Merrick

She drove well, with a controlled ferocity, I had a hundred questions but my verdict

hadn’t come in yet so I said fook all.

Up on ER, we met Judy, Merrick’s wife, who said

‘Ryan?’

I waited for abuse but worse got

‘Oh Steve loves you.’

Steve?

Stephen Merrick, didn’t ring but I kept that to meself.

Merrick had taken a shot in his back, under the lower lung and was still in surgery, I

asked Judy

‘Can you remember anything about what happened/’

I was tentative, fearful of the wrath of The Comanche’s. She said

‘He came back early, from being with you, then said he’d work on our son’s car in the

yard. He’d been about there a while and I was going to call him for a beer, he loves his

cold beer after working up a sweat, when I heard a barrage of shots.’

Whoa, barrage?

She got there before me, said

‘Lieutenant Jordan,’

Indicating a short heavy set dude in the corner of the ER. He threw me a look of what

can only be termed, distaste.

Jesus, wait till he met me!

Judy continued

‘Say’s that six shost in all were probably fired, and only one hit.’

I thought

‘Moving car and handgun.’

It’s a bitch to nail a target with a handgun at the best of times but in a moving car, you

just empty your load and hope for luck.

Things got worse, Judy took my hand, said

‘Mr. Ryan, your friendship has really made a difference to Steve, he had been so down,

with Moe in a coma and all.’

Shona stared at me, willing me to step on it. I didn’t. Irish might mean green but it

doesn’t mean stupid, ask Bob Geldof.

I asked if could get her some coffee, some food, Jesus, anything to move me from the

spotlight.

Shona had her arm round her shoulder, I mean, come on, how do women get away with

this, they seem to be able do shit we’d get crucified for?

Judy said

‘Some coffee would be nice, keep me awake.’

I looked at Shona who said

‘No thank you?’

I went to get the coffee and with luck, a cig pit stop. The vending machine was on the

floor beneath and a sign that read………Smoking Room.

Alle-fooking-luia.

There is a nicotine God.

With a sense of humor. The sign led to the an outside wall.

Ok, I could roll.

A large man was coming towards me, he looked familiar, he smiled, said

‘You don’t remember me?’

Am…………

He laughed

‘You tinker, forgot me already, I’m Charley?……I own the bar, my Mum’s from Mayo?’

‘Oh right, sorry, I’m a bit preoccupied.’

He looked solemn, said

‘Steve will be fine, you’ll see, the guy is like a buffalo and hey, don’t be a stranger, come

down, buy your Indian girl some dinner, in my place, I’ll treat her right.’

Got outside

Got fired up and the door opened, I glanced up, a guy in a grey suit, came out, a crumpled

off the rack suit and I knew

‘Cop’

Nodded at him.

He took out a battered pack of un-filtered Pall Mall, and I offered my Zippo. He took it,

fired away.

I waited and sure enough, he said

‘Ryan, right?’

He put out his hand and I took it, he had one of those steel grips but let go without

damage, said

‘I used to walk the beat, with Merrick, back in the day.’

Ok.

More waiting as he got to make a smoke ring and maybe, the point then

‘Steve got pensioned out after his partner’s, lost his taste for the street I’m thinking and

me, I got moved to computer crimes.’

Waiting.

‘The point being, I’m shit hot with encrytology, numbers, data, anagrams

A beat

“And initials.

Gotcha.

“Steve ran some initials by me a few days ago, I never got to show him, simple really as

he’d told me they were in the serial ballpark, and you being his buddy, I figured, you’d

like, you might like to know.’

He told me, explaining,

‘A serial tag team, of real sweethearts, and the guy, he liked to send roses to his dead

victims homes,…………………………..

after they discovered the body.’

Shona, the roses.

He added

‘Sick huh?’

He flipped his cig butt high and far in to the Manhattan night, then reached in his jacket,

Said

‘I’ve been doing this a time, you know, and my instincts have never let me down.’

I asked

‘And they’re saying…………what?’

‘The psycho is practically telling you, a tag team……….he’s not on his own, he’s got a

partner.’

Like I’d said from the fookin beginning.

‘You need anything, give me a call.’

I read his card

………………………Serg. L. Boxer

………………………..computer Crimes.

And a choice of three numbers.

I said

‘Thank you.’

‘No big thing.’