Murder in Hell's Kitchen (29 page)

36

THE MATCH ON the prints came by late afternoon. The DNA would take longer, but who needed it? Before the end of the day it was announced that Inspector Hackett's PAA had been arrested. The charges began with endangering the life of a police officer and went on from there. The Feds would have seconds with her later.

The story that developed, much of which was reported in the local media, was that the PAA, Emily Wilson, a middle-aged New Yorker with superb secretarial skills, had been approached in China two years earlier and asked to be alert to information on the Soderberg case and a couple of others that were not reported. There was a modest retainer for her vigilance and a promised large bonus for actual information, which she was supposed to telephone to Mr. Chong Wang.

Jane healed and was relieved to hear that Hutchins was truly on the mend. Her father said he always knew she would solve the City Hall Park Murder, and as always, he was very proud of her.

The police department decided to award her a Meritorious Commendation, and she had a chance at the Medal of Honor. On Medal Day at One PP, the Chief of Detectives was unavoidably busy at something, and Inspector Hackett stood in for him. The picture of the smiling Hackett and the smiling Jane Bauer was on the front of the
Daily News
and the
Post
. The
Times
used it in the Metro section.

Hack called her afterward—they had not spoken since she left the hospital—and said he had always wanted a picture of the two of them that he could hang on the wall in his office, and he thought he had worked this one out pretty well.

“Nearly got me killed,” she said.

“Then there wouldn't have been a picture. Can I ask you what your job prospects are?”

“Captain Graves wants the three of us to continue in the cold-case task force.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me.”

“Defino hates MacHovec and I spend half my time keeping them from killing each other.”

“It's good training. You didn't answer my question.”

“I told the insurance company I'd be staying on the job.”

“You won't regret it, Jane.”

“It'll mean bread and water if I keep the apartment.”

“You'll figure something out,” he said cavalierly. “You'll get a raise. The promotion list is making the rounds, and I recognized a few names from your office, a couple to first-grade detective and a handful to second. And maybe someday you'll have a roommate.”

She didn't answer that. “It's a great picture. We look so happy.”

“We were happy.”

“Dad's framing his. He can't keep his eyes off it.”

“A man with good taste.”

She smiled at the picture after they hung up. There was a letter in the mail from Mike Fromm. He and his son were planning a trip to New York next month. How was the first week of December? She thought it was just fine. The tree at Rockefeller Center would be up and lighted, New York at its brightest.

The ordeal in Chinatown still gave her nightmares. She knew that working in insurance would never give her bad dreams, and for a couple of days after she left the hospital, she had thought it was really what she wanted. And then something changed. She couldn't let go of the job. Or maybe it couldn't let go of her. It was part of her in a way that nothing else in her life was. Who would she be without it?

She called Flora Hamburg and they got together for dinner, Flora with her white hair and shopping bag and her weapon on her ample hip. Flora never said a word, never asked her what she wanted to do. But when she picked up the check, she reached into her shopping bag and pulled out a framed copy of the famous picture.

“You look great,” Flora said. “Even that son of a bitch Hackett looks good.”

There had been article after article in the papers. The mayor was deliriously happy with the success of the squad. First-Grade Detective Jane Bauer was emblematic of the best of the police force. Her partners were great men, and the squad had more than proved itself.

And then there was Jane Bauer herself. She was grateful the past was past, more grateful than she could articulate that she was alive and well enough to work. The investigation of the murder of Arlen Quill had turned into the case of her lifetime, almost the last one, she thought, with a familiar echo of fear. She sensed a pride that she kept to herself in what she had accomplished: the observations that had become leads, the frail strands of possibility that she had picked up and run with till they panned out. Who could have imagined a simple homicide would lead to a complicated international conspiracy?

It was over now, the questions answered, the last of the pieces neatly fitting into the puzzle, time to move on, time to tie up the last loose end in her life.

She got a fire going, made herself a mug of coffee, and got the phone. Sitting down in her favorite chair, she dialed the number of Lisa Angelino.

If you enjoyed this mystery, look for these
novels featuring intrepid investigator
Christine Bennett

 

THE APRIL FOOLS' DAY MURDER

by Lee Harris

For his favorite charity, the high school drama
club, Willard Platt fakes his own murder as an
April fool stunt. But the repeat performance later
that day is the real thing. And some say he
deserved it. Investigator (and ex-nun) Christine
Bennett is troubled by Willard's widow, who roams
the road at night, and his son, who has a troubled
marriage and bizarre secret life. Behind this
family's respectable facade, violent passions are
seething. For this is not the first tragedy to strike
them. Nor will it be the last.

 

Published by Fawcett Books.
Available wherever books are sold.

 

It's party time for a killer. . . .

THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY MURDER

by Lee Harris

Sleuth Christine Bennett is moved by two poignant
mementos treasured by her late Aunt May. The first
is a sad little note mourning the death of a young
man lost in a Connecticut wood; the other, an obit-
uary honoring a wealthy local manufacturer who
committed suicide just after his splendid fiftieth
birthday celebration. Why did her aunt never
mention these virtually simultaneous tragedies?
With her investigative instincts irresistibly whetted,
Chris slices through the layers of the past,
and uncovers the horrible truth that murder was
just the icing on the cake.

 

Published by Fawcett Books.
Available wherever books are sold.

 

Mayhem knows best. . . .

THE MOTHER'S DAY
MURDER

by Lee Harris

Investigator (and former nun) Christine Bennett is
appalled when a young woman claims to be the
natural daughter of Sister Joseph, beloved Superior
at St. Stephen's and Chris's dearest friend. But after
the girl is murdered, all the evidence leads the
police to believe she was telling the truth—and that
Sister Joseph is the prime suspect. As Chris franti-
cally searches for the truth, it seems only a miracle
can save Sister Joseph from a life behind bars.

 

Published by Fawcett Books.
Available wherever books are sold.

 

By Lee Harris

Published by Fawcett Books:

THE GOOD FRIDAY MURDER
THE YOM KIPPUR MURDER
THE CHRISTENING DAY MURDER
THE ST. PATRICK'S DAY MURDER
THE CHRISTMAS NIGHT MURDER
THE THANKSGIVING DAY MURDER
THE PASSOVER MURDER
THE VALENTINE'S DAY MURDER
THE NEW YEAR'S EVE MURDER
THE LABOR DAY MURDER
THE FATHER'S DAY MURDER
THE MOTHER'S DAY MURDER
THE APRIL FOOLS' DAY MURDER
THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY MURDER

 

Books published by The Ballantine Publishing Group are available at quantity discounts on bulk purchases for premium, educational, fund-raising, and special sales use. For details, please call 1-800-733-3000.

A Fawcett Book
Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group

 

Copyright © 2003 by Lee Harris

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by The Ballantine Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

 

Fawcett and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

www.ballantinebooks.com

www.randomhouse.com

eISBN: 978-0-307-41614-8

v3.0