Worst Fears Realized

54

ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE IN THE HALLWAY. Half a dozen cops had their weapons out, pointing them in every direction. Andy Anderson was leaning against the wall, vomiting. The cop whose gun had been taken was screaming, over and over, “It’s not my fault, it’s not my fault!”

Dino, who was lying on top of the dead man, got to his feet. “Nobody shoot!” he yelled. “Everybody shut up!” Gradually, the noise died down. “The perp is dead,” Dino said. “Everybody holster your weapons right now.”

Stone took Andy’s pistol and handed it to Dino, then got Andy headed toward the locker room. “Go in there and splash some cold water on your face,” he said to the young cop.

“All right,” Dino said, pointing at various cops, “you call the medical examiner and get him over here; you get a blanket and cover the body; everybody go and write down exactly what you saw, and do it now, before it gets cold.” The hallway emptied of policemen. “Jesus Christ, did I fuck this up,” Dino said. “We had the guy.”

“It’s okay, Dino,” Stone said.” He wasn’t going to give us Mitteldorfer, anyway. He was going to jerk us around for the fun of it, that’s all.”

“At least, we got a confession on tape,” Dino said. “That’s something, anyway”

Shortly, the ME arrived, did his work, and had the body removed. The precinct janitor arrived with a mop and cleaned up the bloody mess on the hallway floor. Dino and Stone repaired to Dino’s glassed-in office, and Dino pulled the blinds.

“Now we’re back where we started,” Dino said.

“No, we’re not. The guy who was doing the killings is gone, so we don’t have to watch our backs anymore. Somehow, I don’t think Mitteldorfer is up to doing his own killing.”

“You think this guy was his son?”

“Apparently, he had two – Ernst, who works at the cigarette factory, and this one. Remind me to thank Andy Anderson,” he said. “He was very quick; the guy didn’t even have a chance to get off a round.”

“I’ll get him decorated for that,” Dino said.

“If you need an affidavit, let me know.”

Andy Anderson knocked on the door, came in, and set some papers on Dino’s desk. “There’s my account of what happened, Lieutenant,” he said.

“Andy,” Stone said, “thanks for being so quick. You saved my ass.”

“I’m glad I could help,” Andy said. “What can I do now?”

“I don’t guess you’ve heard anything from Hamburg yet,” Dino said.

“Not yet; I’ll call again.”

Stone spoke up. “Andy, when you brought the guy in, you emptied his pockets, didn’t you?”

“Yes; everything’s deposited with the desk sergeant.”

“Get the envelope; let’s see what he had on him,” Dino said.

Andy disappeared.

“What’s our next move?” Dino asked Stone.

“Let’s start at the dry cleaner’s and work outward, distributing the guy’s picture,” Stone said. “If we can find out where he lives, maybe he has some stuff there that will tell us something.”

“Good idea; I’ll get Andy on it.”

Andy returned with a brown envelope and handed it to Dino.

Dino tore open the envelope and dumped the contents onto his desk, and the three men gathered around.

“A little over a hundred bucks in U.S. currency and a bunch of German marks,” Dino said. “No wallet; a key ring with two keys.”

“Outside and inside doors,” Stone said. He opened a folded piece of paper. “And a rent receipt made out to Erwin Hausman.” He read out the address.

“That’s around the corner from the dry cleaner’s,” Andy said.

“That’s a break,” Stone said.

“Yeah,” Dino said, “let’s get over there. He turned to Andy. “Make sure that this doesn’t get into the press yet; I don’t want Mitteldorfer to read about it and run.”

“Uh, Lieutenant,” Andy said, “I’m afraid we got unlucky there.”

“Tell me.”

“There was a camera crew from Channel Four in the neighborhood when the patrolmen arrested the guy. They got the whole thing on tape.”

“Do they know who he is?” Stone asked.

“I don’t know.”

Dino looked at his watch. “We’ve got until the five o’clock news”, he said.

“If they don’t do a bulletin at the top of the hour.”

“Andy, you get on the phone to Channel Four; see if you can get them to hold the story for twenty-four hours. Offer them an exclusive, if you have to.”

“Lieutenant,” Andy replied, “they’ve already got an exclusive.”

“Tell them I’ll do an interview if they’ll hold it for twenty-four hours.”

“I’ll be lucky if I can get them to hold it until eleven o’clock,” Andy said.

“Do the best you can. Come on, Stone.”

The building was a run-down pile of bricks with a fire escape hung on the front. There was no Hausman on any of the mailboxes, but one of the keys opened the front door. Dino banged on the super’s door. A small, Hispanic man emerged.

“Yes?” he asked.

Dino showed him a badge. “You have a tenant named Hausman,” he said. “What’s his apartment number?”

“I don’t know nothing,” the man said.

Dino showed him the rent receipt. “What’s his goddamned apartment number?”

“They are in 3D,” the man admitted.

“They? Who’s they?”

“Mr. Hausman and his friend.”

“Male or female friend?”

“Male.”

“What does he look like?”

The super shrugged. “Kind of like Mr. Hausman, but with real short hair.”

“Is the friend in the apartment now?”

“I don’t know. They come and go a lot.”

“Fine; you go back inside your apartment and stay there until I call you.”

The man went inside and closed the door.

Dino turned to Stone. “Are you armed?”

Stone produced his 7.65mm automatic.

Dino whipped out his cell phone and called for backup. “Let’s go,” he said.

They walked quietly up the stairs and found apartment 3D. Dino put his ear to the door. “TV is on,” he whispered.

They took up positions on either side of the door.

Dino knocked firmly. “Hello?” he said, imitating the super’s accent. “It’s the super here.”

Nothing.

Stone listened to the door but heard nothing but the TV.

Dino knocked again, this time louder. No reply. He inserted the key in the lock and turned it as quietly as he could. As the door opened, the TV got louder. “Hello?” he called. “It’s the super here; I’ve got the plumber with me to check the plumbing.”

No reply.

Dino nodded at Stone and, as they had done a hundred times before, they went in, guns out ahead of them. They went from room to room, which didn’t take long, since there were only three of them.

“We’ve got two different shoe sizes here,” Stone called from the bedroom, “and a lot of empty hangers in the closet.”

Dino came into the bedroom. “What else?”

“Top drawer of the dresser is empty and open.”

“You think the other guy ran?”

They walked back into the living room, just as the TV station cut to the news desk.

“We’ve got more on that arrest on Third Avenue this afternoon,” the newscaster said. “Let’s go back to the scene and Maria Jones.”

The station cut to a young woman with a microphone, standing outside a dry cleaner’s. “Thanks, Bob. I’ve been able to confirm with the shop owner that the man who was arrested outside this dry cleaner’s shop earlier today is a dead ringer for a drawing that the police ran in Sunday’s New York Times. He is apparently connected with a Herbert Mitteldorfer, an ex-convict being sought by police for questioning in at least five murders and the bombing of an art gallery last week. I’m going over to the precinct now and talk with the police. Back to you, Bob.”

“Well, if that was the second report, I guess our guy saw the first one and lit out.”

“And the first thing he would have done is call Mitteldorfer,” Dino said.

Stone looked around. “There’s no phone here.”

“Shit,” Dino said.

They could hear cops pounding up the stairs. Andy Anderson was the first through the door.

“Andy, tape this place off, then get a team in here and turn it over very carefully. There was a second occupant besides Erwin Hausman; look for anything that could tell us who the other guy is, and anything that might tell us where to find Mitteldorfer.”

“Yes, sit,” Andy replied.

“Anything from Hamburg, yet?”

“No, sir, and nothing from Interpol, either.”

“Keep on them,” Dino said.

“Dino,” Stone said, “we need to talk. In the car.”