CROSSFIRE: Ex-CIA JON BRADLEY Thriller Series (TERROR BLOODLINE Book 1) (11 page)

    “Well, we shall surely miss you, Elaine.  But, let’s try to stay in touch.  I am sure Samantha would want that.

    “And, remember, we are always there for you in case you are ever… “

    “I am in trouble?,” she said it for him.  “From what I have assumed from Samantha, I guess you are the “Man Friday”

    “A trouble-shooter, really, Elaine,” Jonathan added to her wit, mischievously.’

    After the dinner, they walked along the boulevard
,
making small talk and  enjoying the late evening  cool, pleasant temperature of the April month.

    It was around 10.00 PM when Jonathan dropped Elaine on the street below the Crossley Apartments building.

    Before himself heading home, he drove to the Greenview Park and was there for about an hour. 

    He spent the time in there briefly passing through the sports courts, watching the volleyball and basketball games being played; seeing and waving at some familiar faces; then walking the jogging track a few times, and finally coming to rest on a bench beneath  the tree-lined area, to review his observations.     

    Jonathan wanted a fresh mind before he studied the NYPD investigation reports on Samantha’s rape case.

New York City - 2006

Sunday – 10.30 AM

    Jonathan first called Samantha from his apartment, and arrived at her sister’s  house to meet with them; the latter for the first time.

    After the exchange of pleasantries with her sister’s family, she and Jonathan were left alone left to spend private moments together after several weeks of separation.

    He saw that she had lost  weight, and appeared nervous and self-conscious on seeing him.

    He put his hand around her, holding her close, as he kissed her lightly trying to comfort and reassure her. 

    Afterwards, he led her gently to the car, where they again sat holding each other close for a few moments.

    “I missed you, Sam.”

    “I missed you too, Jon.  I was naive, you know.  Forgive me, please.”   

“Hey, hey.  You did nothing wrong.  That’d happen to anyone in your situation.  We’re past it now.” 

    Then changing the subject, “We love each other no less, and that’s all that matters.  Where do you want to go for an early lunch?”

    He saw her natural color slowly return  to the counters of her face.

    “
Sesame Moe's
, on Manhattan Beach.  My favorite Greek cuisine,” she said brightly.

    “After that, how about catching the matinee show of
“Love Actually”
playing at the Sheepshead Bay Stadium. It’s a British Christmas-themed romantic comedy. I got the tickets,” he patted at his coat pocket, “Knew you’d like the film.”

    “So thoughtful of you, Jon.”

   “Always at your service, ma’am,” he said lightly.

    In their conversation during the lunch, Samantha mentioned to him that she would be going back to work, hopefully by the June that year, from her sister’s place until she felt confident to stay by herself.

    “Why not stay with me at my apartment or anywhere you want to?”

    “Then, who’d baby-sit me?  I know how busy you are and also your government work keeps you away sometimes  for weeks together. Let’s give it some time, Jon.”   

    “Alright.  Tell me when you are ready.”

    “I am sorry, Jonathan.  Hope, I didn’t hurt you by saying that?”

    “Don’t be foolish, Sam.  You know that’s not true. Elaine tells me she is moving away too.

    “Incidentally,” he just remembered, I took Elaine out for dinner last evening, you know?” He was watching her for a reaction.

    “Oh… really?” she wasn’t amused or at least showed not to be.

    “Nothing odd about that, Sam.  We three have been out before.  I did it to show our appreciation to her for being there for you and helping me stay in touch with the situation.”

    “That’s okay by me, unless you have had other motives… “ She was kidding him.

    “I plead
not guilty
, Your Highness.”

    “The jury and the judge absolve you this time.

    “By the way, do you know she has a boyfriend playing in the NBA league?”

    “Yes, she has told me about him.  Jamie Wainsford, but that name doesn’t sound very familiar to me.”

     “I haven’t myself seen him play.  Elaine says he has a promising career ahead,” but Samantha’s voice did not sound quite right to Bradley.

    “What’s bothering you, Sam?”

    “Nothing really.  It seems to me odd that after her boyfriend visited our apartment once, he’d call me during her absence. 

    “At one time, he said he wanted me and Elaine to join him at a friend’s birthday party, and another time he invited just me to a late-night dinner with his NBA team guys.

    “I did go with Elaine the first time, but politely refused the second invite.  The other guys had their girls come over too. It was getting to be kind of a wild partying. So, Elaine and myself left before the party ended.  Anyway, you’d know I am not much of a basketball fan.” She grinned, adding, “This was just after we’d met for the first time, but hadn’t yet gotten into a relationship.”

    “Did you tell Elaine about his calling you?  How did he get your personal number?”

    “No, I didn’t do so but merely to avoid any misunderstanding between the two. As for my cellphone number, Elaine must have given it to him since we shared the apartment, and also in the event of any emergency. Moreover, she hadn’t ever complained to me about him.”

    “Last evening, Elaine sounded to me as if she was undecided about their relationship.  But it is possible I may have guessed that wrong,” Bradley said.

    “Jon, let it pass.  We have to catch up with our own lives; there is so much that we have missed already.”

    After they came out of the theatre from watching the film feeling lighter in mood and very much in love, Jonathan brought up her attack incident.

    “Sam, I asked the NYPD detective to let me help in finding the perpetrator.  In fact, tomorrow I am going to the Detective Bureau to study the case folder.

    “I may need to ask you a few invasive questions which would mean trying to make you remember the traumatic events.  Trust me, Sammy, this would be necessary to give you justice and stop the vicious assailant from committing further such crimes.”

    She leaned protectively against him  as she replied, “I’ve faith in my man.  Dr. Victoria put me under two hypnotic sessions and that made me feel much better.

    “I now realize, however, traumatic it may seem, if I have to get rid of the false sense of guilt, I have to relive some of the awful  moments to ease the pain of my experience.

    “Great. That’s my woman!” he commended her as he pressed her closer to him.

      “But let’s not talk about it today. Today is just for us, Jon.”

       Afterwards, they had coffee and went for a walk on the Manhattan Beach.  It was past 6.00 PM by then, and the weather was breezy heading for a colder sundown at 7.19 PM, with the hint of rain in the night.

    Snuggling her head on  Jonathan’s chest, Samantha said, “Dinner’s my choice, right?”

    “Right. Lead the way…” mimicked Bradley bowing with an extended hand.

    Not wanting to separate herself from Jonathan, she said in a  singsong voice “Let’s think we are sailing over foreign shores… to the Anyway Café… “

    "
Vive la France
," Jonathan stole the show from her.

    “So
macho-
like, Jon.”  She gave him a wicked smile.

    “Regardless, I know French cuisine’s one of your favorites.  It’s my treat to you.”

    “
Commie vous voulez, mademoiselle.”

   
“Soyez la bienvenue, m'amour.”

   
Two hours later, they kissed goodnight as he accompanied Samantha at the door of her sister’s house and lingered there until she was gone from view before driving to his apartment.

NYPD Special Victims Div. - 2006

Monday - 8.45 AM

   
Just as Jonathan Bradley stepped into the office of  Detective Liza Quadros’ of the newly created Special Victims Division, in this instance, the sub-division investigating victims of aggravated sexual abuse, he found her getting ready to go to the D.A. Prosecutor’s office relating to the indictment of another offender of sexual assault.

    “You are rather early, Mr. Bradley.”

    “I’ve to be present at my FBI workplace for an important conference at 11.30 AM.  Thought I’d go through case file, meantime.”

    “Detective Randy Nogart will bring over the folder to you.  You can use my office to study the case up to date, and we can later compare notes. But you will need to call me beforehand.”

    “Suits me fine.  Thanks.”

     Ten minutes after the Detective had

left, Officer Randy arrived and went and brought out the case folder.  He made Jonathan sign on the dotted line of a form for accepting custody of the folder and to return it intact after perusal.  It was not to leave the office.

    They are playing it safe
, he thought.

    The very first thing he did was to

study the photographic evidence of the rape victim. He winced inside as he looked at the Samantha’s bruised mouth and face and the battered body, particularly the lower part, and the photos of her torn and dirty clothes. He read the detailed Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner’s forensic report which confirmed that the victim was a subject of sexual abuse (rape) and aggravated sexual abuse.

    Of particular interest to him was a photo showing the slight bruise on the back of the victim’s neck connecting the head.

He thoroughly checked the backdrop of

the park and the particular bench area where Samantha was seated before she was attacked.

    There were no actual witnesses to Samantha’s assault, which must have happened before the Greenview Parks volunteer greeter, doing her rounds, found her in a traumatized condition at 8.30 PM, and called for the nearby hospital ambulance. 

     Samantha was found with her hands tied behind her back, struggling to loosen the cloth rag with which she was tied.

    From her report made to the hospital authorities and the police, the nurse had seen no one else in the vicinity as she approached the bench area after circling the jogger’s path.

    She said that she could hear the playful shouts and voices coming from other parts of the park, especially from the playgrounds and courts.

    It was a normal scene that people were always walking, running or chasing one another across the park. 

    Samantha’s attack was not a spontaneous incident.  The perpetrator must have been familiar with the park surroundings and planned it after closely observing Samantha’s movements over a period of time.  In that case, the rapist must have noticed that she was accompanied by Jonathan or Elaine on some evenings. 

    The question then arose: Could the assailant be someone known to one of them?

    What brief description Samantha had provided after her attack was at best skimpy.  The man was more than six feet tall, wore a full balaclava, whereby she could only see his eyes and mouth. 

    Although it was a warm evening, the rapist had rolled down the mask covering his dark color polo-neck sweatshirt with full sleeves. 

    When she first managed to escape from his hold and run, she remembered feeling the terrible impact on the back of her neck which had stunned her into semi-consciousness.

    She was barely conscious when she felt being dragged to a darker, isolated place under the trees, away from the bench and the lamp post.

    Jonathan was personally aware that the overgrown trees in the park provide a thick cover, blocking lights at night.    He remembered someone having once remarked about the Greenview Park,  “When it's dusk, it's really scary in there."

    Samantha wasn’t able to know the color of his eyes, only remember the

piercing gaze –  cold, distant and domineering - from the deep-set glare and the cruel twist of his thick lips. 

    He hadn’t uttered a word throughout as he punched her viciously across the face and body, keeping her in a state of semi-consciousness while she whimpered and moaned with pain.  Finally, he had  sexually assaulted. 

    The next thing she remembered was the lady greeter finding her,  and later being  admitted into the hospital ward for Rape Crises victims.

    Had he used any kind of a weapon to threaten or restrain her?  No, she hadn’t noticed any.

    Bradley then turned to the police investigation reports.

    The newspapers and T.V. channels had covered the news, and more so because Samantha worked for the D.A. office, but the interest had died down after three days. 

    When the detectives went to the park asking questions, some people recognized her after being shown Samantha’s picture, but they couldn’t add anything useful to the investigation  other than that they sometimes saw her at the park. 

    The police then naturally diverted their attention towards the errant homeless class.

    Despite the nearby Men’s Homeless Shelter, some of the homeless preferred to make their home in the Greenview open green space.

    They made themselves a public menace to the visitors, particularly women with children.  You’d find them taking up residence on benches and putting up a homeless encampment with tents and beds.

    The troublesome ones were often found drinking, squabbling and fighting, giving rise to all sorts of petty crimes and even major assault incidents.

     In the folder, the first police suspect was one of these homeless guys.  He had no alibi of any sorts.  The two homeless guys who offered to testify against him, probably considered him as their sworn enemy.  It was a weak case, not fit for criminal prosecution.

    Compared to Samantha’s scanty description of her rapist, this 43 year old Andre Poinsteur, the homeless, was only 5.11” tall, and weighed 175 lbs. He was near bald, had a gray bushy mustache, shift
y
bloodshot eyes, and a puffy face with a leery smile.

     The two witnesses, also homeless men, had reported that they had seen Andre loitering around the crime scene at the time.  Therefore, It must be he who committed the rape because Poinsteur had a previous conviction of rape in another State. 

    Police record confirmed that he had last served the maximum ten-year sentence for sexual molestation not amounting to rape.

    It was also true that Andre was twice before suspected of attempted molestation of an older woman and a school girl at the northern end of the park.  The cases had to be dropped for want of sufficient evidence and any witness to testify against him.

    Reading the reports now, Jonathan thought there might be some truth in the statement made by the two homeless against one of their kin.

    Was it possible that Andre had witnessed the whole episode of Samantha’s rape, presumably unnoticed from nearby, and later was seen approaching her to take advantage of her helpless condition? He must have run away and hidden himself after seeing the woman greeter approach Samantha.

     Apparently, the police hadn’t given much credence to the two homeless men’s testimonies since Andre’s statistics greatly contrasted Samantha’s  description of the assailant.

    Andre was held in police custody as an alleged suspect and released within 48 hours after the Prosecutor declared that there was no sense in bringing charges against him for lack of any corroborative evidence.

    Jonathan made it a point to personally question Andre at his last known Men’s Homeless Shelter address or C/o Greenview Park.

    “Mr.Bradley, thought you would you like a cup of coffee?”  Randy walked into Detective Liza’s office with some hot black coffee in a Styrofoam cup, handing it to Jonathan.

    “Thank you, Officer Nogart,” said Jon careful not to show his dislike for the notably bland taste of coffee you’d expect at the police stations across the country.

    He glanced at  his wrist watch.  He had been going through the files for almost 45 minutes now. 

    Considering that he still had an hour or so before leaving for the FBI office,  Jon decided he might as well finish with the police folder to complete his preliminary observations, before looking into the other avenues of investigation.

    “Would you need any help from me, Mr.  Bradley?”

    “I have gone through more than half of the case file, including the follow-up reports.  Another half hour or so, I will have finished covering the paper trail of the case as it stands today.”

    “For physical forensic evidence, we would need to approach the Crime-Scene Division,” Randy stated.

    “Not needed for the present.  I have gone through the Supplemental Crime Reports which have all the relevant forensic details of the physical evidence available.  Let’s leave DNA matching for later, after the police have a strong suspect.”

    “Alright then.  I shall come back in half an hour’s time to return the folder to the Records Division.  

    Jonathan applied his mind this time to the other alleged suspect, Samuel Morse. 

    This man appeared to be a repeat sex offender, starting with statutory rape, for which he had only served a four-year sentence in  jail on third degree rape charges. 

    Morse was suspected in four other cases of varying degrees of sex sexual molestation.  But the cases were dropped either because the lack of consent couldn’t be proved, DNA match was insufficient, inconclusive or the victim was latter not willing to press charges.

    There was a fifth case against Samuel Morse brought by a supposedly housewife who turned out to be a call girl.  He said he had consensual sex with her and wouldn’t pay her when she demanded money.  The lady judge threw out the case.

    Samuel, however, was a close match to Samantha’s description of her assailant, being 48 years old, 6.2 ft. tall, with a massive, muscular built weighing 225 lbs., short brown hair and small dark eyes.

    The irony of it was that the man, a previous college professor, had been married with two children, later to be divorced.    

    Since the last four years he was said to be a regular participant in one the NYSATA sponsored reform programs. 

    Presently, Samuel was reported to be living with a younger woman and working in the office of a garment distributor in the Garment District, Manhattan.

    Morse had been questioned by the Detective Liza but had an unshakable alibi.  

    On the day and time of Samantha’s attack, he had been at the Cinema Village, on 22E 12
th
St., watching a 6.55 PM time slot film with his girlfriend and another couple.  They had all vouched for him. 

    Further, the police had verified the 2 hr. 9 min duration of the film and the timings of the before and after shows scheduled at 3:35 PM and  10.10 PM respectably.

    The police lineup of suspects hadn’t taken place yet, due to Samantha’s recuperation.

     Jonathan made a note to look into the NYPD’s database of sexual offenders for other suspects.

    Rape kits — swabs and specimen collected during the victim’s examination after the rape — in the case of Samantha, remained to be tested for a genetic match with that of her rapist.  The Police had obtained none of the latter kind till date.

    Samuel Morse, however, was a close suspect candidate for his DNA testing that could identify or eliminate him as  the perpetrator for indictment in the first degree.

    Meantime, Jonathan  decided he must make time to personally interrogate Samuel Morse before eliminating him from the list of suspects.