[Luthor Corp. - Wall Street offices, 9:20 a.m.]
Vice President of Operations Dan Gonzalves led the detectives into his office. "Up until about four years ago, we used to have an office in the World Trade Center."
"Lucky for Luthor Corp.," Briscoe remarked.
"Not so lucky," Gonzalves replied, "We moved our international trade branch to the 71st floor. We lost 40 good people on 9/11."He sipped his coffee. "Excuse me, if I don't have my caffeine by 10, I can't function."
"Not a problem," Green nodded, as he presented a list of employees. "Lex Luthor's attorney provided us with this list of employees ... and we just wanted to confirm that he was here for a
meeting between 6 and 7 last night."
Gonzalves skimmed the document. "Rita, John, Sanjeev, me, yup ..... V.P. Finance Guy Chevrier ..." He checked off several names. "I was at that meeting. We were planning strategy for the first phase of the new corporate plaza. Mr. Luthor doesn't have day-to-day
responsibilities on this project, but he likes to keep informed. There were, oh, about 12 of us. You're welcome to ask them."
"We will." Briscoe stood up. He and Green began to question each of the people at the meeting. All of them said the same thing. Lex was at the meeting. And he didn't leave until just after 7 p.m. Their lead appeared to dry up -- until they arrived at Rita Ponte's desk.
"So you're saying he was here for the whole meeting?" Green asked.
"Well, yes ... I -- think so ..." she replied with hesitation.
"You're don't sound 100% sure," Briscoe noted.
"Well, he went to the bathroom around quarter to 7. Then he came back five minutes after 7. Or maybe 10 minutes after ..."
"So you're saying he 'wasn't' at the meeting for the entire hour?" Briscoe pressed further.
"Like I said, we had a slide presentation. Designs for the new plaza. The lights were dimmed. That was about half an hour or so. Some people might not have noticed when he left. The presentation was still going on when he returned."
"Thank you, Mrs. Ponte, for your help." Briscoe and Green closed the office door behind them and walked to the elevators.
"So our boy billionnaire has an unexplained absence," Briscoe remarked, "Do you think he could make it to Park Avenue, ice the broad, then come back in time to catch the last bit of the slide show?"
"The only way would be if he had a car -- or a cab -- waiting for him," Green disagreed, "I dunno Lennie. He'd have to move pretty fast. Take some shortcuts."
"Well, either that," Briscoe replied, "or our bald executive friend is actually Shazam and flew there."
"Maybe we should check the area cab companies?" Green offered.
"Now you're talking," Briscoe agreed. "I'm sure one of their drivers would remember if Lex Luthor flagged them down for a quick trip to Easy Street."
They canvassed two or three taxi cab companies. After lunch, they returned to the precinct to review their leads with Lt. Van Buren.
"Any luck with Luthor Corp.?" Van Buren inquired.
"One staffer seemed to remember that Luthor slipped out of the slide show early, then came back near the end. It's a tight window: maybe 20-25 minutes, tops."
"But we stopped by Detour Taxis," . Their dispatcher remembered that one of their cabs was called to Luthor Corp. -- Wall Street around the supper hour."
"That doesn't leave much time for him to kill Ms. Saunders," Van Buren doubted. "All you've got is suspicions and coincidences. Eleven of the witnesses say Lex Luthor was at the meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. And this Rita Ponte ... you say she's not even that sure Mr. Luthor slipped out of the room?" She handed back the case files to Briscoe. "Ya gotta place Luthor Jr. at Park Plaza, or ya got nothin'. Sorry, guys."
Green shrugged. "I guess it's back to Versailles Condos. Maybe someone saw him come in a back entrance? A freight elevator?"
"The D.A.'s office got wind of the investigation," Van Buren warned, "we'll have to come up with something solid. Soon -- or they're urge us to drop the case."
"Great," Briscoe grumbled, "I guess the D.A. doesn't like the optics of cops grilling an exec for one of New York's leading corporations."
"You know what they say: money talks," Green replied. They left to question the condominium's staffers again.
[Office of District Attorney Arthur Branch]
Arthur Branch sat behind his desk. "What's this about a murder investigation somehow linked to Luthor Corp. And Lex Luthor in particular?"
Jack McCoy reviewed his dossier. "Briscoe and Green found some gaps in Mr. Luthor's alibi. They just need more time to see if it pans out."
"Unless they can place Lex Luthor in the condo between 6 and 7 p.m. last night," Branch argued, "I'm afraid you don't have any further grounds to continue questioning Mr. Luthor."
"Arthur," D.A. Serena Southerlyn protested, "you've got to give them some time. They have a witness who can confirm that Lex Luthor was NOT in the meeting anytime between 6:30 and 7 p.m. We have a taxi dispatcher and a driver who both insist that they picked up someone
matching Lex's description outside Luthor Corp.'s office."
"I'm sorry," Branch repeated, "The last thing the city wants is a malicious prosecution suit from Luthor Corp. His daddy Lionel has deep pockets. If you're wrong, Lionel Luthor will crucify the city, NYPD and the D.A.'s office."
"Are you reluctant to pursue this investigation because of that," McCoy demanded, "or is it because Luthor Corp. provided funds to your electoral campaign?"
Branch reviewed a case book. "Give me something concrete by tomorrow. Or we close the case and send Mr. Luthor our apologies. That'll be all."
McCoy glared at Branch, and was about to speak. "Jack," Southerlyn pleaded, "Let's go. Van Buren might have an update for us."
McCoy stood outside the elevator, then slammed his briefcase against the floor. "I don't like this, Serena. Arthur's prepared to let Lex walk. The Luthors must have been extremely generous to his campaign!"
"So all we need to do is find solid evidence that Lex Luthor was at the condo before 7 p.m.," Serena emphasized. "Then he'll have no choice but to proceed."
Maybe, McCoy thought. It had better happen soon. The Luthors own property around the globe. Lex is a definite flight risk.
Vice President of Operations Dan Gonzalves led the detectives into his office. "Up until about four years ago, we used to have an office in the World Trade Center."
"Lucky for Luthor Corp.," Briscoe remarked.
"Not so lucky," Gonzalves replied, "We moved our international trade branch to the 71st floor. We lost 40 good people on 9/11."He sipped his coffee. "Excuse me, if I don't have my caffeine by 10, I can't function."
"Not a problem," Green nodded, as he presented a list of employees. "Lex Luthor's attorney provided us with this list of employees ... and we just wanted to confirm that he was here for a
meeting between 6 and 7 last night."
Gonzalves skimmed the document. "Rita, John, Sanjeev, me, yup ..... V.P. Finance Guy Chevrier ..." He checked off several names. "I was at that meeting. We were planning strategy for the first phase of the new corporate plaza. Mr. Luthor doesn't have day-to-day
responsibilities on this project, but he likes to keep informed. There were, oh, about 12 of us. You're welcome to ask them."
"We will." Briscoe stood up. He and Green began to question each of the people at the meeting. All of them said the same thing. Lex was at the meeting. And he didn't leave until just after 7 p.m. Their lead appeared to dry up -- until they arrived at Rita Ponte's desk.
"So you're saying he was here for the whole meeting?" Green asked.
"Well, yes ... I -- think so ..." she replied with hesitation.
"You're don't sound 100% sure," Briscoe noted.
"Well, he went to the bathroom around quarter to 7. Then he came back five minutes after 7. Or maybe 10 minutes after ..."
"So you're saying he 'wasn't' at the meeting for the entire hour?" Briscoe pressed further.
"Like I said, we had a slide presentation. Designs for the new plaza. The lights were dimmed. That was about half an hour or so. Some people might not have noticed when he left. The presentation was still going on when he returned."
"Thank you, Mrs. Ponte, for your help." Briscoe and Green closed the office door behind them and walked to the elevators.
"So our boy billionnaire has an unexplained absence," Briscoe remarked, "Do you think he could make it to Park Avenue, ice the broad, then come back in time to catch the last bit of the slide show?"
"The only way would be if he had a car -- or a cab -- waiting for him," Green disagreed, "I dunno Lennie. He'd have to move pretty fast. Take some shortcuts."
"Well, either that," Briscoe replied, "or our bald executive friend is actually Shazam and flew there."
"Maybe we should check the area cab companies?" Green offered.
"Now you're talking," Briscoe agreed. "I'm sure one of their drivers would remember if Lex Luthor flagged them down for a quick trip to Easy Street."
They canvassed two or three taxi cab companies. After lunch, they returned to the precinct to review their leads with Lt. Van Buren.
"Any luck with Luthor Corp.?" Van Buren inquired.
"One staffer seemed to remember that Luthor slipped out of the slide show early, then came back near the end. It's a tight window: maybe 20-25 minutes, tops."
"But we stopped by Detour Taxis," . Their dispatcher remembered that one of their cabs was called to Luthor Corp. -- Wall Street around the supper hour."
"That doesn't leave much time for him to kill Ms. Saunders," Van Buren doubted. "All you've got is suspicions and coincidences. Eleven of the witnesses say Lex Luthor was at the meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. And this Rita Ponte ... you say she's not even that sure Mr. Luthor slipped out of the room?" She handed back the case files to Briscoe. "Ya gotta place Luthor Jr. at Park Plaza, or ya got nothin'. Sorry, guys."
Green shrugged. "I guess it's back to Versailles Condos. Maybe someone saw him come in a back entrance? A freight elevator?"
"The D.A.'s office got wind of the investigation," Van Buren warned, "we'll have to come up with something solid. Soon -- or they're urge us to drop the case."
"Great," Briscoe grumbled, "I guess the D.A. doesn't like the optics of cops grilling an exec for one of New York's leading corporations."
"You know what they say: money talks," Green replied. They left to question the condominium's staffers again.
[Office of District Attorney Arthur Branch]
Arthur Branch sat behind his desk. "What's this about a murder investigation somehow linked to Luthor Corp. And Lex Luthor in particular?"
Jack McCoy reviewed his dossier. "Briscoe and Green found some gaps in Mr. Luthor's alibi. They just need more time to see if it pans out."
"Unless they can place Lex Luthor in the condo between 6 and 7 p.m. last night," Branch argued, "I'm afraid you don't have any further grounds to continue questioning Mr. Luthor."
"Arthur," D.A. Serena Southerlyn protested, "you've got to give them some time. They have a witness who can confirm that Lex Luthor was NOT in the meeting anytime between 6:30 and 7 p.m. We have a taxi dispatcher and a driver who both insist that they picked up someone
matching Lex's description outside Luthor Corp.'s office."
"I'm sorry," Branch repeated, "The last thing the city wants is a malicious prosecution suit from Luthor Corp. His daddy Lionel has deep pockets. If you're wrong, Lionel Luthor will crucify the city, NYPD and the D.A.'s office."
"Are you reluctant to pursue this investigation because of that," McCoy demanded, "or is it because Luthor Corp. provided funds to your electoral campaign?"
Branch reviewed a case book. "Give me something concrete by tomorrow. Or we close the case and send Mr. Luthor our apologies. That'll be all."
McCoy glared at Branch, and was about to speak. "Jack," Southerlyn pleaded, "Let's go. Van Buren might have an update for us."
McCoy stood outside the elevator, then slammed his briefcase against the floor. "I don't like this, Serena. Arthur's prepared to let Lex walk. The Luthors must have been extremely generous to his campaign!"
"So all we need to do is find solid evidence that Lex Luthor was at the condo before 7 p.m.," Serena emphasized. "Then he'll have no choice but to proceed."
Maybe, McCoy thought. It had better happen soon. The Luthors own property around the globe. Lex is a definite flight risk.