Should Have Looked Away (13 page)

TWENTY-SIX

‘
It looks like
he was in the City on business,’ Roberts explained. ‘He had arrived at his hotel earlier in the day. Sure, he could have commuted from Paterson, but we could see from his diary that he had an appointment at Bellevue at 9:30 the following morning. We guessed he stayed here overnight. When we spoke to his widow, she said he quite often did that if he was away on a business trip. She said he left about eight that morning.’

Nkomo asked, ‘So why was he in Columbus Circle that afternoon? Out shopping? He could have left Jersey later in the day.’

Roberts turned to Alvarez. ‘What hotel was he staying at?’

‘It was the Comfort up at 173
rd,
,’ Alvarez replied.

The captain frowned. ‘173
rd
? Why all the way up there if he was due at Bellevue the next morning?’

Roberts shrugged. ‘Maybe it was cheaper, we don’t know. Perhaps he’d stayed there before and liked it.’

Nkomo grunted. ‘What did the hotel say about him?’

‘Well, he didn’t actually check in when he arrived. Check in time is after two like most hotels. He arrived around eleven they say, so left his bags with the concierge and went out. Said he’d be back later.’

‘Car?’

‘No. They said he told them he had no car.’

The captain leaned forward and tapped a sphere, harder this time. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘if the CCTV and forensics show a blank, then go back to the victim. See what else you can find out about him. Go back to Paterson. Today. Talk to the widow DiMucci again; talk to the kids; talk to the neighbours; talk to people where he worked. It’s possible he knew his attackers: remember it’s not first degree murder. From what you’ve told me, according to Carter, it sounded as if they were chasing him.’

Roberts nodded her agreement, and she and Alvarez left the captain’s office, promising to give him a daily update. She took a deep breath as they closed the door behind them.

‘So, what next?’ Alvarez asked, as they got back to their own desks.

As Roberts opened her mouth to answer, a woman uniformed officer passed her a sheet of paper. ‘He rang while you were in with the captain,’ she said.

Roberts quickly looked at the message, then at Alvarez. He was sure she was smiling.

‘Looks like we got ourselves a break at last,’ she grinned. Waving the sheet of paper, she added, ‘Will Carter has phoned. Says he wants to talk to us. Says he has more information for us.’

TWENTY-SEVEN

The morning after
his escapade to the Bronx, Will went to work full of resolve to get in touch with the police. As he sat staring at the subway tunnel walls, he realised that the sooner this business got resolved, the better it would be all round. Apart from the implications for him and his family, it was proving a major distraction at work.

It was bad enough Dan being continually out of the office, even though it was to bring in new business for the company; having said that, Will did make a mental note to somehow check how much business Dan was actually bringing in. Apart from Dan’s absence, now May might be on sick leave after her fall. Eddie was an okay worker, but he was clearly finding covering for May a strain; the pressure was showing. If he got to the stage where he felt he had had enough and left, then they would have to go through all the trouble and expense of recruiting and training somebody else. Maybe it was time to review the company profitability and decide whether the time was right to take on a third member of staff.

While all these balls were in the air, it was hardly a good time for Will to be making trips to the police, to the Bronx, to Paterson: thank God he didn’t go there.

Ironically, when he got to the office, Dan was already there. Will groaned inwardly when he saw his partner talking to Eddie at May’s desk: she was the oil which kept the engines of the firm running smoothly; it was always harder without her, even when she was on vacation.

Dan looked up at Will. ‘Why, William! Wasn’t sure if we’d see you either.’

‘Mm?’ Will said, leaning on his office doorframe. ‘How so?’

‘I had a call from Chrissy last night, saying you hadn’t gotten home. Where were you?’

‘Don’t you start. I had to take care of some business.’

‘You’re okay, though? Jia and I were quite worried. So was Chrissy.’

‘Everything’s fine,’ Will replied, wearily. He paused a beat. ‘Why would Chrissy ring you, anyhow?’

Dan shrugged. ‘Guess she thought you’d got held up here. Maybe you weren’t answering your cell. In any case, I guess she wanted another woman to talk to. She spoke to Jia too.’

‘Sure.’ Will turned to walk to his desk.

‘Where
were
you, by the way?’ asked Dan. ‘Just out of interest.’

‘Like I said, just taking care of business. I take it May’s off still,’ he added, trying to change the subject.

Eddie pulled a face. Dan nodded. ‘Another couple of days, she says. No bones broken, just a bit sore and bruised, that’s all.’

‘Maybe we should send her some flowers?’

‘Good idea. I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll see to it. There’s a place I’ve used before, to send some to Jia.’

‘Sure. Are you okay, Eddie?’ Will asked. ‘Covering for May, I mean.’

Eddie nodded. ‘I’ll be okay, thanks. So long as she’s not off for too long.’

Dan said, ‘I’ve told Eddie that if May’s off any longer than a couple of days, we’ll look at getting some temporary staff in. Maybe Jia or Chrissy could help out for a few hours.’

‘That’s an idea,’ Will replied. ‘You seem to have everything covered.’

Dan gave Will a broad grin. ‘You know me. Always like to have all bases covered. I’ve told Eddie how much we appreciate all the extra work he’s putting in, and he’ll see our appreciation in his pay cheque.’

‘Absolutely. Thanks again, Eddie. Are you in all day, Dan?’

‘Today, yes. I have some clients coming in to see me about eleven, and at two. What about you?’

‘I am, yes. Although I need to speak with those two detectives once more. Just about the break-in.’

Dan raised his eyebrows. ‘The cops got the guys, then?’

Will shook his head. ‘Just to dot some i’s and cross some t’s.’ With that, he turned and walked over to his desk. Dan turned back to Eddie, who then had to pick up the phone, so returned to his office.

Will checked his own desk then looked up. Eddie was still on the phone. Will stepped over to the door and gently closed it. Then took out his own phone and rang the direct line Detective Roberts had given him. It was not her personal phone, rather the call went straight through to her desk. After seven or eight rings, a woman’s voice answered.

‘Detective Roberts?’ Will asked.

‘Detective Roberts is not at her desk,’ came the reply. ‘Do you want to try later?’

‘What about Detective Alvarez?’

There was a pause while the policewoman checked. ‘No, he’s not here either.’ Another pause: Will could hear muffled voices while the officer consulted as to their whereabouts. ‘They’re both in conference.’

‘My name’s Carter. Will Carter. I was a witness to a… to a case Detective Roberts and Detective Alvarez are working on.’

Will got the impression he was wasting the officer’s time. ‘You want to give me your number? I’ll have one of them call you back later.’

‘Sure.’ Will gave her his number, hung up and stepped over to open his office door. He gave the thumbs up to Eddie, who was working on a spreadsheet. Just as he returned to his desk, his phone rang. It was not the police, returning his call: it was Chrissy. He guessed why she was calling. ‘Hey there.’

He was right.

‘Have you been in touch with the police yet?’

‘Give me a chance. I’ve only just gotten in. I have called them, yes; but both of them were in some conference or something. They’re going to call me back.’

She sounded less than convinced. ‘Make sure they do. Remember, Will: it’s for everybody’s safety.’

‘I know that. I told you I’d speak to them, and I will.’

‘Let me know what they say, won’t you?’

‘Of course I will. May’s still off, by the way.’

‘Oh, the poor dear. Maybe I’ll give her a ring, see if she needs anything.’

‘She’d like that, I’m sure. Hey, you’ll like this: Dan suggested if she’s going to be off for more than a few days, you and Jia might want to help out here.’

‘Sure. For how much? For what you guys pay May?’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘Thought not. We’ll see. Anyway, make sure you let me know what the police say.’

‘I will. Hey, there’s another thing: Dan’s actually going to be in the office all day.’

‘Say what?’

‘He’s going to be here all day. Not out visiting one of his mysterious clients.’

‘Oh, I see.’

‘Between you and me, I think he’s out banging one of them.’

‘Why do you think that?’

‘Don’t know. Maybe I’ll follow him one of these days.’

‘You’re being stupid, Will. Remember the police.’

The conversation over, Will and Chrissy said their goodbyes. Will felt like a coffee. He went into the kitchen area and made himself one. He paused as he passed Eddie at May’s desk; maybe he should offer him a drink too, as a way of showing his appreciation. Eddie was on the phone, so Will held up his own steaming cup. Eddie shook his head and held up a large paper cup. He had clearly gotten a drink on the way in to work.

Will sat down and began to check his emails. He had taken care of the first four when his phone trilled again. It was Detective Roberts.

‘Mr Carter, Detective Julianne Roberts here. You called earlier; you said you had some more information for us.’

Will took a deep breath. It had not occurred to him that he would need to give the police the circumstances in which he saw the suspect’s face. Should he tell them about his trip to the Bronx, or give them an edited version? ‘I’m kind of calling about the attackers at the mall. You said to call if anything else arose.’

‘I did, yes. What do you have to tell me?’

‘I saw the stills from the security cameras on the TV; in the newspapers, rather. I understood that they were both hiding their faces and couldn’t be identified.’

‘Yes, that’s true. Are you saying now that you did see the attack?’

‘No. No, I’m not. But I have seen one of them again. I saw his face this time.’

‘You’ve seen him again?’

‘Yes, I was -’

‘Mr Carter, are you at work?’

‘Would you be able to come up to the precinct and discuss this?’

Will hesitated. ‘Sure, I guess. When?’

‘As soon as you can.’

‘Well, I have one or two calls to make here first. I can be with you around midday.’

He could hear Roberts take a deep breath: clearly she was expecting him to drop everything and go now. ‘All right, Mr Carter. We’ll see you at midday.’ The line clicked as she hung up.

****

Will spent the rest of the morning dealing with his emails. At eleven thirty, he logged off his computer and walked round to Dan’s office. Dan laughed when Will told him where he had to go.

‘Will we see you this afternoon?’ he asked. ‘Or if we need you to sign anything, does Eddie need to take it to a cell?’

‘Very funny. Think of it as a long lunch break. I just need to -’

‘Dot some i’s and cross some t’s, you said.’

‘Something like that. See you later.’

As Will made to leave, he heard Dan call out, ‘See if any of the cops want to sell a house.’

‘Asshole,’ muttered Will, not bothered whether or not Dan or Eddie heard him.

Down on the street, he shivered as he got outdoors. The weather seemed to be turning. At this time of day, it would be quicker to walk the nine blocks to the police station, so he set off, making brisk strides. He was soon on W 54
th
, standing outside the building. The flag was fluttering steadily in the cold wind. He took a deep breath as he stepped inside.

‘Here we go.’

TWENTY-EIGHT

Will recalled that
the last time he was here at this Precinct the coffee he was offered was in a plastic cup. It was thin, tasteless, watery instant coffee.

Today, he had been handed a much sturdier, porcelain mug, white with a NYPD shield on one side. The drink itself was of better quality too: thicker and stronger. Not only that, he had been provided with a donut. Maybe it was someone’s birthday; maybe it was lunchtime; maybe the department had won the lottery that week; maybe his treatment was better now that he could identify a suspect. Or maybe he was just being cynical.

Whatever the reason, Will was thankful. In his hurry to get there, he had overlooked getting something to eat; his stomach was used to a midday lunch, and he was getting hungry. He was greeted by Detective Roberts with a handshake, and shown to a different room. Not a stark, austere interview room, but a more comfortable place, with softer, more relaxing chairs.

Now he was explaining to Roberts and Alvarez the events of the previous night. They stood listening, Roberts shaking her head now and then. When he had finished, she said, ‘Mr Carter, I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how foolhardy you were. Apart from venturing into a part of the city you concede you don’t know, at night, how do you know the guy wasn’t armed and dangerous?’

Sheepishly, Will said, ‘That’s what my wife said when I got back home.’

‘Gave you a hard time, did she?’

‘Chewed my nuts off, if you must know.’

‘Good. So I don’t need to tell you that as soon as you thought you saw the guy outside of your house, you should have called us.’

‘No, you don’t.’

‘And I don’t need to tell you that’s what you do if you see him again?’

‘No, you don’t.’

‘And I don’t need to tell you that indirectly, you caused another member of the public to get assaulted. You realise, it’s possible if it comes out, he might take you to court for damages?’

‘No, you don’t. And no, I didn’t realise that.’

‘Okay.’ Roberts stood there for a moment, staring at Will. Satisfied that her message had gotten through, she said, ‘Right. We need you to look at some mug shots now, see if you can pick this guy out.’

Will sat up. ‘Sure. I’ll see what I can do.’

Roberts looked over at Alvarez who walked over to a table where there was a screen and keyboard. He pressed a few keys and a face appeared on the screen. ‘Just tab through these,’ he said. ‘There’s only around forty of them here.’

‘Oh,’ said Will. ‘I’d expected a large book.’

‘The department’s moved on over the last few years,’ Roberts said, leaning on the door. ‘Click on the icon bottom right if you recognise anybody. We’ll leave you while you look through the shots. Thirty minutes?’

‘Just tab right to go to the next one,’ Alvarez explained, ‘and left to go back to the previous one.’

‘I get it,’ Will said, straightening in his seat and putting his hand on the mouse.

‘See you in half an hour, then.’ With that the two detectives left Will on his own.

*****

It was forty minutes later when they both returned.

‘Anything?’ Roberts asked.

Will pushed his chair back slightly to allow them to see the screen. ‘I picked out two or three,’ he said, ‘but it was very dark last night.’

‘You clicked the icon for them?’ Alvarez asked, taking the mouse.

‘U-huh. I did.’

‘Okay, then.’  Alvarez manoeuvred the cursor around, clicked, and the screen changed. Now it was filled with smaller tiles of the three Will had picked out.

‘One of those?’ Roberts asked.

Will ran his hand down the back of his head. ‘Maybe. It’s just last night, it was dark, obviously; and there were no street lights nearby. Just the light from the buildings. And he was wearing a hood.’

‘We can get round that,’ Roberts said.

Alvarez pulled up another chair. ‘Excuse me, sir,’ he said quietly, as Will moved his chair to the left so the detective could get to the keyboard and mouse. He clicked on the first shot, enlargening it.

As Roberts looked on, Alvarez said, ‘Let’s go through this one first. Tell me how it differs from the face you saw last night.’

Will considered. ‘Well, the guy I saw… his skin was darker.’

‘He was black?’

‘No, not black. Just a slightly darker tone. And it was night.’

‘Okay.’ Alvarez adjusted a dial on the screen. The face on the screen darkened. ‘Like that?’

‘Not exactly. Lighter than that.’

‘Okay. How about this?’

‘That’s more like it.’

‘Good. I’ll try to adjust the entire shot. To simulate night time and faint artificial light.’ He did so. ‘How’s that?’

‘Better, I guess. But he kind of had a beard.’

‘Right. A full beard?’

‘Not exactly a beard. Kind of lots of five o’clock shadow.’

‘How many days’ growth?’ Roberts asked.

Will rubbed his own chin. ‘One. Maybe two.’

‘Okay,’ said Alvarez quietly. The face soon acquired two days’ beard.

‘And he was wearing a hood.’

‘Hoods are easy.’ A couple more clicks of the mouse and Alvarez was painting a hood on the face. ‘Tell me if I’m covering too much face,’ he said. When he had finished, he and Will stared at the screen.

‘Seem familiar?’ Roberts asked.

Will shook his head. ‘No. Sorry.’

‘No problem,’ Alvarez said. ‘Let’s look at the next one.’

They repeated this process for the other two faces. When they had finished, Detective Roberts asked Will, ‘Are we there on any of them?’

Tentatively, Will said, ‘I think number two is the best likeness.’ Alvarez retrieved the second picture and looked up to Roberts. ‘Do you recognise this one?’ he asked her.

‘I don’t recognise
any
of them.’ She paused a beat. ‘I want to thank you for coming in again to help, Mr Carter. I know you’re a very busy man.’

Will looked up at her. ‘I’m done here, then?’

She nodded. ‘Yes, although we will be back in touch if we need any more information from you. And we’ll keep you up to date with events.’

‘You will?’ Will sounded pleased.

‘Of course. After all, when we catch them, you’ll need to testify.’

‘Ah, yes.’ Something else Will hadn’t factored in.

‘Thanks again. Detective Alvarez here will show you out. And Mr Carter: remember what I said. No vigilantism. If you see this guy again, call us.’

‘I will, I promise.’

‘Good. You take care, now.’

Alvarez got up and opened the door for Will, following him out.

*****

When Alvarez returned, he found Roberts staring at the enhanced picture on the screen.

‘Recognise anyone?’ he asked again.

She shook her head. ‘Nah. And I’ve put him through the Department database. No match.’

‘Shall I run it through NCIC?’

The National Crime Information Center is an electronic repository set up by the FBI. It is a store of crime data that can be accessed by virtually every law enforcement agency in the United States, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It has been called the lifeline of law enforcement. The database comprises twenty-one files, each relating to a different category of crime. Files include: Foreign Fugitive, Immigration Violator, Known or Appropriately Suspected Terrorist. At the end of 2014, NCIC contained 13 million active records in those 21 files. During 2014, it averaged 12 million transactions per day.

‘Yeah,’ Roberts agreed, getting off the chair. She held the chair out for her partner. ‘Log in here, and let’s get started.’