Night and Day (19 page)

“You said it, Charlie,” he replied. “Not me.”

“I didn’t see your interview report for Carpenter in the file,” I continued. “Where is it?”

“Notes are on my desk,” he said. “Didn’t have time to write them up yet.”

And there was no rush. He had me in custody before the night was over. The case was
closed.

“Did Carpenter have anything interesting to say?”

Holstein shook his head. “Nah, guy was a real asshole. Acted like the murder was an
inconvenience for him.” He paused. “Thinks because he runs a high-class club that he’s better
than a working cop. He didn’t see nothin’, he didn’t hear nothin’, he didn’t know nothin’.
Talked to him about ten minutes and kicked him loose.”

“We’re in the home stretch now, Ray,” I said. “Few more questions and you can get fitted
for a rubber hand.”

“You enjoying this, Charlie?” he asked. “This kind of payback feel good to you?”

“Not really,” I said. “But I have to say, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.” I paused. “After
you kicked Carpenter loose, and the crime scene guys show up and release the corpse to the meatwagon, you and
Phipps take a another ride, down to my office. I have a couple of questions about that.”

“Just doing my job,” he spat.

“No,” I said. “Your job was to take me into custody. Your mystery caller said I was
involved, which made me your prime suspect. But it was damn near eight-thirty. It was unlikely that I’d be at the office. I’d be home. So I have to ask, why did you go to the office?”

Holstein looked away and said nothing.

“Dick,” I said.

As Nedelmann moved in, I walked over to the door. Takeda watched the beating, her
smooth face, as usual, impassive.

“When we finish with Holstein, I need to have a quick chat with the watch commander.
Then I think I’ll go talk to Lou Carpenter.”

“At his club?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I want to ask him a couple of questions about Joshua. Plus there’s
something else he’s involved in that seems connected to this case. I’m just not sure how it
connects.”

“I can have him brought here.”

“No, I’d rather talk to him on his own turf. He’ll feel more comfortable, and I might get
more out of him.”

Takeda was silent for a moment, then said, “Have you ever been to his club?”

I shook my head. “No. Not exactly my scene. Why?”

“The club caters to vampires,” she said. “You might find much of what you see there . . .
distasteful.”

“I thought Carpenter’s was a high-class joint.”

She nodded. “It is upscale. But as I said, the clientele is almost exclusively vampire. It
won’t be like any nightclub you’ve experienced.”

“I’ll take my chances,” I said. “Call it educational, a chance to see what passes for night life
uptown.”

“Then may I suggest that I go with you,” she said. “No disrespect is intended.”

“None taken.” I checked my watch. It was getting close to nine.

“Okay, Dick,” I said, turning. “Let’s see if he’s loosened up and ready to talk.”

Holstein slumped forward in the chair, his mouth hanging open. Though Nedelmann had
worked up quite a sweat, Holstein’s body was dry and unmarked.

I walked to him and pushed his head back, forcing him to sit up. “Anything to say, Ray?”

He stared straight ahead, silent.

“You know, it’s getting late and I have a lot to do this evening. I’m going to try to speed
things up.” I paused. “If you don’t start answering my questions right now, I’m going to have
Miss Takeda start hacking. I’ll have her slice off your arms and legs like you’d slice a salami for
a sandwich. One hunk at a time.” I paused again. “When she’s done, you might still be able to
do your job. But only if your partner carries you around on his back like a fucking papoose.
Your choice.”

Holstein was silent.

“Takeda,” I said.

She started across the room, sword in hand.

“Okay, Charlie,” Holstein said, his voice low. “Ask the questions.”

“No bullshit this time,” I said, leaning down and meeting his eyes. “I don’t enjoy this, but
you’re the man with answers, and I need them. I’m through fucking around. Do you understand
me?”

He nodded.

“Why don’t you save some time and just lay it out for me,” I said.

He nodded again. “After the crime scene guys released the body, I ordered a meatwagon
and told them I was heading to your apartment to arrest you. Before me and Phipps got back to
the car, I got a call on the radio. Somebody needed to talk to me. They gave me a number and I
called it from a pay phone.”

“And?”

“Same guy as before. Told me to have Martinez pick you up at your place. Wanted me to
go to your office and grab a couple of files.”

“Why wasn’t Martinez with you? You said the other night that he was your partner.”

“Off and on,” Holstein said. “He transferred in from Central District a couple of weeks ago.
Worked with me some, but I pawned him off on Lou Fields. I like to talk and Martinez isn’t
much of a conversationalist.”

“The caller said that you should send Martinez, mentioned him by name?”

“That’s what he said. I tried to argue with him.” Holstein looked up at me and smiled.
“Let’s face it, if you were going down, I wanted to be the one to give you a push. But he insisted
on Martinez.”

“And you still didn’t know who he was?”

“I dunno,” he said. “I had the feeling that he could be somebody at Uptown District,
somebody who was looking to throw me a juicy case. They do that sometimes if they’re
grooming you for something. But I don’t know who it was. Still don’t.”

“So you called in and told Martinez to pick me up.”

“Yeah. Said there was a change of plans, and to have Martinez and Fields take you into
custody.”

“Tell me about the files,” I said.

“Guy told me to grab three files from your office. Gave me the names that
were on them. I found one pretty fast, in the filing cabinet. Other two were a bitch. Finally
found one under some shit on your desk, the other on Thomas’s desk.” He smiled. “You really
ought to work on your filing system.”

“Keep talking.”

“Not much more to tell,” he said. “I got the files, we left. When I got back to the station, I
found out that Martinez and Fields got sidetracked with some bullshit detail and never got
around to pinching you. So I went and did it myself. You know most of the rest. I arrested you,
but by the time I got back to the station, the Deputy Area Governor had called and ordered us to
hold you till he got back to town the next night. Said he wanted you alive. That’s how we
delivered you.”

“What about the files?”

Holstein sighed. “Oh yeah, the files. I dropped them off where the guy on the phone told
me to.” He fell silent.

I sighed loudly. “And you were doing so good, Ray,” I said, taking a step back. “I really
thought you were ready to spill it all.” I turned to the right. “You might as well finish the job on
his left arm, Takeda. When you’re done, hold up a minute and we’ll see if Ray’s changed his
mind.”

“Wait,” Holstein said, his voice harsh. “Charlie, can you cut me a break here?”

I shook my head. “Sorry. I’m all out of breaks.” I paused. “Last chance.”

“All right,” he said. “Guy on the phone told me to deliver the files to Eddie Gabriel. Said to
meet him at a warehouse on the west side, down near the docks on St. Joseph’s. Took me damn
near an hour to find the place, which is why I was so late getting back to the station.”

“Was Gabriel the guy on the phone?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I know Gabriel’s voice and it wasn’t him. He was
expecting the files, though, so I guess he’s hooked up with whoever made the calls.”

Eddie Gee. The Godfather of Downtown. I knew he had to have some kind of connections
with Vees or he wouldn’t be able to operate, even as the small-timer he was. It looked like he
had more connections than I knew.

“Anything else?”

Holstein was quiet for almost a minute, then said, “No. Just that I want you to know that
none of this was personal. Yeah, I’ve got some . . . “ His lips curled into a parody of a smile. “. .
. issues with you, and Thomas pissed me off good the other night, when he treated me like a
fucking errand boy. But none of this was about you and your partner, at least not for me. I might
have...enjoyed it, but I was just looking for a good arrest, maybe get a commendation or a
promotion.”

The sad thing was, this time he was telling the whole truth.

“We go find Eddie Gee now?” Nedelmann asked with a quick grin. Gabriel had been a
constant thorn in the side of the day shift cops in Downtown District. Every time they thought
they had him on something, word would come from Central District to back off.

I shook my head. “Nah, Eddie’s not going anywhere. We can track him down tomorrow
after sunrise. Tonight I need to talk to Carpenter.”

“Are you finished with Sgt. Holstein?” Takeda asked.

I turned and started for the door. “Yeah, I think we got everything there is to get.”

“Good,” she said, moving toward him. I caught what happened next in the mirrored glass of
the observation window. Takeda stopped in front of him, raised the sword in a two-handed grip
and slashed like a baseball player swinging for the bleachers. Holstein’s head came off and
dropped to the floor.

Chapter Seventeen

Captain William “Hank” Henry, the night shift watch commander, wasn’t happy to see me.
I was getting that reaction a lot in Uptown station.

Before the war, Uptown station had been the Liberty Avenue station, and I’d been there
more than a couple of times. Taking it for granted that the watch commander’s office was still in
the same general area, I headed for the second floor. A few of the officers I saw in the halls
clearly wanted to question me, or stop me, but my hulking, blue-uniformed shadow that followed
a few steps behind kept them away. I hadn’t seen a need for an escort, but Takeda had insisted.

The door at the end of the main corridor on the second floor still had a plate on it that said
WATCH COMMANDER. I told my companion to stay there, knocked once, sharply, then
opened the door and went inside.

The antechamber was small, with room for a desk in the corner, a couple of chairs against
the wall to the right, and little else. The door to Henry’s office was on the back wall.

The uniformed sergeant behind the desk stared at me.

“Charlie Welles to see Captain Henry,” I said.

The sergeant was silent for a moment, then said, “Go in. He’s expecting you.”

I nodded, crossed the room, and went through the door.

Henry’s office was large, neat, and impersonal. A lot of cops like to put every
diploma, certificate, and picture they have on the wall. Not Henry. His walls were empty. His
desk was also clear, except for a nameplate, a single telephone and the folder that was open in
front of him. He was looking down at the folder when I came in and didn’t look up when I
closed the door behind me.

I walked to his desk and sat down in one of the two straight-backed wooden chairs in front
of it. “Charlie Welles, Area Governor’s Office,” I said. I glanced at the nameplate. “I’m
guessing that you’re Hank Henry.”

“Captain Henry,” he said, finally looking up. Henry was thin and balding, with deep-set
eyes. “And I know who you are. The chief said you’d be coming by. Something to do with . . .
personnel.”

“That’s right. I need to speak to a couple of your detectives.”

“Concerning?”

“Concerning an investigation I’m running,” I replied.

“Not good enough,“ he said. “I need details.”

I shook my head. “You want details,” I said. “You don’t need them.” I paused. “Look, I
was a Metro cop before the war. I know this isn’t the way you like to do business. But I don’t
have the time to go through channels, or do things the right way. You’re going to have to live
with it.” I paused again. “That’s the way it is.”

Henry wasn’t buying it. In his place, I probably wouldn’t have bought it either. But then, he
didn’t have a choice.

He stared at me, hard. From his clenched jaw, I knew he wasn’t used to being told what to
do in his own station. Especially by a human.

“Names?” he spat after a moment.

I pulled the piece of paper that Cynthia had given me out of my pocket. “Detective
Gutierrez,” I said, reading the first name.

“Nobody by that name in this station,” Henry said.

I nodded slowly. “Okay, how about Detective Washington?”

He shook his head. “I’ve got an Officer Washington assigned to lockup. No Detective
Washington at this station.”

“Right,” I said. “How about Lieutenant Belnikov? Watch lieutenant.”

“The watch lieutenant is Mike Frolander. No lieutenants or anybody else named Belnikov.”