Chapter 18
Briscoe rapped on the door to Apartment 4C.
While they waited, Green looked round, "Nice building. Zipodi seems to be doing well for himself. I'd have thought PI's would be having a harder time of it these days with no fault divorces."
"There's always people wanting dirt on other people." Briscoe replied cynically, "Besides, there's no such thing as a no fault divorce, take it from me. I've had two and they were both bad. If you're not arguing about money, it's custody of the kids or the goldfish. Business is still booming for these sleazebags."
They heard footsteps approach the door and it opened slightly. A man peered out.
"Yes?" he asked.
Briscoe flipped his badge at the man. "Police." he said. "Detectives Briscoe and Green, 27th Precinct. Melvin Zipodi?" The man nodded, "Can we come in please?"
"Why?" Zipodi asked. "Look guys, I always want to co-operate with law enforcement but it's a bit inconvenient at the moment."
As if to prove this, the detectives heard a female voice calling from inside the apartment.
Ed Green took up the conversation, "Your name came up in an investigation. We just want you to explain the circumstances. We can do it at the precinct if you like but, if you've got nothing to hide, why bother? By the time you get back your lady friend will probably have lost the mood. On the other hand, if you talk to us now, we can finish up in a few minutes and you can go back to what you were doing before we interrupted you."
Zipodi hesitated, then opened the door wider. "Come in." he invited. "Like I said, I always like to help the police."
The two detectives stood in the living room and waited until Zipodi had closed the bedroom door after having a brief conversation with its occupant.
"OK, now, what's all this about?"
"A.D.A.Serena Southerlyn. What's your connection with her?" Briscoe rapped out.
Zipodi appeared puzzled. "I don't think I know her. Why do you think I do?"
"Your name was on an envelope she received." Green said.
Zipodi shrugged, "I find that hard to believe as I've never even heard of her before, much less written to her."
"Don't try that one on us, buster." Briscoe almost snarled, trying for a reaction. "You leant on the envelope to write something else and pressed so hard your name and address were impressed on it. Our forensics people brought them up."
Zipodi didn't rise to the bait. He smiled, "Look guys, I receive mail like everyone else. I bet someone wrote to me and then to this A.D.A. That would explain how my name got on the envelope. I'm sorry but I can't see how I can help you. I can't be expected to know who else my correspondents write to!"
This was true and was something both detectives had considered earlier. On the surface Zipodi's manner appeared untroubled and co-operative but both men were aware of an undercurrent of tension in his attitude and they had a gut instinct that he wasn't being honest with them. The fact that he hadn't asked why they were so interested in his correspondence also indicated that he knew more than he was saying. Green prowled the room and stopped by the writing desk. He held up an envelope.
"This is the same make of envelope as the one sent to Ms Southerlyn. Are you still going to deny sending her the letter?"
Zipodi glanced at the object, "You can buy envelopes like that anywhere in the city. If you checked out all the other apartments in this building you'd find at least half have the same type of envelopes." he said shortly.
Briscoe changed the subject, "What's your relationship with Jerry Shapiro?" he asked.
This time, Zipodi's response was guarded. "He's an attorney. I work for him sometimes. Obviously I can't go into details. I have a duty of confidentiality to my clients."
"Yeah," Briscoe sneered, "And he works for you! He was your lawyer when you were prosecuted a few years back, right?"
"Last time I checked I had the right to a lawyer, like everyone else charged with a crime. Or is that something else that changed under the Patriot Act?" Zipodi snapped back, beginning to lose his temper. "Look, I'm trying to help you out here and all I'm hearing is insinuations. If you think you've got something, arrest me. If not, I want you to leave. Make an appointment through Mr. Shapiro if you want to speak to me again and we'll come down to the precinct."
Briscoe and Green stood looking at him. They didn't move. Zipodi's voice rose, "If you don't leave immediately; I'll have Shapiro slap a civil suit on you so big, it'll bankrupt the city and leave you with nothing but your skivvies!"
Briscoe and Green reluctantly turned to leave.
"Don't get too comfortable Zipodi," Briscoe warned as the door closed on him. "It's not over yet!"
As they walked out of the apartment block, Ed Green noted, "We shook his tree, real good!"
Briscoe nodded, "Now lets see where the acorns fall." he replied.
The two men got into their car and waited. Shortly after, Zipodi and a woman left the block. They observed Zipodi press a fistful of bills into her hands and watch her walk off. When she turned the corner, he turned and began striding in the opposite direction.
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Sloane inserted the pick into the lock on Jack's handcuffs. After a deft twist of his wrist, they clicked open and Jack eased himself off the bed. He glanced towards the other patients, then towards the store room, raising a questioning eyebrow in his former friend's direction. Sloane gestured for him to watch the inmates while he dealt with the nurse and guard. Jack felt a twinge of concern. He knew that Arvin's methods of dealing with potential problems were often lethal. Nevertheless he nodded his understanding but compromised, moving to a position where he could keep an eye on their fellow prisoners and watch Sloane at the same time. Sloane grinned at him, fully understanding his intensions and suspicions, then moved, catlike, to the door, gently opening it and slipping through.
Jack caught a glimpse of the guard and nurse entwined in a tight embrace. Sloane moved towards them with the swift grace of a predator. Jack waited to see what would happen next when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the patients moving. He watched as the man's eyes opened and he began to raise himself off the bed on one elbow. The man saw him and opened his mouth. Before the movement was finished, Jack was on the move. It didn't occur to him, until later, how similar his movements and reactions were to Sloane's. He reached the man's bed and grasped him by the throat, firmly pressing down until he became unconscious. Simultaneously, he heard a noise from the store room; it cut off abruptly to be followed by absolute silence.
Jack checked his victims pulse and was relieved to feel it strong under his fingers. The last thing they needed now was to face more murder charges. He hoped that Sloane had remembered that as well! He checked to see that none of the other patients had been disturbed and, after satisfying himself on that score, he wondered about their next move. How were they to ensure nobody else would wake and raise the alarm before they'd successfully escaped? Honour among thieves was a myth; anyone of these men would give up their own mothers for a deal from the D.A. or a reduction in their sentence.
He started towards the store room and took in the scene. He was relieved to see the guard inside unconscious but still breathing. The state of the room indicated that he'd put up a brief fight but been hampered by his pants, concertinaed as they were around his ankles. A satisfied looking Sloane was holding the scared looking nurse firmly by both arms.
He was staring hard into her eyes, speaking softly to her. "Nurse Silorski, please give me the keys to the drugs cabinet. Believe me, it will be better for everyone if you co-operate. Or do you want me to render you unconscious and conduct a search of your body for them then?" His manner and tone carried implications that his words did not and the nurse almost collapsed in fear. She dived into her pockets and brought out the keys, handing them to Sloane with trembling hands.
Sloane glanced towards Jack who nodded to confirm everything was under control in the ward. Sloane then turned towards the drugs cabinet. It was a heavy, strongly made piece of furniture, with a high quality lock. Hardly surprising for a prison Jack thought, seeing why Sloane needed the keys. His makeshift picklock would have useless for opening it.
Once the cabinet was open Sloane surveyed the neatly stacked piles of drugs and other medical supplies. He turned to the nurse and spoke soothingly to her. "Don't be afraid, my dear. We won't hurt you if you do as we say. I want you to sedate the other patients." He picked up a handful of disposable syringes and held them out to her. "It was sensible of you to give me your keys. Not only have you saved yourself from unpleasantness, you've also ensured that we won't accidentally harm these people by giving them the wrong doses."
The nurse stared at him, wide eyed with fear. Finally, she nodded and took some vials from one of the shelves. The two men watched as she prepared the injections and placed them on a tray. Once she was done, Sloane picked it up and, still holding the nurse firmly by one arm, guided her into the ward. She moved from patient to patient, administering the drug.
At one, she paused and seemed to draw her courage together. "This man's already sedated. I daren't give him any more. It would kill him." she said.
Jack watched as Sloane considered.
The nurse went on, pleadingly. "You've been here for over a day now. Have you ever seen him conscious?" she asked.
Sloane finally nodded and gestured for her to set the syringes and drugs down and step back towards him. "You've done well so far, my dear." he complemented her. "Now, just one more thing before we leave." He guided her back towards the store room, followed by Jack.
Sloane took out a syringe and another vial from the drugs cabinet and handed them to the nurse. "Please put your err...friend to sleep as well." It was phrased as a request but everyone recognised it as an order. Once this had been done, Sloane stepped forward and carefully manoeuvred the man's pants back up, zipping and buttoning them around his waist.
"No need for either of your reputations to be damaged as a result of this." He commented to the nurse.
Jack noted the nurse relaxing and realised that, even facing with what she believed might be assault or death, she'd been embarrassed and worried by the thought that people would find out she'd been having sex with a co-worker.
Sloane was continuing to speak to the nurse. "I'm going to give you an injection to put you out as well." His words were softly, even gently spoken. "It will be less unpleasant for you if you don't struggle. I've already promised we don't want to permanently harm anyone and, hopefully, we've demonstrated this already. Are you prepared to let me do this?"
The nurse gulped convulsively but nodded and let him inject the sedative. They watched as her eyes closed and Jack caught her as she slowly collapsed. Sloane surveyed the scene and nodded quickly in satisfaction.
"Jack, place her in my bed and pull the covers up to conceal her. I'll put this guy in your bed. If anyone passes by and looks in casually, they'll assume that we're accounted for and Ms Silorski is busy counting bedpans or something."
"Surveillance?" Jack snapped the question out. "There are camera's out there. I'm surprised the alarm hasn't sounded already."
Sloane grinned, "I hardly think this lady's and gentleman's rendezvous form part of their job description and I'm sure they don't want the jail authorities to find out about it. The CCTV cameras are either dummies set up as a deterrent or no-one's watching the feed."
After depositing the unconscious bodies of the nurse and guard in their beds, Sloane and Jack quickly changed out of their hospital gowns into scrubs they found in the store room. Then, Sloane tossed the guard's keys, which he'd retrieved before placing him in Jack's bed, once in the air and they walked to the Infirmary door and let themselves out.
They studied the corridor. The Infirmary was on the ground floor of a block given over to support services. Although the only prisoners held there were patients locked in the secure ward, gates were set at regular intervals along it. The good news was that no CCTV cameras had been placed there. Nevertheless, the moved cautiously, carefully edging their way along the wall to the Education Department. Once they reached the door, Sloane carefully selected another key from the guard's chain and soon the two of them were standing inside.
They looked around, no laptops had been left out but a search of the cupboards soon found them. Sloane selected one, checked its battery and closed it with a snap. "Now we need to find a junction box." he observed. "I suggest the basement."
Jack nodded agreement and they left the room, carefully locking up behind them. They made for the stairs. The barred gates along the corridor all yielding to the guard's keys. They had almost reached the final barrier and the basement steps were in sight when they froze at the sound of approaching footsteps and two men engaged in casual conversation.
T.B.C.