Fred Limberg - First Murder

“I’m thinking we need a motive. Did you buy all that…that they never fought?”

“Not a chance. But I think they may have picked their battles carefully.”

“Go on.”

“As a group their biggest dilemma would be where to go for dinner or whose house to party at. As a group they would be careful to maintain peace and order. Keep the vibe positive. Individually? You cannot have a half dozen women in close contact without, what do you call it? Friction? That’s your word isn’t it?”

“It’s a good word,” Ray said.

“I don’t see them as swingers.”

Ray’s eyebrows went up when he turned toward her. “That came out of left field.”

Carol explained. “I thought of it when she talked about Deanna’s husband, how he had an open invitation. Maybe I’ve been in Sex Crimes too long.”

“But you think there’s some sexual tension there?” Ray asked. He hadn’t picked up anything like that.

“We haven’t met this Karen Hewes yet, but I’ll bet you she’s as good looking as the rest of them. The Marland woman’s attractive, right?”

Ray nodded. “And so is Erika Hilgendorff. The only one out of sync is Allyson Couts.”

“My bet is that Couts isn’t part of the inner circle. She’s not as close as the others.” Carol started the car. The interview with Roxie Kennebrew had taken a while. She waited for Ray to tell her where to go next, wondering if they should try to match up with the Hewes’ woman or head for the office.

“I wonder how de Luca’s doing?” Ray asked. He didn’t expect her to answer. He decided to head back to the station, to the office to do some thinking. He needed more information, needed to talk to Lipka and Pao, check in with Kumpula and see if any interesting forensics had appeared. Then he was going to get them all together to go over it all-the interviews, the neighbors, the science. There was something lurking in there, there had to be.

There always was.

So this is what it’s like on a stakeout Tony said to himself for the tenth or twelfth time in the last three hours. He was parked across the street from the pale blue house Scott Jr. shared with Hong and Swenson and the elusive Sean Stuckey. Scotty was still with his father, he assumed. Swenson had come and gone once. David Hong was in the house. No one had a picture of Stuckey. Tony’s plan was to approach the house when anyone entered that he didn’t recognize.

Tony thought that it was a lot of work just to clear a fringe element. Beyond Scott Jr. the roommate connection was tenuous at best. He wondered if Ray was sticking him out here to keep him out of the way, keeping him from screwing something up. It wasn’t a big confidence builder.

Most of the houses on the street were student rentals. Tony watched as the twenty something men and women came and went. They all seemed to be in constant motion. Some driving, most walking-to the bus stop on the corner two blocks up, to the small grocery on the corner, or to whatever lay on the avenue beyond. There was a pizza place close by but out of sight. The smell had been driving him crazy for the last hour.

Just fifteen minutes . Tony’s stomach growled, arguing that he wouldn’t miss Stuckey if he scooted over for a slice or two of thin crust. He imagined pepperoni and mushrooms and onions and black olives swimming in mozzarella, little pools of grease puddling on the surface of the pie, steam rising, the smell of a tangy, biting tomato sauce and oregano blending with the cheeses and the sausage.

He was reaching for the car’s ignition when his phone rang. He noticed who was on the other end and smiled as he touched the screen.

“Hi.” Caller ID is a wonderful thing, he thought, as he greeted Sue Ellen.

“Hi yourself, detective. Caught any bad guys today?” She seemed to be in a good mood.

“I wish. Hey, you want to join me on a stakeout?”

“Doesn’t that sound like fun?” He could tell she didn’t really think so. “Who are you staking out? Or can’t you tell me.”

Tony leaned back in the car seat, savoring her lovely voice. “Just a college kid. It’s a real thin connection to the Fredrickson woman. I think your Uncle Ray has me riding pine here.”

“Clearing alibis, huh?”

“That’s it.”

“It’s important. Want to know why?” Sue Ellen said.

Oh great, Tony thought, now the cute DA chick is going to give me detective lessons too. Part of him was tired of everyone knowing more about his job than he did. Part of him was eager to learn.

“I think I do but why don’t you give me your take.” It came out snippy. Tony thought he might have to apologize but Sue Ellen breezed right over it.

“I’ve been with the DA’s office for almost five years now. We’ve had a lot of cases turn on fringe players. Not the cases where you’ve got eye wits and smoking guns. Cases like this one though…you need to go through all the motions. Just clear the guy and move on. If he doesn’t clear, you’ve got something to work with.”

“You know about this one?”

“Not really. Just office talk.”

Tony knew she was right. Still, she wasn’t the one that had been sitting in a car for three hours. His butt hurt, his neck hurt, and the pizza smell was driving him crazy. “Have you talked to Ray about it?”

“No. I’m not saying we’ve never bounced anything off of each other, but we try to avoid it. It’s one of our unwritten rules.”

“Probably smart.”

Her tone changed. Tony heard her voice shift into a serious mode. “I’m afraid I didn’t call just to talk, Tony.”

“What?”

“I’ve gotten some threats.”

“Threats?” He almost made a joke about an old boyfriend.

“The Latin Kings.” That was the gang Tony had infiltrated the year before. Sue Ellen was the lead prosecutor. He was the star witness. His identity was a very closely held secret. “They’re letting the word get out that they’re coming after me and any of my assistants. They’re trying to get to you.”

Tony slammed the steering wheel with the heel of his hand. “Shit!”

“People are getting nervous around here.” The Latin Kings weren’t afraid to use their guns to settle arguments. Tony knew this first hand. He’d been inside.

“What are you going to do?”

Sue Ellen sounded defiant when she answered. “Nothing, right now. The Gang Task Force is going to put some pressure on. They know these assholes. They’ll let ’em know this is not the way the game is played.”

“Did they target you specifically?” Tony needed details now.

“Yeah, they did.”

“How many people know my name?” Tony wasn’t asking because he was afraid of the gang bangers. He was worried about the clerks and assistants in the DA’s office that could get roughed up.

“It’s been held close.” Sue Ellen paused, thinking about who was in on it. “The judge of course. Reynard over at Narcotics. Your old partner, I assume, and my two assistants.”

“The defense doesn’t have it? What about the disclosure thing?” Prosecutors were supposed to share anything they got with the defense, and vice versa, Tony knew. He just couldn’t pull up the lawyer word.

“No name. Remember the deposition? The judge allowed it just because of this kind of thing.”

He did remember. He had been taped but his voice had been altered and his face obscured. It had been months ago. At the trial he would be live and in person but for now he was anonymous, or almost.

“So what are you going to do?”

“Nothing. Nothing different. I won’t let these assholes intimidate me. And I have Marco now.”

“Marco? Marc Giordano?” Tony relaxed some. Giordano was BCA, the state guys, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He was big and mean and one of the best shots Tony had ever seen. Marco cast a large dark shadow.