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Chapter 5
"Wow" Jo said as she approached Don's desk "Someone didn't get much sleep last night"
"I was up half the night trying to find the suppliers of the equipment" he explained "And trying to find the people who cared for him. Nothing, no company sold them to him, and the nurses and aides all check out"
"You wouldn't find the suppliers" she said, taking the empty seat opposite him "I went back to the apartment this morning, I thought there had to be something, some paperwork, or receipts, that could tell us something. I found a sticker, wedged behind the bed, it must have transferred when he was being moved"
"So?" Don prompted.
"I traced it back to a company right here in New York" she checked her notes "Creative Solutions for Disability"
"But I asked them!" he stated "They had no record!"
"That's because they gave it to him on a hire purchase agreement" she said "Adam found details in his bank records too, he stopped making payments, and when he didn't contact them, they sold the debt on to a debt collection company, along with all the records. The equipment now belongs to Saffross Collections, and according to head office, they collected their debt the day Lee died. They took the equipment and all the paperwork"
"Oh great" Don sighed "I've tangled with them before"
"Professionally?" Jo asked, slightly concerned.
"Yeah" he replied "Some of their guys are pretty heavy handed"
"Heavy handed enough to murder?" Jo asked.
"Let's find out" he said grabbing his jacket.
"You get anything else from the care company?" Jo asked on the way to his car.
"Nothing" he replied flatly "All the aides who went to Lee checked out, and he cancelled the contract the day before he died"
"Why would he do that?" Jo asked.
"I have no idea" Don replied "But any chance we can wrap this up today?" he asked with a sideways look and grin "I'm missing my bed!"
"Your bed" Jo said, subtly laughing "Or who is in it?!"
"Both" he replied gruffly.
"Well hopefully, when we get to Saffross, the murderer will have a huge sign on their head and we can all go home for tea!" Jo said laughing.
"Here's hopin'!" he laughed back.
…...
"You're quite the comedian aren't you?" Danny sat opposite Aaron Beckton "I mean in all my years as a cop, I've never had a suspect call themselves Michael Mouse before, good one, I even looked you up"
"I can't help my name" Beckton shrugged.
"Nearly as good as Mr D Duck, not quite, but you have potential" Danny grinned "But an ordinary, run of the mill name, like say Aaron Beckton, a guy like that might have a record I'm thinking"
Beckton shifted uncomfortably in his chair, but didn't say anything.
"Spitting on a sidewalk" Lindsay joined in "Such disgusting behaviour, but enough to get your prints in the system"
"Get to the point" Beckton's lawyer sighed "From what I understand, you've got my client on trespass, and that's only if the hotel manager presses charges"
"Don't forget resisting arrest" Lindsay pointed out.
"And assaulting a police officer" Danny added "I think Detective Flack's been in a pretty bad mood lately right? I think he'd probably wanna press charges for a punch in the face"
"Oh you're right!" Lindsay said, sarcasm in her tone "Stickler for doing the right thing is Detective Flack"
"What can you offer?" the lawyer said blankly.
"I wanna know who he's workin' for" Danny said "We think it's a paper, that you're some kind of budding journo eager to make your name, but we could be wrong"
"It's rare" Lindsay said with a smirk "But it has been known"
"Yeah" Danny fiddled with his pen thoughtfully "You just might be working for a group, or organisation, that plans to blow somethin' up at this conference. I'm guessing that if that's the case, you're probably better off here for now anyway, because they're likely to take failure very seriously"
"I dunno what you're talkin' about man!" Beckton said "I ain't no terrorist!"
"I didn't say terrorists" Danny glared at the lawyer "Did you mention terrorists?" Danny looked at Lindsay.
"Nope" she said "But it's a good lead"
"Yeah, hmmm, what you reckon you can get for that huh?" Danny asked the lawyer "25 to life?"
"Alright!" Beckton threw his hands in the air "I was in there trying to find places I could hide and get information for the paper!"
"Which paper?" Lindsay probed, all trace of humour gone now.
"The student paper!" Beckton replied.
"You want to crash a Head of State Conference" Danny folded his arms, scepticism all over his face "For the student paper?"
"Not the conference itself, just a story related to it" Beckton sighed "This guy, a billionaire business man is putting up an internship to New York Daily News for the student who gets the best story this year. All expenses paid, an apartment, a car, a salary and a guaranteed job at the end of it"
"This billionaire gotta name?" Danny asked.
"Mr X" Beckton said "That's all anyone knows him as is Mr X. He sent an email to everyone on the student paper, telling us that the person who published the most credible and sensational piece relating to the conference, would get this internship. You know what that means? It means that not only do you get the internship, but if the piece is really that good, then it'll get headlined by the nationals – that's award winning stuff, being the feature on a national when you're still a student!"
"OK" Lindsay said "I'm gonna need that email"
…...
Jo and Don entered the scruffy building, looking at the receptionist, Don's eyebrows drew together.
"Oh I can just feel the love" he muttered as the woman behind the desk caught their badges and folded her arms in a defiant gesture.
"Can I help you?" she said in a typical Bronx drawl.
"Yes" Jo turned her Southern charm up a notch, as much as she liked and respected Flack, his methods and attitude towards people that weren't cooperative, were abrasive, to say the least. She figured she might have more luck "We'd like to speak to someone regarding some equipment that was seized a few days ago from a Lee Harley"
The receptionist tapped lazily on a computer with talon like nails, glancing at Don, Jo saw contempt written all over his face.
"Everything was in order" the receptionist said, in a bored voice "All the paperwork done and everything legal, if this guy is making a complaint, he has no grounds. Everything was done correctly"
"That include leaving him to bleed to death in a bathtub?" Don said through gritted teeth.
Looking away, Jo missed the startled look from the receptionist, Don didn't.
"Oh yeah, we found him dead a few hours after your guys went through" he told the woman "So I wanna speak to the guys who were in that apartment, and now"
"That'd be" she tapped again, suddenly cooperative in the face of this seemingly furious detective "Damien and Harry, they're out at the moment"
"Then get them back" Don replied, patience wearing thin.
"We're not supposed to call them unless it's an emergency..." the receptionist looked unsettled.
"That's fine" he shrugged "We'll just take you downtown until they show up?"
"OK, er...?" Jo laid her hand on Flack's arm, indicating him to stop, the receptionist looked puzzled and then realised what Jo was asking.
"Trinny" she supplied. Jo ignored Flack's snort of amused disgust.
"OK Trinny" Jo said "We really need to speak with Damien and Harry, they may be important witnesses in a homicide investigation"
"I'll call them" Trinity decided, casting a look in Flack's direction.
…...
"This is Detective Flack" he barked into his cell phone as they got back into the car "I need a BOLO on..." he read the licence plate out he had marked down on his pad "I want those guys in an interrogation room when I get back!"
"You Ok Don?" Jo asked quietly.
"I just don't like the way these debt agencies operate" he answered "When I was on patrol, do you know how many scared old ladies and single mom's I had terrified out their wits by these clowns? They threaten, lie and cheat to get what they want"
"It's the nature of the business" Jo sighed "It's not right, but it happens"
"They're just legalised thugs" he fumed.
"Don?" she asked again, taking his impatient look as cue to continue "When we've talked to these guys, go home, have some dinner, spend some time with Kate. You're really... on edge recently"
"Am I that bad?!" his expression changed from surprise to humour "Don't answer that"
"I'm just saying that you need some down time is all" Jo laughed "Everyone does, there's no point driving yourself into the ground"
"I just like to get it right" he said "I'm finding the balance …... difficult"
"You'll get there" she assured him "No one said it was easy"
…...