Obsessed, p.17
Obsessed, page 17
I couldn’t believe it. What were the chances I’d just run across them on the street? Yet there they were, standing in front of our dry cleaner. I started to drift to the right and look for a spot to park.
Then I thought of Estella Abreu and Suzanne Morton. I recalled the anguish on their parents’ faces.
I muttered, “Shit,” aloud to no one. The goddamn bullies could wait. I took one last glance in my rearview mirror and hit the gas.
Chapter 72
TERRI MET ME on the street in front of the emergency room. We paused just inside the door, where she grabbed hold of my arm and said, “How do we navigate this? We don’t want to screw up the case by giving the family a reason to say we were harassing them.”
“Since when do we need to give someone a reason to make a false accusation?”
“Still, let’s figure this out now instead of winging it when we run into the family.”
This was why I liked working with Terri Hernandez. Not only was she intelligent, she was also practical. Where I might just blunder into a situation, she thought things through.
I said, “We could go to the desk and find out what room Jaden is in.” I could tell by the hesitant look on Terri’s face she didn’t necessarily agree with my plan of action.
“Let me try something first,” Terri said. She pulled me down the hallway until we reached an intersection. From here we could see almost everyone coming or going from the emergency room. Terri looked at me. “ER nurses always know what’s going on.”
“Aren’t there all kinds of HIPAA restrictions? I can never get medical people to talk to me without a warrant or patient permission.”
Terri smiled. “It’s all in how you ask.”
We stood at the crossroads of the hallway for about three or four minutes. We nodded hello to a couple of doctors, a janitor, and a family who looked like they had just gotten good news. A rare sight in a hospital.
Finally, a friendly-looking nurse in scrubs patterned with colorful frolicking cats and dogs walked by.
Terri nodded at her and said, “How are you today?”
The nurse stopped and smiled, revealing braces. She might’ve been a few years younger than Terri. Her hair was cut short. Practical for any medical professional.
The nurse said, “So far, not too busy today. A car accident and an OD were our big adventures.”
Terri nodded again. She leaned in toward the nurse. “I know about the OD. We’re here for our friend’s son, Jaden.”
The nurse said, “Oh, you know Jaden? He always has a lot of support. His family stays right in the room with them.”
I blurted out, “Even his dad?”
The nurse gave us a sly smile. “You really do know them.” She looked up and down the hallway for a moment. “I like that his brother stays with him at night. It’s sweet. I know he works at some high-pressure finance firm all day. I admire the fact that he still sits with his little brother every evening.”
Little off-the-cuff comments like these always give me better insight. I knew Kyle Banning was a good-looking guy, but I was starting to see his charming side. Of course, some serial killers seem to have the same trait. I’m not sure if that’s what makes them effective serial killers or if they develop it to become better serial killers.
The nurse continued. “Last time they brought Jaden here was at the beginning of the month. I was impressed that the family was with him for three straight days and nights.”
Terri and I both perked up at that comment.
Terri ran with it. “We missed visiting for that one. Just last week? I think it was on the second of the month, right?”
The nurse shook her head. “No, it was the first day of my rotation. I remember it started exactly on the first of the month. Jaden was released on the afternoon of the fourth.”
Terri and I looked at each other. That was the night before Terri tried the undercover in the bar called Rain in the financial district. Kyle Banning must have gone out the next night after his brother got home. This kid hadn’t gone a full week without relapsing.
I realized the duration of the stay had something to do with some kind of psychiatric hold. My guess was that Jaden’s father had arranged to keep the incident quiet and out of a judge’s docket. He probably had to promise the doctor that he would leave Jaden secure in the hospital for three days. That was the standard court-ordered observation period.
The hospital can bill for extra days. It doesn’t get put on his permanent record. Jaden appears to be getting better. And the family can say they did the right thing. Everyone wins.
Terri chatted more with the nurse while I wandered away to figure this out. Of course, I’d have to get a warrant to see the exact days Jaden was in the hospital. But the story sounded legit.
Chapter 73
IT HURT TO be knocked back to square one on the investigation. I’d been confident one of the Banning brothers was a good suspect. Now I felt like we were struggling to stay afloat. That didn’t mean I could just give up. I had to confirm what the nurse had told us.
I located the head of security for the hospital. She was a pleasant woman who had retired as a captain from the Newark Police Department. She assigned a young man to help me search through the video surveillance of the hospital from the beginning of the month. She didn’t even make me tell her what I was looking for. It was perfect. I didn’t have to worry about anyone saying something to the Bannings later.
It didn’t take long to find Kyle Banning. I was even able to figure out what room Jaden had stayed in from the video. And I saw Kyle often enough to establish that he hadn’t left the hospital at night to murder Estella Abreu. He’d arrived every night at about seven, presumably after work.
After I texted Terri an update about the security footage, I left the hospital and got back on Amsterdam Avenue, driving slowly and scanning both sides of the street. I didn’t see the bullies again.
I pulled up to Holy Name and found Seamus outside, directing some workers as they planted new shrubs. His face lit up when he saw me.
“Michael, my boy. What are you doing here this time of day? Lately, I only see you around here after the boys get beat up.”
I had to chuckle at that. I told him about seeing the bullies on my way to an urgent interview. As always, he made me feel better about my decision.
My grandfather said, “I find myself taking my midday walk off the church grounds, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the bullies. It’s a problem, to be sure. But the world is full of problems. You’re one of the few people I know trying to solve them.”
I nodded, feeling better already.
“Sometimes you forget how important your job is. You’re trying to catch people who have killed other people. In the big scheme of things, some punk kids harassing the boys isn’t that big of a deal. You need to show your profession more respect.”
Seamus turned to admire the shrubs as they were settled into the ground. Then he looked back at me and said, “Was your interview fruitful?”
“Not really. I had to eliminate my two best suspects from the case.”
“How can avoiding arresting the wrong person not be fruitful? It sounds like you hit a home run.”
Just looking at it from a different perspective made me feel better.
My grandfather continued: “I’m going to keep taking my walks in the neighborhood. Those boys have to live around here somewhere. None of us had ever seen those bullies until this foolishness started, but why would they travel to bully someone? There are plenty of targets all over the city. I wouldn’t worry about it, Michael. These things tend to work out. We’ll either catch the bullies or they’ll get tired of hanging out near the church. The boys won’t have any problem.”
Talking to my grandfather usually cheered me up. This was starting to feel like a full-on pep talk. And it was working.
Chapter 74
BY EVENING, I barely had any energy left as I trudged through the lobby of our building, giving a weak wave to the doorman. In my left hand, I carried three giant bags: the family dinner. I’d picked up three buckets of fried chicken with enough sides to satisfy a small army. Which is essentially what we fed every night.
Food and my family revived me to a degree. Everyone’s schedule had been hectic. We all chatted about our day. I left out most of what I’d done. Except that I’d visited my grandfather at the church.
Mary Catherine also skimped on details about her day. I knew she’d taken one of the prescriptions her fertility doctor had written. It had knocked the stuffing out of her. She put on a brave front for the children, but I was worried, although she seemed back to her old self once we finished eating.
I waited till the younger kids were in bed and the older kids were all doing their own thing. I even let the boys play a video game so they didn’t care if I was around or not. Then I did something I almost never do at home: I worked on my case.
I sat at the small desk in our bedroom and looked through all the information Walter Jackson had sent me. He had come up with half a dozen more names. He’d also taken the time to attach criminal histories, work histories, and anything else he thought might give me an insight for each interview. Name after name seemed similar. All relatively wealthy young men who had decent jobs. None of them had any criminal history. There was nothing that pointed to one name more than another.
Until I reached the name Thomas Sloan. He was the veterinarian Walter had been unimpressed by. More importantly, Walter had found two incidents in which the NYPD had been called to Dr. Sloan’s house. Both times on suspicion of domestic abuse.
That caught my attention. My personal belief is that someone who can commit domestic violence can commit any kind of violence. It isn’t something I’d bring up in court, but it influences me when I interview people.
The next document Walter had sent me via email made me freeze in place. Dr. Sloan’s son, Lewis, had attended the Wolfson Academy. What were the chances of that? Slim enough for me to put Thomas Sloan as my first appointment in the morning.
It looked like he had a veterinary clinic here on the Upper West Side. I immediately texted Terri Hernandez and told her I had a possible suspect. She agreed to meet me in the morning a block away from the veterinary clinic.
I tried not to be obvious, shutting down my computer when Mary Catherine walked in the room.
She laughed. “You don’t think I know you’re working on a case? I never set down the rule that you couldn’t.”
“I know. I just like to be engaged with the family when I’m at home.”
“Aren’t you able to do a few personal errands during your workday?”
“You know I try to be efficient.”
“Then there’s no problem working on a case at home once in a while. There’s no need to look like a teenage boy caught looking at porn on his computer.”
I stood up and took my beautiful wife in my arms. I didn’t deserve someone as understanding as her. We embraced and kissed.
As things became more heated, we eased over to the bed. I paused for a moment to listen for kids.
As if she was reading my mind, Mary Catherine said, “Everyone but Brian and Juliana are asleep. They’re watching TV in the living room. And I locked the door when I came in.”
I smiled. “So, this wasn’t spontaneous.”
Mary Catherine snuggled in close to me on the bed. “The doctor said trying to have a baby by the natural method wouldn’t interfere with any treatments I might get.”
I kissed her and said, “I’m definitely on board with the method that both is fun and doesn’t have a deductible.”
For the first time today, something took my mind completely off our investigation.
Chapter 75
AT ALMOST EXACTLY 8:30 the next morning, I met Terri Hernandez at a place on Columbus Avenue called Birch Coffee. Harry Grissom had planned to meet us too but had backed out when he realized he’d double-booked with a doctor’s appointment. It occurred to me that Harry was going to more and more medical professionals. I hoped it was just routine.
We sat at a round high-top table and looked out the glass window onto Columbus Avenue. Thomas Sloan’s veterinary office was a few blocks down, at about 100th Street. There was a Starbucks on the corner of that block, but whenever possible, I preferred to frequent local businesses that showed more interest in the neighborhood and its people beyond gouging them for extra-large lattes.
Terri looked across the table at me and said, “You look nice.”
I shrugged. “Lately, I’ve noticed people are more open to talking with me if I’m wearing a sport coat and tie. Maybe it’s just the professional look.” I ran my hand down the tie to straighten it. Mainly to emphasize said professional look.
Terri giggled. Or as close to a giggle as she ever came. “This is Manhattan. Men wear five-thousand-dollar suits. If anything, they look at you and feel sorry. That’s probably why they’ve been talking to you.”
I had to smile. The trash talk between cops, even when it’s directed at me, is generally pretty high quality. Probably a notch higher than you’d hear from NFL or NBA players. Part of it is because we know how to launch missiles at one another’s very specific idiosyncrasies. I tried to think of a dig to shoot back at Terri. Preferably one focusing on fashion. I couldn’t find one. She looked great as always.
Sharp as ever, Terri picked up on my failed effort to retaliate. She smiled and said, “Can’t say shit about this blouse and slacks. Can you?”
I shrugged. I didn’t have anything else to say.
Now Terri looked a little concerned. She reached across the table and put a hand on my forearm. “What’s wrong?”
I could’ve said, Nothing, and moved on. But she was my partner—at least on this case. I also knew she was a damn good friend. I said, “We spent a lot of energy on Kyle Banning and his brother. It feels like we have to start all over again. Sometimes it’s the same record that just keeps repeating.”
“Not to rain on your pity party, but no one has listened to records in over a decade. You need to update your references. The fact is, we are sort of starting over. But that’s okay. What’s the alternative? Ignore three homicides?”
“No, of course not.”
Clearly, Terri was trying to get my mind off my troubles. She said, “Tell me about this veterinarian.”
I opened up my notebook and looked down at the sheet Walter Jackson had given me. “You saw his photo. Pretty average-looking. Graduated from SUNY Buffalo, then got his veterinary degree from some place in the Caribbean I’d never heard of before.”
“Must be nice.”
I skimmed more of the sheet and said, “He’s divorced. His ex-wife called the cops on him for battery. That was somewhere in Westchester County. Two years later, a live-in girlfriend called again for the same reason. Both times the women wouldn’t cooperate once the cops got there.”
“Typical. But he sounds like a creep. How big is he?”
“Low end of average. Five foot eight and about 165 pounds.” I showed her the photo again.
Terri said, “I’d beat his ass if he raised a hand to me.”
I laughed. “I hope you’d stop at just an ass whipping.”
She gave me an evil grin.
“I’d like to keep this low-key. At least at first. You know, not overwhelm him or anything. Just ask a few questions.”
Terri said, “I feel like you’re trying to tell me something.”
“Don’t threaten or intimidate him.”
“Until you need me to?”
I gave her a smile and said, “Yeah. Exactly.”
We finished our coffees and started to walk the two blocks to the veterinary clinic.
Chapter 76
THE VETERINARY CLINIC was in the corner of an office building. The small white sign with faded blue letters was nondescript and had seen better days. It didn’t look like Sloan had much room at all in the corner of the building.
I took a moment to scan the block. Nothing unusual for the Upper West Side. I took a deep breath. I didn’t want comfortable, familiar surroundings to make me less vigilant. Technically, we were interviewing a potential homicide suspect.
Terri’s phone rang. She looked at the screen, then cut her eyes up to me. She took the call with a curt, “Detective Hernandez.” Then she started to speak Spanish. I heard the “Sí, sí, sí” and realized someone was speaking rapidly on the other end of the phone line.
Terri lowered the phone, looked at me, and said, “This is important. It’ll take a few minutes.”
I waved her off and said in a low voice, “I’ll just go in and introduce myself. Come in when you’re ready.”
Terri nodded, pulled a small pad and pen out of her purse, and turned to write something, propping the pad on top of a box holding discount coupons bolted to the side of the building.
As soon as I stepped in the front door, I could hear a ding in the back of the office. The place was open with two chairs facing a reception area without a receptionist.
I waited about ten seconds. Then I knocked on the counter in front of the reception area and called out, “Hello, Dr. Sloan?”
I heard someone say, “Back here. I’ll be a couple of minutes.”
I decided to surprise him. I pushed through the swinging door into the polished tile hallway, past a minuscule office with only room for a desk and small chair. Then I saw a fit man of about forty holding a French bulldog on an examination table.
I pulled an old trick out of my back pocket and said, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t understand you from up front.”
Thomas Sloan looked up from the French bulldog. He was annoyed, but he swallowed it. He said, “My assistant called in sick today.”
It was at that moment I realized the bulldog was here for some sort of bowel issue. The stench was overwhelming. I tried to hide it but waved my notebook in front of my face and took a step back.
