Chapter 8: Enclaves

Ed Green poured over the piles of papers in search of a former spouse. What he found, instead, was another lost mother. The paper trail of the first Mrs. Dahashi vanished shortly after the youngest daughter was born. Nothing in the paperwork available from India gave an indication of death, divorce or anything else questionable.

Then again, thinking back to the time he had lived in India with his parents, among other countries, disappearances would go unnoticed, unreported, and more often than not, unchallenged. If that was the case for Mrs. Dahashi, then perhaps…

He went over one page in particular one that Nina had slipped him earlier that mentioned the possibility of Mrs. Dahashi being the victim of a random attack after all. If so, what was it that she did that put her in harm's way?

Everything he had read offered the existence of only one Mrs. Dahashi. There was only one way to get an answer to this question and it wasn't what Ed wanted to do today.

He knew he should fill the temporary partner of the day in, but found a way to send him Joe's way. The junior partner was sure he'd pay for it somehow, but right now, he was grateful to be on his own. Grabbing his coat, he set out for Teri Dahashi's place.

-----

The woman was perhaps in her early twenties. She was confident, intelligent and cautious. Why Ed picked those three words to describe her, he didn't know. He accepted her invitation to enter, surprised at the toy-strewed status of the living room.

"I know, I know," Teri said with a light chuckle. "They should learn to remember their upbringing. But…" She cleared off the couch and motioned for him to have a seat. "What can I do for you, Detective Green?"

It was a question he wanted to ask her, this young woman whose life was turned upside-down with the loss of a parent one day and becoming a surrogate one the next. "I apologize if this seems…odd or cold, but….what can you tell me about your mother?"

Teri knitted her brow. "Mom? Well, she died after Nari was born. An overzealous terrorist group chose to take it out on her what they were angry with my father about. Never mind you won't find official reports bear those details. I saw her get murdered." Looking Ed in the eye, she said, "Yes, Detective, I know I was already here in the states, but that particular footage that made the world news on all of the networks? I knew it was my mother."

"I'm sorry," he said.

She shook her head. "Why? It wasn't as if you could do anything from here at the time. Neither could I."

It made him realize how thankful he was that his parents were never the focal point of someone's ire. It also impressed him of Miss Teri's take on life. "We're just trying to determine if perhaps the folks who targeted your mother might have come here to finish the job with your father," he said.

"Knowing Dad's luck, I'd say it was someone at work who didn't like the fact that my father had impeccable work ethic."

That brought something to mind for Ed. "Someone at his work got the idea that he was applying for another job. Do you know if that's true?"

Teri frowned. "He told me he was going to look at the position opened at the place where I worked, but only because it would allow more time together as family. The only person he told was me, as far as I know. He would have told Reiger the day he died…." She shook her head. "Reiger loved Dad like a brother."

"And what about Mrs. Webster? We heard she was sort of a surrogate mother to him."

Teri chuckled. "She was one of the first people he met when he began as a cabbie. Her son was in need of medical attention and it was something Dad was able to handle right then and there. Took mother and child to the hospital and waited for them afterwards without charging them the fare."

Ed found that interesting. "How did his boss feel about that?'

"I don't think Dad said a word about it – paid for it out of his own pocket."

"And the son he saved?"

Teri smiled. "Doctors at the hospital said if it wasn't for Dad's quick response, the boy would be dead. That's one of the reasons why Mrs. Webster 'adopted' Dad – even if it was more like the other way around."

"You make it sound as if that's the normal thing to do," Ed said, "taking in others as family."

She gave him a look of pity mixed with sadness. "Because it is," she said.

--------

Van Buren called Ed into her office the moment he arrived the next morning. "Want to explain the 'dump, ditch and dash' deal to me, Ed?"

"Lieu, I didn't want to bore the guy. Besides, the interview was-."

"Was probably useless in practical information, right? Ed, the next time I have to separate you and Mike for any reason, could I possibly count on you to 'play well' with others?"

Ed hung his head. "Yeah, lieu," he said. "If it helps, we might have narrowed down the list of suspects."

She watched him, aware that he automatically said 'we' regarding what 'he' had done. "Who do you think did it?"

"I hadn't had a chance to compare notes with Mike, yet, Lieu."

Van Buren gave him a thin smile. "Then you better do that. In the meantime, no more ditching the new guy, huh? That kind of thing develops a complex."

"Yes, ma'am," he said relieved then ducked out.

She and Logan exchanged knowing looks about an unspoken topic. It would only be a matter of time before he'd approach her about it.

---

"You're wrong about another Mrs. Dahashi," Ed said. "And you're right about a connection between the Websters and Terry."

"You have any idea on who did it?" Mike asked. "I mean, this is going to be the tie breaker here."

Ed nodded. "If it helps, we were both wrong and it's gonna hurt if it turns out that the obvious is the right one."

"But, it wasn't obvious," Mike said. "Not really. I mean…." He thought about it, replaying the entire conversation with De Palma. Muttering a curse, he said, "Do you want to check luds or bank records on him?"

"Your choice, man," Ed said as the realization dawned on him, too. "It's all numbers to me either way."

"I'll take the money, then," Mike said.

--------

Ed noticed the pattern almost immediately. Had he been thinking, he would have asked Teri about any unusual calls to her father. Maybe Reiger could offer some answers, he thought. The last thing he wanted to do was go to the children. But, if he had to…he had to.

Green recognized one of the numbers as one for an OTB. Half a dozen calls made there in a week's time. The other…. He picked up the phone and dialed. "Sorry, wrong number," he said then hung up. Dang, he thought…This was beginning to look like a Cain and Abel deal.

--

Mike found the same high figure amount deposited in regular intervals. Too large for paychecks, too obvious to be loan shark borrowings, Logan didn't like the look of it; not one bit. The cab company was in the red, but since De Palma was in charge of the books there, too, it was unlikely that the cabbies had caught on, unless someone was keeping their own tabs.

De Palma's other paper trails turned up something Mike hadn't really looked for the first time he went with Fontana… "Son of a…" Mike muttered. De Palma was better at deceit than he or Green gave him credit for.

---------

Their suspicions confirmed with evidence on paper for motive, Logan and Green drove out to the Webster residence. Mrs. Webster graciously let them in; her expression turning to grief once her son shared what he had seen.

When pressed on why the younger man didn't come forward sooner, he mentioned the threat he had received from De Palma. The four of them en route to the precinct to take a former statement, Van Buren dropped something off that had come in through her daily reports.

A short while later, Logan and Green went to De Palma's place of business and arrested him for the murder of Terrance Dahashi.

-----------

The mood wasn't quite as lively as before at Lennie Briscoe's place, but it wasn't as depressing or volatile, either. Eight places were occupied, even if not by the same players as last game. Some 'trade-outs' would make for an interesting challenge, that much he knew.

"So, Danielle trusts you tonight?" he asked Jack who sat across from him.

The other man smiled. "There's this bet we made – her part being frustration, mine being folly."

"And the loser…?"

"Gets to wear the equivalent of the scarlet letter," Jack said.

Anita exchanged glances with Nina Cassady. "What did you do to scare Nora off, Lennie?"

"My fault," Jack said. "I forgot to mention she got sucked into a family matter involving a niece and brother argument."

"Glad I don't have kids then," Joe said as he sat on Jack's right. "Of course, 'Uncle Joey' gets called in for a rescue once in a while."

Mike laughed. "Yeah, but does 'Uncle Joey' tell the sibs what the call was about?"

Lennie elbowed his former partner on his left. "Just you wait, Mikey; your turn will come."

The other single, former partner spoke up. "If Logan has kids, run," Ed deadpanned.

Anita looked at Ed with a scorn only a mother could perfect. "Remember that time off you were asking about?"

The man across from her let out a hardy laugh. "Man, Ed, you should know better than to tick off your boss at the poker table."

"Shut up, Elliot," Ed said. "At least I didn't ditch my partner!" The moment he said it, he felt Anita elbow him in the ribs. "You know what I mean," he clarified, rubbing his sore side.

Lennie shook his head and laughed as he shuffled the cards. If anything, he had every intention of setting the stakes as high as he could tonight. And if all went well, it would be his turn to clean up something other than the house at evening's end.

The topics discussed went from cases to classics to chaos theory, with a few rounds ending rather quickly. The next hand would prove to be the highlight of the evening.

"Bet's fifty."

"See your fifty and I raise you ten," Mike said.

Jack, Nina, Ed, Anita, Joe, and Elliot all pitched in their share. Lennie added his ten. "There's the bet and I raise you...kids."

Mike scowled. "Fold."

Elliot grinned. "Four."

Joe folded.

Jack grinned as he said he was in. Nina and Ed folded, as Anita put in her share. Now, it was down to the four parents.

Lennie looked Elliot in the eye and said, "Grown daughters."

Elliot looked at her and shook his head. "Fold."

"Distant daughter," said Jack.

"Boys," Anita said. For effect of a 'raise,' she added, "dating."

Lennie refused to back down. "Didn't I say I doubled your daughters?" he said to Jack.

"Distance," Jack reminded him. "Soon to be married, distance."

Anita laughed. "Fold."

Ed laughed. "Man, when you guys get down and dirty, betting what half the table can't own up to..."

Mike shook his head. "This is discrimination, I tell you. Munch would agree with me, too if he was here."

"Distant, soon to be married and going into law...as a cop," Jack said.

"Defiant, daring. Affair, affair. Nurse, telemarketer," Lennie said, aware that he was getting away with involving Cathy in on this wager.

Jack let out a low whistle. "Based on the last pair, I fold."

Lennie smiled as he scooped the chips his way. Yep, this was going to be a good night. Of course, he was fully aware that his luck would run out eventually. The true champs of the chips weren't called 'Fast Eddie' or 'Cool Joey' for nothing.