Unnatural Acts

32

Dino was getting ready for bed when his phone rang. “Bacchetti.”

“Lieutenant, this is Viv DeCarlo.”

“What’s up, Viv?”

“I’ve got ahold of an alleged rape case, but everything’s a little off. Guy named Fisher, has a penthouse on Park Avenue. A young woman named Carson Cullers says he raped her, but there are no marks on her and no semen inside her. There’s other stuff that doesn’t add up, too.”

“What’s Fisher’s first name?”

“Herbert. Cullers says he’s a lawyer with a big firm.”

“Let me speak to Fisher.”

“I’m in his apartment, but he’s out like a light, and I can’t wake him up. I think there might be something in the drink he was drinking. I’ve called an ambulance.”

“Have them take him to Lenox Hill, and send your partner with him. I’m coming over to the apartment, and we’ll look at the scene together. Fifteen minutes.”

“Right.” She gave him the address.

Dino hung up and called Stone.

“Hello?”

“It’s Dino. I just got a call-some woman claims Herbie raped her, but my detective on the scene says her story looks hinky. Herbie’s unconscious in his apartment, and she can’t wake him. She’s called an ambulance to take him to Lenox Hill. I’m going to the apartment now.”

“I’ll meet you there shortly,” Stone said, then hung up.

Dino reached for his pants.

Stone walked into the apartment and found Dino there with his detective. There was a technician dusting surfaces for prints, but no sign of Herbie.

“Stone Barrington, Viv DeCarlo,” Dino said. “Stone and I were partners in the squad about two hundred years ago.”

The two shook hands.

“Where’s Herbie?” Stone asked.

“On his way to Lenox Hill,” she replied. “You know him?”

“We’re with the same law firm. Give me the tour.”

“We couldn’t raise anybody, so the doorman took us up. We found Fisher unconscious on the sofa with his fly undone and his penis out. I couldn’t wake him, so we called an ambulance.”

“Did you talk to the girl?”

“Yes, that’s how I got into this. She was in the ER at Lenox Hill, complaining of being raped, but the doctor thought she might be lying.”

“What’s her name?”

“Carson Cullers. Lives a few blocks up Park.”

Stone nodded. “Getting any prints?” he asked the tech.

“Two sets on the glass,” he said.

Stone turned back to DeCarlo. “Fisher has an arrest record, so you can pull his prints. Might be a good idea to see if the girl’s prints are on file. It would save you a trip to her place.”

The tech opened a laptop and went to work feeding the prints through a scanner. “Okay, I’ve got hits on both,” he said. “They match the ones on the snifter, and they’re both on the martini glass, too.”

“Herbie makes her a martini and pours himself a brandy,” Dino said. “He hands her the martini glass, so both their prints are on it. But why are both their prints on Herbie’s snifter?”

“What was the girl arrested for?”

“Possession of a controlled substance-cocaine,” he replied. “She got a suspended sentence and rehab.”

“We got cocaine here,” Dino said, pointing at the coffee table, “but it looks undisturbed.”

“Well,” Stone said, “we know Ms. Cullers knows how to buy the stuff.”

“That’s quite a lot to leave behind,” Viv said. “I wonder why she didn’t take it with her.”

“Because she wanted us to find it,” Dino said.

Viv showed them the panties in an evidence bag and explained her theory about them.

“I want to know what’s in that brandy glass,” Dino said.

The tech opened another briefcase and went to work on a computer analysis of the liquid in the glass.

“How the hell did Herbie get mixed up in this?” Stone asked.

“Who knows?”

“She is a very beautiful girl,” Viv said. “Lots of guys would have gotten mixed up with her.”

“Hey,” the tech said, “I’ve got a hit on the analysis. There’s Ambien mixed with the brandy. It’s a sleeping pill, and it looks like a hefty dose. He drank most of it, too.”

“I’m going to the hospital,” Stone said.

“Me too,” Dino replied. “Viv, you pick up the girl on suspicion of filing a false report. Take her back to the precinct and milk her dry before she can lawyer up. I’ll be over there later.”

“Yes, boss,” Viv replied, then left.

Dino and Stone took a good look around the apartment.

“Nice place,” Dino said. “I didn’t know Herbie had taste, except maybe in clothes.”

“Herbie packs a lot of surprises,” Stone said. “He made senior associate at the firm in two years. Never been done before.”

“Come on, we’ll take my car,” Dino said.

At Lenox Hill they found Herbie in an ER cubicle, being attended by a young female resident. Dino made the introductions. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s still out. We’ve sent blood and urine to the lab, but we may not have results for a while.”

“He was drinking brandy, heavily laced with Ambien,” Dino said.

“Are you sure about that?”

“We can run that test on the scene these days.”

“In that case, I know what to give him. I’ll be right back.” She left the cubicle.

Dino peered at Herbie. “Sleeping like a baby,” he said.

“Drooling like one, too,” Stone said. He picked up a tissue from a box at bedside and wiped Herbie’s mouth.

The resident returned with a hypodermic. She unbuttoned Herbie’s sleeve, swabbed a vein, uncapped the hypo, and injected it. “Watch this,” she said, recapping the hypo and tossing it into a disposal unit.

Herbie’s eyelids began to flutter, and in a moment he opened his eyes and looked around. “Holy shit,” he said. “This looks like a hospital.”

“That’s because it is,” the resident said. “You’re in the ER at Lenox Hill.”

“How are you feeling, Herbie?” Dino asked.

“A little fuzzy around the edges,” he said. “Last thing I remember, a beautiful girl had her face in my lap.”

Even the resident had to laugh.