Chapter Fourteen

Mystery Man

Ellsworth General Contractors

Main Office

Bronx, NY

Monday, April 11

Lupo and Bernard had just finished describing Dugan's visitor to Fred Ellsworth, owner and founder of Ellsworth General Contractors.

"Does anyone matching that description work for you?" asked Lupo.

"Actually, I've got a few guys who do," Ellsworth replied. "Evan Ricci, Caesar Nuñez, and Aaron Sanders."

"All right," said Bernard. "Thanks."

"Sure thing. Conrad Dennehy…Yeah, I read about that in the papers," said Ellsworth, shaking his head. "Geez…Anyway, it can't be Caesar. He's on leave of absence. He went back to Ecuador—his mother's not doing too well. He left some time during the first week of March. I told him to take all the time he needs. Terrible situation."

"Yeah," Lupo agreed. "Could you give us the other two guys' home addresses? We've got a subpoena right here," he added, showing the document he'd been holding to Ellsworth.

"Of course, no problem—anything to help New York's finest," said Ellsworth, as he got on his laptop, found Evan Ricci and Aaron Sanders' addresses, copied them down, and then handed them to Lupo and Bernard.

"Thanks," said Lupo, taking the slip of paper and putting it in his pocket.

"Ricci's off today," said Ellsworth, "if you were wondering where he is."

"What about the third guy?" asked Bernard.

"Aaron Sanders?" said Ellsworth.

He checked the master schedule he had on his desk.

"He is on assignment today. I've got a renovation project going on here in the Bronx. A married couple just bought a house, and they're renovating. It was built using some materials that are now considered outdated, so they've got us fixing that up for them," he then explained.

"When do your guys usually call it a day?" asked Lupo.

"Our business day is eight to five," Ellsworth replied. "We're open six days a week. A lot of our clients like us to work for them on Saturdays…You really think either of those guys is responsible for…I mean, believe me, I do extensive background checks on every single one of my new hires. Not one of my employees has anything more than a violation on their record, I swear. I don't hire felons. Even if I did trust them, they're bad for business. Name one person who'd let a felon into their home."

"We appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Ellsworth, thank you," said Lupo.

"You're welcome," said Ellsworth. "The important thing is to get a criminal off the streets."

"And try not to borrow trouble, Mr. Ellsworth," said Bernard. "It might not be one of your employees. We've got another lead."

"Either way, I hope you find the guy soon," said Ellsworth.

"Thanks," said Bernard. "We'll be in touch."

As he and Bernard left the office—

"Yeah, I hope we find him soon, too," Lupo muttered.

Bernard nodded.

***DOINK!DOINK!***

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office

One Hogan Place

Centre Street

Manhattan, NY

Mike and Connie had just gotten back from court.

"Well—and there you have it," Mike said of the summation he'd just given. "This was a tough case," he added, as he took off his suit jacket and tie and then rolled up his sleeves.

"It was," Connie agreed.

Their eyes met.

"And I honestly think that was the best summation you've ever given," Connie said.

"Really?" Mike said, honestly surprised.

Connie nodded.

"Yes," she said warmly. "I'm proud of you, Mike."

"Thank you!" Mike said sweetly, truly grateful.

"Of course," Connie said with the same warmth as before. "Um…you know Luke Morris?" she added.

"From Vice, right?" said Mike.

"Yeah," said Connie.

"What about him?" Mike asked cautiously, well aware that Luke Morris was interested in Connie.

"He asked me out this morning," Connie replied.

Mike just looked at her for a moment.

Then—

"Oh," he said.

He paused again.

Then—

"What did you say?" he asked.

"I said 'no'," Connie replied, traces of a smile on her face.

"You did?" Mike asked, unable to believe what he'd just heard.

"Yes," Connie replied warmly.

Unable to help herself, she smiled brightly at him.

Mike smiled sweetly at her.

Connie then looked down at her briefcase, so he wouldn't see her blushing.

Mike looked down and began unpacking his briefcase.

Connie unpacked hers, as well.

The awkward silence was suddenly broken by Connie's phone ringing.

She dug it out of her purse and answered it.

"Hey, Bernard…Wow, okay. Cool…Awesome…Yeah, if I were you guys, I'd go visit him as soon as you can…That is great. We'll take that lead, won't we?...All right. You guys have a great rest of the day!...Thanks!...Bye!"

"What's up?" asked Mike.

"Lupo and Bernard found a couple of contractors starting with 'E': Edwards General Contractors and Ellsworth General Contractors. One guy in particular piqued their interest: Aaron Sanders," Connie replied.

She then elaborated, giving Mike all the details.

"Hm," Mike said, after she was finished. "A renovation project…"

He paused for a moment, then picked up his baseball with the map of New York City on it and began tossing it absentmindedly as he paced.

"Would he have access to anything made out of iron? Any tools that aren't commonly known?" he asked. "Hmm…Is iron used in construction? If so, how? And if it's not, how would he have access to it? A friend or family member, maybe? Is iron at all used in construction—any type?"

"Let's look it up and see," Connie suggested.

"Okay," Mike agreed.

Connie got out her laptop and then accessed the internet. Her heart began to race when Mike leaned in and looked over her shoulder. He was so close that she could feel his warmth and smell his cologne. God, he was enticing…

Connie had to mentally shake herself before going to Google.

She didn't know it, but Mike could smell her perfume and her hair. To him, she was intoxicating. He had to mentally shake himself, too.

"Okay," said Connie. "Is…iron…used…in…construction," she muttered as she typed the words and clicked the 'I'm feeling lucky' button.

A few moments later—

"Mike," she suddenly said.

Mike looked at the paragraph she was pointing at.

"'Cast iron piping was used in the plumbing of houses built in the 1960s and before. Due to its tendency to rust and corrode, it is recommended that owners of such homes have the pipes replaced with pipes made of modern, more durable material'," he read aloud off the screen.

"Ellsworth told the detectives Sanders was renovating a house because it was built with materials that are obsolete now," said Connie. "What if that includes the plumbing?"

"That's what I'm wondering, too," said Mike. "Let's find out."

Connie smiled at him and then picked up her phone to call the 27th precinct.

***DOINK!DOINK!***