For the People Chapter 61
Rick holds Lily up to look through the one-way mirror into Interrogation. "Mama used to let me go in there with her, but Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin are more territorial. Also, you've never signed a release for working with the NYPD. It may be a little while yet before you can sign anything. So we'll just watch. That man in there is what the police call a suspect. They have a lot of other words for him too, but suspect is the nicest. He wouldn't tell anyone his name, but his fingerprints say it's Dana Klimick. A Dana can be a boy or a girl, but his record, that's the list of the bad stuff he did before, says he's a guy. Ooh, he's talking."
"I didn't kill anyone!" Dana declares. "And I didn't know any – what did you say his name was?"
"Alan Trehosen," Esposito retorts. "And the phaser you were trying to sell belonged to him. We're betting the other stuff you were trying to unload did too. We found him dead and all his collectibles gone. So if you didn't kill him, how did you get them?"
"I didn't kill him. He was dead when I found him. Look, sometimes I make, um, deliveries. And I was making one to an apartment down the hall from where I found him, and I saw this guy run out. He closed the door behind him, but I didn't hear it lock. So I thought I'd check it was secure, you know?"
"Uh-huh. You're a real good Samaritan," Ryan comments.
"Dana is lying," Rick informs Lily. "Suspects do that a lot. Mama was very good at making them tell the truth. She still is, except now it's in a bigger room."
"Anyway, I saw a body, and there was blood, like a huge pool of it, you know? No shock machine was going to bring him back. So I figured he wouldn't need his stuff anymore. I saw a laundry bag full of dirty clothes. I guess he was planning to do his wash. So I dumped out the clothes and put the phaser and all that other stuff in the bag and took it. I've sold stuff that I've, uh, found, at geek shows before. They'll pay a fortune for all kinds of junk. So I took the stuff to Enchanted Exchange. But that's all I did."
"The guy you say ran out, was he carrying anything?" Esposito questions.
"He had something. He left so fast I'm not sure, but I think it was a sword."
"And what did the guy with the sword look like?" Esposito continues inquiring.
"I'm not sure. I only saw him for a second. But he was white, very white."
"Like an albino?" Ryan queries.
"What's an albino?" Dana asks.
"A person with no pigment, white skin, white hair," Ryan explains.
Dana shakes his head. "Oh, not like that. His skin was pale, but his hair was dark, kind of like you. But he was taller than you."
"Black Irish?" Ryan wonders.
Dana shrugs. "Search me. Like I said, I only saw him for a moment."
"Well, we'll have you work with a sketch artist anyway and see if you can come up with someone," Esposito smirks, "other than Detective Ryan."
"Yeah, sure," Dana agrees.
"You and Lily had a busy day," Kate observes when Rick brings their daughter back to the loft.
Rick regards a pile of files on the table. "Looks like you did too."
"Those weren't the half of it. I got a call from Amelia Milcham. She told me that – maybe we should put Lily down before we talk about this."
"She's definitely entering the droop zone," Rick agrees. "And I gave her a bottle of Beckett Special and changed her not long ago. Cross your fingers."
Kate gazes down at her daughter. "I think she was asleep before she hit the sheet."
"She was at her first con, well sort of a con, and saw her first interrogation today," Rick whispers, as they leave the nursery. "That's enough to tucker anyone out."
"You had her in the box?"
"Just watching through the mirror. And anyway, Ryan, Esposito, and I don't think the suspect is a murderer, just a thief and maybe a delivery guy for a drug dealer. But he's also a witness."
Kate rolls her eyes. "That's better, then."
"He was in costume and not a scary one. Lily was having a good time, which is more than I can say for Ryan and Esposito. They thought they caught a murderer, but that seems to be a bust. They'll still have to find a sword-wielding killer. But that's their problem. What did you want to talk about? What did Amelia say?"
"She found a post from someone she thinks Jason Jordan raped. I've been trying to track it down all afternoon. But I need a court order to get the identity of the person using the screen name, and I haven't found a judge eager to issue one on a weekend on something as slim as what I have so far."
"How about Markway?"
"I couldn't find him."
"That's because he was probably on the links. He turns his phone off while he's playing, so the ring doesn't startle him into muffing a shot. But he should be at the 19th hole by now with a beer and a hot pastrami. So he's probably turned it back on. He likes to stay in touch with his dog walker. His cocker spaniel, Maisie, has a very delicate constitution."
"OK, I'll try him again."
"But before you do, I have something for you." Rick extracts the necklace and bracelet he bought for Kate from his pocket. "Crafted by elves – and not the ones who live in a tree making cookies."
Kate fingers the delicate entwining of gold with purple gems and rises on her toes to deliver a kiss. "Thank you, they're beautiful."
"Beauty for the beauty. But now you should try calling Markway again before the mustard on the pastrami gives him heartburn."
Kate pulls her cell from her pocket. "Good advice."
Esposito snorts his disgust as he regards the sketch generated by Dana Klimick's description of the murder suspect. "This could be anyone."
Ryan stares at the image. "Maybe not. I think I might have seen this guy. Jenny and I went to a play about Fergus mac Roth who uses a sword called Caladcholg, which some mythologists think might have been the inspiration for Excalibur. The guy swinging the sword around as Fergus looked something like the sketch."
"Do you remember his name?" Esposito asks.
"I don't think I knew it. We got there late. The lights were out already, so we didn't even open the program. But Jenny liked the art on the cover, so I think she kept it. It should be in our apartment somewhere. I'll call her and ask her to look for it."
Kate grins as she puts down her phone. "Markway's giving me the court order."
"He's never been a fan of rapists. So when do you think you'll have an ID on Jason's other victim?"
"I don't know how fast the forum will respond, especially on a weekend. But I'm hoping it will be soon, maybe sometime Monday."
"Lily's asleep and I take it you're through with your files. So, whatever shall we do with ourselves?"
Kate grabs two handfuls of Rick's behind. "I'm sure we'll think of something."
