Castoff
part 11

"It was him," Raph growled. "That bastard murdered Shilo's mother."

"Raphael, language," Master Splinter admonished.

"Go arrest him, Casey," Mikey demanded, his blue eyes full of indignation.

"I wish it worked that way, Mikey. All we have right now is what we call circumstantial evidence," Casey said. "There's not even enough of that to pull him in for questioning. We have to connect that second phone to Colón in order to show that she and Guerra knew each other."

"Can't you suggest to your techs that they do what Donnie just did?" April asked.

"I could, but that only shows that there were three phones in the park at the same time of night," Casey said. "It doesn't put that second phone in Colón's hands."

"This is frustrating as hell," Raph said.

"It would help if we could find the second phone," Leo said. "My guess is it's either in pieces or at the bottom of the river. Did anyone search the park?"

"No," Casey said, rubbing his chin. "They searched every inch of the alley where Colón left the bloody newspaper and they canvassed for several blocks all around it, but no one connected the park to her."

"Then let's go search it," Raph said. "It's the middle of the night, nobody else will be there. At least not anybody with a good reason to be out this late."

"Marcus Garvey Park is comprised of over twenty acres of land, Raph," Don said. "There's rocky outcroppings, a watchtower, a rec center, a swimming pool . . . ."

"Yeah, yeah, I get the idea," Raph said. "You're the brains of this outfit, Donnie. Ain't ya' got some gizmo that can find other gizmos like phones?"

"Not if the phone isn't on," Don said. "I've already checked for that and I also checked to see if it was the type that could be turned on remotely. It's not, which leads me to believe it's a cheap burner phone."

"We have to do something," Mikey said. "How about a metal detector?" He looked at Don. "Do we have a metal detector?"

"We do not," Don said. "Besides, the rocky outcroppings in the park are made of schist, which would give us false readings."

"Then eyeballs," Raph said, waving his hands. "Hell, we can just look around the corner of the park closest to 120th and Mount Morris Park West. That's where the cameras lost her."

"Guerra and his gang were probably cruising those streets the way they were last night when he accosted Casey," Leo said. "If one of his gang saw Colón on the street, they'd have notified him."

"That's why he's in the park at the same time she is," Casey said. "I think Raph's right. I'll bet she saw the car drive by and ran into the park to hide. When he called her, he was probably getting out of his car to go after her."

Don raised a finger and stood up slowly, a sure indication he'd had an idea. "I can't track the phone, but I'll bet I can find the spot where Colón was shot. It hasn't rained since her murder, so the chemical elements of the gunshot residue should still be there. I can reconfigure my particle analyzer as a scanning electron microscopy device. If I get a reading that tells me lead, antimony, and barium are all present in one location, then that's where she was killed."

"We really need about ten of him on the force," Casey said to no one in particular.

"Why are we standing around?" Raph asked. "Let's go find something. Maybe we'll get lucky and Guerra will show up again."

He accentuated that statement by plunging a fist into his palm.

"Just leave enough of him for Casey to arrest," Leo said mildly.

"I'm coming with you," April said. She had put a sleeping Shilo into his bassinet and rolled it into the warmth of the TV room.

"This is a police matter," Casey said, "and it's too . . . ."

"It's my story," April snapped without letting him finish the sentence.

"One you should investigate during daylight hours," Leo said. "If shooting starts we don't need for you to catch a bullet."

Don spoke before April could argue further. "I hate to ask this of you again, but could you help Master Splinter watch Shilo? If something happened, if they needed to leave the lair quickly . . . ."

He didn't need to finish. April pressed her lips together as she eyed him, and then relaxed with a sigh.

"I'll stay," April said, "but if you guys find out anything you'd better not hold out on me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Casey said.

"We know better," Mikey added with a grin.

Before any of them could move, one of Donatello's computers started to beep loudly. Sitting down quickly, Don rolled his chair closer to the desk and punched in a command that transferred a map from a smaller screen to one of the large ones.

"I'm getting an alert from the program I set up to monitor for food thefts," Don said, tapping the screen to enlarge a location on the map. "This one's coming from a food distribution warehouse near Pier 78. It has to be Bebop and Rocksteady. If they follow their new pattern, they'll hit at least two more places tonight."

"We'll have to split up," Leo said without hesitation. "Don and I will go to the park with Casey. Raph, you and Mikey take the Turtle Van and head to the pier. If you find that pair, do not engage them. Recon only. See if you can follow them back to wherever they've been hiding. With luck, they'll lead you to Karai and or Stockman. We want all of them."

"Then what are we supposed to do, babysit them?" Raph asked, sounding none too pleased.

"We take them down as a team, Raph," Leo said. "You and Mikey can't catch them all. The more backup you have, the better the chance that we scoop up the whole bunch."

"Hey, let's not forget that they're wanted by the New York City police department," Casey said. "Chief Vincent has them sitting right at the top of the most wanted list. She'll want to be a part of that raid."

"There ain't gonna be a raid if we don't move our asses," Raph said.

Rather than heading directly for the garbage truck, Don dashed over to glance into the bassinet. Raph eyed him with concern, and then pulled Leo aside.

"Ya' watch his shell," Raph said. "His head ain't all the way in the game; half of it's in there with the kid."

"I will," Leo said. "We have to make allowances until he gets used to this."

"Maybe we do, but the gangs out there don't give a flip about his maternal instincts," Raph said, before jogging off to catch up to Mikey.

On his way back to join Leo and Casey, Don stopped next to April and said, "If something happens while we're gone, let Master Splinter handle the situation and you concentrate on getting Shilo to safety, all right?"

April's expression shifted from the slight annoyance she felt at being left behind to one of sympathetic understanding. "I thought you were just trying to keep me from going with you guys, but you really are worried about Shilo's safety."

"It's all I do seem to be able to think about," Don said, striding off when Leo called to him.

Master Splinter walked over to stand next to April as his sons sped off in two different directions.

"I dislike it when they are forced to split up," Master Splinter said, sounding much calmer than April felt.

"I'm sure they'll be careful," April told him despite having misgivings of her own.

The nice thing about having a converted garbage truck as transportation was they could park it almost anywhere and it wouldn't look out of place. There were a number of business establishments near the park and Leo backed the truck into an alley between two of them.

There was a posted closing time for the park which most citizens heeded. As the two turtles and Casey entered the park, they were reasonably certain no one would see them.

Using his wrist mounted system controller, Don displayed a holographic image of the readings from the new SEM device he'd configured while Leo drove. They searched the corner of the park where they felt Colón and Guerra had met. While Casey and Leo combed the area for anything that might connect the two, Don slowly swept his arm back and forth, watching the readouts.

After nearly a quarter of an hour, Leo asked, "Are you getting anything, Donnie?"

"A lot of different readings, but not in the proper combination," Don said. "Maybe it's been too long, or this isn't where it happened."

"Or maybe he snatched her up and took her somewhere else," Casey said. "It was worth a try though. Here's an idea, I'll admit to the detectives that I was snooping on my own and was accosted by Guerra. That'll get their eyes on him and . . . ."

"I've got something!" Don sang out excitedly. He was moving in a direct line towards a stand of trees and underbrush. "It's gunshot residue. The levels are climbing."

Casey and Leo had to jog to catch up to the long-legged turtle. Don pushed past a hedge, coming out in a small clearing where he stopped.

"Is this the spot?" Leo asked.

Don squatted, his arm over an area carpeted with leaves. "I'm getting the highest readings right here."

"She saw him coming and tried to hide," Casey said, looking around him. "Guerra spotted Colón before she could get out of sight."

"She knew her best chance was to duck down and hope he wouldn't come in here to search for her," Leo said, picking up the thread of Casey's thoughts. "Every other direction would have taken her out into the open."

"He knew it too and when she disappeared, he knew exactly where'd she'd gone," Casey said. "I can't even imagine her terror when she saw him burst through the bushes."

"There's blood here," Don said. "Not much, but it's on the leaves. They've been kicked over. That probably happened when he picked her up after shooting her."

"Pretty bold," Leo said.

"He thinks he owns the neighborhood," Casey said. "I doubt that anyone even looks out of their windows after dark. His men were no doubt following in a car and he carried her body over to it."

"Seems like the biggest chance he took was transporting her, transferring her to another car, and then dumping her," Leo said. "He risked getting stopped by police anywhere along his route and having to explain the dead body."

"Bah, it's all speculation," Casey griped. "What I wouldn't give for some good solid . . . ."

Once more he was interrupted by Donatello. "There's a trail of gunshot residue going from here towards the street."

He was moving as he spoke, his eyes on the holographic image displayed in front of him. A short fence separated the park from the sidewalk and street and Don easily hopped over it.

"Donnie," Leo warned, knowing his brother was oblivious at the moment to the fact he had moved out into the open.

"It's here, it's here," Don said breathlessly.

"What's here?" Leo asked, coming alongside his brother.

"The gun!" Don exclaimed.

He was pointing towards a curbside storm drain.

"Are you kidding me?" Casey asked rhetorically. Stepping into the street, he knelt down and peered into the storm drain. "Dammit, it's too far. I can't see anything."

"We can access it from inside the drainage system," Leo said.

"Guerra didn't want to get caught with the body and the gun," Casey said as he stood up. "If we can get one print, just one print off that weapon, the ballistics will tie Guerra to Colón's murder."

"I would have thought he'd try to come back for it," Leo said. "Do you think that's what he intended to do last night before he saw you?"

Before Casey could respond, the group heard the loud wail of a woman in distress. The sound was coming from an apartment complex directly opposite the park.

Casey started running towards the disturbance. The turtles were mere flashes of color as they darted across the street and bounded onto the side of the building. They were on the roof by the time Casey turned the corner to find the source of the crying.

"My baby! Give me back my baby!" a woman screamed from atop the stairs leading into the entrance of the apartment complex.

"Shut up, bitch!" Guerra barked. He was near the bottom of the stairs, an infant cradled in his arms. "I know that puta left my baby with you!"

"I don't know who you mean," the woman said, coming down the stairs, her arms outstretched. "He's mine, I have the birth certificate."

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stop lying," Guerra snapped.

"Give the woman her baby," Casey said as he approached the scene. "That is not your son."

Guerra glanced over his shoulder at a group of men standing near an SUV. "It's the cop from last night," he told them, sounding amused. Looking back at Casey, he said, "You must be lost again."

"Actually, I'm thinking you are," Casey said. "Going into other people's homes and taking their children? That is not the way to make friends."

"So what's it to you?" Guerra asked. The baby began to cry and the man frowned at it.

"That infant wants its mother," Casey said. "Its real mother. Do I need to call for a squad to come down here and help sort this out?"

"Give me my son," the woman said. "Please. He has nothing to do with you."

"Maybe I can fix it so you don't got time to call anyone," Guerra said, glaring at Casey.

"You want to take me on, come ahead," Casey said. "Don't expect help from your backup, something seems to be happening to them."

Guerra's head whipped around. Where there had been five men, there were now only three. The remaining men spun on their heels as they looked for their missing colleagues. They were clearly surprised that two men had vanished.

"Javier, where did they go?" Guerra demanded of one of the men.

"I don't know, Hector," the man answered.

"I'm not alone, Hector," Casey said, his tone mild. When Guerra turned back to him, scowling, Casey added, "Believe me, he is not your child. Give him back to his mother."

Very slowly, Guerra walked up to the woman and placed the crying baby into her arms. Once she had a firm hold on her child, she raced back inside the building and slammed the door shut.

Guerra was glaring at Casey as he walked back down the stairs. His expression suddenly became calculating. Facing Casey, he said, "There was no way to tell if that was a boy or girl. How did you know that I was looking for my son?"

Rather than answer him, Casey said, "Don't come back here again. The baby you're looking for isn't anywhere in this neighborhood."

"What do you know about it, cop?" Guerra asked.

"I know that Lia was pregnant," Casey said. "I also know she's dead."

"I heard she had an accident," Guerra said with an ugly smile. "Shame too, she was a good looking woman once."

"Why'd you kill her?" Casey asked.

"Me? I didn't kill her," Guerra said with false innocence. "Funny thing, stuff just sort of happens to people who cross me. Are you gonna cross me, cop?"

"Don't you doubt it," Casey said, stepping closer so he could get right into Guerra's face. "I'm not a defenseless woman."

"Where's my kid?" Guerra's eyes were unblinking as he and Casey locked gazes. "The cops ain't got him 'cause I would have heard. You know where he is, don't you?"

Guerra's hand crept towards the gun he had tucked into his waistband. From the shadows, Leo and Don braced themselves for an inevitable fight, hoping that Casey knew Guerra was going for his weapon.

Just as the pair of turtles prepared to move, the screeching of tires made them duck back into hiding. A van slid around the corner, coming to an abrupt stop in the middle of the street.

A logo on the side of the van proclaimed that it belonged to Channel 6 News. The passenger door flew open and April hopped out of the van, microphone in her hand.

Vern came running around from behind the van, holding a camera. He slipped into place just behind and to the right of April as she stopped next to Guerra.

"Hector Guerra, I'm April O'Neil from Channel 6," April said. "What can you tell me about a woman named Lia Colón? Did you know that she'd been murdered?"

She shoved the microphone at Guerra who stepped back and grimaced.

"Get out of my face," Guerra said, pushing the microphone away. Continuing to walk backwards, he told Casey, "We ain't finished, cop. Not by a long shot."

"Mr. Guerra, could you answer a couple of questions?" April asked as she started to follow him.

Guerra hopped into the SUV and it sped away. Before it made the turn onto the next street, they could see by his reflection in the side mirror that Guerra was watching them.

"What are you doing here?" Casey asked.

Vern lowered his camera, nodding at Leo and Don as they stepped out of hiding.

"I had a feeling there was going to be trouble," April said. "That man has already killed someone and you're putting yourself between him and his being able to get away with it."

"Is Shilo . . .?" Don began.

"Master Splinter told me to go," April said. "He had the same feeling I did. Don't worry, he's right there with Shilo and won't leave his side until you guys get back to the lair."

Don's shoulder communication device beeped and he pressed the button to answer. "Hey, Raph."

"Donnie, you and Leo move your butts," Raph said. "We've got a situation here."

TBC…..