Obsessed, p.21
Obsessed, page 21
Pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place.
Chapter 91
TERRI MET ME back in the city. She’d learned that the burner phone that had called The Girlfriend Experience in the fall last year and this year had been purchased from a kiosk at a tiny mall in Yonkers. Not too far from where the coach lived. Terri also told me that Allie Pritz had called her again to tell her she really wanted to help. Terri said, “For once it sounds like we have a cooperating witness who really wants to do the right thing and not just work off charges. She’s pissed. She wants justice. This guy murdered her friends.”
I looked at Terri and said, “I checked the schedule and there are two more football games left on the Wolfson Academy schedule. One is this Friday. If the coach follows his schedule, he’ll call The Girlfriend Experience tomorrow or the next day. Or maybe Wednesday or Thursday of next week.”
Terri said, “You don’t think Martin would be worried? He’s killed at least three women. He can’t be so clueless that he thinks the cops aren’t looking into it.”
“I doubt he has any idea. I think he floats along in life, following his impulses, and doesn’t really consider the consequences. We just have to make a case that sticks.”
“If we can interview him and get a DNA swab, maybe the medical examiner can go back over the bodies, find something to link him to one of the murders. But that’s a big if.”
I said, “I hate saying this, but we’re going to have to bring Allie Pritz in on the case. We’ve already got The Girlfriend Experience phone. All we need to do is have her answer it. Martin would probably recognize her voice since he’s called so many times. He should be satisfied everything is okay.”
Terri said, “I’ll have someone from the Tech Unit work it out so Allie can answer the phone from her house while we keep it in evidence. We’ll set up a recorder so any call coming in on the line is automatically saved.”
“Then what? Do we let her meet Martin somewhere?”
Terri shrugged. “Don’t screw up my idea with good questions.”
I snapped my fingers. “That’s it. That’s how we can absolutely verify it’s Perry Martin calling. And what his intentions are. We set up an undercover sting. We pick just the right place here in the city to draw Martin out. We make sure they are never alone. Maybe he’ll even say something incriminating. Of course, we’ll have a transmitter on Allie and be close by if there’s a problem.”
“Doesn’t that plan scare you?”
“It terrifies me.”
Chapter 92
MY LIEUTENANT, HARRY Grissom, didn’t jump on board with our plan to use Allie Pritz in an undercover sting. At least not completely. He was obviously worried about Allie’s safety, as we all were. He trusted me enough to wait until Terri and I spoke with Allie and got a feel for if she would do as she was told. That was good enough for me.
Now Terri and I were sitting in the living room of Allie’s apartment in the Village. I’ll confess that every time I glanced at the window and saw the fire escape, my stomach did a flip-flop. But sitting in a comfortable chair while Terri Hernandez sat on the couch with Allie made me feel stable enough to continue. Barely.
Terri and I had decided before we arrived at the apartment that she’d do most of the talking. She had a connection with Allie, and basically read her the manual for undercover operations, making Allie acknowledge each point.
I smiled, watching Terri handle this girl so carefully. Terri was tough and could fly off the handle, but she was also patient and caring. It was counter to the persona she tried to project around the department, and I could see that Allie responded to it.
Terri, using her most serious face and voice, started off by saying, “If you’re uncomfortable at any time, just get up and walk away. The main thing we’re trying to do is tie Martin to the phone line.”
Allie kept her eyes on Terri and nodded.
“If he calls, just be cool. Maybe even a little distant. Make him work for everything. We want him recorded.”
Allie said, “What if he asks on the phone if I’ll have sex?”
“Say you’ll think about it. That sounds vague enough and gets him interested.”
Again, Allie nodded.
Terri said, “Tell Martin that you’ll meet him at a sports bar called The Hockey Stick on 181st Street, a few blocks from University Avenue. Your safety is the overall priority. We know we can cover The Hockey Stick with surveillance and it’s far enough north in the city that he shouldn’t mind coming down to it. Plus, he’ll probably like the idea of a possible college atmosphere.”
Once more, Allie nodded.
Terri said, “You’ll have a transmitter hidden on you and we’ll be able to hear your conversation. It reaches thirty to fifty yards, depending on the environment. Be cautious, but don’t be scared. And let him do most of the talking. Maybe he’ll say something we can use to connect him to one of the murders.”
I finally spoke up. “No matter what happens, don’t leave the bar with him. We’ll be in there with you somewhere. If there’s a problem, we’ll handle it. But stay in the bar no matter what.”
Terri and I had visited the place twice to make sure we knew everything about it. There were two doors. The main front entrance and a door toward the rear that was used for take-out orders. There were plenty of places outside the bar to put surveillance teams.
Terri had gone so far as to figure out exactly where Allie should sit at the bar while she waited for Martin to arrive. There were several tables close by that we could sit at. Martin had never seen Terri, and I doubted he’d recognize me from our one conversation.
Allie said, “You really think this guy killed Suzanne and Emma and Estella?”
“He’s a suspect. It might turn out to be a wild coincidence. In which case, we’ll move on and try to develop a new suspect. I swear to you we’re doing everything we can to find and stop this killer. You’re really helping us by doing this.”
“Are you kidding? I’d do whatever it takes to stop this creep.” Allie looked at me. “You don’t think a series of coincidences led you to this guy as a suspect, do you?”
I took a moment to give her the best answer I could. “In my experience, I find that coincidence occasionally plays a role in a case. But I’m not a big believer in it otherwise. You can see the trouble we’re going to just to make sure we’re right.”
I didn’t like the idea of putting this young woman close to a potential killer. But it was our best option at the moment. I knew all the precautions we were taking, and I had to trust that Allie would be safe.
That didn’t make me feel any better.
Chapter 93
AT HOME THAT night, Mary Catherine immediately picked up on my anxiety. Reluctantly, I explained to her our plan to use Allie Pritz if Perry Martin called The Girlfriend Experience in the coming days before either of the school’s final two games.
She stood out on our balcony with me. She leaned in close and rested her head on my shoulder as I wrapped an arm around her. We stood at the railing and stared out at our quiet Upper West Side neighborhood. Mary Catherine said, “No matter what, you need to be careful.”
“I always am.”
Mary Catherine let out a snort. “I know you don’t tell me everything you do as part of your job. But don’t take me for an idiot. I’m aware of the risks you take. I’ve heard others talk about things you’ve done. And even though it scares me, it’s also part of the reason I fell in love with you. I just want you to look out for yourself as you are looking out for everyone else.”
I decided it was time to change the conversation. I said, “Speaking of taking care of yourself, anything new develop with your fertility pre-treatments? I know it was making you tired at first. How do you feel now?”
“I don’t know if I’m feeling better or adjusting to feeling tired all the time. I’m starting to feel the stress of the decision. I swear, Michael, I’m not sure if this is the right thing to do. Seeing you work on cases like this scares me. It scares me for the safety of the ten children we have already. Even if three of them are essentially adults. It scares me to think about caring for an infant. The constant attention. The enormous amount of time. What happens to my time with the other kids?”
“All good questions.”
“Any chance you want to give me some good answers?”
“The best answer is what you usually tell me: ‘Follow your heart.’ Or as Seamus would say, ‘Trust in faith.’ This is not a decision you need to rush.”
She squeezed me, then stood on her tiptoes and kissed me on the lips. “How is it you know just what to say to me and the kids when we’re feeling our worst?”
“Practice.”
I smiled at her laughter. When she rose on her tiptoes again, I was ready for a longer kiss. And I was definitely not disappointed.
Chapter 94
USING OUR HIGHLY trained NYPD technicians, Terri and I arranged to have clones of The Girlfriend Experience phone set up at Allie’s apartment and our office. The explanation of how the electronics worked made my head spin. But I trusted our tech people. I was confident the phone would alert us to any calls coming in.
That’s why on Thursday afternoon, when the phone sitting on my desk beeped, I jumped to listen in on the conversation. Allie handled it perfectly. And although I couldn’t be sure, it sounded like Perry Martin’s voice on the other end of the line. He was also insistent that he meet one of the girls that night. There wasn’t a function; they didn’t have to dress up. He just wanted someone to “cuddle with” tonight.
He didn’t hesitate to jump at the chance to meet Allie at The Hockey Stick in the Bronx. The call set the entire squad into motion. The fact that we were using a civilian, let alone a college-aged girl, would make our cautious command staff uneasy. Harry Grissom’s job was to keep them calm.
Undercover operations like this are generally used in narcotics investigations. Often, a defendant in one case is trying to get a more lenient sentence by cooperating against another drug dealer in a different case.
Police occasionally use ordinary citizens in operations like this. But it would be foolish to think that there is no risk involved. Police work is almost nothing but risk, from pulling a car over for speeding and hoping the driver isn’t armed to stepping into a dark alley at night. A police officer’s life is all about mitigating risk.
I managed personal risk fine. But the idea of placing Allie Pritz in danger made me nervous. Really nervous.
Terri was with me and said, “How many people do we want on this caper?”
“The easy answer is everybody. The practical answer is we’ll use a tac team outside for the arrest, Harry and a couple of detectives from the squad for surveillance. And the two of us inside the bar. That should cover most of the angles. I’m open to other suggestions if you have any.”
Terri shook her head. “You’ve used me undercover a couple of times. I never felt at unnecessary risk.”
“For a cop, not a college student.”
“A former college student who’s been running a high-priced dating service. Allie is pleading to be in on this deal. It’ll work out.”
“But what if it doesn’t?”
“If Martin is our guy, this is the most efficient way to stop him. If we wait, it might mean someone else dies. It’s a terrible choice, but the kind we have to make every day.”
“That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“No, it means we have to make the choice. What do you want to do?”
I sighed, trying to buy time. I wanted to run the variables through my head again. And again. And again.
Terri nudged me.
“Okay, okay. Let’s do it. But if there are any snags, we cut off the operation right then. No questions asked.”
Terri pulled out her phone, dialed, and said, “We’re a go.”
I knew there was a lot to do between now and seven o’clock, when Perry Martin was supposed to show up at the sports bar. And my heart would be skipping beats until it was all over.
Chapter 95
I WAS SURPRISED by the crowd when we entered The Hockey Stick. Thursday nights were busier than I would have guessed. We were in position, sitting at a small table about twenty feet from the main bar. We had a good view of Allie Pritz. And the Tactical Assistance Response Unit outside was ready to go. But I was still nervous.
Terri and I both wore earbuds to monitor the radio and cell phone traffic. Terri’s hair completely covered hers. I had one small blue plastic ball that looked like I might have a hearing aid in my right ear. It was a tiny receiver to listen to Allie’s transmitter. The larger earbud in my left ear monitored the outside surveillance team’s radios. Terri was the only one who could answer the outside team’s radio calls. She had a small transmitter mike hidden in the palm of her hand that was connected to a handheld radio in her purse.
I felt like everything was on track.
Allie sat alone at the bar and knew not to look over her shoulder at us. She sipped a Diet Coke and looked up at a TV playing an old Islanders game. There were only four people sitting at the bar. Two older men together and a younger man at the other end of the bar who looked like he was waiting for someone.
I noticed a bartender with a scraggly goatee linger any time he checked on Allie. Why not? Even dressed semi-casually, she was a knockout. Now any time I looked at her, the only thing I thought was how young she was. I hoped my daughters would feel comfortable talking to me if they got into a situation like Allie had. As I had learned with Brian, it’s tough being a parent and knowing exactly what’s going on with each kid.
I heard the surveillance team we’d sent north to Perry Martin’s house and the Wolfson Academy come on the air.
“This is the north surveillance team. We were not able to pick up the target at either location. Repeat, we have not seen the target. You guys won’t have much warning when he shows up.”
Terri looked at me and bit her lower lip. An anxious habit that few noticed.
I said, “All they were going to do is tell us Martin was on his way. We still have Harry and the tac team outside. They’ll give us plenty of notice.”
Terri nodded as her eyes slowly scanned the entire bar.
I said, “Are you worried that a six-foot-five, 260-pound man somehow slipped into the bar without us noticing?”
“No, smart-ass, I’m wondering if we’ll have problems from anyone if we try to make an arrest. You know how things have been lately. If we start to tussle with this guy, I want to have an idea who might jump in on his side.”
I had to acknowledge her superior tactical thinking. Then I looked around the bar quickly. Mostly younger people, probably from Fordham or one of the other schools close by. One table in the back held medical personnel still in their scrubs. The six of them sounded like they were having a great time. That was good. I wanted attention drawn away from us.
I focused on my right earbud to listen to the transmitter we had on Allie, concealed in her blouse. I could clearly hear the TV she was watching over the bar. That meant the signal was good.
There are always so many details that go into an operation like this. Not only safety protocols but to ensure we get what we need to make a case. The entire time, acid ate at my stomach. I might as well have been on a tower looking over the railing at the ground below. That was about how anxious I felt. I had to pull out my left earbud for a moment just to think clearly. I let the little piece of electronics stay on a napkin for a full minute. I needed the break.
Terri’s eyes cut up to me suddenly and I knew it was time to reinsert the earpiece. Immediately, I heard Harry Grissom’s voice.
Harry Grissom said, “Someone’s coming down the street on the same side as the bar. He’s pretty far away, but I’d be willing to bet it’s our man. It looks like someone put a yellow wig on a minibus.”
I looked across at Terri and said, “He’s not wrong.”
I heard one of the tac team members say, “He just walked past our van. Jesus, Bennett, you need to show more emotion when you’re describing someone. It’s one thing to hear six foot five, it’s another to see it.”
Terri giggled at that.
Terri went up to the bar and grabbed some napkins. While she was there, she casually looked over and nodded at Allie.
Allie returned the nod with confidence.
Chapter 96
I WAS LOOKING at the door just as it opened. I kept my head down like I was reading the menu. I didn’t need this guy recognizing me, no matter how small the chance. Perry Martin stood in the doorway just for a moment. It was like something had blocked the exit. If there was a fire and he didn’t want to move, no one would survive.
He noticed Allie sitting at the bar by herself. A grin spread across his face and he ran his hand through his blond hair. I noticed he arched his back slightly and flexed his chest. Not like he needed to. But it was impressive just the same.
I couldn’t keep my eyes from tracking him as he padded across to the bar. I pulled out my surveillance earpiece so I could focus on the transmitter hidden on Allie. Terri turned slightly so she could always keep her eyes on the bar. Martin had never met Terri, so it didn’t matter if he looked over and saw her.
As Martin walked up to Allie, I heard him ask, “Are you Allie?”
She nodded and gave him a spectacular smile. She stuck out her hand like a confident real estate agent. Martin shook it, then slipped onto the stool next to her.
We had reached our first goal: verifying that the phone line that had called the service belonged to Perry Martin.
I listened to their small talk and realized I was bothered by a number of issues. I didn’t mean to be a prude, but a married man with two little kids at home, dating a girl who looked like she was in college, made me angry. That’s right, cops are allowed to feel emotion. Maybe it was because I had my own daughters, but I wouldn’t appreciate a guy like Martin bothering them at a bar.
