Tuesday 15th June
Broadway/West 34th
Goren and Logan managed to restrict their bickering to one brief incident on the journey north, travelled mostly on the lights and siren. Bickering prompted by Goren's attack of impatience between making and taking calls. When they got jammed up and he suggested had Logan taken Sixth, they might not have this problem.
Only to be asked "Do you do this with Alex?" and when the answer was "No", to be told to "So shut the deleted expletive up then". Except Logan didn't waste time on the deletion.
Neither of them expected to find a blackmailer when they arrived at their final destination. Despite the instructions given to the Huntingdon's and assuming Elizabeth followed them. It took skill to keep someone on a line while it was being traced, civilians were untrained and anxious and any criminal worth the label would expect it to be happening and act accordingly.
Even amateur ones and Goren blamed TV cop shows for both putting ideas and knowledge into the heads of the criminally inclined and creating silly expectations in some victims. Who seemed to think you could come along with a magic piece of hardware or some stunning insight and have their crime solved in forty-seven minutes. Or an hour if you allowed for the ad breaks.
A couple of uniforms were on the scene standing by a bank of four phones. As they walked over Goren was getting the news from their technical people the officers missed whoever it was, by about two minutes. But the call today was from the same group of phones if not the precise one as last Thursday.
The younger of the two officers stepped forward to say "You Goren?" and to tell him there was no one around here with a sign on their back said, "I'm a blackmailer". Nor had one or two people they had spoken to seen one.
"What was your major in son?" asked Logan, hands on hips. "Sarcasm to a superior officer?"
Goren wasn't concerned Mike stepped over him a little, as the muttered reply was "No sir".
Quickly followed by assurance that he'd not allowed anyone to touch it since they arrived. He and Logan looked at each other knowing they were both wondering if it was worth printing. And getting the almost certain grumpy response from CSU. If they were up to their ears either in the field or in the labs, they liked nothing more than a fool detective thought they had nothing better to do than print and run checks on something like a public telephone. Handled by hundreds a day in a location like this.
"Detective Goren?" said the older officer. "I just noticed something or someone might help"
"Anything Officer Page" he shrugged.
"See across the street? The little old lady on the bench? She's known round here as Marge though I don't know if that's her real name. Not a panhandler, a drunk or homeless. Just a bit weird if you get me?"
"Yeah I do"
"She often spends hours there or one or two other places. One of her…obsessions I guess you might call them…is phones. She's been known to have a cloth in her bag and come along and clean them. I once had to move her on from stopping people using some a few blocks away" the cop shrugged. "Could be your best chance of some information. If you've got the time it might take"
"Thanks Officer. Never underestimate the value of a good beat cop huh?" he gave his back a slap and at the same time, symbolically slapped the face of his cheeky partner. "Care to introduce me to Marge?"
The guy looked at his feet. "I would Detective but she's got Poochy with her today. Poochy doesn't like me and if he takes against you Marge won't really talk to you when he's there" he paused. "The little shit once bit my ankle"
Goren heard Logan's snort of laughter behind him as Page said, "Perhaps Poochy will like you sir?"
"I'm sure it will be love at first sight Bobby" grinned Mike. "I'll call CSU for you"
Goren shoved his folder in Logan's hand, remembered to thank him and crossed the street with confidence. He liked dogs, dogs generally liked him and at least he wasn't allergic to them like he was to bloody cats. Only trouble was he had a dark suit on and if he had to"make nice" with Poochy he was liable to be left covered in white hair. The fluffy head of what looked like a cross between a Papillon and longhaired Chihuahua peeked out from one of two baskets on the seat beside Marge.
Keeping his distance initially, not to scare her or the dog he showed her the badge slowly and said "Hello. My name's Bobby. Hello Poochy. I'm a policeman"
All seemed to be going well as Marge responded, said she'd like a chat and invited him to sit down. Goren later concluded Poochy must have timed it to perfection, because the very next second he exploded from the basket. Flying at him like a one-headed Cerberus and aiming right at his crotch. Could swear he heard needle teeth snap together as he found himself badge in one hand and instinctively, genitals in the other.
Luckily, Poochy of the Baskervilles was on a leash looped round Marge's wrist as he was jerked back and to the ground a fraction of an inch from his target. Where he began to yap and the old lady took that as a signal and began to call out for help. Like he was some kind of pervert or purse-snatcher. To such an extent as Goren backed off, people began to give him nasty looks until they saw the badge. As he beat a tactical retreat back over the street, Poochy had stopped yapping and was licking his balls. While Logan was doubled over with laughter seeing how close he came to nearly losing his. To something the size of a kid's teddy bear.
But at least when Mike stopped laughing, he offered to go and try himself. Goren dismissed the two patrol cops and stood for fifteen minutes. Guarding the phone and making himself unpopular with the citizens who wanted to use one. Because one of the four wasn't working and there was a steady stream for the other two.
It was very hot and he was the sunny side of the street. Logan was in the shade and Poochy's new best friend. Thanks to making paper balls for the dog to play with from his folder. His own heart rate and a shrinking feeling in another part of his anatomy, meaning he'd not thought to ask for it back before Mike crossed over.
There were two consolations. At the end of the fifteen minutes Eames and Wheeler pulled up to retrieve their erstwhile partners. Eames' suggestion they'd come to rescue Mike from him wasn't entirely necessary. As Goren indicated, it was Poochy that Logan really needed help with. The second consolation being by then the dog was firmly attached to Mike's right leg and showing no signs of letting go. While Logan tried to pretend he hadn't noticed or it didn't bother him.
The only downside as Mike and Megan drove off, was that they were going to get back to 1PP first. Logan's version of events that afternoon would be all around the eleventh floor and probably those above and below, before they even saw signs to the parking level they were assigned.
But the wait for CSU gave him time to brief his partner on his impressions of Ralph Huntingdon and the business of this son. It was Eames threw in a wild idea it was always foolish to dismiss straight away. That with the same initials was it possible there was some confusion?Goren could see her point. An R Huntingdon some place with someone he should not be with and some opportunist thought it was the better-known Ralph. In the news because of the controversial Riverside scheme.
Logan's encounter with Marge and Poochy had not been totally wasted time. It seemed one of her other obsessions was making notes. So one of the notebooks almost filled the second basket, was the one for that day. Marge had written down the time she "cleaned" that bank of phones and made notes about "suspicious" people using them. She would not let Logan have them, but if she was right about the time, Marge had wiped the telephone in question about half an hour before the call. Probably reducing the number of false lead prints CSU would find. Her definition of suspicious seemed to include anyone wearing red.
Given the colour of Goren's tie that day, it might explain a lot. But the old lady was also sure about a man by any definition "unusual". Someone after she cleaned and before the police arrived, used one of the telephones with his jacket collar pulled right up, dark glasses and a black hat, not of the sun sort, pulled low.
It wasn't until they were back in the cool of their own SUV heading south and leaving CSU at the telephones, Goren got chance to find inside his folder, the list Huntingdon wrote.
"Alex?" he said softly. "One of these names of women Ralph bedded once or twice is Grace Webster"
To be continued…