It was the next morning, and Firo Prochainezo found himself no closer to solving his case than he'd been the previous day. He'd gone through the standard first steps the day before. He'd called the next of kin - some kid the victim was legal guardian of - only to discover the man had no other family. The next of kin hadn't known whether or not the victim had set up a meeting on that day, and in fact, hadn't spoken with Smith in days. Hitting a dead end there, he'd traced the victim's financials, but Smith operated on cash alone, apparently. The only records were of withdrawals from various ATMs, and he even paid the bills with cash. A visit to the victim's home revealed a small apartment that appeared barely lived in, and Firo hadn't found so much as a hint towards the identity of the killer there. The biggest find had been a stash of guns, but that was expected for an assassin.
Firo twisted his office chair back and forth as he thought over the dead ends he'd wasted time on. He stretched his legs out and plopped his feet down on the top of his desk, legs crossed. With a sigh, he flicked his eyes up to the ceiling and tried to figure out where to go next. Usually, the investigative route became clear in the first day, after examining financials and family background. Except Smith apparently didn't have much of either, or at least, had concealed whatever connections there he did have. Firo was starting to wish the deceased had been a mere wino after all.
Since he had no other leads, Firo grabbed the court file on the victim's recent trial. Maiza had swung by earlier and dropped it off, wishing his partner good luck before heading off to pick up information from the evidence lab. Since they were also closing up another case, Firo didn't expect to see Maiza until later that day.
The file contained a number of documents scrounged up from their contacts at the court, mostly just transcripts with a few media articles attached. Firo vaguely remembered seeing news coverage on it, though he tended to avoid the news these days. What was the point of watching it, when he already lived through it every day? And court coverage was too high-brow for him. The most he'd heard about the case was a few brief snippets from Luck, who was a closed book when it came to his work. Firo opened up the file and flipped through the pages, starting with the articles, which would be easier to understand.
The papers told the story of a trial turned into a media circus. Jury sequestered, accusations of witness tampering, the old claims of police coercion, a silent defendant combined with a loud-mouthed attorney - all the elements for a legal mess.
'No wonder the guy got off. Jeez.' Firo thought to himself, shaking his head. Poor Luck - the Gandor preferred to lay low and give only courtesy answers to the reporters, not the type to play it up in the spotlight. He'd probably abhorred the case. Still, the reporters talked often about Luck, probably because the smooth lawyer meshed well with the public image.
At the thought of his old friend, Firo picked up his desk phone and dialed Luck's number. The file left Firo with more questions than answers, though that was no surprise. Maiza was better at analyzing that type of evidence; Firo had trouble understanding all the technicalities, as he wasn't book-smart like his partner. Namely, he wanted to know why the trial of some two-bit mob assassin garnered up so much media attention. Not to mention, he didn't understand how Smith had gotten off, when all the reports pointed to an imminent guilty verdict.
The other line rang over and over, before stopping with a beep. Then: "Hello, you have reached the answering machine of - "
Firo hung up the phone, figuring he'd rather call back later than leave a message. Well, there went that avenue of investigation. He flipped through the papers again, wondering if he hadn't missed anything the first time around. Surely, someone had to know what had sparked the public fervor. It wasn't like the media would want to hide whatever set it off.
After scanning a couple articles, Firo hit one that made his eyes widen, brightening with a flash of recognition. His hand flew to the phone once more and he started dialing another number. After having to stop once and dig out his address book, hoping the recipient hadn't changed his number yet again, the other side started to ring.
"Hello?"
Grinning, Firo leaned back in his chair, receiver against his ear, as he said, "Claire! Long time no see."
"Firo! Hey, imagine that - I was just about to give you a ring."
Firo doubted that, knowing that with Claire's perception of time, 'just about' could mean pretty much anything. Still, a long time had passed since the last time he spoke to the private investigator, who flitted in and out of Firo's life at will. The two had grown up with one another, though, and so whenever he did speak with Claire again, it was as if nothing had changed at all. Then again, perhaps that was because Claire never changed.
"Sure you were, pal. Where are you now anyway?" Firo asked.
"That's why it's such a coincidence - I'm in the city right now."
Firo assumed he meant New York, though with Claire, you never knew. "Yeah? What for? Visiting Luck and them?"
"No, no, though I'll do that eventually. On a case, with Chane."
"Do they even know you're in town, Claire?"
"Well, probably not. They will when I drop in, though."
Firo laughed. Talking to his old friend always refreshed him, even if the man could frustrate him at times. He decided to get down to business, since conversations with Claire tended to derail fast.
"So Claire, do you still know that reporter girl from around here? The newspaper one?"
"Oh, you mean Rachel? Yeah, I still know her, we talk every now and then. Smart woman. Real attractive too, if you're looking for me to set you up."
"What? No, no, that's not what I'm asking you for."
"Yeah? That mean you finally got with Ennis then? About time, if you ask me."
Firo shook his head, even though he was on the phone, his expression growing pained. "No, we're not together. I mean, we spend a lot of time together, but we're not ready for that."
A laugh from the other line. "Calm down, Firo. You'll never snag her with that attitude."
"Yeah, yeah, sure, Claire. Look, can you get me this Rachel girl's number? I need it for a case I'm on."
"Alright, sheesh. Hold on, let me try and dig it up."
With a sigh, Firo relaxed and leaned back once more. At times, he wished he had Claire's headstrong attitude when it came to women. Sure, it'd failed a lot when they were young, but he envied Claire for having someone who returned his affections now. Not that Firo wanted anyone but Ennis, nor did he want to rush things or pressure her. He just wished he could make his feelings clearer. As he pictured his roommate sitting across from him like she had last night, a smile crossed his face.
"Hey, you still there? Copy this down." Claire said.
As Claire recited the phone number, Firo jotted it down on the back of one of the news articles. He thanked his friend, and they made plans to meet up that night. Then, he hung up and dialed the number he'd just received.
"Yes?"
"Hey, Rachel?"
"Speaking."
"Hey, my name's Firo Prochainezo, detective grade three with the NYPD. I'm also a friend of Claire's - he gave me this number."
"Claire? He shouldn't have done that."
"Well, you know how he is. Don't worry, this isn't a personal call. I have questions about a trial you covered."
"I work on a lot of trials, since I'm on the court beat. You'll have to be more specific."
"Right - the Smith case? From a few months ago?"
"The mafia assassin. Yes, I remember that. What do you want to know?"
Firo thought back to his list of questions. "Well, first off, why was a case like this such big news? Normally stuff like this gets pushed to the back page. Weird that it caught so much attention."
"And why is it that I should give you this information, Detective Prochainezo? Has there been a development in the case?"
Firo thought for a moment, knowing pulling out the badge didn't work on reporters. They were too experienced to cave due to the force's influence alone, and the successful ones were much too shrewd.
"How about I give you an exclusive on the 'development' in return? Sound fair?"
A few seconds of silence as Rachel considered the offer. "Sounds fair. I'll give you the story, but I advise you not to cheat me on this."
"I won't. I give my word." Firo said.
"Alright. Well, do you remember the scandal involving Senator Beriam earlier this year?"
"Nah, I don't keep up with politics."
"Well, what happened was that the detectives on the Smith case reported the Senator as consorting with the assassin during the investigation. The details of the meeting aren't clear, only that money exchanged hands. The news leaked around the time of the trial, and the Senator came out in defense of Smith, calling him innocent. He put a lot of pressure on the NYPD to reverse the arrest. I am surprised you did not know about it."
"That stuff's all handled by the brass over here. I work the streets, so I don't like to get involved in all that." Firo said, though he seemed to recall Maiza mentioning the incident at some point.
"Yes, well, the involvement of the Senator is what spurred public interest."
"That'll do it." Firo agreed. "Is that why Smith was exonerated?"
"Not exactly. The official reason for the dropped charges is 'insufficient evidence.'"
"Huh? But I read the case files, and it seemed like they had plenty of evidence." Firo said, thinking back to the long list of witnesses and forensic tests he'd skimmed.
"They did. However, much of it was lost or dismissed on technical errors that suddenly came to light. I do not think I have to explain what that means."
"Someone got the case tossed. The Senator, you think? Or the judge?"
"Perhaps. My sources are unclear on that. I can tell you that a lot of suspicion fell on the defense attorney, though. Within the media, there was speculation that he'd traded favors to get the evidence thrown out."
"Why the lawyer? Instead of the other guys."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not exactly sure. He had a lot to lose on the case, and he had an affluent background, so that may have been why. I suspect some of the involved parties within the courts may have begun the rumor. Nonetheless, I would look there first."
"I know that." Firo said, not appreciating being told how to do his job. "Alright, let me give you your story."
He only spent a few minutes relaying the events of the crime to Rachel, since he could only give out cleared information. A lot of it was the usual party line about ongoing investigations and committing all resources and other vague affirmations. Still, he promised that he'd contact her again once he could give more news on the situation.
Staring at the case file again, Firo took a pencil and tapped it over all the names of the major involved parties: The Senator, the judge, the lawyer. He hovered over Luck's name for a second, but bypassed it. He didn't see Luck involving himself in the bureaucratic mess. Instead, he circled the name of the defense attorney, deciding that was where he'd start investigating. Wherever there was underhanded business, there was motive for murder, especially when it involved political intrigue. He studied the name and made a resolution to himself.
"Dallas Genoard, eh? Well, I hope you're ready, because I am going to take you down."
