Eye of the Witch (Paranormal Detective Mystery series, book 2) Read online

Lilith’s reluctance to meet with Leona and me yielded only after I told her I had something she wanted. She arrived at the coffee shop in the HP&P building around four o’clock and found the two of us at a table overlooking the duck pond. I spotted her first and rose to pull out a chair for her.

  “My, what a gentleman,” she said, her brassy smile only garnish for the moment. She took a seat across from Leona, granting a similar gesture. “Leona. You look well. How’ve you been?”

  “I have been well, thank you. I like your hair. You cut it, yes?”

  “Not since we last talked, but thanks.” She turned to me. “You have my ladder?”

  “That’s not why we’re here, Lilith.”

  “That’s why I’m here. You said—”

  “I said I have something you want. I have a possible answer to what happened to Karen, Bridget and Anna.”

  Lilith pushed her chair out from the table and snapped to her feet. “Are you serious? You don’t get it, do you, Detective? I don’t give a rat’s ass about what happened to those women. I’m not here to appease you or them. I have an agenda of my own, and my time is running short.” She came around the back of her chair and pushed it in under the table. “So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going—”

  “Wait! Maybe we can work something out. Please sit down.” She eyed me with mistrust. I worked my smile on her until I saw her soften some. “Come.” I pulled her chair out and patted the seat. “Sit. Please.”

  Her eyes bounced from the chair to me and back again. Reluctance and mistrust notwithstanding, she eventually came around and sat back down. “What’s to work out?”

  “Okay. Here’s the deal. I need you to see if you can look into Leona’s subconscious and gather any details from what she might have seen while bilocating.”

  “Really?” She looked at Leona and smiled teasingly. “Ooh, you wicked little nanny. Where have you been romping about now, love? Has your morbid alter ego been drumming up corpses in your sleep again?”

  “Lilith!”

  “Come on, Detective. She’s used to it. The girl’s seen more dead bodies than Mussolini and Hitler combined.”

  “Yes, and you’re about as sensitive as both. The poor thing is trying to live a normal life.”

  “Then why torment her? You’re the one who wants to dredge up all her repressed memories. If you’re so concerned, then why don’t you—”

  “Stop!” Leona reached across the table and pressed her hand to Lilith’s. “Please, Lilith. Detective Marcella is only trying to do his job. I do not ask for God to show me the things he does. Maybe it is His way of offering hope for the souls of those who have met misfortunes in life. And perhaps it is the devil that makes me forget what I see, but if God has given you the ability to see it for me, then you must try.”

  I sat back in my chair, speechless, wondering if ever I might understand the selfless giving that one person could offer humanity.

  Others in Leona’s position, plagued by endless visions of real horrors, might seek to end their exposure to them by ending their very lives. But not Leona. In a way, I felt that Leona’s experiences only served to make her stronger. Lilith, whom I thought might see things in a similar light, offered no solidarity. Instead, she patted the hand that Leona extended and offered back only causticity.

  “Leona,” she began. “Please spare your apologetics theologies. You may feel your path in life is sound and righteous, and if your Christian doctrine helps you cope with your burdens, then more power to you. I, however, am not a product of your God. Any supernatural being that you believe controls your world, or some aspect of your life, or who you believe is the personification of a force undeniably almighty, is not necessarily my God, too. I don’t prescribe to the belief in one holy deity whose fallen angel is now the Antichrist and sole reservoir of evil and anarchy.

  “My Deity is nature. It’s the energy all around us, feeding and nurturing our souls. I believe the energy we surrender, good or evil, returns in equal portions to the one that expels it. If thee harm none, I say, then do as thou wilt, but impress your ism upon no one.”

  “Lilith!” I said, sharply. “No one is impressing philosophies on you. Leona’s intent, I’m sure, was simply to express upon you a sense of moral obligation to help us get to the bottom of this case. If you ask me, her reference to God was less dogmatic than your tirade.”

  “Pah––leease, Detective. You suggest I have a moral obligation to help you in the name of God, and then have the audacity to call my response dogmatic? By sheer definition, you are the virtual authority on dogma. You climb into your antiseptic, incorruptible little bubble and pontificate to your kindred tribe the virtues of honesty and integrity; all the while you’re sitting on property that belongs to me and denying you ever saw it.”

  “You’re talking about the witch’s ladder?”

  “Of course!”

  “Are you done?”

  She folded her arms to her chest. “For now.”

  “All right, then. I’ll tell you what. I’ll ask around and try to find the witch’s ladder for you. I promise. In the meantime, will you help us find out what you can about Leona’s out-of-body experiences?”

  “You mean, when she so conveniently showed up in time to see Karen, Bridget and Anna kill themselves.”

  “Yes.”

  “Fine.” She looked at Leona, and in the time it took her to blink, she said to me, “Nothing.”

  “What?” I asked, unaware that any mind exploration had taken place at all. “You don’t see anything?”

  “No. I mean Leona saw nothing.”

  “I don’t understand. She was there, wasn’t she?”

  “Oh, she was there, at least for the minutes leading up to the deaths of those women. As for the moments of their deaths, she doesn’t even know how they died.”

  I couldn’t believe it. I turned to Leona. “Is that true, Leona? Did you see nothing?”

  Her eyes looked glazed and hollow. “I do not remember. It is what I tried to tell you. I am sorry.”

  I eased back in my chair. “That’s all right. We’ll get to the bottom of this somehow.”

  As I said that, Carlos rang my phone to deliver some incredible news. I like to think I took the call with a poker face and an even tone in my voice. The reality, I imagine, differed.

  Both Lilith and Leona waited on the edge of their seats for my call to end, their eyes wide and mouths pinned shut. I thanked Carlos for the news, and I think I might have even hung up on him without saying goodbye. I looked at Lilith first, supposing she could read my thoughts for herself. Then I turned to Leona and said, “Looks like you’re off the hook.”

  “Carol Kessler is dead,” said Lilith. “Isn’t she?”

  “Yes. She stepped in front of a moving train only moments ago. But I guess you read my mind already?”

  “No,” she said, looking insulted. “Didn’t need to. I read it on your face.”

  Leona asked, “Who is Carol Kessler?”

  “She was one of Doctor Lowell’s girls,” Lilith answered. “Guess that just leaves you and me, cupcake. Ya ain’t scared, are you?”

  Leona looked back at me, confused. “Scared? Why?”

  “Don’t listen to her,” I said. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Right, Lilith?” I shot her a look that screamed BACK OFF! She stuck her tongue out and shot back a look that screamed BITE ME! But then she did the Lilith thing: something she does best.

  “That’s right, Leona, you don’t want to listen to me. You know I’m only teasing. Detective Marcella has everything under control. Don’t worry your pretty little Mexican head off.”

  “She’s Honduran,” I said.

  “Honduran. Mexican. Whatever. It’s all guacamole to me.”

  I reached across the table and took Leona’s hand. It felt cold at first, but seemed to warm to my touch immediately. As she gazed into my eyes, I knew she sensed the goodbye that I had coming for her, one that meant we might never meet again.

&n
bsp; I get that a lot at my age now. Usually I just shrug it off. In fact, most times I really don’t care if we meet again or not. But this was different. This time I was saying goodbye to one of His special children. I squeezed her hand tighter and felt her do the same.

  “Leona?”

  “Sí?”

  “You know how I feel about you.”

  Her smile thinned tightly. “Of course.”

  “You know I would never let anything happen to you.”

  This time she nodded in a way I shall always remember her, with those loose silky bangs spilling into her eyes. I broke our handhold and removed a ring from my pinky finger. I had worn it since my days as a traffic cop years before she or Lilith were born.

  I handed the ring to her, explaining, “I used to wear this on another finger, until they all got too fat.” She coughed a sputtered sort of laugh but sipped it up with her tears. “It’s getting too tight for me now. I want you to have it.” She initially refused, out of politeness I’m sure, but then accepted it with little more than a gentle insistence from me. I pointed to the inscription on the inside. “See, it’s got a saying on it: TO SERVE AND PROTECT. I got it when I graduated from the academy. Let it remind you that I will always serve and protect you.”

  She slipped the ring over her finger, and when it became obvious that wouldn’t work, she put it on her thumb instead. I laughed, grateful that she didn’t need to try it on her big toe next. “Please, Detective,” she said, removing one of her rings and handed it to me. “Take this. Let it remind you of me.”

  I wanted to tell her that there was no way I could ever forget her, and I know she knew that. But of course, I took the ring. A teardrop or two later and an eye-roll from Lilith, Benjamin Rivera showed up. He appeared out of breath, apologizing to Leona for running late. “I over s..s.slept,” he explained, “s..sorry.”

  “That is okay,” said Leona. “I was with my friends.”

  “Benny?” I offered up a little wave. “Good to see you.”

  “Detective Marc..c.cella. Good to s..see you, too.”

  “Going out to eat?”

  “Yeah, to the P..P.Percolator.”

  “How nice.” I nodded toward Lilith. “I think you know Ms. Adams, don’t you?”

  He started to tell me that he did, when Lilith kicked in, “Please, let me save us all some time here. Yes, Detective, we know each other. Hello, Benny.”

  He smiled awkwardly and turned his eyes away, as if not wanting to poke that hornet’s nest. Lilith seemed mildly amused. Benny turned to Leona and said, “Are you r..ready to g..g.go Leona?”

  She leaned across the table and kissed me on the cheek before standing. “Thank you, Detective, and to you, Lilith. Thanks much to you for helping.”

  Lilith pitched a dismissive shrug and let it go at that.

  I stood and gave Leona a hug before offering to shake Benny’s hand. “You take good care of her now, Benjamin. You understand?”

  We shook. “Bye, Det..t.tective.” He turned to Lilith. “I’ll g..get you la…later L...Lilith.”

  I saw Lilith snap to attention. “What?”

  “I s..s.said, s..see you later.”

  She eyed him suspiciously. “Yes. I’m sure you will.”

  After Benny and Leona left, I took my seat again and began fidgeting with the ring Leona had given me. “I’m worried about her,” I said. “And to an extent, I’m worried about you and Benny, as well.”

  “Why’s that, Detective?”

  “Because, with Kessler death, you three are now the last of Doctor Lowell’s pupils.”

  “Nu-uh, there’s still Lucky Lenny, Stinky Pete and Crazy Eddy.”

  “All right, the last in town then.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about me,” she said, palming the center of her chest. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. As for Leona….” She removed a gold chain from around her neck and then held out her hand. “Let me have that ring for a sec.”

  “Why?”

  “Don’t ask. Just give it to me.”

  I surrendered the ring. She entombed the ring and chain in her fist and delivered them to her lips. Then she closed her eyes, whispered something in rhyme and blew into the opening on the top of her hand. A cascade of glitter wept from the spaces between her fingers and around the folds of her thumb before dissipating into thin air like magician’s smoke. She opened her eyes again and handed me the charm. Amazingly, the unbroken chain and ring were now wed.

  “This will ward off unwanted energy,” she said. “Have Leona wear this. Tell her that whenever she feels threatened she should pull the ring from the chain and all the negative energy around her will dissipate at once.”

  “Just pull the ring?”

  “Yup. Yank it right off the chain.”

  “What, like a hand grenade pin?”

  “Yes, Detective, like a hand grenade pin. Why is it everything is always so dramatic with you cops?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I don’t understand these things.”

  “What’s to understand? Think of it as a onetime use witch’s ladder.”

  “All right, fine, but I just don’t see how a witch’s ladder will stop someone from co-possessing Leona’s body.”

  Lilith reeled back with such a start, I don’t mind saying that it scared me more than just a little. “What did you say?”

  At the risk of upsetting her further, I started to repeat myself. “I said, I don’t see—”

  “I heard you! Why did you say that?”

  I looked at her, quite puzzled. “Because that’s what I think is happening. Somebody is co-possessing these women while bilocating, making them commit suicide.”

  “And you thought Leona?”

  “Yes, Why did you think we came here?”

  “I don’t know, but you didn’t tell me that. You said you wanted to find out what Leona knew about the suicides.”

  “All right, now you know. Why are you getting so bent out of shape?”

  She pinned me to my chair with her stare. “Do you remember when you said Benny told you he was like Leona?”

  “Yes, and I assumed he meant he was special.”

  “Well guess what.”

  “Don’t tell me. He can bilocate.”

  She nodded. “You guessed it.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Lilith, you told me he couldn’t. You said he and Leona were like fire and water. You said—”

  “I know what I said. Apparently I was wrong.”

  “Apparently?”

  “Hey, I’m sorry! But the guy’s autistic. Its’ like there’s two different people in there.”

  “So, he’s complex. You couldn’t see that earlier?”

  “What am I telling you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I’m telling you he’s good at blocking thought penetration. I bet it’s all that stuttering. I mean come on, who has the time to stop and listen? Geeze!”

  I took my phone out and started dialing. “Wait!” I said, my finger poised on the SEND button. “What makes you so sure he can bilocate?”

  “He practically blurted it out with his slip up.”

  “What slip up?”

  “Just as he was leaving he said, ‘I’ll get you later.’ How Freudian is that?”

  “He did say he’ll get you later, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, the little twerp. Who does he think he’s messing with?”

  I leaned back in my seat, trying to recall the brief encounter. I remembered the slip in words, but brushed it off after he corrected himself. Then I remembered something else he said when he first arrived at the table. He came to Leona and apologized for being late, explaining that he overslept. I don’t know everything there is to know about out-of-body experiences, or bilocating, but I do know that to do either, one must sleep or submit to hypnosis.

  By Carlos’ estimations, Carol Kessler stepped off the platform at New Castle station barely thirty minutes before Benjamin Rivera came running into the coffee shop.
I pressed the SEND button and placed the phone to my ear.

  “Carlos!” I said, nearly in a scream. “It’s Benny Rivera! He can bilocate at will. He’s with Leona now. We have to stop him. Grab Spinelli and meet me at the Perk as soon as possible.”

  I hung up, nervous and excited and definitely not thinking clearly at all. I jumped up, stuffed the phone into my pocket and kissed Lilith on the cheek.

  “Gotta go!” I said, tearing out into the lobby in a sprint. I hadn’t given much thought about the look on her face until I was halfway to the Perk. Then all I could see in my mind was the whites of her eyes, her dropped jaw and her splayed hands attempting to hold me back. Afterwards, I remember her smiling over it.

  Carlos and Spinelli were just getting out of their car as I pulled up to the Perk. I called them into a huddle out front and devised a plan that we hoped wouldn’t cause too great a disturbance.

  “I’ll walk in first and locate Leona,” I said. “I’ll tell her I need to have a word with her in private.” I tapped Spinelli on the chest. “As soon as I have her safely aside, I want you to walk up to Benny and identify yourself. Explain that you need to see him outside for a minute. If we can keep this out of the diner we’ll make much less of a scene.”

  “What do I do?” Carlos asked.

  “You wait out here for Spinelli to come out. If Benny gives you any trouble, cuff him.”

  “Why don’t I cuff him anyway?”

  “Because we don’t really have enough on him to arrest him, but we do have cause for questioning. If he resists cooperating, then we’ll have reasonable grounds for detaining him.”

  “Makes sense. Then what?”

  “Then we’ll take him downtown. If I know his type, we’ll have a confession out of him in the first hour. Now, you two ready?”

  “Ready,” said Carlos.

  “Ready,” Spinelli echoed.

  I gave them both a slap on the back. “Let’s roll.”

  Spinelli and I entered the diner. We spotted Leona and Benny sitting in a booth by the back door. I pressed Spinelli’s arm to hold him there, and then I moved in.

  Leona noticed me first. Her smile lit up the booth like a Roman candle. When Benny saw the light in her eyes, he turned and waved to me, smiling almost as broadly. I stopped at the booth and apologized for the interruption. Turning to Leona, I said, “There’s something very important I forgot to ask you earlier. It’s rather sensitive, though. Would you mind? I’d like a word with you in private for just a moment.”

  Her eyes fluttered, unable to imagine the immensity of the matter. She grabbed her purse and excused herself to Benny. I escorted her into the hallway leading to the kitchen.

  Then Spinelli moved in and presented his badge to Benjamin. A minute later, all hell broke loose. Dishes and glasses crashed to the floor. Benny started over the top of the table and Spinelli took him down behind the booth. A woman at a nearby table screamed. Two guys in the corner stood and started toward them to join in the brawl. That’s when Carlos burst in, waving his badge and corralling people back into their seats.

  Leona tried pulling away, pleading with me in Spanish to let her go. But I held on to her arm and yanked her back into the hallway until Carlos and Spinelli had cuffed Benny and escorted him out of the building. I would have told her what was happening, but the moment I released her arm, she ran into the women’s restroom and locked the door.

  I waited as long as I could for her to come out before finally having to explain the situation to Natalie. She told me not to worry, but I still didn’t like the way the thing went down. I flipped her a couple of twenties, one to give to Leona to cover her taxi ride home, and the other, which came with an apology, to cover her and Benny’s tab.

  I told her to bill the department for the broken dishes and glasses. “The arresting officer’s name is Rodriquez,” I said, and then I gave her his badge number just to be sure.

  “But…Detective Spinelli is the one who caused all the mess,” she commented.

  “I know.” I flipped her another twenty. “But he’s still new. It’s Rodriquez now.”

  She smiled, and I knew we had an understanding.

  Nine

  By the time I got back to the justice center, Benny Rivera had already been allowed his one phone call and placed in the interrogation room for questioning. I started to head in there, when Spinelli stopped me outside the door.

  “Detective Marcella, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for the disturbance at the restaurant.”

  “Yes, what was all that about? You were supposed to ask him to step outside so you and Carlos could take him in without incident.”

  “I know, but after he confessed to the murders, something inside him snapped. He—”

  “Wait a minute. He confessed?”

  “Yes. I asked him about—”

  “Has anyone read him his rights?”

  “I did.”

  “Does he want council?”

  “He said he didn’t need it.”

  “Does he understand what that is?”

  He shrugged. “Guess so. He said he did.”

  I patted him on the chest and started into the room. “Make sure you video this.”

  “Gottcha,” he said, and he disappeared behind an adjacent door.

  I stepped into the interrogation room. Benny sat stiffly in a chair with his back to the door, his cuffed hands drumming nervously on the tabletop.

  Carlos sat across from him, relaxed and with arms folded at his chest. He gave me a nod as I entered, but the look on his face told me he hadn’t gotten far. I walked around the table, patting Benny on the shoulder as I passed. He flinched, turning sharply to see who walked in. After recognizing me, he seemed to loosen up some, but he still didn’t look comfortable.

  “Hello again, Benny.” I smiled at him. “Sorry to bring you down here like this, but I think you know why you’re here. Don’t you?”

  He shook his head.

  “No?” I pulled a chair up beside Carlos. “Well then, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

  “W..where is L..Leona?”

  “She’s fine. She’s worried about you.”

  “C..can I talk to h..her?”

  “Not now, Benny. First we need some answers. I believe Detective Spinelli advised you that you can have a lawyer present while we question you?”

  “My b..brother is a l..lawyer.”

  “Yes, I know. Would you like us to get him for you?”

  He shook his head. “I’m o...k.kay.”

  I looked up in the corner and spotted the red light on the camera blinking. Carlos’ eyes followed. “Benny, yesterday you told me that you were like Leona. Do you remember saying that?”

  “Y..yes.”

  “Did you mean that you can bilocate?”

  “W..what?”

  “Bilocate. That’s what it’s called, isn’t it? When your subconscious self leaves your body.”

  “Oh, then, y..yes, I can b..b..bilocate.”

  “You’re certain?”

  “Ah-huh.”

  “Where, Benny? Where do you go when you bilocate?”

  He smiled, and his eyes rolled up toward the ceiling. “All over.”

  “Do you see people?”

  “Yes, I s…see people. I t…talk to people from all over, and they t…talk to me.”

  I leaned back in my chair, a little confused by Benny’s statement. I turned towards Carlos. He hadn’t missed it either. I looked back at Benny, his eyes still searching the ceiling.

  “What did you just say?”

  He articulated. “I can go all around the world and meet all sorts of people. They tell me stories and jokes and make me laugh.”

  I gave Carlos another high brow, almost afraid to take my eyes off Benny. Carlos straightened up in his seat, and I know we both stole a glance at the camera again to make sure the red light was still blinking.

  “Benny. How come you’re not stuttering anymore?”

  His eyes dar
ted to mine, blinked a couple of times and then fell into a sleepy-looking droop. “W..What?”

  I held my finger up. “Can you give us a moment?” I stood and gave Carlos a tug on his sleeve. “We need to chat in private for a second.”

  Out in the hall, Carlos latched onto my arm and nearly yanked it out of its socket. “What the hell just happened?”

  “You’re asking me?” I said. “What do I look like, Sigmund fuckin` Freud?”

  “He’s been faking his stutter!”

  “No, I don’t think so. I think he’s got dual personalities. Did you notice the look in his eyes, how it changed when they came back to me?”

  “Yeah, and he jumped a little, like he awoke suddenly from a sleep.”

  I pointed to the other room. “Go in there and make sure Spinelli doesn’t turn off that camera for a second. Got it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And then get on the phone and see if you can reach Ricardo Rivera. I think he should be here while we—”

  “Already tried calling him,” said Carlos. “His phone went straight to the answering service.”

  “Hmm, alright. Fine, then, just make sure Spinelli keeps that camera rolling.”

  “I’m on it.”

  He started away.

  “Oh, and Carlos?” He looked back. “Have Spinelli see what he can find out about what happened down at the train station. I want to know about eyewitnesses, if Carol was alone…stuff like that.”

  He gave me the thumbs up before joining Spinelli in the observation room. I went back into interrogation and took a seat across from Ben Rivera. He seemed fidgety again, but happy that I returned without Carlos. I started in where we left off.

  “Benny, a little while ago you were telling us that you can go places out-of-body. Is that what you did when you went to see those women?”

  “W..what wo..women?

  “Karen, Bridget and Anna. You remember going to see them, don’t you?”

  He looked at me, confused.

  “Before they died,” I said. “You traveled out-of-body to see them just before they died.”

  Still confused, he shook his head. “No I d..d.didn’t.”

  “Yes, you did. You went there through bilocation. You entered into their bodies and you forced them to commit suicide.”

  “No!”

  “Yes. You told Detective Spinelli that much already, back in the restaurant. You told him you forced those women to kill themselves.”

  “No! I d..d.didn’t!”

  I stood up and slammed the heel of my fist on the table. “You told us just moments ago that you can bilocate and that you go anyplace in the world you want.”

  “But I d..d.don’t…”

  “That’s how you got to the train station this afternoon and killed Carol Kessler. You got into her body and made her walk off the platform right into the path of that train. Didn’t you? Then you hurried to the coffee shop and—”

  “Stop it this minute!” he shouted. He leaned across the table on his elbows. “Can’t you see this boy has no idea what you’re talking about?”

  I fell back in my chair, utterly stunned. “Benjamin?”

  He palmed the table’s edge and shoved it towards me. “I’m sick and tired of people kicking that kid around like he’s some mangy old dog. Do you understand me?”

  “Who are you?”

  “Leo,” he said, and he eased back into his chair, folding his arms at his chest.

  “No, you’re not. You’re Benjamin.”

  “I’m Benny’s better half.”

  “You mean alter personality.”

  He smirked. “Still, you don’t think I’m the better of his two halves?”

  “Is that all he has is two?”

  He shrugged. “As far as I know, but sometimes I think there’s a little girl trapped inside him as well, because he acts like a pussy.”

  I looked up at the camera and back at Leo.

  “Don’t worry. It’s still on,” he said. “Your buddies aren’t going to miss this show.”

  “I’m not worried about them. I’m worried about you.”

  “Oh, right. I suppose you’re going to give that video to some shrink.”

  “You don’t think I should?”

  “It don’t matter to me. I don’t need no help.”

  “What about Benny?”

  “What about him?”

  “Maybe he could use the help.”

  He laughed. “Save it, Dick. Benny’s as good as dead. Soon I’ll be out all the time and he’ll just be a puny memory. Has anybody got a smoke?”

  “You smoke?”

  “Marlboro, if ya got it.”

  I motioned with a tic of my finger toward the observation window. “We’ll see what we can do, Leo.”

  “Ya, right.”

  “So what’s next? After you bury Benjamin, who will you kill after that?”

  “What makes you think I want to kill anyone?”

  “You killed four women already, maybe more.”

  “Screw you! I didn’t kill anyone.”

  “Detective Spinelli said—”

  “Spinelli’ a putz.”

  “He said he got a confession out of Benny at the Percolator.”

  “A confession—please. Ask him what Benny really said.”

  “I don’t think I need—”

  “Ask him. Go on, get him in here!” He turned to the window and whistled loudly. “Spinelli! Get your ass in here, ya putz!”

  I looked to the glass and nodded okay. When Spinelli entered, I asked him, “Detective, what exactly did Benjamin say to you at the Percolator this afternoon?”

  Spinelli shrugged. “Well,” he pointed at Leo, “I asked him what he did to those women, and he said he made it better for them.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That was his confession?”

  “It sounded like one to me.”

  “Did you make it clear to him what women you were talking about?”

  “No, but he knew.”

  I shook my head. “Spinelli, Benjamin is a janitor at the coffee shop. He cleans the cafeteria and makes it better for the women that waitress there.”

  “What about his bilocating?”

  Leo scoffed. “OBE?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ha! Benny can’t do that.”

  “But he said—”

  “He’s an idiot, Detective! What can I tell you? The guy doesn’t know the difference between a simple dream and a bona fide paranormal out-of-body experience.”

  “So, he definitely can’t bilocate?”

  “Of course not.”

  “But if you know that, why doesn’t he know that?”

  “I told you. He’s an idiot. Is it any wonder I’m winning the battle for total control over his mental faculties?”

  “Tell me about Leona.”

  “Leona. Whoa, now there’s a hot chick. I’m gonna have fun working Benny’s little weenie into those lacy undies. Which reminds me, where’s that cigarette?”

  “You little creep!” I said, and I started across the table when Spinelli grabbed me by the shoulders.

  “Detective Marcella!” he pushed me back into my seat. “Don’t! It’s not worth it. He’s only trying to rile you.”

  Leo pushed against the back of his chair so hard it came up on two legs and nearly went over. I could see I scared him, and although I wanted to do more than that, I figured Spinelli was right. He wasn’t worth it. I eased back into my seat, mindful that the camera was still on and thankful for Spinelli’s intervention. Leo let his chair come forward again, smirking the whole time like he had gotten something over on me.

  “You’re a tough guy,” I said, “ain’t you?”

  He hemmed a bit. “Chicks dig tough guys.”

  “You think Leona digs tough guys?”

  “No. That’s why I let Benny put all the moves on her. Then, when the time is right, the lights are low and he’s ready to go in for the big
pay out, it’s bye-bye stutter boy, hello handsome.”

  “It won’t go down like that. Leona’s not that kind of girl.”

  “They’re all that kind of girl, Detective. They just don’t all know it yet.”

  “Well, I know, and I’m going to save you a little time with some advice, and you’d better listen.”

  “Advice from an old man? I don’t think so.”

  “Oh, I do.” I leaned in on my elbows, way across the table until my face and his were only inches apart. Then, in a whisper that I knew the camera’s audio could not pick up, I said, “If you so much as look at Leona again, you or Benny or any other freak you’re hiding inside there, I’ll kill you all. Understand?”

  I settled back into my chair and smiled at him. At first his expression seemed frozen, a mix of shock and fear. Then his macho ego took over and washed his face in arrogance. “Fine,” he said, rocking back in his chair. “I don’t need that frigid bitch anyway. There’s plenty of other pussy out there.”

  “You mean at HP&P.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Like who? Courtney?”

  “Sure. I could have her if I want. I had Anna Davalos. Why not her?”

  “You and Anna Davalos?”

  “You’re surprised?”

  “When did you last see Anna?”

  “You mean alive?”

  “Of course. Why, have you seen her dead?”

  “Well, I don’t know,” he said, and he laughed pathetically. “The way she lays there when you’re fucking her, it’s hard to tell.”

  “Ever do it with Bridget Dean?”

  “Bridget? Oh sure, once or twice a week.”

  “How about Karen Webber?”

  “Yeah, Karen was a little crazy, liked it through the back door if you know what I mean.”

  “You’re sick, you know that? You’re sick and you’re a liar. Karen would never have anything to do with you.”

  “Sick, lucky. It’s all in the way you look at it.”

  “No. There’s no other way to look at it. There’s no way Karen Webber would ever have sex with you. And I’m sure Bridget Dean and Anna Davalos had better taste in men as well.”

  I started going off on a righteous lecture about decency and morality when, thank heavens, Carlos came through the door about as excited as I had ever seen him.

  “Tony! Tony! You won’t believe this!” I saw he had a copy of a police report in his hand. I excused myself and took the conversation out into the hallway.

  “Whadaya got?”

  “I have a list of names here of the people standing closest to Carol Kessler when she killed herself. So far, all of them gave a statement to the same effect that Carol deliberately and without assist stepped off the platform in front of that train.”

  “All right,” I said. “I think we expected to find out as much.”

  “But wait, that’s not all. You have to look at the names on the list.” He handed it to me. “About halfway down,” he said. “Take a look at the name below John and Arleen Padilla.”

  I took the list and skipped immediately to the name that had Carlos so damn excited. “Gregory Piakowski?” I said. “I don’t believe it.” I returned to the investigation room and confronted Leo with the list. “Do you know anything about this, Leo?”

  He looked at me strangely. “Who is L..L.Leo?”

  I considered the possibility that Benjamin was either one hell of a liar or seriously messed up, or both. Regardless, with no real confession, I had no legal cause to hold him any longer. I turned to Spinelli and told him, “Give Benny a ride home.” To Carlos I said, “Do we know where to find Piakowski now?”

  He shook his head. “That’s anyone’s guess. After taking statements, the police let people go from the scene. He could have gotten into a taxi or simply hopped a bus somewhere.”

  “All right, then. Spinelli, after you give Benjamin a ride, I want you to go to the Hartman, Pierce and Petruzelli building and reexamine their surveillance equipment. Find out if anyone could have manipulated the video to make it look like Bridget Dean worked alone the night she died.”

  “I did that,” he said.

  “Then, do it again. I don’t know why, but the stink of guilt keeps pointing back to Piakowski at every turn. If he was in that building when her gun went off, then I want to know about it.”

  “Got it.” He punctuated the air with his fingertip before going to Benjamin and helping him to his feet.

  I turned again to Carlos. “You go back to Anna Davalos’ apartment and sift through it with a fine tooth comb. If Piakowski found a way into her apartment through some other means, then I want you to find it.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’m going back to Karen’s place. Piakowski said that he and Karen had a date Friday night, which tells me he’s probably been in her apartment before. I’m betting there’s a way in and out of there that doesn’t involve going through the front door or going over the balcony. In the meantime, we have enough probable cause to haul Piakowski in for questioning. Get dispatch to put out an APB on him. If anyone finds anything, call it in. I want everybody in the loop on this one. Any questions?”

  “Just one.”

  I looked Carlos in the eye with a squint. “I hope this isn’t about eating.”

  “Oh,” he said, and his face grew long. “Then, never mind.”