Episode 17: "Above the Law"
Day Two
Scene One
Jim spent his mid-morning coffee break sitting next to the windows at the far end of the locker room. He thought about the previous evening and smiled to himself. Christie hadn't been mad at him, after all. It turned out she'd been so busy all day, she hadn't had a chance to think about their dinner plans until he called. She even teased him about cheering up after getting a new homicide. And the way they ended the evening after returning home was nice.
Karen interrupted his reverie. "Hey, Jim, boss wants an update."
He turned toward her. "Trial over?"
"No, but the case went to the jury a half hour ago, and Renee said I didn't need to stick around any longer."
"Renee?"
"Renee Edelstein, the Deputy DA. We'd better get back in there and bring the boss up to speed."
"Nice of you to join us, Karen, Jim," Fisk began. "Where are we?"
Tom spoke up first. "I've been looking into the victim a little. Apparently, she was a nice girl. CUNY student, like the neighbors said, planning to be a teacher. No record, but she did show up in our records as a victim/witness in an armed robbery of a neighborhood market about eight months ago. For once, there was a tape in the store's video camera, and it got a good shot of the perp's face. The dude was too dumb to wear a mask. Thank God for stupid criminals. Anyway, our robbery guys collared the guy – a Ramon Perez – and he was convicted about three months ago. Alicia testified at his trial. Here's the kicker: he's connected to East Side Trece."
"But he couldn't have done the homicide," Marty added. "He was sentenced to eight years and sent to Dannemora. Corrections confirms that's where he was yesterday."
"Yeah, but he could have gotten one of his homies to do it," Tom suggested. "We're going to check them out, see of we can place any of them near the scene yesterday."
"Good." Fisk said. "Jim, Karen?"
Jim answered. "The ME's preliminary finding on cause of death was manual strangulation. Crime scene confirmed the 'ES13' on the mirror was written in lipstick, probably one from her dresser. No ransacking or other signs that theft was the motive. They found some stains on the bottom sheet that tested presumptive for semen, but they can't say how recent. The most interesting thing is what they didn't find. There were no fingerprints at all in the bedroom. The whole room had been wiped clean."
"Where are you going with this?" Fisk asked.
"I thought I'd get Karen up to speed, then get the ME's findings and look into the victim's friends and associates a little more, in case the gang connection doesn't pan out."
"Okay," Fisk agreed.
After Fisk went back into his office, Marty turned to Jim. "You really think it wasn't some gangbanger getting revenge for his homie by taking out the witness?"
"I don't know. But I don't think we can rule out anything yet. And there are some aspects of this that don't feel like a gang crime. Manual strangulation seems too – well, too personal. Plus, she was killed months after the trial. Wouldn't they want to do it before she testified? And why would she let gangbangers into her apartment?"
"Maybe it was a home invasion type of thing," Marty suggested.
"Could be," Jim admitted. "But I'd still like to know whose semen is on her sheets."
Scene Two
"Cause of death was manual strangulation," Dr. Taylor confirmed.
"Any other injuries?" Karen asked.
"Some bruises on her hands, probably defense injuries, and on her forearms, probably where the killer grabbed her. We also took scrapings from under her fingernails. It looks like there may be some skin or tissue there, maybe the killer's."
"Was she sexually assaulted?" Jim asked.
"There was recent sexual activity, but I am of the opinion it was consensual, because there was no trauma to the genital area. We took swabs. We'll preserve them, in case you get something to compare them with."
"What about time of death?"
"Some time between ten a.m. and one p.m. yesterday."
"Any drugs or alcohol on board?"
"Not according to the preliminary tox report."
"Any evidence of past drug use?"
"No. Her organs, specifically her liver, looked good, but she was only 24, after all."
"Anything else?" Karen asked.
"Actually, there is. She was about six weeks pregnant."
"Would she have known?"
"Probably. She would have missed at least one period."
"Thanks," Jim said, looking thoughtful. "Let us know when you get the final tox screen."
"Of course."
Scene Three
Maricela Reyes sat at the table in the interview room, shaking her head. "I still can't believe it. My baby sister. . . ." She sniffed, and Karen passed her the tissue box.
From his usual place next to the windows, Jim spoke up. "Did she have a boyfriend?" he asked.
Maricela shook her head. "No," Karen informed Jim.
"What about former boyfriends?"
Maricela nodded. "She went with Chris Hernandez from her senior year in high school until about a year ago. She broke up with him. After she started college, they really didn't have much in common any more. He was just a guy from the neighborhood, and she wanted more for herself. She wanted a future away from the neighborhood."
"Was he in a gang?" Jim asked.
"Oh, no," Maricela replied, shocked. "Nothing like that. He's a nice guy, but Alicia felt she could do better."
"Can you tell us where we can find Chris?" Karen asked, pushing the pad and pen toward Maricela.
"Of course." Maricela picked up the pen and wrote. "But I'm sure he had nothing to do with this."
"Is there anything else at all that you can tell us? Can you think of anyone who might have done this?"
"Well . . . ." Maricela began.
"What?" Karen prompted her.
"I think she had a new boyfriend, but she was very secretive about him. I never met him. I think he might have been married."
Karen glanced over at Jim, but his expression was unreadable.
"Can you tell us anything else about him? Or when or how she met him?"
"I think it was about three months ago. That's when she started getting secretive and not letting us in on what she was doing."
"Anything else?" Karen prompted her again.
"I think he had something to do with law enforcement, or the law. Alicia met him around the time she testified in that court case. The only other thing I can tell you is that she seemed happy. Oh, and she let something slip once. She said something like he was her ticket out of the neighborhood."
"Thank you, Ms. Reyes. You can go now. We'll be in touch."
"Thank you, detectives. Please let me know if you find out anything."
Jim and Karen left the interview room behind Maricela and headed back to their desks. Jim sat down, took off his dark glasses, and rubbed his eye. He turned to Karen. "Let's talk to the boss."
Jim followed Karen to Fisk's office. She knocked on the door. "Come in," Fisk told them. "What's up?"
"We got some information from the ME and the sister that needs to be followed up, but it could get sticky."
Jim and Karen summarized what they'd learned from Dr. Taylor and Maricela. When they'd finished, Fisk groaned. "Do what you have to do, but tread lightly, you hear?" Jim and Karen nodded. "And keep me informed," he ordered as they left his office.
Scene Four
Two hours later, Jim and Karen walked out of the interview room behind robbery detective Mike Ciccone. "Sorry we had to drag you guys up here," Jim told him.
"Don't sweat it," Mike assured him. "You gotta do what you gotta do." He headed down the hall.
Fisk came out of his office. "Anything?"
"No," Karen replied. "The robbery guys can all account for their whereabouts. What about the gangbangers, boss? Have Marty and Tom come up with anything?"
"Not so far," Fisk told her. Who's left on your list?"
"Only the deputy DA who prosecuted the robbery, Mark Holland. He's been in trial, but his secretary told us the case went to the jury this afternoon, so he should be in his office tomorrow morning. We'll talk to him then."
As Jim and Karen returned to their desks, Karen's phone rang. "Bettancourt. . . . Great, congratulations! . . . . Yeah, sure. . . .Okay, see you there."
Jim turned toward her with a questioning look.
"That was Renee. The jury came back guilty on all counts. We're going to get together for a drink. You want to come along? It was as much your case as mine."
Jim shook his head. "No, thanks, I just want to go home." He thought for a moment, then added, "Karen? Why don't you see if she can tell you anything about this Mark Holland? I'd like to know who we're dealing with."
"Yeah, I can do that. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. Have a good time."
As Karen walked out, Marty and Tom returned. "G'night, guys," she called.
"Anything?" Jim asked them.
Tom answered for them both. "No."
Marty elaborated. "Either we couldn't find the guys we were looking for because they just left, or they're in jail, or they're dead, or we did find them and got a bunch of lies. If I never talk to another gangbanger again, it'll be too soon." He threw his notebook onto his desk in disgust and turned to Tom. "Let's bring the boss up to date and get out of here."
"Yeah."
"Hey, Marty, Tom, you want me to call Sonny, see if he can come up with anything?" Jim offered.
"Sure," Marty answered," but the boss told us you were looking into the secret boyfriend."
"We are, but we need to keep an open mind about this."
"Can't hurt to see if Sonny can find out anything," Tom commented.
"Okay, I'll give him a call."
Scene Five
Karen entered the "Writs" bar across from the courthouse and spotted Renee Edelstein, a petite woman of about forty, in the far corner. Despite her small size, or maybe because of it, she was a dynamo in the court room. Now that she no longer had to be "on," she looked more relaxed than Karen had ever seen her.
"Hey, congratulations again," Karen said as she sat down.
"It's your win, too," Renee told her.
"Me and my partner."
"Yes, of course." Renee paused, then added, "Can I ask you – what's it like, working with a blind partner?"
"It took some getting used to at first," Karen admitted. "But, honestly, it isn't a big deal any more. Of course, I never knew him when he could see . . . ." She shrugged. "He's my partner, we work cases. And he's a good detective, really knows how to clear cases."
"Yeah," Renee agreed, "he did good work on our case. I remember when I heard he was being reinstated. I didn't think it was possible. . . ."
"You weren't the only one."
Renee looked uncomfortable. "I hope he wasn't unhappy with me for designating you as my investigating officer for the trial. I know the senior detective is supposed to do it, but I just couldn't see how . . . ."
"Actually, he could, but he's okay with it," Karen assured her. "When the subject first came up in another case a few months ago, Jim said he was worried about being a distraction – you know, the jury watching him instead of paying attention to the testimony." Renee nodded. "Anyway, he said he'd been in enough courtrooms to last him a lifetime. I think he'd be just as happy if he never had to sit through another trial."
"Well, be sure to give him my thanks for his work on the case."
They traded small talk about the trial that had just wrapped up, comparing their impressions of the witnesses, the judge, and the defense lawyer. After ordering her second drink, Karen asked Renee, "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"We just got word that a deputy by the name of Mark Holland has been assigned to one of our cases. We don't know him. Do you?"
Renee hesitated briefly before answering. "Yes."
"What can you tell me about him?"
"Well, he's a good lawyer, gets a lot of convictions. He's pretty aggressive, though – the kind of guy that likes to push the envelope a bit. Just between you and me, he gets pretty close to the edge sometimes. I'm not really comfortable with some of his tactics, but they work for him. He's one of those guys who thinks the rules don't apply to him."
"What's he like personally?"
"He seems to have a pretty good opinion of himself. But he can be a real charmer when he wants to be – meaning when he wants something from you. I've heard he has a temper, but I've never seen it myself. He's mostly on his good behavior around other attorneys or in the courtroom, but the word is he can't keep a secretary."
"Is he married? Single?"
"Are you thinking of dating the guy?"
"No, of course not," Karen laughed.
"He's married, reportedly to his high-school sweetheart. I've never met her. She never comes to any office functions. Anything else you want to know?"
"No, but thanks."
"So," Renee asked, "what cases do you have in the pipeline for me?"