? To get so upset, even if it’s make-believe.’

  ‘Before the program began, we sat down with a police psychologist who’s been working with Isabel, ever since the incident in Harlem that I read about on her file. Like Jacqui said outside, similar concerns were brought up. But I knew what a positive effect using those emotions in something creative could bring. It’s cathartic. And she’s talented.’

  She was. Chalky watched the scene continue, which was building towards a climax. A girl playing one of the leads was pretending to be overcome by Isabel’s character’s witchcraft, and Issy was pleading with her to stop.

  ‘Mary, do you send this shadow on me?’ another girl character cried.

  ‘Lord, save me,’ Isabel replied.

  ‘I freeze! I freeze!’ another girl clamoured.

  ‘It’s a wind! A wind,’ the other girl said, holding herself as if she was cold.

  ‘…Abby, don’t do that,’ Isabel said, but she stuttered slightly. The rising emotions seemed to be affecting her; it didn’t match her performance from ten seconds ago, and Chalky saw a momentary flash of distress on her face.

  ‘Mary Warren, do you witch her?’ the boy playing the prosecutor asked, pointing at ‘Abby’ and getting in Isabel’s face. ‘I say to you, do you send your spirit out?’

  Isabel stopped, the other actors looking at her.

  ‘This is where you bolt, Issy,’ Brewerton prompted from the seats.

  Isabel screamed and started to run, before being caught by one of the lead actors, but the scene had sputtered and faltered, like an engine running on the last gas in the tank. It ground to a halt and the energy was gone.

  ‘Let me go-’ she started, but Pete rose.