Brooklyn's Song (11 page)

Chapter 38

There was a flurry of activity outside the building when Song pulled up in front of the Nightshade apartments. Patrol cars lined the narrow street with their lights flashing. Crime scene techs dressed in white carried bags of evidence and the coroners van sat nearby, its back doors wide open. Curious onlookers stood in the cool early morning air; some still in their pajamas with cell phones in hand, hoping to capture something on video. Song exited his car and walked towards the string of yellow crime scene tape. He showed the police officer his badge and ducked beneath the tape. Mattice was standing off to the side talking to a petite woman dressed in a green bathrobe and matching slippers.

“Mrs. Angelo, this is my partner Detective Kai.”

Song shook her hand and said, “Why don’t we go sit down.” He asked one of the EMT’s, “Can you please get a blanket for Mrs. Angelo?”

They sat down at a table in the courtyard and the EMT brought over a blanket. Song handed it to Mrs. Angelo and she draped it around her shoulders.

“Thank you,” she said, in a thick Italian accent.

“You’re welcome,” Song replied.

“Mrs. Angelo is the landlady and she’s been in Italy for the last three weeks. When she returned she noticed that her machine was full of calls from angry tenants complaining about the smell and the loud TV coming from apartment B11. Upon entering the apartment, she found the suspect Jerry Carsono sitting in his recliner with a needle still stickling out of his arm.”

The police were called and they found some pretty incriminating shit.” Mattice looked embarrassed at his slip of the tongue. “Pardon my French, Mrs. Angelo. Anyway, I’ll go over all that later.”

“Mrs. Angelo, how long has Mr. Carsono been a tenant of yours?” Song asked.

She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and blew her nose. “For about one and a half years. He pays always on time.”

“Did he have a lot of visitors?” Mattice said.

“I live at the other end of the apartment building. I don’t know who comes and goes.” She began to cry. “Jerry was a nice kid; he would go to the store for me sometimes. The last time I saw him I told him I would bring him back some cannolies from Italy.”

Mrs. Angelo was shaking from the cold or from being nervous. Either way, Song knew that they had gotten as much information as they could.

Song stood and helped Mrs. Angelo to her feet. “Let’s get you back inside where it’s warm.” He handed her his card. “‘Call me if you think of anything else.” He paused and made eye contact with her. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Mattice motioned an officer to come over. “Please walk Mrs. Angelo to her apartment.”

“Thank you,” she said, through her sobs before walking away.

Song turned to Mattice. “What was found at the scene that connects him to the shooting?”

“There was a shitload of evidence found. A box of 9 millimeter shells, a diagram of the ballroom and a map of the route the governor was going to take. It looked as if he was doing surveillance.” Mattice handed Song a thick binder.

Song opened the binder and read though the pages. It was a detailed list of dates and times when Lydia went to and from work.

Surprised, Song said, “The governor may not have been the target after all. Miss Carmen may have been…But why?”

“I don’t know, but we have a lot of evidence to comb through; let’s get started.”

Chapter 39

Brooklyn tried to reach Song before leaving for work, but her call went to voicemail. She was half asleep at the time, but remembered him saying there was a break in the case. There wasn’t anything on the radio or on TV, so she wasn’t quite sure what was going on. While sitting at the picnic table in the playground watching her students play during recess, she thought about Song; he didn’t’ have to say a word; she could see it in his eyes when he looked at her. She was lost in her thoughts when she heard a voice.

“Excuse me, Miss Peirce; can I have a word with you?”

She glanced up and Keisha’s mother Ruby standing there dressed in a waitress uniform.

“Hello Mrs. Ward. Yes, of course. Please, have a seat.”

Ruby sat down across from Brooklyn. She twisted one of her long braids.

“I’m on my way to work and I thought I’d stop by. I wanted to thank you for what you did for Keisha.”

“Keisha’s a bright girl and a very good student.” Brooklyn looked over at Keisha pushing one of her classmates on a swing. She chuckled. “She can be a little stubborn at times and opinionated, but she’s a pleasure to have in my class. We always keep extra snacks and school supplies too, so don’t ever worry about that,” Brooklyn said, with a reassuring look.

Ruby smiled. “Thanks. Keisha says that you’re her favorite teacher and now I see why. If you ever need volunteers for field trips or whatever, don’t hesitate to let me know. Thanks again, Ruby said.”

“You’re welcome, and I will definitely put your name at the top of the list when we’re in need of volunteers.”

After Ruby left, Brooklyn rang her bell alerting the children that recess was over. The children stood in line and followed her back inside the school. Today was their music lesson, so she walked them to Harold’s music room. He waited outside the door and greeted each child as they walked in. Usually Harold would strike up a conversation with Brooklyn and was overly friendly. Today, however, he just said “good afternoon” and closed the door after the last child entered the room. Brooklyn couldn’t understand why Harold acted so strangely. She thought about how his whole demeanor changed when he saw the hickeys on her neck. She sat in the teacher’s lounge sipping a cup of tea when Lonette came in and sat down across from her.

“What a day; so far Sophia decided that yellow crayons are part of the food group. Teddy thinks glue will make an excellent hair conditioner and Miles decided his favorite word of the day is a four letter word that I can’t repeat that rhymes with duck.” Lonette noticed the perplexed look on Brooklyn’s face. “What’s up? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine; it’s just that Harold has been acting a little strange.”

“Brook, Harold is always acting strange; that’s nothing new.” Lonette leaned in closer to the table. “The guy gives me the creeps. How are things going with you and Song?”

Brooklyn couldn’t help herself; at the mention of Song’s name, she broke out in big smile. “Things are going very well.”

“Are we talking the L-word?” Lonette asked.

She thought about the way Song looked at her the previous night and knew. ”It may be too early for that.”

Lonette smiled. “There’s no time table on love, Brook. I have a feeling you already know.”

Brooklyn nodded her head. “We better get back.”

After school let out, Brooklyn was riding in the Town Car on the way to the gym when her phone vibrated. It was Song. She was happy to hear from him.

“Hey there,” Brooklyn said.

“Ja-gi-ya, I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner, but there’s a lot going on. I’ve been working with the feds around the clock. This is the first chance I had to call.”

Song’s voice was raspy; Brooklyn could hear the fatigue starting to set in.

“I’m at home catching a few winks before going back to work. There have been some major developments in the case. We may have found the shooter. We’re still waiting on ballistics to confirm it, so there hasn’t been an official announcement to the press yet.”

Brooklyn was speechless for a moment. “You really think this is the guy? Did he confess?”

“He couldn’t. Unfortunately, he was found dead. It looks like an apparent overdose, but there was more evidence that may link him to the crime.”

“My biggest fear was that…That he would come back and try to finish the job.” She became emotional at the thought.

“Ja-gi-ya, don’t cry, it’s okay.” Song wished he was with Brooklyn now; to hold her close to him and take away her fears and sadness.

Brooklyn held back her tears. “Listen; get some rest; you sound exhausted.”

“I’ll be in touch,” he said.

“Okay, bye.”

Chapter 40

Song was in bed. He imagined Brooklyn against his skin; hearing her soft moans and whispers. He closed his eyes and eased into sleep.

Song slept for an hour and then quickly showered and shaved before going back to the station. He and Mattice were scheduled to meet with the FBI in Lieutenant Phillips’ office. While diving to the station, his cell phone rang.

“Detective Kai, speaking.”

“Hello Song.”

“Hunter, what’s with the blocked number?”

“I assumed you wouldn’t answer if you knew it was me.”

“That would be a correct assumption. What do you want?”

“A little birdie told me that you’re about to name a suspect in the assassination attempt on the governor.”

“I have a meeting to get to; no comment,” Song said, tersely.

“Song, why are you being so difficult; didn’t we have some good times together?”

“Hunter, I have to go.”

‘Wait!” she shouted, “Is it true that Lydia Carmen was the real target and not the governor?”

Song knew he had to keep his cool; he couldn’t let Hunter know that her information may be right.

“Hunter, you’re reaching here.”

“Song, I’ve been doing a little digging on Governor Peirce; did you know that he was questioned right after his first wife was found dead? Get this,” she said, pausing for dramatic effect, “He failed a polygraph!”

“Hunter, I have to go.” Song disconnected the call.

Chapter 41

FBI agent Mike Waters stood in Lieutenant Phillips office going over all of the evidence that was gathered at the deceased suspect’s apartment.

“The box of bullet shells found at the scene was a match, and the hair recovered from the cap was also a match. We are confident that Jerry Carsono was the shooter. We believe that he acted alone,” Waters said, sipping from a mug, “Are there any questions?”

“Agent Waters, I understand that there was evidence to suggest that Carsono was conducting surveillance on Miss Carmen, the governor’s fiancée?” Song said.

Agent Waters straightened his tie. “We cannot confirm that Miss Carmen was the target. We still believe that the governor was the sole target.”

Mattice interjected. “Jerry had a list of times and dates of Miss Carmen’s work schedule and her home address; why would he watch her, if she wasn’t a target?”

Agent Waters turned and looked at Mattice as if he were an irritating child always asking why.

“Detective Blake, for all we know he could have been planning a kidnapping. Since the suspect is deceased, we can’t question him which means all we can do is assume. I’ve scheduled a press conference for 5: 00 PM. The governor along with his family will be in attendance. I suggest we stick to facts and not speculation.” Agent Waters stood and shook Lieutenant Phillips hand. “The FBI would like to thank you and your department for your assistance into this investigation. If you plan on speaking to the press, we would like a written preview of your statement ahead of time.”

After agent Waters left the room, Lieutenant Phillips reached in her desk and pulled out a fresh pack of Nicorette. “That guy is one arrogant asshole!”

“I concur,” Mattice said.

Song chimed in. “You’re not going to get an argument from me.”

“I need the two of you out there front and center prepared to answer questions. We don’t want to be blindsided like we were before,” she said, looking at Song. “Is there anything else I should know pertaining to this investigation?”

Song thought about bringing up some of Hunter’s accusations against the governor, but decided it wasn’t a good idea. He wanted to run things passed Mattice first.

“No, I think Agent Waters covered everything,” Song said.

“Good, the sooner we finish this press conference, the sooner we can send Waters packing,” Lieutenant Phillips said.

Chapter 42

The governor asked Brooklyn to be by his side during the press conference. At first Brooklyn was hesitant, but she knew just how important this press conference was to her father, so she decided to go. Brooklyn contemplated introducing Song to her father, but thought it would be better to have them meet in a different setting. Yes, her father had met Song, but he met him as a detective not as her boyfriend.

Brooklyn, dressed in an ivory eyelet sundress and black espadrilles, followed behind Terry and the governor as they walked through the police station. A few of the officers on duty stopped what they were doing and watched her as she walked by. Song and Mattice, along with Lieutenant Phillips and Agent Waters were standing at the podium when the Governor, Brooklyn and Terry entered the room.

Mattice nudged Song and whispered, “Wow... Just wow!”

When Song saw Brooklyn, he was mesmerized by her beauty. Brooklyn immediately knew the moment Song’s gaze was upon her. Her eyes locked on his.

“Why don’t we get started,” Lieutenant Phillips said.

Agent Waters leaned in and whispered in Lieutenant Phillips ear. She didn’t look at all happy and gave him the side-eye.

Lieutenant Phillips continued. “We aren’t going to be taking any questions right now, but once the investigation is complete, we will share our findings with all of you.”

She introduced everyone standing at the podium and began to relay information regarding the investigation. She then called on Agent Waters to give the official FBI statement. Agent Waters began. “We have obtained a number of incriminating items from suspect Jerry Carsono’s apartment linking him to the assassination attempt of Governor Sage Peirce and the shooting of Miss Lydia Carmen. The investigation is still in the early stages therefore I will not, repeat, I will not give further details regarding the items that were recovered. I’m sure the governor would like to say a few words.” Agent Waters gestured for Governor Peirce to step forward.

“Good afternoon. First I would like to thank the outstanding medical personnel who attended to me and my fiancée Lydia. I would also like to thank the law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation, and for putting their lives on the line every day. Thanks so much to everyone who said a prayer and sent a card. Its times like these that make us realize how precious friends and family are.” He looked over at Brooklyn and smiled. “God bless you and thank you all.”

The briefing room erupted with applause.

“Damn, he’s good,” Mattice muttered to Song.

The governor went down the line shaking hands with the detectives and police officers from the precinct. Afterwards, everyone was filing out of the room. Brooklyn purposely stayed behind so that she could talk to Song.