87th Precinct - The Frumious Bandersnatch Part 20

aI alreadyfaxed you those numbers,a she said. aDidnat you get them?a aYes, I got them, Miss Cole,a he said, aand thank you so much for your a.s.sistance,a turning on the charm and wondering if he should read a little T. S. Eliot to her. aMiss Cole, I wonder if you can help me here again,a he said. aI need a home number for a Margaret Holmes, as in Sherlock Holmes, somewhere in Russell County, I donat have a specific town, do you think you can help me? I would so appreciate it.a aHmm,a Miss Cole said.

But then she said, aOne moment, please.a THE NUMBERMiss Cole gave him rang four times before someone picked up.

ah.e.l.lo?a a woman said.

aMiss Holmes?a aMrs.Holmes, yes?a aThis is Detective Carella of the Eighty-seventh Squad? In the city?a aYes, Detective?a aAre you the Margaret Holmes who runs Margaret Holmes Realty in South Beach?a aI am,a she said.

aMrs. Holmes, we have an Avery Hanes calling you some six times this past month. Is that name familiar to you?a aIt is.a Carella took a deep breath.

aDid you rent or sell anything to him?a he asked.

aI rented him a house on the beach,a she said. aWhy? Whatas he done?a THE PLAN WASto drop the girl off just anyplace. Give her some change to make a phone call, let her find her own way home, she was a big girl now. That was the way Ave had explained the plan to her.

Theyad drop the girl off just anywhere on their way to the airport. Cal was supposed to be going to Jamaica, but they didnat care where he went, they didnat care if they ever saw him again as long as they lived. Ave was heading for London first, while Kellie herself flew to Paris where he would meet her later. It was a swell plan. Paris. Lah-dee-dah.

There was only one problem.

The girl had seen Kellieas face.

Tamar Valparaiso still didnat know who was behind those Saddam Hussein and Yasir Arafat masks, but she sure as h.e.l.l knew that George W. Bush was a redheaded Irish girl with green eyes and freckles.

aYou know,a Kellie confided now, aweare supposed to set you free as soon as they get back.a aPromises, promises,a Tamar said.

aNo, really. Thatas the plan. We leave here and drop you off someplace.a aThat would be nice,a Tamar said.

aWell, thatas the plan.a aGood,a Tamar said.

She ached all over. Her face, her body, everywhere head hit her, but especially below, where head brutally entered her. Cal, she thought. His name is Cal. And the other one is Ave. Youall pay, boys.

aYou saw my face,a Kellie said out of the blue.

Tamar looked at her.

aYou know whatas behind this mask.a aWell, donat worryaa aYou know what I look like.a aYou donat have to worry about that,a Tamar said. aReally, youave been good to me. I wouldnat do anything to hurt you.a aBecause I wouldnat want to lose all this, you know,a Kellie said reasonably.

aYou donat have to worry, really.a aWe worked hard for this,a she said reasonably.

aI know you did. But, really, you donat have toaa aYou can describe me.a aI hardly rememberaa aYou know what I look like,a Kellie said again.

aLots of girls look likeaa aLots of girls didnat kidnap you,a Kellie said, and raised the AK-47 onto her hip.

aDonatajust be careful with that thing, okay?a Tamar said and reached out with her free hand.

Kellie backed away a pace.

The rifle was on single-shot. She fired three times. Two bullets entered Tamaras face just below the left eye, and the other took her just below the nose. The three shots blew off the back of her skull and splashed gristle and blood all over the radiator behind her.

Wow, Kellie thought.

14.

IT WASeighty-forty-five on the squadroom clock.

aThe address is 64 Beachside,a Carella told the detective in the South Beach Police Department. aThere may be a kidnap victim there, so proceed with extreme caution.a Out there in Russell County, they used more paramilitary rank designations than they did here in the big bad city. Detective-Sergeant James Cody asked if there was likely to be anyone armed and dangerous in that house.

Carella said, aYes, thatas likely.a aWeall be careful then,a Cody said.

There was no need.

The only person in that house was a dead girl chained to a radiator.

Everyone else had driven off five minutes ago.

MISS COLEwas getting used to phone calls from Detective Stephen Louis Carella.

aYes, Detective?a she said almost cheerfully.

aMiss Cole, Iam sorry to bother you againaa aOh, itas no bother at all,a she said.

aOn this list of calls made from those two addresses I gave youaa aYes, Detective?a Almost cooing the words.

aThere were almost daily calls listed to an unpublished number. Now, I know itas telephone company policy not to revealaa aDonat be ridiculous,a she said. aThis is a kidnapping. Just give me a minute.a She came back in three.

aAll those calls were made to the same party,a she said.

aAnd who was that, Miss Cole?a aA man named Barney Loomis,a she said. aAt 583 South Thompson. Is that helpful to you, Detective?a aTHEY HANDED USa beaut,a Detective-Sergeant James Cody told the County Medical Examiner.

It was five minutes past nine that Tuesday night and the house at 64 Beachside was swarming with men wearing blue windbreakers, the word aPOLICEa lettered in yellow across their backs. The dead girl was in one of the bedrooms. Her wrist was still handcuffed to the radiator.

aChrist, look what they did to her,a the ME said.

Cody nodded. aCanat find the key anyplace,a he said. aWe were waiting for you to get here, see do you want us to saw through the cuffs or what. I figure they got out of here in one h.e.l.l of a hurry. Left her behind all chained up that way.a There were three spent cartridge cases on the floor, presumably spewed from the murder weapon.

aShot her in the face at close range,a Cody said.

aLooks like,a the ME said.

The equivalent of South Beachas Crime Scene Unit was busy dusting for prints and vacuuming for fibers and hair. One of the technicians glanced toward the dead girl and muttered, af.u.c.kin animals.a In one of the other bedrooms, they found three masks. Saddam Hussein, Yasir Arafat, and George W. Bush.

aThree of the worldas great leaders,a Cody said dryly.

Just about then, Detectives Carella and Hawes were knocking on the door to Apartment 22C at 583 South Thompson.

AT NINE-FORTY-FIVEthat night, just as Air Franceas flight #23 for Paris was about to take off, Ollie and Patricia came out of the movie theater into a fairly decent rain. He took off his jacket, and over her protests draped it over her shoulders.

aYouall get allwet! a she told him.

aTut tut,a he said. aWould you care to go for some pizza?a Patricia said she wasnat hungry, but shead be happy to join him.

Over his third slice, he told her he had learned a lot from that movie.

aLike what?a she asked.

aLike it ainat only about a ticking clock,a Ollie said.

CARELLA DID NOTlearn that Tamar Valparaiso was dead until he and Hawes got back to the squadroom with Barney Loomis in tow. It was now ten oaclock. Flight #23 for Charles de Gaulle airport had been in the air for ten minutes already, and Avery Hanes was waiting in British Airas lounge to board flight #82 to Londonas Heathrow. Sergeant Murchison behind the muster desk told them that Mr. Loomisa attorney was waiting in the lieutenantas office.

aAlso, you got a call from a Detective Cody out at South Beach,a he said, and handed Carella a folded message.

Carella glanced at it briefly.

aWant to take Mr. Loomis to his lawyer?a he asked Hawes, and then went to his own desk and immediately called the Joint Task Force, grateful when they put him through to Endicott rather than Corcoran.

aStan,a he said, athe girl is dead. I just heard from the South Beach Police, she was being held in a house out there. All three of the perps are gone. Iave got full names for two of them, and a given name for the third. They made calls to Air Jamaica, British Air, Air France, American, Virgin Atlantic, and Delta. Youave got better ties to Homeland Security than we do, maybe you can flash their names on the airport computers here and across the river. Iave got Barney Loomis in custody, I think he was an accompliceaa aWait a minute,wait a minute! BarneyLoomis? a aOne of the perps called his home number every day in March.a aYouave been busy,a Endicott said dryly.

aCan you cover the airports?a aWhat are those names youave got?a Endicott said.

BARNEY LOOMISa attorney was a man named Roger Halliday. Head been watchingThe West Wing on television when Loomis called from his apartment. Balding and a trifle portly, head come to the squadroom in a dark blue business suit and tie, looking more like a banker than any criminal lawyer the detectives knew. Actually, he was a skilled corporate attorney, and it never occurred to him that he might be out of his league here.

aIs my client being charged with something?a he asked.

aNot yet, Mr. Halliday,a Hawes said. aWead just like to ask him some questions.a aHe doesnat have to answer any questions, you know that.a aYes, we know that.a aHas he been read his rights? The manas under arrest here, have you yeta?a aWe read them to him in his apartment,a Carella said.

aRead them to him again now,a Halliday said.

Carella read Loomis his rights again.

Halliday looked bored.

aSo what do you want to do?a he asked Loomis. aYou donat have to answer any questions if you donat want to. My advice is you ask them either to charge you or let you go. Even if they charge you, you donat have to answer any questions. This is America, donat forget.a aCharge me with what?a Loomis asked. aI havenat done anything.a aWhy donat you just satisfy our curiosity, Mr. Loomis?a Carella said. aAnswer a few questions for us, okay?a aNo, I donat think so,a Loomis said.

TWO HOMELAND SECURITYagents boarded British Airas flight #82 ten minutes before it was scheduled to take off for London. They found Avery Hanes in the first-cla.s.s section, where he was already enjoying a scotch and soda, and they asked him if he would mind accompanying them off the aircraft. Since they were both armed, he said he wouldnat mind at all.

Fifteen minutes later, he ratted out Barney Loomis, and told them they could find Calvin Wilkins in American Airlineas first-cla.s.s lounge. He also told them that his girlfriend Kellie Morgan would be landing in Paris at eleven-fifteen tomorrow morning.

Wilkinsa flight to Jamaica was not scheduled to leave until sevenA.M. tomorrow morning. He was curled up asleep on one of the loungeas sofas when they shook him awake. Looking up into what appeared to be nine-millimeter weapons, he said, aOh s.h.i.+t.a WHEN NELLIE BRANDgot to the squadroom at close to eleven, she was still wearing the long green gown and green satin slippers shead worn to the annual May Cotillion at the River Dix Yacht Club, to which she and her husband belonged. She was also wearing a mink stole, and a jade necklace her husband had given her this past Christmas, and she looked less like a District Attorney answering a rotation call than a stockbrokeras wife whoad been drinking champagne not an hour and a half ago, which she was and which she had been.

Carella took her aside and told her what he had.

aThatas purely circ.u.mstantial,a she said. aIs that why you dragged me all the way up here?a aI think itall wash.a aI donat. Guy couldave called him for any one of a thousand reasons besides criminal chicanery.a aHowad he happen to know him? Howad he get his home number?a aHow do I know? Having a personas home number doesnat add up to kidnapping.a aThe girlas dead, Nellie. This is now a death penalty case.a aWhere are these people with whom he allegedly conspired?a aFlew the coop.a aThatas nice. And you say they left a dead girl behind?a aYes.a aThis singer Iave been seeing all over television?a aThatas the one.a aVery high profile, Steve. Youad better be right.a aWhat can we lose?a Carella said. aLetas give it a shot.a aI must be out of my mind,a Nellie said.

THE Q ANDA started at a quarter past eleven.

It had been a long Tuesday for everyone in that room. Well, everyone except maybe the police stenographer, who took down every word as Loomis was read his rights for the third time, and then advised that he did not have to answer any questions if he chose not toa aI choose not to,a he said.

aIn which case,a Nellie said, aweall be charging you with Conspiracy to Commit Kidnappingaa aThatas ridiculous,a Halliday said.

aaand Kidnapping itself, which is an A-1 Felonyaa aYou truly canat be serious, young lady.a aOh but I am, Counselor. Under the laws of this state, your client acted in concert, and it doesnat matter whether he was a princ.i.p.al or an accompliceaa aA Grand Jury will kick this out in five minutes!a aWeall see, I guess,a Nellie said. aYou think theyall also kick out Felony Murder?a aMurder?a Loomis said.

aMurder during a kidnapping,a Nellie said. aThe same thing as Murder One.a aWhat do you meanmurder? a Loomis asked. aDid theykill Tamar? Are you saying theykilled her?a aShe was shot in the face at close range with a high-powered rifle,a Carella said.

aThat wasnat thedeal! a Loomis shouted, and suddenly he was sobbing into his hands.

I LOVED THAT GIRLas if she was my own daughter, he told them. The deal was theyad hold her till the ransom was paid, and then theyad let her go. They werenat supposed to hurt her, they certainly werenat supposed toatoa And here he buried his face in his hands and began sobbing again.

Halliday took this opportunity to remind him that he was not compelled to say anything.

Loomis kept sobbing into his hands.

aMr. Loomis?a Nellie said.

He just kept sobbing.

aWould you like to tell us what happened?a she said softly.

She was skilled at such things.

Loomis nodded into his hands.

Halliday shook his head.

I MAKE A HABITof stopping in record stores, checking on how our product is displayed, what kind of s.p.a.ce weare getting, all that. I normally introduce myself to the manager, sometimes to the floor personnel, tell them Iam the CEO of Bison Records, explain how much this or that CD or alb.u.m means to me, ask them to keep a personal eye on it. I love every record we put out. Every one of them. I love this business. I love music.

I knew Tamar was going to be a big star the minute I heard her for the first time. She could bang out a song like Cher, or hoot and holler like Steven Tyler. She could bend notes like the best blues and country singers, or break and yodel like Alanis Morissette. And sweet! Oh Jesus, what asweet wonderful voice! She could break your heart with the simplest ballad. Like an angel. She sang like an angel.

Every store I went into, I told them to watch out for Tamar Valparaiso.

I told them Tamar Valparaiso was going to be the next big singing sensation.

THIS KID WORKEDin the shop just around the corner from our office. I used to stop in there after lunch almost every day. Just before I went back upstairs. Lorelei Records. I checked out the product, the displays, told this kid what was hot for us this weeka Avery Hanes.

Thatas his name.

Told him what was coming down the pike, what he should be on the lookout for. Tamar Valparaiso, I told him. Coming in May. The alb.u.m is calledBanders.n.a.t.c.h. Thatas the t.i.tle song, aBanders.n.a.t.c.h.a Watch for it. Weall be doing a terrific video. Watch for it. Tamar Valparaiso.

One daya Q: Is Avery Hanes the person who made the ransom calls?

A: Yes.

Q: Is Avery Hanes the person who actually kidnapped Tamar Valparaiso?