The Other Path
Chapter 62
Ryan motions Cory to a comfortable seat in the lounge. "Ms. Berensen, I'm Detective Ryan. This is Detective Esposito. Thank you for coming."
"Of course. I'll do anything I can to help find my brother's killer. But honestly, I don't know what I can do. Ted and I didn't talk much."
"Why is that?" Esposito questions.
"Sibling squabble?" Ryan inserts.
"Not that, exactly," Cory explains. "I'm into health, environmentalism, what my brother's colleagues called a tree-hugger. I work for a company that tries to distribute food grown to minimize the waste of resources like fresh water. That's why I was in California. I was checking out new suppliers. But Ted had what I guess you could call a different mindset. He was a consultant to companies looking for the cheapest sourcing of whatever they needed, regardless of the conditions under which it was produced. But you need to understand one thing. Ted wanted to make people's lives better. So do I. But we butted heads over how to get there."
"Was there anyone else your brother butted heads with?" Esposito queries. "Eco-terrorists, maybe?"
"Eco-terrorists?" Cory repeats. "What you call eco-terrorists may spike trees or occasionally burn something down. Mostly they make a lot of noise or block the destruction of endangered species. But they don't set out to kill anyone, and the last time the Senate held hearings on the subject, there was no recorded case of anyone identified as an eco-terrorist doing so. Compare that with citizens of a country making their money off the petroleum driving global warming. They're the ones who flew the planes into the World Trade Center."
Ryan flashes Esposito a dirty look. "I'm sorry, Ms. Berensen, my partner didn't mean to upset you. And I have a daughter and another child on the way. I want them to live in a decent world. I'm sure your brother would have wanted that too. So, can you think of anyone who would want to hurt him?"
"I don't – maybe."
"Who?" Ryan presses.
"Ted just got back from a trip to China. He was scouting for a pharmaceutical company wanting to put up a factory there to produce generics. He told me about the project because he was very proud of it. He said it would reduce the price of an expensive drug whose patent is about to expire. That would help many Americans who couldn't afford the medicine they needed."
"But the company getting big bucks for the drug now wouldn't be too happy about it," Ryan speculates.
"No, it wouldn't," Cory agrees. "But would someone kill Ted over that?"
"People have killed over a lot less," Esposito declares.
"Do you know the drug's brand name or what company makes it?" Ryan inquires.
"Ted didn't tell me that, just that it would help people in a lot of pain."
"Was there anyone else Ted would talk to, maybe a significant other?" Ryan asks.
"Ted didn't have one. He did have a partner until about six months ago. His name is Marty, Marty Levine. Ted said something about them getting married. Then they suddenly broke up. I don't know why."
"Do you have a number or address for Marty?" Esposito questions.
"No, but Ted was old school. He was afraid that if something happened to his phone, he'd lose all his contacts. So he kept a Rolodex. He had a little office, one of those executive suite things where someone answers everyone's phones and takes messages, so it sounds like you have a secretary. It's in the Brigston building on 26th Street. All his business stuff should be there."
"Did you believe what she said about a drug?" Esposito wonders after Ryan enlists a marked unit to take Cory to her apartment.
"Sure. Jenny was just telling me this morning how the cost of her grandmother's medications went up again. And one of the guys I went to school with stays in a job he can't stand because he needs a drug that would cost him 80K a year without his insurance. And even with it, the stuff costs more than he spends on food. Anyway, we should get up to the Brigston Building and check out that Rolodex and whatever else is there."
"With you, Bro.
"How's he doing?" Kate asks when Alexis opens the door to the loft.
"You mean Grumpy? I don't think his novel's going too well. He's asked me how to spell profligate three times. He's supposed to take one of his pills with food, but he didn't want to have lunch until you got here."
"Sorry about that. I was on the phone with the widow of one of Munchhausen's victims. For five years, she thought her husband had run off with another woman. And all that time, he was dead. Munchhausen dumped the man's body, and he was buried in a potter's field as a John Doe. She was talking about getting him exhumed and given a Christian burial."
"Wow! That's heavy. I'm sure Dad will understand. He's in his office."
Rick looks up from his laptop with relief. "You're here!" He studies Kate's face. "Hard morning?"
"I've had better ones. You?"
"One of those where I need to take a walk or something to get my mind moving, except I probably wouldn't make it to the end of the block."
"I remember the feeling. But it will get better. I see Alexis has everything organized. She had a pot of water boiling on the stove, and she went to drop the pasta when I came in here. She'll probably have lunch ready in a few minutes, so you can take your pills. You should behave yourself. She worries about you."
Rick finds a sudden need to study the floor. "Yeah, I know. And she's working hard to put up with me."
"So don't make her work so hard."
"Look. Play along with me. I doubt her meat sauce is as good as your nonna's recipe, but I'll praise it to the sky. And I know the breadsticks are burnt. I could smell it. But I won't say a word."
"Then don't make one of your faces, either," Kate urges.
"I will try my best. You're a hard taskmaster, Detective Beckett."
"You think so now? You did Rook, so I'm going to do Heat. You remember the scene you wrote where she supervises his rehab exercises?"
"Oh no! You wouldn't!"
"I'm going to get you back into shape. But hard work is rewarded."
"Rewarded how?"
The tip of Kate's tongue circles her lips. "You'll see."
"I've always thought you'd make a great dominatrix. I can't believe it, but I'm looking forward to being tortured."
"You can start by apologizing to your daughter."
Ryan points to a circular card file. "Cory was right. Here it is. Wow, Bro. There must be a couple hundred of Ted's contacts here."
"How many of them are named Marty Levine?" Esposito asks.
Ryan flicks through the entries. "Only one. He's got an address on the Upper East Side."
"Pricey part of town," Esposito comments. "Cory didn't say Ted's ex is rich."
"She said they didn't talk that much. Maybe she didn't know. But anyway, let's bag all of Ted's cards and go up to see Levine."
"Want to grab a pizza on the way?"
"If you keep your jalapeños off my half."
"Then don't even think about pineapple."
Esposito winces as Ryan spits in his palm and holds out his hand. "Deal."
