Pressure Point
Chapter 2
The darkened hallways of the apartment were foreboding. Bobby looked at Logan, who nodded. They readied their weapons.
"Police! Open the door! Police!"
A frightened old man opened the door. The detectives barged in, immobilized him, and searched the apartment.
"Clear!" Logan shouted.
"He was here, Donnie?" Goren asked the trembling man.
The old man nodded. "He took my money. I told him to leave me the money for the laundry, but he took it. He took it all."
Bobby turned the man loose. "Where did he go?"
The man shrugged. "I don't know."
"Where do you think he went?" asked Logan.
The old man's eyes were piercing. "When he has money, he spends it. He likes those girls, the ones in the barrio."
The girls ran, but Goren and Logan each caught one. "We didn't come here to arrest you," Logan explained. "We just have some questions."
The girls looked at each other, then at the detectives. The detectives let go of them, and they almost bolted. The men caught them again.
"Just tell me if you saw Donnie tonight. Donnie Cardenas." Goren spoke into the girl's ear.
She looked around and then nodded her head. "Where was he going?" Bobby asked.
"He picked up Sylvia. He was taking her to Atlantic City."
They let go the girls. "Thank you," Logan called after them as they walked briskly away.
It took a while to get there, and Goren's brooding filled the car. Logan knew he was worried, and that one wrong move might set him off.
"Have you heard anything?" Mike asked.
"She's out of surgery," was all he said.
They left the car in the drive at the casino. They showed the picture to the security guard at the entrance. The man waited to answer until he saw their identification, as well. "Yeah, he dragged some girl with him over to the craps table."
By the time they got to the table, he was gone. The trail had gone cold.