Harry had been relieved to know that Tom had been released. He had to wonder what Alexander was thinking to even leave it hanging over the man's head. He had his suspicions and if he was right things were going to get complicated fast and concluded slowly. Not a good combination for Tom Ryan, or for that matter, Harry's ulcer.
He had so far managed to avoid yet another meeting with Sean Galloway. He found the man oily somehow. IAB had a reputation in the media and most entertainment where police officers were the primary characters for being out to get their fellow officers. Granted when they went after an officer they did it hammer and tongs, but in Harry's experience they weren't lurking behind curtains, and peering around corners at everyone on the force. They needed a reason to investigate and were often just as glad when officers proved innocent as they were when they got the bad apples out of the barrel. Galloway on the other hand seemed to have an intense hatred of Ryan. Something that Harry couldn't figure out. Sure no one was universally liked, but he could almost swear that this investigation was somehow personal. It was also his orders that had Tom taken down to holding instead of to the hospital. He couldn't imagine that it was more than just wanting Tom in as much discomfort as possible but it had nearly ended tragically. This too was bad for Harry's ulcer.
He finished off the bottle of Pepto in his desk drawer and made a mental note to pick up more at lunch. He glared at the phone when it rang. It was rarely good news when it did. And then it was only when Frannie called. Sometimes even that wasn't good news. He answered it on the second ring. "Lipschitz… Right… I'll send someone over now." He ended the call and wrote down the information.
He went out to the office and over to Cassandra and Will. "There was a body found at Madigan skate park." He handed over the paper to Cassie that had the address on it. "No identification at the scene. While you're gone I'll clear out Tom's desk."
"Thanks, Harry." She said and got up from her chair. "You're car or mine?"
"We'll take yours," Will said and led the way out of the precinct. "So is he always gruff or does he just not like me?"
"Most of the time, and I wouldn't worry about it. You'll grow on him." She said. "He is rough on everyone, but he cares about his people. He really does."
"I guess I'll have to take your word for it. So what's the deal with your previous partner?"
"Let's get something straight. I'm not interested in the gossip mill that goes along with every cop investigated by Internal affairs." She said. "So I'm only saying this once. Tom is my ex-husband and my ex-partner. There was a shooting that IAB is investigating. He made the stupid mistake of leaving town for a while during the investigation. That's all there is to it. We're not talking about it again."
He laughed a little "So they teamed you up with your ex-husband? I'm beginning to think it's you that he doesn't like."
"Funny." She said as she pulled away from the precinct. "We worked well together. Of course, they partnered us together again." She shrugged "It won't happen again I'm sure. So are we done with this conversation?"
"Sure. Forget I asked."
"Done." She said. She double-checked the address to know which skate park she was driving to before proceeding. "So why did you leave the Organized Crime Task Force?"
"Too many of the wrong people knew my face." He said. "I couldn't go undercover anymore and that pretty much put the cap on what I could do or how I could advance so I put in for transfer."
"Well, welcome to Homicide." She pulled into the park's parking lot. "And from the looks of this, the deep end." The worst part about bodies found in outdoor public settings was the guarantee of crime scene contamination. The onlookers surrounded the body and the forensics team. She pushed her way through the crowd and flashed her badge to the patrolmen attempting to keep the lookie-loos back and she and Will were let past. "Good morning Sterling, what do we have?"
"Good morning Cassie, who's your friend?" He asked as he bagged the victim's hands.
"Dr. Sterling Morton this is Detective Will Adams, my new partner."
"Nice to meet you," Sterling said. "We have what appears to be a single gunshot wound to the head. The body was in full rigor when we got here. That and liver temp tells me that time of death was in the early hours this morning. I don't believe she was killed here. There's not enough blood at the scene. I'll know more after I do an autopsy. We didn't find a purse so there's no identification."
"Do you know who found the body?" Will asked.
"Nope. Talk to the patrolman or 911. No one tells me anything when I arrive at the scene other than the body is over there."
"Thank you," Cassie said.
Liam had gotten the apartment clean before Tom had been released from the hospital. It was firehouse clean before Tom was released from the courthouse. Now he was just trying to sort out the rest of Tom's life. That was the part that worried him the most. His son was heartbroken. The woman he loved had betrayed him, Cassie had completely abandoned him, his career was in tatters and he was facing another surgery on top of waiting to find out if the DA was going to press charges or just let it go. He was afraid that the weight of it all was going to shatter his son before he had a chance to heal from even one of the many things piled on his shoulders.
Tom put a large bandaid over his incision and got into the shower. He loved his father but the hovering was driving him crazy. It didn't help that his apartment was only able to be classified as a one-bedroom because the bed was on a different level than the main apartment. There was no wall separating it from the rest. He'd considered bookshelves or something to divide it up but there was no reason since he lived alone. Now he wished he had. Not that it mattered. On his current income, he would only be able to stay there for another few months and that was if he drained his savings along the way and got rid of all the extras in his life.
If he didn't go to prison.
He found it difficult to raise his arm all the way. He could do it but it was slow going and the muscles there felt tired, and weak. The doctor seemed confident. It was easy to be confident when it was someone else's body. There would be no way of knowing how extensive the nerve damage was until they were in there working on them. He couldn't even wrap his brain around how they could perform surgery on something that small in the first place.
He stayed in the shower until the water ran cold hoping to avoid another round of everything is going to be alright, son, just hang in there. As much as it annoyed him, he knew the man meant well. He really didn't want his father to leave just yet.
He dried off and dressed comfortably, before going into the living room so that his father could help him with the compression bandage.
"Feel better?" Liam asked.
Tom smiled a little "Cleaner anyway. Close enough."
"I've got a pot of chili on for dinner." He said "I talked to your mother. She'd like you to call her later today. She's worried about you. I have to be honest, so am I."
Tom sighed in frustration "Dad… You know everything there is to know. I don't know how to reassure you guys when you know everything I do. This isn't going away any time soon." He said while his father picked up the pressure bandage and began to wind it around Tom's arm.
"I want you to consider coming home to Boston."
"You know I can't do that." He said.
"If you talk to your attorney I'm sure you could get him to petition for you to be able to leave Florida."
"And that could push the DA to press murder charges," Tom said.
"You haven't committed murder," Liam said.
"Those two statements have nothing to do with each other, Dad. If I want my life back I can't even suggest leaving the state. It's a waiting game and I'm the one doing the waiting. Whether I like it or not."
Liam opened his mouth to speak but stopped as a knock came at the door. He saw his son tense. "I'll get it. Why don't you decide what you want for lunch." He opened the door to find Harry standing there with a box in hand. "Harry come on in." He said, stepping aside to let him bring in the box.
Tom looked up hearing Harry's voice. "Hi." He said.
"I thought I'd bring your things by," Harry said. "Just until this is cleared up then we'll get your desk set up again."
Tom nodded. "Yeah sure. Can't leave it set up for me if I can't work there."
"I hear the judge gave Alexander both barrels." He said setting the box on the counter.
"She did. I was too scared to find it as funny as it is in hindsight. I think he got thrown under a bus by Galloway." He said.
"That would not surprise me. Although usually, Craig Alexander is hard to play like that." Harry said.
"Well, as my father told me the other day, anyone can be had if the conditions are right." He said. "Paraphrased of course."
"What do you know, he was listening," Liam said with a smile.
"What did the doctor have to say about your arm?" Harry asked.
"There's nerve damage. I'll have another surgery in a couple of weeks. They hope to repair it. Otherwise, it's just physical therapy and time."
"Listen. I don't want you to think I'm not on your side." Harry said, "But if I'm going to be able to be an advocate that they take seriously, I need to keep my distance for now."
"No, no I understand," Tom said. Logically he understood. Emotionally was another matter entirely. "I do. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. And while you're at it, convince my father here that I'm not made of spun glass."
"The only person that can do that is you," Harry said. "I've got to get back to the office. Despite what I've just said, you call me if you need anything."
Tom nodded. "Sure, Harry." He wouldn't. He couldn't put Harry in that position. He wouldn't.
Liam walked him to the door. "Thanks for coming by. I appreciate it."
January 23rd
Three days had passed and they finally had an ID on the body found in the skate park. Selena Elias age 30, wife of one Cyril Elias.
"She's been on the missing person list for several days. Her best friend Olivia Graves reported her missing." Cassie said, looking over the missing person report.
"Then I guess we need to start there," Will said. "What do we have for contact information?"
"She's a receptionist at Attwater Oncology clinic."
"I know where that is. It's in the same building as my dentist's. Where do I have to go today anyway? Why don't we divide and conquer? You interview the family, I'll stop into the oncology clinic and Interview Miss Graves."
"We don't usually do it that way," Cassie said.
"You're telling me you've never interviewed a grieving husband on your own."
"I- I have but I'm trying to play by the rules these days."
"Ah, it was one of those things that Ryan left you to do on your own I take it."
She glared at him "Tom did not make me do anything I didn't want to do. Fine. You go deal with the best friend and I'll interview Elias at his place of work." It wasn't like she'd be in danger at a public place after all.
"If I head that way now I can do it before my face is numb and my tongue feels two sizes too large. I busted a crown." He shrugged. "I'll meet you back here."
She laughed "Yeah you do that." She went to Harry's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in." He said.
Cassie walked in "Will just left to go to the dentist. He..."
Harry winced "Don't tell me about it. It makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it."
"I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to talk to Cyril Elias. He's the husband of the woman found in the skate park."
"Absolutely." He said. He was more than happy to get out of the office for a bit. He missed actual detective work. Frannie, however, didn't miss him being in danger every day.
"Elias wasn't the one to report his wife as missing. Her friend Olivia Graves did. I would like to know why." Cassie said.
"So would I," Harry said.
Will entered the front office of the Attwater Oncology Clinic.
"Can I help you?" The pretty woman behind the desk asked.
"Hi, I'm Sgt Will Adams." He showed her his badge. "I'm looking for Olivia Graves."
"I'm Olivia." She said, her expression turning to worry.
"Is there somewhere we can speak privately? It's about Selena Elias."
"Give me just a moment to get someone to cover the phones." She said and disappeared into the back. A few minutes later she returned and another woman took her seat behind the front desk. "Come with me." She said and led the way back to the break room. Once inside she closed the door behind them. "Do you have word?" She asked.
He indicated she should sit down and she knew what it had to be. She sat and waited with wide eyes, hoping that she was wrong.
"She was found three days ago. She had been murdered." He said.
Tears formed in Olivia's eyes. "How? When?"
"Her body was found three days ago. We were just able to identify her today." He said. "According to the Medical Examiner, she has shot four days ago."
"That son of a bitch." She said and wiped at her eyes. "He finally did it."
"Which son of a bitch would that be?" He asked.
"Her husband Cy Elias." She said "He was abusive. He controlled everything about her life."
"Was this something you saw or something she told you?" He asked.
"She told me about the physical abuse. I saw him control her. He treated her like a child. She had to ask permission to leave the house. She wasn't allowed to drive. He had a driver take her everywhere and report to him where she went. I couldn't even pick her up to go anywhere. I had to go to her place and her driver would take us both. There were these rules that she had to obey in the house, she said he'd spank her like a child if she broke any of the rules or was on the phone too long or to the wrong person."
"Is it possible that she tried to leave him?" He asked.
She shook her head "Normally I would say no because she didn't tell me she was going to after I've been trying for years to get her to leave him. But if she was found dead after being missing… he killed her. I'm sure of it. I don't have any proof for you though."
"I appreciate you talking to me, Miss Graves. I wish I had better news for you."
"Thank you for coming to tell me in person. Cyril never would have told me." She got up. "Let me show you out."
Harry and Cassie sat across from Cyril Elias. His face was beet red and his hands were clenched into fists on his desk. Harry was starting to think they were going to have to arrest the man… or shoot him any moment now. He'd seen a lot of reactions to finding out your spouse was dead. He'd seen people throw up, pass out, go virtually catatonic, tremble and weep uncontrollably. He had only encountered a man who 'saw red' once before. It had taken three police officers to pull the man off of the fourth officer that had broken the news to him. Harry had been that fourth officer.
"Mr. Elias," He said in a calm voice, "I know this is painful for you, and I certainly can understand how you could be angry but you need to calm down so that we can discuss this with you."
"Calm down!" He yelled, banging both of his fists on the desk causing everything on it to vibrate. "Calm down? You have just told me someone murdered my wife and you expect me to calm down."
"Yes sir, I do," Harry said, his tone was calm, but there were teeth behind it and Elias responded to that.
He eased back in his chair and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. "Give me a minute." He grumbled.
"Take all the time you need," Harry said.
It was a couple of minutes later when he was able to open his eyes and calmly look at the two police officers in front of him. "I apologize. My temper gets away from me."
"Understandable under the circumstances," Cassie said. "When did you last see your wife?"
"Five maybe six days ago." He said.
"May I ask why you didn't report her missing?"
He tensed again, and Harry raised an eyebrow. Elias took a deep breath "Because we'd been fighting. She'd threatened to leave me and I just thought that she'd done it."
"Had she packed a bag? Did she take anything with her?"
"What are you getting at Detective St. John?" Elias said gruffly.
"I'm not making an accusation. I'm asking questions. If she did leave you then she would have had someplace planned to go to, she would have had someone helping her perhaps. If she didn't leave you then her steps would have been different."
"The thing is, my wife doesn't drive." He said "She has … had… panic attacks and she had other mental health issues. She had them under control with medication and talk therapy most of the time. Sometimes she didn't. That's just how that works. It wasn't her fault, she couldn't help it, but she could be difficult. Anyway, I hired a driver for her. His name is Gavin Clark." He took out a notepad and scrawled the name and number down. He handed the paper to Cassie. "He would know where she went better than I do."
"Thank you," Cassie said and put the paper in her purse.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a company to run and a funeral to plan."
"We'll let you know when you can collect the body."
"Why can't I have her body taken to the funeral parlor?"
"It's an ongoing investigation." Harry said, "The medical examiner's office will let you know when she can be picked up." He rose to his feet. "We truly are sorry for your loss." He waited for Cassie to join him and they left.
Tom watched as the nurse unwrapped his arm.
"It looks good. No sign of infection." She said, "How does it feel?"
"The incision doesn't hurt anymore. It's just the nerve pain." He said.
"Is the Neurontin helping at all?" She asked.
"Some." He said.
"Be sure to bring this up with the doctor. Starting doses rarely help as much as people need them to, so he'll likely increase your dose. It tends to make people a little sleepy until they get used to it."
Tom nodded. "Okay, I will." He said.
"Okay, I'll go let Dr. Franklin know you're ready." She said and left the exam room.
Tom got off the table and paced while he waited. He looked up when the door opened roughly ten minutes later "Hey Doc." He said and got back onto the table.
"Marilyn tells me your incision site looks good, let me have a look at it."
Tom turned up the sleeve of his tee shirt to make sure it was out of the way.
Dr. Franklin went through the same examination that the nurse had done previously. "It's good to see you no longer in handcuffs." He said.
"It's even better not to be in them." He said with a faint laugh. "No charges were filed so I'm good to go for whatever dates you have in mind for the next surgery."
"Better still." He said. "So Why don't we start with your second MRI early next week and we'll take it from there? Now, squeeze my fingers." This time he was able to have both hands at the same time to give him a clearer image of how much strength Tom had lost in that hand. "Are you right or left-handed?"
"Left," Tom said. "The right side is a damage magnet though. I blew that shoulder out playing college football. There was already a little difference between them in strength before I got shot."
"Okay." He said, "Where did you play?"
"Florida State," Tom answered.
"Was there any residual pain from that injury?" He asked.
"Only when I go home to Boston for Christmas," Tom said with a smile. "It hates snow. I can't say I disagree."
"And thus why you still live in Florida." The doctor smiled as well. "Okay, I'm going to give you a referral to a physical therapist. By the time that makes the rounds between here and the insurance company and their clinic you should be ready to get to work."
"Alright."
"So Marilyn also said that the Neurontin isn't doing much for the nerve pain." He said "So we're going to increase your dose. Until you adjust to it, it might make you a little sleepy for a while. Don't worry, it's not addictive and it doesn't make you high. Just drowsy like an antihistamine does. Unlike the antihistamine, you'll adjust to it in time and won't have that problem anymore."
Tom nodded and watched as the doctor wrote out the prescription.
"Alright. My receptionist can schedule the MRI and a follow-up appointment with me afterward. We'll talk about the next surgery then."
Tom nodded again. "Alright. I'll do that. Thanks."
"Good. I'll see you in a few days then."
Tom did as suggested and made both appointments. At least some part of his life could go forward.
Will and Cassie went into Harry's office and took a seat.
"Sgt Adams, I trust your mouth situation is under control," Harry said.
He nodded "I can even talk now without feeling like I'm swallowing my tongue." He said.
"Good. In the future let me know when you have these little appointments. I like to think of myself as, you know, your boss."
"Sorry, sir." He said.
"So what did you find out from Ms. Graves?"
"She says that Elias was controlling. That he didn't let his wife leave the house without permission first, and the driver reported to him everywhere they went. That Mrs. Elias told her that he'd spank her like a child if she broke any of his rules. According to her the woman was scared to death of her husband and would never leave him."
"Now that's funny." Cassie said "Because he told us that he hadn't reported her as missing because he thought that she'd left him. Of course, he completely dodged the question about whether or not she'd packed a bag or not. Which likely means she didn't. He says she had mental health issues that she was medicated for and that was why she was being chauffeured."
"I guess if that's the case those meds would show up on a tox screen." He said.
"Only if they look for them," Harry said. "Although by now they may be undetectable."
"They can test for the past 90 days in a hair test," Will suggested. "I can't imagine that you couldn't set the test to check for psychiatric medications."
"In the meantime, we can talk to the Chauffeur and see where she was going. He'd know if he was driving her to a mental health clinic." Cassie said. "I don't like this guy. He looked angrier that we were invading his space than he was grieving for his wife."
"True but we can't rule out that he's telling the truth," Harry said.
"Both could be true. You know that old saying. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you." Will said. "Think about it, she'd be the perfect victim. Trigger an over-the-top reaction or two and suddenly no one is going to believe that she's abused unless she winds up in the hospital. She's got a driver that answers to her husband and only takes her to approved locations with approved people, but oh no, that's not to control her, that's to protect her from herself because she has… issues. Strict schedules are supposed to help with certain issues, structure helps with certain issues. So he's only putting in rules and routines to help her, not to control her… Never mind he actually is abusive and controlling. No one is going to believe her. And who's to say she had anything wrong with her? Gas-lighting is a thing."
"That paints a pretty bleak picture," Harry said.
"One that makes it easy to see Mr. Cyril Elias as a murderer," Cassie said. "I could especially see it if she tried to leave him. I don't think he'd put up with that."
"If that's the case the driver isn't going to be telling us the truth. He's paid to keep secrets as much as to drive the car."
"Even lies can be telling," Harry said. "And with that, I am out of here. Frannie is making pot roast tonight and I will not be late for that." He stood up and pulled his jacket on. "I recommend you both go home. You have a full day tomorrow."
January 28th
Tom did the math for the third time and finally decided the numbers weren't going to change just because he wanted them to. So he went down the list of bills and expenditures checking necessary things. Rent, car insurance, and electric bill, and he decided that the cell phone was more important than the landline. The landline could go, his gym membership could go, and it was back to minimum payments on his credit cards. He took them out of his wallet, keeping only the one directly attached to his bank account. He put the credit cards in an envelope and sealed it. and tucked them away in a jar above his refrigerator.
Then he called the phone company to disconnect the landline and called the gym to cancel. He paid quarterly, so he still had a month left that he could use it until that was done. Then he redid the math one more time. He could manage a few months this way. But if he wasn't able to go back to work at the end of three months he was going to have to move. If he waited any longer than that he would burn through his savings and not be able to afford to move.
"Your mother and I can help if you need us to," Liam said.
"I'm good for now. If I tighten the belt I've got a few months before I have to hit panic stations. You taught me how to do that."
"Okay. Just remember you have resources for help. We're willing to help."
"I know Dad." He said. "But I also know you helped Danny and his wife with the down payment on their house last year, and the first few years of any business, much less a restaurant doesn't see much if anything in the way of profit. I'm not going to wind up homeless and starving. Worst case scenario I move into a less expensive apartment. It wouldn't be the end of the world."
"You know this stubborn independent streak of yours is a double-edged sword," Liam said.
"I can't imagine where I get it from," Tom said, with a smirk.
"Your mother."
"That's not what she says." Tom said, "All of my bad habits come from you, according to Mom."
Liam laughed.
"You know… I'll understand if you need to get back to Boston," Tom said. "You don't have to put your entire life on hold because I screwed up."
"I'm not going anywhere until you recover from that second surgery." He said. "You haven't exactly had people busting down the door to lend a hand."
"Hazard of my friends being cops," Tom said. "IAB works on the theory of guilty by association. Until I'm cleared no one is coming within a hundred yards."
Liam growled under his breath. "That is a messed up way to go about things."
"Yeah well once I'm cleared I won't be able to find a moment to myself, I promise." If he was cleared. He wasn't positive that was going to happen even if the DA never pressed charges.
"I'm sure you're right, Son. In the future, make more friends that aren't cops. How do pork chops sound for dinner?"
"That sounds great, Dad."
