A Clean Kill

forty-eight

At ten, Eloise called Barry Queue on his cellphone to find out what was holding him up with the search warrant.

"I haven't gotten in yet. I'm waiting for a judge. I'll call you when I've got it," he promised.

When he hadn't gotten back to her fifteen minutes later, she tried again. This time there was no answer on his phone. She figured he was in with the judge and couldn't pick up. After a debate with herself that lasted only a few seconds, she decided things were quiet enough for her to do a little investigating on her own and left her office to find Charlie. He wasn't at his computer, and she didn't want to wait for him. She rationalized that she shouldn't become too dependent on anyone so soon in a new job. She could take an hour to look around herself and prove she could fill the lieutenant's shoes. She told the secretary that she was going out and could be reached on her cell phone. "I'll be back in an hour," she promised.

"Where are you going in case the boss asks?"

"It was the rule to tell. Eloise was on her way out the door, hesitated, then continued as if she hadn't heard the question. It was a big mistake, one of many that she would make that day. When she got outside, the rain had stopped, and the traffic was still backed up. She couldn't tell whether the sky was clearing up or not and considered her options. If she took a car, she might get caught in midtown gridlock for an hour. She could walk a couple of miles across town or take the E train across to Fiftieth and Lex. Since she'd been told to stay put, it didn't seem like a good idea to leave a paper trail by signing a car out. Usually she would have a driver. No one went alone. She had a fleeting thought that she should return for Charlie, and let him sign out the car. But she didn't want to take the time.

She started walking and forgot about the subway option. A few minutes later she was crossing Broadway and wondering what she thought she was doing. Most of the corners in the city dipped into little valleys that quickly flooded when it rained. Her boots were water-resistant, not waterproof, and she questioned her choice of transportation. But she couldn't let wet feet abort her mission to catch a killer and show everyone in her life who'd ever thought blondes were dumb. By ten thirty she was on Fiftieth Street and First Avenue within sight of the Perkins house. It was easy to pick out because it still had yellow police tapes around it. Exhilarated from the exercise of a power walk across a soggy city, she congratulated herself on making good time. Then she took a moment to let the architecture of the block speak to her.

The Perkins house had a new facade that screamed modem and filthy rich. In stark contrast, the Anderson brownstone with its original steep stairs leading to a dark second-floor entrance, and spiderweb of cracked muddy-colored exterior, looked ripe for renovation. Eloise walked the block once and tried Barry's cell one more time. He still wasn't picking up. She left a message telling him where she was and to meet her there ASAP. Then she climbed the stairs and rang the bell. She felt woefully unprepared and was sorry about all the things she hadn't asked Jo Ellen Anderson the day before. It had been clear from the look of her, and her manner, that she wasn't married, but did she live alone? Did she have a housekeeper or companion? Eloise breathed a sigh of relief when a woman opened the door almost immediately: young—mid-twenties. Long red hair. She was a very pretty girl.

"Hi,I'm Sergeant Gelo from the police. Is Miss Anderson at home?" she said.

"No. She's at work." The girl had a sulky voice and sounded put out at the intrusion.

"And you're?"

"I'm Leah. I do the cleaning." Then the sullen look vanished when the girl smiled. "You don't look like a cop."

Eloise relaxed a little with the familiar response. "What's a cop supposed to look like?"

"Mean. Do you have a gun?"

Usually Eloise didn't like it when someone asked about her gun. A cop couldn't be too careful about letting someone get close to his weapon. But it didn't alarm her now. She felt very much in control of the situation. "Leah, do you come here every day?" she asked.

"No, I live here."

"Great. I'd like to talk to you a little, and look around."

Leah hung on to the door. "What are you looking for?" she asked.

"There was a homicide here yesterday. Didn't you talk to the police about it?"

"No."

"You didn't?" Eloise was surprised.

"No, Miss Anderson told me not to open the door to strangers."

"You opened the door for me," she pointed out.

Leah smiled. "Well, you're cute. What do you want to know? I'll talk to you."

Eloise was used to flirtation. A lot of people were attracted to her—girls, guys, animals. It didn't mean Leah was a lesbian. Although the thought did cross her mind briefly, she wasn't alarmed by it. The girl looked like a lot of young people she knew—slightly disaffected, eccentrically dressed. She was using a man's tie for a belt on her jeans. On top was a man's vest from an old suit. The vest wasn't buttoned, and a watch chain held the two sides together. Under it, her bra showed. On her wrists a number of sparkly bracelets looked like diamonds. They caught Eloise's eye right away.

"What do you want to know?"

Eloise didn't answer. She looked into the front hall. It was narrow and dark. Stairs hugged the wall on the right. The only daylight filtered in from somewhere way in the back.

"Is anyone one here with you?"

"No," Leah said. "No one ever comes here. Jo Ellen doesn't like visitors."

"Why not?"

Leah shrugged. "She's old," she replied as if that was a reason.

Eloise had a million questions for this girl whom all the other detectives seemed to have overlooked. Maybe she didn't know anything, but maybe she did. Eloise hesitated. She had no way of knowing if the girl was alone, or what she might find in the house. The best idea was to remove her and question her somewhere else. But she didn't have a car to put her in, didn't have backup. She hadn't expected anyone to be here and hadn't thought things through.

"Come on in. I never get visitors," Leah said, suddenly welcoming. "It's so boring here, and I'm not supposed to leave."

"Why not?" Right away Eloise was sucked in.

"Jo Ellen's rules." Leah shrugged again. "We have some cool stuff in here. I bet you'd like to see it."

Eloise sure would. She wondered where the bracelets came from and thought she could find out a whole lot of things. All her years of training prohibited this kind of solo act, but she wasn't thinking about that now. She checked her cell phone. There were no missed calls. No one was looking for her yet. She'd left a message for Barry to meet her here and figured he'd be there within the hour. What could happen before then?

"Okay," she said, and entered the house with full confidence that she could handle anything.