Murderer's Row Page 14

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  The air was sticky and hot. Not uncommon for a summer night in the city. Eve walked slowly down the cramped streets, debating whether or not a taxi ride was more appealing than taking a nap in the upcoming coffee shop. She decided to keep walking, letting her feet determine just how far they wanted to push their luck.

  She’d said goodbye to Sal hours ago, but crept back into the bar for another round or five. Now driving wasn’t only a bad idea, but something she couldn’t physically manage to accomplish.

  As she meandered down the sidewalk she got a funny feeling that she was being followed. At first she brushed it off as some drunken paranoid sensation. But the further she walked the more she felt like there were eyes watching her every move.

  Hesitantly, she glanced over her shoulder. And to her shock she saw a familiar silver Honda pulling away from a parking meter.

  Eve paused as the car rolled closer and closer to her. Her hand instinctively slid to her side and gripped the handle of the Beretta she had discreetly tucked away.

  She blinked, trying to rid herself of the blurry vision that accompanied her intoxicated state. Staggering, she caught herself on a newspaper stand and tried to straighten up.

  “You okay lady?” a male passerby asked.

  “Keep moving,” Eve growled back.

  Her fingers wrapped tightly around the sleek metal grip and she pulled the gun partially out of her holster. The car slowed as it approached and Eve steadied herself preparing to take action.

  All of a sudden sirens erupted out of nowhere. Eve looked up as a police cruiser sped down the road and swooshed by her. Two more cars followed as traffic hurried to move to the side.

  After the officers passed, the silver Honda slowly edged back onto the road.

  “Move you asshole!” someone yelled as they slammed on their brakes narrowly missing the car.

  Eve stared into the Honda’s dark tinted windows trying to make out a face. Suddenly the engine revved and the car sped off and vanished down the road.

  She breathed a sigh relief and pushed her gun back down into the holster. Stumbling, she headed back down the sidewalk, her feet driven by some subconscious urge to find her way home.

  The longer Eve trotted forward the more desolate the streets became until she didn’t see anyone else. She continued to struggle walking in a straight line and every few minutes had to stop and collect herself.

  Eve had been walking for over an hour and soon she found herself lost and alone. She spun in circles trying to find a familiar landmark, but between exhaustion and intoxication she had a better chance of finding gold.

  “Get it together Eve,” she whispered to herself.

  She rubbed her face and shook her head to focus. In front of her was a long, dark alleyway that connected to another main street. Under normal circumstances Eve wouldn’t dare travel a path that looked so shady, but her judgment was failing and she was desperate to find her way home.

  Groaning, she stumbled into the alley and was immediately cast into darkness. At the far end of the alley was the faint glow of life like a lighthouse in a hurricane. Eve gazed towards it, shuffling her feet one after the other like a zombie.

  On either side of her were towering brick buildings. They loomed in the sky creating a dark gauntlet, hidden from the outside world. Trash bins and crates were stacked against the wall and puddles were scattered across the ground from the infrequent summer rain.

  Eve’s steps were hard and clumsy. Water splashed up her jeans as she trudged down the alley with the grace of hippo. She was oblivious to everything else, her mind solely focused on not falling face first onto the pavement.

  Eve was halfway down the alley when a car pulled up silently behind her. It was a silver Honda with the headlights off. Eve didn’t hear it as it moved swiftly across the sleek street.

  “Ugh, I just wanna be home,” Eve moaned.

  Suddenly a cat leapt from behind one of the trash bins and Eve screamed. She scrambled backwards and slipped. With a thud she hit the ground, splashing into a small puddle.

  “Damn it!” Eve shouted then began to laugh.

  Wincing, she picked herself up and shook the water from her arms. She rolled her shoulder and groaned then suddenly froze as her eyes locked onto the silver car slowly rolling towards her.

  The car stopped and for minutes neither of them moved. Taking a deep breath, Eve started to walk backwards, never taking her eyes off of the car that was less than 100 yards away. She reached for her pistol and kept it concealed behind her leg as she walked.

  She had taken nearly ten steps when the car started to move again. At first it was slow and barely noticeable, but then they suddenly started to pick up speed.

  Eve held her gun at eye level and took aim at the windshield. She turned sideways and picked up her pace, skipping across the slippery ground. The car was undeterred, continuing to pursue her at an increasing speed.

  “Stop, stop,” Eve mumbled under her breath.

  She stole a quick glance over her shoulder. The end of the alley was getting closer and lights from the connecting street started to brighten up the dim back street.

  As she turned back to face the car her ankle rolled and she fell over. Her gun slid across the ground and she banged her head.

  Seizing the opportunity, the car suddenly roared and surged forward. Fighting off the pain and the urge to pass out, Eve dove for her gun and rolled onto her back.

  With her pistol held firmly in her hands she squeezed the trigger three quick times. Each shot found their mark and cracked into the windshield sending jagged spirals across the front.

  Eve shuffled to her feet and fired four more shots as the car continued to charge forward. Three bullets hit the grill of the car and broke the headlights, the other streaking across the roof.

  She shuffled backwards, firing rounds into the car until she heard the dry click that accompanied an empty magazine. Cursing loudly she patted her empty pockets for another magazine as the car started to slow.

  The entire windshield was shattered and bullet holes riddled the hood. It swerved from side to side across the alley before finally crashing into a trash bin.

  Smoke plumed from the hood of the car. The front was smashed in and the driver side was dented and bent. Eve took a hesitant step forward, the empty pistol still clutched tightly in her hand.

  She could hear a rustling noise as someone fumbled with the door handle. Eve paused, her hands shaking nervously. The person inside of the car started to bang and kick at the door. It opened slightly and Eve jumped at the sound of the bending metal.

  They continued to kick and the door slowly eased open more and more. Eve glared for a moment longer then turned around and sprinted off.

  She darted out of the alley and sped down the lighted sidewalk next to the main road. The dark back street and mysterious car vanished behind her. She ran hard for more than ten minutes, gasping for air but not stopping.

  Without slowing down Eve flew across the steps into the subway and jumped the turnstile. She made it into the train just as the doors closed and collapsed onto a bench.

  “Rough night?” an older dark-skinned man asked.

  CHAPTER 25

  NEWS ALERT

  “So let me get this right, you killed a fucking car last night?” Sal asked and then started to laugh.

  “This is serious Sal. I’m not even a real cop anymore. I could lose my badge permanently.” Eve responded. She was walking around her living room in a pair of striped pajamas. In one hand she held her cell phone to her ear, in the other hand she had a bag of frozen peas that she was pressing to her forehead.

  “Ok, ok kid. Get dressed and I’ll come pick you up.”

  “Pick me up?” Eve sounded shocked.

  “Yeah, you need to get your car. And you can show me where this shootout of yours happened at.”

  Eve moaned and fell back onto her sofa. “I forgot about my car,” she mumbled. “And who the hell told you frozen p
eas helps with a hangover?” she asked and chucked the bag of peas across the room.

  “I don’t know, somebody. Just get moving. I’ll be there in twenty.” Sal said then hung up the phone.

  Eve cursed him then dragged herself off of the couch and into the shower. The warm water hitting her face was like a shot of adrenaline. She suddenly felt revived, but the feeling was short lived as her thundering headache soon returned in full force.

  Before she knew it Sal was at her door banging away like a crazed man. She’d just stepped out of the shower and was wrapping herself up in a towel.

  “Give me five minutes,” she yelled.

  Soaking wet, Eve ran around her room looking for clothes. She grabbed a pair of jeans that looked reasonably clean and threw them on. A t-shirt was lying across the dresser and she grabbed that and ran to the door.

  “About damn time,” Sal complained as the door swung open.

  “Just shut up and come in. I need to get my shoes on.”

  “You need to hire a maid. Damn Rosario!”

  Eve rolled her eyes. “I don’t get many visitors.”

  Closing the door behind him, Sal came in and took a seat on the couch. Eve ran back to her room to finish getting dressed. She came back into the living room carrying a pair of sneakers and her handgun.

  Sal grinned at her then stood up. “We going to do some police work or go shopping at the mall?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go,” she said as she finished lacing up her tennis shoes.

  Sal was an old fashioned cop. He still carried a revolver and wore a suit almost every day to work. While most of the officers had opted for supped up chargers, Sal still roamed the city streets in a blue Crown Victoria.

  Eve stared out of the tinted window, scrambling her brain to remember just where she was. “I told you I was lost Sal. How am I supposed to find some back alley?”

  “Let’s start out at the bar and work from there. Aren’t you a detective Rosario? Try acting like one.”

  They coasted down the street from the bar, Eve gazed at every landmark for something she would recognize. As they slowly rolled past a newspaper stand something clicked in Eve’s head and she jumped up.

  “This way,” she suddenly said.

  “There you go kid,” Sal bubbled with pride.

  He sped up and continued down the road. Less than five minutes later Eve felt a chill streak through her spine. She could see the opening of the shadowy alley, still menacing and dark even in broad daylight.

  “Turn here,” Eve directed.

  Sal turned onto the back street and stopped the car. They both stepped out and started looking around.

  “I don’t see a damn thing,” Sal groaned.

  “It was back here,” Eve retorted. “Right over there by the trash bin, that’s where the car crashed.”

  Sal followed Eve towards a dented green trash bin with chips of paint falling off. It wasn’t hard for him to imagine someone crashing into it, but there was no sign of a car now.

  “There’s nothing here. No broken glass, no car parts, nothing,” Sal raised a suspicious eye at Eve.

  “What?” she stormed towards him. “You think I made this shit up?”

  “Calm down Eve,” Sal said as he held his hands out. “Think about how this looks. There’s nothing back here, not one shred of evidence. Last night you were drunk and you’re grieving.”

  “And that made me imagine shooting the windshield out of a fucking car. It happened Sal, you of all people should believe me,” Eve said almost on the verge of tears.

  Sal lowered his head and stared at the ground. He knew she was right. Eve had always been as sharp as a tack and he didn’t have enough reason to doubt her now. “You’re right kid, I…I--”

  Sal stopped talking as something shiny caught his eye. He bent down at the same time taking a pen from his jacket pocket.

  Eve watched him as he stood up and balanced an empty shell casing on the end of his pen. With a grin on his face he turned to Eve. “Missing something?” he asked.

  Eve smiled back at him and shook her head.

  “Never doubted you for one second,” Sal declared. A high-pitched chime rung out as Sal’s phone vibrated in his pocket. “Hold this,” he said and handed Eve the shell casing. “This is Sal,” he said into the phone. “I’m busy, I’m working on something. Shit, okay okay…I’m on the way,” Sal said in an agitated tone. He closed his phone and looked to Eve.

  “What’s up?”

  “Guess we better grab your car and you can follow me. The mayor and his taskforce are giving some kind of address at the office.”

  “He’s not gonna let me in there. Did you forget about our last meeting?”

  Sal laughed. “Just keep your head down. He won’t even see you.”

  “And what about this?” Eve asked as she held up the brass shell.

  “We can take it down to Tony when we’re there.”

  Eve agreed and they left the alley and drove a few miles down the road, to the bar they had met at the night before. It was a rundown little shack called O’Neil’s that only opened after the sun went down. Tucked discreetly between a sandwich shop and a pizzeria, there was never much demand for daytime hours.

  Eve’s black charger was parked across the street and she was shocked to see that she hadn’t been ticketed.

  “Here’s your stop kid,” Sal said as he pulled up next to her car.

  “See you at the office.”

  Eve quickly ran across the street and hopped into her car. She cranked it up and followed Sal across town towards the police station.

  As they rounded the last street Eve immediately saw that something serious was going on. The gated parking lot on the side was packed with patrol cars and unmarked black SUV'S. Men in dark suits and uptight faces were standing outside of the front door. The mayor had really beefed up his task force, Eve thought.

  Annoyed with the inconvenience, she followed Sal to a spillover lot on a side street and parked next to him.

  “What the hell is this?” Eve asked as she stepped out of the car.

  “I don’t have a clue, but Eve…keep your hands off of the mayor please.”

  Eve cut her eyes. She reluctantly nodded her head and then they walked down the sidewalk to the police station. As they approached the men outside stepped in front of them, blocking the front door.

  “Can we see some ID?” one of the men asked in a demanding voice.

  Sal snapped before Eve could respond. “Get the fuck out of my way you two-cent piece of shit!”

  Eve had never seen Sal so angry before. He grabbed one of the men by the collar and slung him onto the ground. The other men backed away, hesitant to approach.

  “Come on kid,” Sal waved her forward.

  Eve followed him inside with a small grin on her face. “Having a bad day?” she asked.

  Sal shook his head. “You haven’t been here. This task force crap is getting old. These guys, coming to our house acting like they own the damn place. I’ve just had enough of it.”

  “Yeah, I can see that,” Eve replied.

  The lobby of the precinct was nearly empty. There was an officer at the front desk answering phones and another at a table to the side. Neither of them even looked up as Eve and Sal walked in.

  “This just gets stranger and stranger,” Eve said.

  They headed into the back towards the major crimes division. There was a set of glass doors embossed with the NYPD seal straight ahead of them. They walked inside and stopped short at the crowd of officers that cluttered the room.

  There were more than fifty people standing around the office. The mayor was standing at the front of the room preparing to address them. As Eve looked around she realized she hadn’t seen the captain. But before she could ask Sal the mayor started to speak.

  “Forgive me for calling you all here on such short notice,” the mayor started. “I do not decide the day or the hour when tragedy strikes. I don’t want to beat around the bush so
I’ll just come right out and tell you. The captain has been missing for a week now and we have reason to believe he’s been taken by the riverside killer.”

  CHAPTER 26

  CLOSING IN

  “So you’re Daniel’s new little pet?” Agnes fumed. She slammed her hand into the control panel and laughed. “I knew, I knew he couldn’t let it go. He’s always there, always in the shadows, in my head lurking around.”

  Henry shivered and groaned in pain. “Agnes please. Whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re thinking, please don’t.”

  Agnes turned to him and slapped him across the face. “Please use your manners Daniel. I’m speaking to Kathy right now.” She turned back to Kathy with a stone face. “So answer me you little bitch. How long, how long have you been screwing my Daniel?”

  Kathy whimpered. She shivered on the gurney in pain. Her arms were secured tightly near her sides. Her legs and torso were strapped down as well.

  She’d been beaten and abused, evident from the bruises all over her face and the swollen black eye. Dried blood crackled like streaks of clay across her cheeks.

  “Answer me!” Agnes slapped her.

  “Damn it Agnes, listen to me. This is Henry, your boyfriend Henry. Please, please stop what you’re doing.”

  Agnes grabbed a scalpel from the desk and shot across the room. Moving in a blur she buried it into Henry’s thigh. “Shut the hell up!” she screamed.

  Henry groaned in pain and Agnes put her hand over his mouth.

  “You do this Daniel. You make me do this. You make me hurt you,” Agnes rattled off.

  She twisted the scalpel like a corkscrew, ripping and shredding through flesh. Henry screamed, his muffled voice cracking under her hand.

  “I did it. I…I screwed your husband,” Kathy’s whining voice called out.

  Agnes turned around, removing her hand from Henry’s mouth and leaving the scalpel embedded in his thigh. She started to walk slowly towards Kathy, a twisted grin on her face. “Say, say that again,” Agnes demanded.

  Kathy looked blankly back at her. Tears rolled down her discolored cheeks as she breathed heavily through quivering lips. Agnes’ glare pierced her soul like the blades of a million daggers. She could feel her stare. She could feel the weight of it bearing down on her like an anvil.