Stuart Woods - Dirt

“Okay, I’ll trust you on that,” Dino said. “But the minute you’ve got something, I want to know.”

“I promise. I assume you ran a check on the Jonathan Dryer name?”

“Yeah; nothing.”

“That’s what I figured.”

“Well,” Dino said, “we’ve made a start, I guess, but I don’t have enough evidence to arrest Dryer for the burglaries.”

“Assuming you could find him,” Stone said.

“Right. I don’t even have enough evidence to start looking for him. This all sounds good, but it’s very tenuous.”

“You’re right, Dino,” Stone said. “I’ll stay on it and see if I can come up with something else. And I’ll get that list from Arrington. You’ll let me know about the gun?”

“Sure. We having lunch?”

“You’re on. Bob, join us?”

“Okay.”

Dino stood up. “I got to go to the can; I’ll meet you guys outside.”

Stone and Cantor left Dino’s office and walked through the squad room and out the front door.

“Stone,” Cantor said.

“Yeah?”

“The other night when I clocked Martha going into her apartment building, she was wearing a brown tweed coat and a yellow scarf.”

“I know,” Stone said. “Don’t bring it up at lunch.”

When Stone got back to his desk there was a small package waiting for him.

“It was hand-delivered,” Alma said.

Stone opened the package and found a new Rolex Oyster-quartz, with his name engraved on the back. He picked up the phone and dialed.

“Hello, Amanda.”

“Hello, Stone.”

“You shouldn’t have bought me a watch; really, you shouldn’t have.”

“You lost your old one in my service,” Amanda said. “It was the very least I could do. I hope you won’t upset me by trying to return it.”

“No, I won’t do that. Thank you very much for the watch.”

“Is it identical to yours?”

“The face is different, but I like it better.”

“I’m so glad.”

Stone took a deep breath. “Amanda, we’ve come to the point in this investigation where I’ve got to question Martha.”

“Stone, I’ve told you, I don’t want her bothered.”

“This is how it is,” Stone said. “She’s been seeing someone, a man who calls himself Jonathan Dryer.”

“The name doesn’t ring a bell,” Amanda replied.

“It may not even be his name, but that’s what he’s been using. Dryer may very well be connected with the man in California who told Allan Peebles his name was Geoffrey Power, so the two of them may be behind the DIRT business.”

“I see,” Amanda said.

“What’s more, Dryer may have burgled a number of apartments around town, and he could even be mixed up in a murder.”

“If that’s true, why haven’t you had him arrested?” Amanda asked.

“Two reasons: right now, this is all just supposition; we don’t have any hard evidence. Also, we don’t know where Dryer is; he moved out of his apartment. Martha may know him better than anyone else we’re aware of, so it’s crucial that we get as much evidence as possible from her about Dryer. She may even know his whereabouts.” Stone knew this was probably not true, but he needed to push Amanda on this. “I think it would be better for Martha if I talked to her rather than the police doing it.”

“Well, I certainly don’t want the police grilling her,” Amanda said. “She’d go to pieces.”

“I’ll be gentle with her, I promise.”

“No.”

“Amanda…”

“I’ll talk to her myself.”

“Amanda…”

“I’ll get more out of her than you can; I’ve been a journalist all my adult life, and I know how to conduct an interview. Also, Martha is afraid of me.”

“Amanda, I really think it would be better if I talked to her.”

“No, Stone; I will do it, and that’s final. Is there anything in particular you want me to ask her?”

“We want as much information about Dryer as possible – present whereabouts, friends, relatives, family background, personal history. We need to know everything she knows. If she tries to deny knowledge of him, tell her she was seen going into Dryer’s apartment, and that we have taped conversations between the two of them.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get everything out of her.”

Stone sighed. “All right; when will you do it?”

“I’ll spend some time with her, and I’ll call you on Monday.”

“All right, Amanda, but it can’t wait any longer than that.”

“Good-bye, darling; I’m so glad you liked the watch.” She hung up.

Dino walked into P.J. Clark’s at four o’clock. It was too early for the after-work trade, and the place was deserted, except for a man at the opposite end of the bar. He was wearing a cashmere overcoat, and an expensive briefcase was parked on the bar next to him. There was also a large whiskey in front of him. Dino walked over. “Mr. Elliot?”

“Lieutenant Bacchetti?” He stuck out his hand. “Take a pew.”

Dino pulled up a stool.

“Something to drink?”

“I’ll have a beer,” Dino said to the bartender. He waited until the beer had been served and the bartender had retreated before continuing. “Now,” he said to Elliot, “a few general questions.”

“All right. I hope you understand that I didn’t want to talk about this on the phone.”

“Of course. Now, Arrington Carter brought a man named Jonathan Dryer to your party, is that correct?”

“She brought a young man; I didn’t get his name.”

“During the party did you notice whether this young man might have visited some part of your apartment that a party guest might not ordinarily visit?”

“He used the bathroom in the master suite,” Elliot said.

“Is that bathroom near where you kept the pistol?”

“Only a few feet away.”

“What about the control panel for your burglar alarm? Where is that located in your apartment?”

“In a linen closet just outside the master suite.”

“So Dryer might have had access to that?”

“Very possibly.”

“All right, let’s talk about the twenty-five automatic.”

“Before we do,” Elliot said, “you have to understand something.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“I’m a lawyer, and I can’t afford to lose my license over something like this.”

“I understand.”

“Whatever passes between us in this conversation is just between you and me. If it ever comes up again, in any context, I’ll deny everything.”

“All right, Mr. Elliot, I understand you; now you have to understand me. Your gun may have been used to murder a police officer. When we make an arrest, you’re going to have to identify the gun, and if we can’t find it, testify to the type and how it might have left your possession. As a lawyer, you certainly understand that.”

Elliot went to his next negotiating position. “All right, but I won’t testify unless I have complete immunity.”

“I think I can probably arrange that,” Dino replied.

“That’s not good enough. I want your personal word that you won’t ask me to testify unless you can get me immunity.”

“I’m not sure I can do that.”

“Come on, Bacchetti, it’s a murder case, a murdered cop. They’re going to want the perpetrator, not me.”

“All right, I give you my word that I won’t ask you to testify, unless I can get you immunity.”

“Understand, if you don’t get me the immunity I’ll take the Fifth.”

“That’s not going to be necessary, Mr. Elliot; you have my word.”

“Okay.”

“Now, how did you come into possession of the weapon?”

“I bought it from a guy on the street.”