Earthquake in San Francisco
Chapter 9
1
Mark Sanger pulled the van in front of Dorothy Mullins' home. Ironside wheeled his chair into the lift and pressed the button. By the time Mark went around to the other side, Carl already assisted Mullins out of the van, and Ironside was coming down in the lift. Mark stepped in behind the chief's chair and wheeled him toward the front door of her home. Mullins unlocked the door and Ironside, Carl, and Mark followed her in.
"Where's the desk you keep your safety box key in?" Ironside asked her.
"In the study." Dorothy led them down the hall to her study. She went in the room with Ironside directly behind her. He grabbed the door frame on both sides and pulled his wheelchair inside. Mark and Carl followed him in.
Dorothy crossed the room and walked over to the desk. She did not bother with any drawer but the top right-hand drawer. Opening it, she pulled out a small manila envelope and handed it to Ironside. "The key to my box is inside that envelope.
Chief Ironside broke the seal on the envelope and reached inside. He looked up at Carl. "The key isn't here. Is there anywhere else it could be?"
"No. I always kept it right in that envelope," she answered.
The detective looked back at the desk. "Check the rest of the drawers, Miss Mullins."
"I told you, it couldn't be anywhere else. I was always careful to put it right back in that envelope."
"Please check anyway."
Mullins shrugged and began going through her desk drawers. After a thorough search, she did not locate the key. She turned and looked at Ironside shaking her head.
Ironside blew out a breath. "Miss Mullins, I'm going to ask for your permission to have the box drilled open. You'd have to do it eventually anyway since the key appears to be lost."
"All right, Chief Ironside. I don't have a problem with it."
"Okay, let's head back to the bank," Ironside said, wheeling out of the study.
When they arrived back at the van, Mark started it up and drove them back to the bank. David Smothers met them at the door. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."
"Mister Smothers, Miss Mullins has given us permission to have the box drilled open."
"You didn't find the key" he asked.
Ironside hated when people asked him a question that had an obvious answer. If they had the key, they wouldn't need to drill the box. "No, we didn't find the key."
Smothers frowned. "Is it really necessary? It is rather expensive to have a box drilled and then replace the lock."
"I wouldn't ask if it wasn't necessary," Ironside snarled. He was running out of patience.
"Well, okay, if you think it is necessary. However, we have to bring a man into do it. We don't have a drill on the premises."
"Then call him," Ironside said staring at the bank president.
Smothers disappeared and came back in a few minutes. "The company is sending a man right away."
"Thank you," the chief said. Right away turned out to be 45 minutes.
"What's the number?" the man asked.
Ironside looked over at Dorothy Mullins who answered right away. "510."
They headed in the direction of the vault. Upon their arrival, the man with the drill went into the vault and quickly located box 510. Dorothy Mullins followed him in. When Chief Ironside attempted to wheel into the vault, David Smothers stepped in front of him. "I am sorry, Chief, but only customers with safety deposit boxes can entered this particular vault."
Ironside reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. He searched his key ring, and when he found the key he was looking for, he showed it to Smothers.
David Smothers backed up and allowed the detective to enter the vault. "I am sorry, Chief, I didn't know you had a safety deposit box here."
Ironside called over his shoulder, "I don't. I just have a key that looks like a safety deposit box key."
Carl grinned and then laughed at the look on the banker's face. When he wasn't looking, Carl slipped past him and went into the vault to join Ironside.
Smothers put up his hand and opened his mouth to say something, but decided neither Ironside nor his lieutenant would leave the vault even if he ordered them to, so he decided not to tangle with the wheelchair bound detective.
Dorothy Mullins opened the large box and looked inside. Everything appeared to be just as she had left it the last time she opened the box. "I don't see anything out of the . . . "
Ironside raised a brow when she stopped. "What is it, Miss Mullins?"
She pulled a diary out of the box and handed it to Robert Ironside. "This isn't mine. I didn't put it in there."
Ironside opened the diary. It was in a man's handwriting. He showed it to her. "Is this Zach's handwriting?"
Dorothy looked at the writing in the diary. "Why, yes. He must've taken the key and put that in my box, Chief Ironside. I swear I didn't know it was in there."
Ironside ignored her last remark. He was engrossed in a section of the diary. A big grin broke out on his face, and he looked up at Carl Reese. "I think we have a start on that evidence your boys said didn't exist."
2
Ed Brown pulled the police car into the main precinct at the New York City Police Department. He couldn't shake the feeling that this investigation had been arranged for him by Vivian and the captain. It was bad enough that he was torn between her and his job in San Francisco. He didn't like being pressured to make a decision. He'd make it in his own good time.
Ed thought about his position in Chief Ironside's office. His position was the envy of a lot of detectives in the SFPD. Furthermore, Ed had tremendous respect for Robert Ironside. He really enjoyed working with him. No other police officer had ever taken the interest in him that the chief had. He wasn't sure he wanted to give that up.
But, what bothered him more than anything was the fact that Vivian seemed to want to control his entire life. He was supposed to be on vacation, yet here he was about to enter into an investigation.
Would making a move to New York really make any difference?
He couldn't get rid of the nagging fact that Vivian had no respect for his profession, yet expected him to respect hers. Her comments about the police were not only disappointing, but very concerning. If he made the move to New York, would she then try to get him to give up police work all together? They had already gotten into a big fight over their professions. He felt bad about some things he'd said, but they paled in comparison to the things she said about the police.
Brown entered the police department and headed directly for Captain Emerick's office. When he arrived, the detective was on the phone. He saw Brown standing at the door and waved him in with his hand. Gesturing toward the chair in front of his desk, Captain Emerick indicated to him to sit down.
Ed waited patiently for him to finish his conversation. He looked around the room and noticed the citations JC Emerick had on his wall. Brown got up in walked over to the main wall covered in certificates and awards. The man was a highly decorated police officer. Brown knew he should consider it an honor to work for such a man until he thought about the man he already worked for. Why would he even consider leaving Chief Ironside's office? It didn't get any better than that.
They were trying to dangle having his own police unit in front of him, believing it would be enough to lure him to New York. They had no idea how much he loved working with the chief. Ed didn't mind taking orders from the man.
After all, even if he had his own crime unit, he would still be taking orders from somebody.
They simply couldn't understand that he didn't have to have his own crime unit to be happy. The people he worked with were not just colleagues, they were part of his family. They cared about and took care of each other. He'd been to New York on many occasions; he couldn't imagine that kind of relationship with fellow officers in New York City.
Continuing to check out every frame on the wall, Ed could see many awards and commendations. It reminded him of the chief. He had received more than his share of these type of awards. However, anyone walking into his office would never know it. Chief Ironside never allowed them to be hung on the walls in his office. Eve had encouraged it on many occasions, but he'd never allow it. He put far more importance on the job then he did commendations and awards received. At the same time, he had recommended commendations for Eve, Carl, and Ed on many occasions. Credit for himself was never something Robert Ironside claimed.
After five minutes, Captain Emerick hung up the phone. "Ed, I am happy to see that you could make it. We really could use your help on this one." He stood up, walked around the desk and said, "Follow me."
Brown got up and left the office with the captain. They proceeded down the hall to another office. Emerick didn't knock on the door, he simply entered. Ed followed him in.
"Sergeant Brown, I would like you to meet Officer McNabb."
Brown step forward and shook the hand of the young officer. "A pleasure to meet you."
The officer crossed his arms across his chest as he sat on the edge of his desk. He stood there with a smile on his face that Brown could tell was forced. It was obvious the officer resented Ed's entrance into his case.
"Happy to have you aboard," Officer Devon McNabb said.
"Thank you," Brown told him. "Glad to help out."
After the captain left, Devon McNabb turned and went back to his desk. After sitting down, he picked up a pencil and began tapping it.
"I take it you are not happy about the captain asking me to help with this case?" Ed asked.
"I don't need a big shot detective to come in here and tell me how to investigate. I have been doing just fine on my own. I've no doubt the reason for your appearance, is that the captain wants you to join the police department here in New York.
Brown watched as McNabb continued to tap his pencil on the desk. "Would you prefer I tell Captain Emerick that after you told me about the case, I decided I'm not interested in helping with the case?"
"You would do that?" McNabb's eyes lit up.
Brown walked over and sat in the chair across the desk from where McNabb was sitting. "Look, I don't want to interfere with your case. If you don't want my help, I'll leave right now. I'm only here because the captain asked me to assist you."
McNabb frowned. If Brown left, the captain would immediately suspect he said or did something to turn the sergeant away. He had voiced his disapproval of the arrangement to the point of insubordination. He'd never believe Brown just decided to turn his back on the investigation no matter how much Devon wished he would. Devon have to put up with him until he returned to San Francisco, that is if he returned at all. The captain believe they could convince Brown to stay by interesting him in a case.
Devon was about to be promoted to sergeant. He'd heard the captain was going to organize a special crime unit. Devon wanted to be the one who headed it. That position was now in doubt with Ed Brown on the scene. The man was working with the legendary Robert T. Ironside. There wasn't any way he could compete with that, and he knew it. Captain Emerick wouldn't even consider him with Brown here in New York. He wanted so much to tell him, yes, he would prefer he told the captain he'd decided not to work on the case, but Devon knew that was not facing reality. Brown was here to stay.
Ed waited for Officer McNabb to make up his mind. He really didn't want to work on the case in the first place. He didn't like being manipulated, and that was clearly what this was. Ed was seeing a side of Vivian he didn't like. He hadn't seen it in San Francisco. Ed was certain he was seeing it now.
"Look, Officer McNabb, I really don't want to do this in the first place. I don't get away from Chief Ironside's office very often and spending my time investigating a case here in New York is not exactly my idea of a vacation. So, why don't you tell me what it's all about. I'll give you some advice, whatever it's worth, and then I'll tell the captain I'm not needed; you can handle it on your own."
Devon thought about it. It just might work. It didn't sound to him like Brown was really interested in running the crime unit. If he was, he would've jumped at the chance to prove himself to the captain. Instead, he was willing to walk away. It sounded promising for his own prospects. Devon decided to take Brown up on his offer, but he had to make it sound like it was the sergeant's idea.
"I'll tell you about the case, Sergeant Brown. I want you to make up your own mind whether you want to head up the investigation." McNabb made sure he didn't sound the least bit convincing. If Brown was as good a detective as the captain said he was, and he suspected he was since he worked for Chief Ironside, then he would detect Devon didn't want him.
He'd been right. Ed could tell from the tone of his voice, Devon resented the captain asking him to help with the case. Sergeant Brown could hardly blame him, he'd be just as upset if he were in his place. Fortunately, he would never be in his place. No one took cases away from his boss or put someone else in charge.
Ed decided to turn the job down. Vivian would probably be upset with him, but then she'd been upset with him most of the time he spent in New York. For the next twenty minutes McNabb showed him all the evidence and information they had collected on a man believed to be a serial killer. The longer Ed listened, the more the case fascinated him. Despite his genuine interest, he'd still refuse to help with the case. After giving Officer McNabb some advice and suggesting where he should take his investigation, Ed Brown stood up and left his office. He returned to Captain Emerick's office and knocked on the door.
Captain Emerick looked up from his desk and waved him in. Ed opened the door, entered, and walked over to the captain's desk. "Sit down, Ed. Tell me what you think and how you'll go about handling the investigation."
Brown didn't take him up on his invitation to sit down. He wasn't going to be in Emerick's office long enough to get comfortable. "I'm not going to head the investigation, Captain. As far as I can see, Officer McNabb is covering all the bases. You'll just have to exercise some patience and give him time to solve it. From what he showed me, the steps he's taken, and methods he's used, Officer McNabb is doing everything I would've done. I did give him some suggestions, but that is all. You don't need me, Captain."
Emerick realized his first impression that Ed Brown wasn't really interested in working for the New York Police Department had been the right one after all. Otherwise, Brown wouldn't be standing in front of him telling him that he wasn't interested in working with the department on the case. There wasn't any sense in taking this any further. He stood up, shook Ed's hand and said, "I'll arrange to have one of my men take you back to Vivian's penthouse apartment."
"Don't bother, I'll catch a cab." Ed turned and was out the door, making sure he didn't give Emerick time to reconsider his decision to let him walk away.
Captain Emerick watched the sergeant leave. He would've love to have him on the force. You couldn't hire a man if he just plain wasn't interested, and Ed Brown wasn't interested. He went back to his paperwork as the door closed.
3
Thinkgs were looking up. Robert Ironside sat at the main table in his office-residence. He didn't have enough to arrest Hunt yet, but Zach Hill's Diary had certainly given them the clues they needed to build a case. Chief Ironside waited for Carl Reese to report to his office. Carl was an excellent officer, and the chief was glad he was there to call on, but Ironside preferred to have Ed at his side in times like this. Ed and Eve knew him better and read him better than Carl did, although he certainly had improved over the years. The problem with Carl was he was not as even tempered as Ed. Ironside worried Carl's temper might get the better of him.
The door to the office opened and Lieutenant Carl Reese walked in. Mark Sanger came out of the kitchen and immediately handed the detective a cup of coffee. Carl sat down beside Ironside. "You wanted to see me, Chief?"
"Yes, Carl." He handed him the diary which was opened to a particular page.
Reese took the diary and looked at Chief Ironside. "I know what this is, Chief. I was with you, remember?"
"But, you didn't read it. Read the paragraph on the left-hand side, about halfway down the page," Ironside ordered.
Reese took a sip of Mark's coffee and cringed. He looked over at Sanger who had seen his expression.
"Don't start, Carl. It is bad enough I have to listen to the chief complain about the coffee," Mark said.
"I told you it was bad," Ironside said. "It must really be bad if Reese doesn't like it. He'll drink anything."
Mark shook his head and sat down. He was certain the chief just like to see if he could get a rise out of him by criticizing his coffee making skills.
Officer Whitfield left the desk she was sitting at and joined them at the table. After Carl finished reading the paragraph Ironside had directed his attention to, he looked up at the highest ranking detective in the police department. "Come on, Chief. Do you really think the money is still there? Hunt would've gone after it the minute he got out of prison."
"Actually, Carl, he hasn't. He knows me well enough to know that I'd be having him watched. He's not going to go after the money until he thinks it's safe to do so. Hunt will wait. He knows I can't keep men watching him forever. Hunt will figure all he has to do is wait me out. I have no doubt he wasn't counting on Zach Hill keeping a diary. Unfortunately for him, we're going to go pick up the money. He's counting on that money. When Hunt discovers we've picked it up, he just may resort to his old habits again."
"Okay, so he hasn't gone after the money. It still doesn't prove he killed Zach Hill," Eve said.
Ironside picked up his coffee mug, took a sip, and made a face for Mark's benefit. After setting the cup down on the table, he turned his attention to his policewoman. "No, it doesn't, Eve. The only way to bring him out in the open is to put pressure on him. You know as well as I do, he's not going to be satisfied only living on the money from the job his parole officer got him. Hunt will seek other funds. Since we know he's robbed other banks before we caught him, it's logical to assume he has money stashed away from those capers. When he finds out we've picked up the money from the one robbery, it just might force him to go after the others."
"Of course! He'll be worried you have found out where all the money is," Eve said excitedly.
"Chief, you do realized this guy has proclaimed he's going to kill you, don't you?" Mark said.
Ironside picked up the diary. Holding it in his hand, he answered Mark. "That's exactly what I am going to force him to do. Well, at least force him to try."
Carl rolled his eyes. "You are going to purposely try to get a man you believed murdered Zach Hill to come after you to try to kill you?"
Ironside grinned. "That's right, Carl. When he does, he's going back to prison. Only this time, he's going back for the rest of his life. There will be no parole. It'll make him a three time loser."
"Why not just find the evidence to prove he killed Zach Hill?" Eve asked. "Why do you have to provoke him to come after you?"
"We're going to do both. We know he killed Zach . . ."
"Just a minute, Chief. We don't know any such thing. The department wasn't able to prove it," Carl argued. "You might suspect it, but it has not been proven."
"It will be. The evidence is out there, we just have to find it," Ironside said.
"Alright, so where do we look?" Carl said. "The department ran a thorough investigation and couldn't tie Hill's murder to Hunt."
"Carl, he killed Zach Hunt, and I intend to prove it. Let's go get the money."
Before Eve, Mark or Carl could say anything else, Ironside turned his chair around and was headed for the ramp. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Well, don't just sit there, let's go!"
The tone of his voice sent them into immediate motion.
4
The taxi pulled to a stop in front of Vivian's apartment building. Brown looked up at the top of the building which seemed to go on forever. Ed thought of Jack and the Beanstalk. It seemed appropriate at the moment since there was a haze hiding the very top of the building. The buildings in parts of San Francisco were tall, but New York was full of skyscrapers. The sergeant looked around him. There wasn't a blade of grass in sight. That wasn't the case in San Francisco. You could easily find places where green grass was plentiful. The one thing Ed had always loved was going to the park and listening to the sounds of people enjoying the wonders of the city. And, the Golden Gate . . . what in New York could compare to that? Nothing that Ed could see.
Brown shook his head as he stood there. Looking over toward the street, an old man was sitting on the sidewalk. He wore tattered clothes. His shirt had holes in the elbows and the knees of his pant legs were non-existent. He admitted San Francisco wasn't perfect. It had its homeless too, but San Francisco had a charm New York didn't. Ed loved the slopes of the streets, the street cars, the Golden Gate, and the Bay. How could one not love the beauty of the Bay area. Most of all, Ed loved his job working with the most brilliant man he had ever known.
The problem was he also loved Vivian Page. She was beautiful, intelligent, talented and loving. But, was she for him? They were most definitely compatible in bed. She was a caring, excitable lover. Was that enough? No, he knew it wasn't. It seemed to him that there wasn't any way to work things out with her. Even if he felt compelled to take the job with the NYPD, would she then try to get him to quit police work altogether? Did she even take a minute to consider what made him happy, or was it all about her?
He had put off going upstairs as long as he possibly could. Ed wasn't looking forward to the conversation that would follow. He feared it would escalate into another argument. Walking into the building, Brown headed for the elevator. He pushed the button and waited for the doors to open. When they did, he pressed the penthouse floor button, the doors closed, and the elevator began carrying him to the top of the "beanstalk." He knew what awaited Jack at the top.
The doors opened, and he went directly to Vivian's apartment. Using the key she had given him, he unlocked the door and went in. When Vivian heard the door open, she came out of her studio. Surprised to see Ed back so soon, she went directly to him, and he took her into his arms. Ed held onto her like he was holding her for the last time. For he was afraid that was exactly what he was doing. He couldn't move to New York. His home was in San Francisco.
Ed's specialty seemed to be falling for impossible relationships. He lost one woman to Tom Dayton. He lost his high school sweetheart, despite having found her again. But, she'd been dishonest with him and was aiding a fugitive from the law. Ed broke it off and never saw her again. Then there was the woman who had been the obsession of a very powerful crook. He had broken up the relationship of the woman he had fallen for from her previous relationship. Her life had also ended tragically. Then there was Ava, the woman who tried to break away from the mobster, Benito Corneilo. While Ed was in Las Vegas to pick up Corneilo's top lieutenant, Corneilo murdered Ava . . . his Ava.
Now, here he was again . . . in another fatal relationship. Ed pushed Vivian back. She could see by the look on his face something was very wrong. "What is it, Ed? What's wrong? What happened? I didn't expect you back until tonight."
"I turned Captain Emerick down, Viv. I'm not going to work on the case," Brown told her.
Vivian became upset instantly. "Why not?"
"Because I don't want to work for the NYPD." There . . . he had finally said it.
Vivian turned and walked away from him. She went into her bedroom and slammed the door. Ed shook his head and followed her. Opening the door, he entered. Vivian's back was to him. He was unable to see her face which kept him from reading her expression, not that he didn't already know what it was.
"That's it, Vivian. You don't even want to talk about it," Ed asked.
"What's there to talk about. You obviously aren't able to compromise," she snapped.
"I'm not able to compromise?" Ed said in disbelief. "Just exactly who is being asked to give up everything? Not you! You don't have to give up a thing. Not your home, your career or your friends, but I am expected to give up all those things."
She turned on him with a venom Ed had never seen before from her. "I never asked you to give up your career, Ed Brown, and you know it. In fact, I went out of my way to help you secure a position with the NYPD!"
"Oh yes, my own special unit," Ed said. "And if that wasn't enough, you decided to manipulate me into helping with an investigation to get me hooked on the job here."
"I did not!"
"Don't lie to me, Viv. You can't lie to me. I'm a detective. I should've seen it the last time you were in San Francisco. You just couldn't let me make up my own mind, could you?"
"You can't make up your own mind. Ironside has his hooks into you so deep you can't even think for yourself. What difference does it make what city you work in? If you really loved me you'd come here and be with me," she shouted.
"If you really loved me, you could come to San Francisco," Ed countered.
"How many times do I have to tell you. I'm an actress, a theater actress. My career is here in New York. You could work anywhere. All you do is wave your gun and bully people anyway. You can do that right here in New York. There are more people to bully in New York than in San Francisco!"
Ed could feel the anger rising. He kept his temper in check despite being ready to explode. He'd begun to resent her feelings on cops. "And if I came here, how long would it be before you stared pushing me to quit the force altogether? You're not fooling me one bit, Viv. You're using the NYPD only for the purpose of getting me to leave San Francisco. Then you'd manipulate me to leave police work, and if I did, what would you expect me to do? Follow you around like your groupies do?"
"You could head my security," she shouted at him.
"Oh, I see. It's alright for me to carry a gun to protect you, but it's not alright for me to carry a gun to protect the citizens of San Francisco. Is that it?"
"You are impossible!"
"I'm impossible? What about you? Does everything have to be your way?"
"I'm the one that makes the money. You make nothing compared to me. You prefer that damn Ironside to me! Why don't you just go back to San Francisco. You deserve that deplorable man!"
"No, I don't deserve him, but I am lucky to have him as a friend and boss."
"Oh yeah right, the man controls your life?" she yelled.
"No, Viv, he doesn't. If he did, he never would've let me come out here in the first place."
"Then go back! I don't ever want to see you again!" Vivian stormed out of the room and went into her bedroom. Ed followed her until he heard the lock on the door click into place.
Brown turned around. He walked through the penthouse apartment and headed straight for the door. He had to get out and calm down. Ed walked down the hall and got on the elevator. After riding it to the street, he walked and walked some more. Why did he let the argument with Vivian escalate out of control? He had promised himself he wouldn't do that. He loved her, but he also knew there wasn't any way to work things out with her. They were just not meant to be. Ed pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed the airport.