Stuart Woods - New York Dead

“I never took the bar exam.”

“How about a-”

“I know, a cram course. You’re as bad as Elaine. She’s been at me about that.”

“She’s right. You’re a highly intelligent man, and a highly handsome one, too, I might add. That counts for more than you might think, and not just with women.”

“So, I could just quit the force and live on my looks?”

She laughed. “If it were up to me, you could. Does the practice of law repel you so much?”

“Look, I’m thirty-eight years old. I can’t just get in line at the big firms with this year’s grads and expect to get taken on. ‘So, Mr. Barrington, what have you been doing with yourself in the fifteen years between getting your law degree and passing the bar?’ ‘Oh, I’ve been arresting drug dealers and investigating murders and other sordid crimes.’ ‘Wonderful, that experience will stand you in good stead in our estate planning department. Will a hundred thousand a year be enough?’”

She laughed again. “There are other facets of the law besides estate planning, you know.”

“Sure there are. You know which ones I’d be qualified for? I’ll tell you; I’d be qualified to hang around the criminal courts picking up burglary defenses, drug busts, and drunk driving cases. That’s what ex-cops who are lawyers do – they go to night school, get a law degree, and, when they retire, they pick up an extra income by leaning on their old buddies on the force and in the DA’s office to go easy on the scum they’re defending.”

“You underestimate yourself,” she said. “Still, that’s an endearing quality in a world where overconfidence is a way of life.”

“Let’s order,” Stone said, picking up a menu.

“I think I’d like you for dinner,” Cary said.

“Let’s start with a Caesar salad, and go on to the osso buco,” he said. “Then we can have each other for dessert.”

“I always have room for dessert,” she said.

And she did. Stone lay panting in the darkness when she had finished – spent, but still full of desire for her. He had never felt anything quite like it. He was in love with her, but he had been in love before. It was obsession, and that was foreign to him.

She wrapped herself around him. “That was delicious,” she breathed, kissing him behind the ear. “I’ll want more soon.”

“You’ll kill me,” he panted, “but I can deny you nothing.”

“Don’t even try,” she said.

The meeting took place in the district attorney’s private conference room, but the DA himself didn’t attend. Al Hagler, the chief prosecutor, sat at the end of the table.

Stone had the distinct feeling that this room had not been chosen just because it was available; Hagler believed in effect, and the venue added authority to his position. It was just as significant that the DA was not present, though his presence was felt. The proceedings, whatever they were, had his tacit support, but, this way, he could not be personally tainted by the outcome. It was interesting, too, that Deputy Commissioner Waldron was not in attendance, nor was Chief of Detectives Delgado. It was just Hagler, Leary, Dino, and Stone.

“What have you most recently uncovered?” Hagler asked the room at large.

Leary nodded at Dino.

“There is no promissory note in Nijinsky’s files, although they seem complete in every other respect,” Dino said. “And Morgan has no gun permit, nor has she ever applied for one.”

“Good,” Hagler said, looking pleased.

“Why good?” Stone asked. “Just because there is no note in Nijinsky’s files doesn’t mean it never existed, and what does Morgan’s owning a pistol have to do with anything? Nijinsky wasn’t shot.”

“How do you know that?” Leary asked.

“I saw her,” Stone replied. “I didn’t see a bullet wound.”

“She was covered in dirt, wasn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“And how long did you see her for?”

“A few seconds.”

“Hardly time for a postmortem,” Hagler chimed in.

“I heard no gunshot either,” Stone said.

“Whether Nijinsky was shot is not relevant to this meeting,” Hagler said.

“Just what is the purpose of this meeting?” Stone asked.

“I just wanted to hear from you and Detective Bacchetti before proceeding.”

“Proceeding with what?”

Hagler reached into an inside pocket and tossed a document onto the table.

Stone picked it up. “A search warrant for Morgan’s apartment? What are we supposed to look for?”

“Anything that might relate to the Nijinsky case,” Hagler said.

“On what basis did you get the warrant?” Stone persisted.

“The basis don’t matter to you,” Leary spoke up. “You just execute the warrant, you and Dino, right?”

Stone shrugged. “Yes, sir.”

“Detective Barrington has a physical at ten o’clock,” Dino said.

Stone looked at him, surprised. “I can postpone,” he said.

“No, no, that’s important,” Leary said. “You go on and get examined so we can get you restored to full duty.” He turned to Dino. “You pick up a uniformed team and conduct the search.”

“I’ll send an assistant DA with you,” Hagler said. “I’d like one of my people on the spot.”

“We won’t need you further, Barrington,” Leary said, looking at his watch. “You go see the doctor.”

Stone looked around the table. Everyone seemed to be avoiding his gaze. “All right,” he said, standing up. “I’ll see you back at the precinct, Dino.”

Dino nodded without looking at him.

Stone took his leave feeling shunned, shut out. What was going on?

The doctor took his time getting around to the knee. “Strip down to your shorts,” he said. He took Stone’s blood pressure, listened to his heart and lungs, looked into his ears, eyes, and mouth, checked his vision and hearing, and a nurse took blood and urine samples. Only then did the doctor turn his attention to the knee. “Swelling seems to be gone,” he said, feeling the joint in a gingerly fashion.

“I hardly notice it anymore,” Stone replied, not quite truthfully.

“Stand up and give me five half knee bends,” the doctor said.

Stone complied, clenching his jaw against possible pain. The exercise went well.

“Now give me five deep knee bends.”

This was harder, but Stone managed it. The knee was hurting a little now.

“Now give me five half knee bends on the left leg.”

This seemed extreme to Stone, but, again, he managed. Now the knee hurt like hell.

“Get dressed,” the doctor said.

“What do you think?” Stone asked, pulling on his trousers.

“You’ve healed nicely.”

“So, I’m restored to duty?”

“Oh, I expect so, but that’s not my decision, of course. I’ll just make my report; you’ll hear from your commander.”

“How long?”

“He’ll have my report by the first of the week.”

“So long?”

“I’ll dictate it today; getting it typed is the problem. We’ve taken some staff cuts this year.”

Stone got dressed and called the precinct. Dino wasn’t back yet. He went down to the street and hailed a cab. When he arrived at Hank Morgan’s building, Dino’s unmarked car and a squad car were still outside, and the downstairs door was propped open. Stone ran up the stairs.

The niceties had not been observed. The search warrant was taped to the door, which had been opened with a sledgehammer; the jamb was splintered, and the apartment was a mess. Stone walked through the disarrayed living room and followed the sound of voices to a beautifully designed kitchen. Dino, the assistant DA, and two uniforms sat at the kitchen table, drinking coffee. Knives, silverware, and kitchen implements were scattered around the floor.