Chapter 10

Steve didn't have the heart to keep the good news from Ed's worried friends for much longer, although he had promised the patient faithfully that he would keep him safe from all fussing. But as soon as Mike and Ironside saw him coming out of Ed's room - beaming widely - with a doctor and a nurse rushing in, they guessed - or maybe detected - what must have happened.

"Bob, do you want to go in and speak with him?" Mike asked immediately.

Ironside snorted. "Later will do, we'd better get on with our job. The youngsters can stay here with Ed."

In spite of what he had just said, he wheeled himself back towards Ed's room, peeked in and said in a mock gruff voice: "Brown, you'd better make the most out of this! How often do you think you'll get paid for sleeping on the job?" Then he added: "Take the day off tomorrow!"

With this parting remark he closed the door and rolled in the direction of the elevator. Eve and Mark agreed readily to stay in the hospital for the remainder of the night and update Ironside on Ed's progress regularly.

Mike looked at Steve and realised that his protégé had something else in mind. "What about you?"

"I'd like to come with you, Mike. I've …" Steve started but was interrupted by Mike.

"Bob, I think what he wants to say is that he'd like to watch you in action, you know, interrogating a suspect. He never had the chance to witness that yet." He fixed Steve with a steely glare.

Steve got the message and aborted his original sentence and mumbled something in the affirmative, although he had planned on asking Pete a few questions himself.

Steve exchanged car keys with Mark and headed off to retrieve Ironside's van from the parking lot. Ironside looked at Mike with some doubt on his face, but Mike smiled reassuringly. "If it has wheels, the kid can drive it. Ever since Steve started working with me, I have more or less handed over the car keys to him."

Much to Ironside's surprise, they arrived at the Hall of Justice in one piece without a single dent in the van.

Haseejian had the interrogation room ready and Peter Wells was sitting at the table, guarded by Sekulovic. Before they went in, Norm Haseejian informed them that the suspect had been read his rights and was aware that the interview was going to be recorded.

Wells' head turned when he heard the door opening; all colour left his face when he recognised the person walking in behind Ironside and Stone. Without thinking he shouted, "Will I never get rid of you, Keller? There is no way you could have survived the dose I gave you!"

Ironside nodded sadly. This was going to be easier than he had expected; the culprit was so shaken that it would be easy enough to trick him into a confession. This was not exactly the type of interrogation from where the Kid Detective could pick up some hints. Ah well, it might take some skill to get a confession for the earlier murders though.

Ironside wheeled his chair directly opposite to where Wells was sitting, the table between them, and Mike Stone next to him. Then the Chief asked Keller to put his chair behind his, to signify he had officially nothing to do with the interrogation, although he was in plain view of Pete Wells all the time.

After the rash remark Wells remained silent for a while, but the looks he shot Steve were positively murderous. Mike glanced at his partner surreptitiously. He hoped that the young man could rein in his temper and keep out of Ironside's way.

As Wells refused to say another word, Ironside started to recap the situation.

"As you must be aware of now, Mr. Wells, you have admitted to an attempted murder, wittingly or unwittingly, in front of witnesses and recorded on tape. So, whatever you say about this accusation, you really can't make it worse. I know you are an intelligent man, and I must say I admire the plan you came up with. You dispose of the lady friend and frame the boyfriend, so nobody suspects a second murder but buys that the boyfriend took an overdose." Ironside managed to put some fake admiration into his voice.

Pete was sweating profusely now and was getting more and more agitated every time he looked at Steve. The Chief knew about the history of the two men going back to high school and he decided to make use of it. He could tell that Wells was a sick man, poisoned by hatred bottled up for too many years: a damaged character suffering from rebuffs and slights, real or imagined. A man who needed help, maybe, but a very dangerous man as he had proven himself to be earlier on this evening. So dangerous, that even a good cop like Ed Brown, who Ironside himself had trained over many years, had been almost killed.

Ironside put these thoughts aside and fully concentrated on the task ahead.

"You really did so well, Pete, you could have got away with it all, if it wasn't for Steve here, isn't it?" Ironside's voice was laced with sympathy.

Wells looked him in the eyes, too confused even to consider a trick.

Ironside went on: "Wasn't he always there, always in the way, always got what he wanted? It's all his fault, isn't it? Even in high school, he only pretended to be nice to you but was laughing at you behind your back and when he survived the car accident, you had to put your revenge plans on ice for too long. You had to wait all these endless years to get even."

Apart from a murderous look directed at Steve, Ironside still didn't get any rise out of Wells.

"And isn't it his fault that Rosie had to die, too? He and these other men who thought they could steal your girls. Of course you had to punish them, and you had to get even with all the high school bullies, too. You got Ralph Watson and Grimes and …" he paused to consult his notes and casually flicked through the thick file in front of him, making sure that Wells noticed it.

Without warning Wells jumped up and lunged himself across the table towards Steve, but he had underestimated the wheelchair bound detective. Ironside stretched out one powerful arm and stopped the attack, while Sekulovic grabbed Wells' arms and cuffed him.

"He's right; it's all your fault! You made me kill them. I had to shoot poor Rosie because you wouldn't leave her alone. You were worse than Watson and Grimes and all of them at school, you pretended to be nice…"

Wells kept shouting and screaming, begging Ironside to listen to his story. "I'll tell you all, just get him out of my sight!"

Ironside nodded at Mike who led Steve out of the interrogation room and beckoned Norm to go in instead. He pushed Steve gently on a chair and handed him a glass of water.

"Are you okay?" Mike sat on a chair next to him, watching him closely. To his surprise Steve, didn't appear to be shaken at all. On the contrary, there was a gleam in his eyes that Mike didn't like at all.

"I certainly learned something new about interrogation techniques." The young man seemed lost in thought, as if he was contemplating all kinds of ideas, none of which Mike reckoned he would approve.

Steve looked at his mentor with a slightly guilty expression on his face and quickly added. "I mean, it was a good idea and he used psychology…" he smiled and then added generously. "But I know that you would have cracked him equally fast!"

About an hour later, Ironside wheeled himself out of the interview room. Wells was led away by the uniformed policeman and the parting glance he shot at Steve still held enough venom to kill.

"He admitted to all murders, including the high school killing of Ralph Watson and an attempted murder of Steve Keller then and now and the hit and run of Ed Brown. If he is ever declared fit to be tried for murder is a different question, but wherever he is heading, he will be there for a long time!" The Chief informed, satisfied about a job well done.

Mike addressed Steve, before he could say something to Ironside. "Steve, would you go into my office and make a call to the hospital to check how Ed is doing? We haven't heard from Mark and Eve for ages." He winked. "I bet they have fallen asleep again!"

With Steve out of earshot, he challenged his long-time friend. "Now Bob, was that really necessary? When I asked you to give Steve a lesson in interrogation methods I didn't mean to put dangerous ideas in his head. The young hotshot will barge ahead and try it all out now!"

Ironside smiled one of his rare smiles. "Dangerous? With you around protecting him like a lioness her cub? Don't be ridiculous, my friend!"