Recollection Rick
Chapter 30
Kate stares across the hard metal table at Husayn. "Did you enjoy killing Myra Husayn? Did it turn you on? Planning a bombing must really make you hard. Think of all the people that will die. Men, women, children will be blown to pieces. I bet you're getting hard just thinking about it. Too bad you can't get any relief with handcuffs on."
"Nothing like the power of suggestion," Kate silently mulls as she watches Husayn squirm in his seat.
"You're a sonofabitch who gets off on destruction, aren't you," Fallon adds, hooking into Kate's strategy. "But you haven't seen real destruction. We know where your headquarters is. We have men on the ground, ready to paint it with a laser that will bring our bombs down on their heads. And we can go after your village too. That's right, Husayn. We know where your family lives, or where it's lived until now. They will all be gone." Fallon snaps his fingers. "Just like that. You know what happened after 9/11. We returned the toll 100 fold. We can and will do it again."
"The deaths of your people, everyone you love, will be on your head, Husayn," Kate continues. "But you can stop it. You can stop it right now. Tell us about the bomb. Where is it? Who is going to put it in the museum? When?"
"I don't know," Husayn insists. "As Allah is my witness, I don't know. We work in cells, so no one can reveal too much. My task was to learn about the museum, to keep watch for extra security or changes in routines."
Kate's fingernails dig into her palms. "So killing Myra Forshuck was just an added attraction?"
"It was necessary," Husayn claims.
"Necessary to keep the cash flowing through Ferris," Kate guesses. "You killed her to fund more murder. You'll be telling us everything you know about that – later. Right now, we need to know how you contact your group and anything you've transmitted about the museum."
"Why should I tell you that, or anything more?" Husayn demands. "You can't stop them, and you'll kill me anyway."
"This is the United States, Husayn. We don't execute criminals or terrorists without a trial," Kate retorts.
"But under the Patriot Act, we can hold you indefinitely," Fallon inserts.
"And we can make life extremely uncomfortable for you. Or, I could call the agent who wrapped you up so beautifully for me," Kate bluffs. "Would you enjoy seeing an old friend?"
Husayn throws his shackled hands in front of his face. "Please, no! There is a program on the phone that was in my pocket when I was brought here. I activated it to make contact. Or someone called me."
"We'll check on that, Husayn," Kate assures him. "And if you're lying, you'll discover that until now, we've just been warming up."
"So you do know who delivered Husayn," Fallon accuses, as he and Kate hurry to retrieve Husayn's effects.
Kate forces a giggle. "I was pretty sure Husayn would fall for that, but I didn't think you would, Fallon. I have no evidence who dropped that piece of crap on the precinct's doorstep, but he doesn't know that. I suggest we keep it that way."
Alexis selects a slice of pepperoni pizza from the pie she's sharing with Dana. She would have preferred sausage and fresh basil, but the student union doesn't offer that option. "So, she asks, folding in the tip of the saucy wedge, do you have any idea what was going on at the fraternities? From what I observed, I think it has something to do with drugs."
"That wouldn't surprise me much," Dana confesses. "It's never been a secret that some of the guys use."
Frowning, Alexis grabs a paper napkin to shield her sweater from drips. "I can't see the N.Y.P.D. putting out that many resources for a few students getting high. The narcotics officers I saw are in on serious busts. That would mean large quantities of drugs. Any idea who in the frats could be involved?"
Dana sighs, reaching for his extra-large orange soda. "You know I'm not involved in much frat stuff. I think my father might be looking into something for the university. I heard him take a call from Dean Witherspoon, but he never said a word about it. He wouldn't if it concerned a case. He's always scrupulous about confidentiality. Institutions and corporations have asked him to look into drug-related matters before, but only substantial problems. If he's been working for the school, that would make sense with what you said about the narcotics cops. Something big is going on."
"Maybe you should move out of your frat house," Alexis suggests. "If you're even tangentially connected to anyone involved in a drug deal, it could ruin your chances at a decent career in forensics. I've seen the kind of background checks they put criminologists through. They go practically all the way back to kindergarten to ensure there's nothing a defense attorney can use to impeach C.S.U. testimony."
If what's happening today is what we think, you may be right," Dana considers. "But except for moving back home, I don't know where I'd go. And my mother put a quilting frame in my old bedroom. She and a group from church work in there. They sell the quilts to raise money for a women's shelter. I suppose I could sleep on the couch until I find a place, but I don't think I can afford an apartment. I can't see how my scholarship money or anything I could pick up working part-time would even cover something in a student slum."
"How about the Lee Award?" Alexis asks. "Aren't you in line for that?"
"Along with 19 other students. That gives me a five percent chance of winning it."
"But you're the best," Alexis insists. "You'll get it. They're awarding it in two weeks, right? And the loft has a guest room. Until then, you could stay there."
"Don't you think you should ask your father and Detective Beckett?" Dana wonders. "From the look your dad was giving me when you brought me home for dinner, I thought he was about to check if Amazon sells chastity belts."
"Kate's been trying to be the understanding stepmom. And dad does get overprotective at times, by which I mean all the time," Alexis admits. "But if having you with us is the alternative to me dating a boy living in a drug-infested den of iniquity, he'll move you into the guest room himself."
Dana takes another gulp of his soda. "We may be jumping the gun on all of this. Suppose there is just one big dealer or something? He could be from another house. I might not even know him. The police will wrap everything up, and that will be that."
Alexis visualizes the scene outside the fraternity houses. "I don't think it's going to be that simple. But the way news travels on social media, there's probably something on Facebook or Twitter already." She takes her phone from her purse. "Hashtag, Hudson U. Oh God, Dana! According to this, rumor has it that the Delta Tau Chi fraternity at Hudson U. is part of a ring involving two other schools and massive drug sales. Do you know anyone from Delta Tau Chi?"
Dana palms his face. "Some of the guys from my house teamed up with Delta to throw a toga party. I wasn't there, but I heard it was pretty wild, including drug use. The guy who lives in the room next to mine went. I don't know him that well, but it's house policy to help out brothers having problems with a class. I tutored him in chemistry for a while."
"I'll help you pack," Alexis declares.
