Justifiable (35 page)

How could he possibly walk into WNUZ to report details he’d assured J. T. and Kirsten he wouldn’t share? Details that could push a maniac to hurt a child? On the other hand, how could he let down Biddy, who would end up out in the cold with a pregnant wife?

Shit, he didn’t have answers, but he couldn’t walk away from this as long as there was a chance of getting Enrique back alive.

A hand slapped the window next to him.

Riley jumped at the noise then scowled at Romeo’s grinning face on the other side of the glass. Another trait of street kids was invisibility.

He opened the door and stepped out to find all five draped along his truck bed, each wearing similar versions of ragged sweatpants and hooded jersey pullovers.

“Looking for a game?”  Tusk, the tallest at just over six feet, had the basketball Riley had given them tucked under his arm. His name came from the acronym Tall Ugly Skinny Kid. Only the height and bony frame fit. Tusk’s pale skin, straight brown hair and attractive hazel-green eyes rivaled Romeo’s much darker hip attraction.

“No time for a game today,” Riley answered

Baby G had his arms hooked over the top of the tailgate. “That must mean you’re here for another
business
transaction.”

Arnie’s laugh came out something like a snort a donkey would make. Short, wiry body with squinty eyes behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses and wavy brown hair. He slapped the side of the truck, hooting at Baby G who frowned when Arnie snorted again. 

Boris studied the others with hazel eyes that spoke for him since he rarely used his voice. A few inches shorter than Tusk, but built a lot heavier, Boris played hard, took his licks quietly and acted disinterested even though he didn’t hesitate to back up the team if the others were threatened. With that body, he could probably bench press small cars.

Riley nodded at Baby G. “I’m here to deal.”

“Step into my office,” Romeo cut in then swaggered around the front of the truck, headed to where crates, cement blocks and a discarded car seat from an Impala served as their meeting space. The group followed with Riley bringing up the rear.

Once everyone had knocked off the ice and residual snow, Romeo got down to business. “Whadda you want?”

Nothing in trade first? Riley didn’t question his luck. Maybe Romeo had decided they’d hosed Riley enough for now. “Looking for anything on Bruno Parrick.”

“The one got capped in the cemetery yesterday?” Romeo asked.

Riley gave him a short nod. “That’s the one. I found out he worked construction and went by his job site. They wouldn’t tell me anything, but when I asked about his wife one guy said she just got out of the hospital.”

Baby G sat on the Impala seat, a finger laid alongside his cheek. He looked over at Tusk who dribbled the basketball around his legs. “Your aunt should know something.”

“Maybe.”  Tusk never lost his concentration. “Got a phone?”

Riley didn’t want to hand his over with the killer calling at any time. “Who’s his aunt?” 

“Does hair over on the west side. Big salon. They got television going all the time. All those women talk.”

Romeo produced a banged up phone and tossed it to Tusk, who stopped dribbling and punched keys. Riley didn’t want to know if the phone was hot or not. While Tusk talked in a hushed voice to someone, Baby G shifted his almond shaped eyes at Riley. “What else?”

“Any of you see the news on that little girl we found this morning? Pia?”

They all nodded or murmured an affirmative answer.

“Any of you know her or her family?”

They all shook their heads.

“What do you know about any of the other staff at St. Catherine’s besides Monsignor?”

“You mean like Icky?” Romeo said.

Arnie snorted another laugh. Baby G chortled and even Boris chuckled.

This bunch had clearly been busy scavenging information to trade once Riley pointed them in the right direction. He smiled along with them. “Who’s Icky?” 

“Shoes.”  Baby G said that and they all clammed up, even Tusk who closed the phone and flipped it back to Romeo.

Riley squatted down to be eye level with the two negotiators, Baby G and Romeo. He should have known better than to think he’d get anything for free with this bunch. “What about shoes?”

“Team needs socks and shoes. Five pairs of Nikes and three pairs of Adidas. Two pairs of socks each.”

Riley saw his next paycheck disappearing faster than sand through an hourglass. “For all that, I want
good
intel on Icky, Bruno and Pia.”

Romeo exchanged a loaded glance with everyone before he told Riley, “Hundred cash in advance for two out of three right now.”

Riley would pay more than that, which was why he had to let the offer sit for a minute to cure properly. Otherwise next time he’d be paying double. He blew out a breath, making it sound like they had him by the short hairs. “Okay, what have you got?”

Baby G cleared his throat. “Father Ickerson is the other priest at St. Catherine’s. Remember Titia?” 

Riley lifted his chin in a “yes.”

“Titia said Father Ickerson is in charge of Philomena house, his personal project. He has an ex-con, Valdez something, doing electrical work and odd jobs around St. Catherine’s and at Philomena House. Deacon Grizzle works primarily with Father Ickerson, but he’s also the replacement deacon for the crook who got them in so much trouble. Titia said Grizzle comes to Philomena House sometimes, too, but that new lady assistant hasn’t been there.”

“Margo Cortese?”

“That sounds right.” 

“What about Monsignor? Does he have any contact with Philomena House?”  Riley had learned years ago the tiny pieces of an investigation were what made the big ones fall into place.

“Titia hasn’t met him. Don’t know if anyone else at Philomena has.”

Riley pondered that a minute. “Who’s the other one you’ve got something on?”

Tusk spoke up. “My aunt said one of the customers in her salon yesterday told everyone in the shop about the guy the police found in the cemetery. She said the customer’s a nurse who works at St. Jo’s and the police had to come there to tell Parrick’s wife he’d been killed. The Parrick woman was in being patched up for a broken arm and black eye. Had a run in with a door knob.” 

Not a surprised expression among the team at Tusk’s joking reference to the fact Bruno had probably put his wife in the hospital with his fists.

And not one of them smiled at the joke, not even Arnie.

“Okay, that’s two of the three.”  Riley stood up. “Let me know if you get anything on Pia or Enrique.”

Romeo had his hands hooked behind his head. “Why you still lookin’ for him? Kid goes missing this long don’t show up talking again.” 

“Let’s just say I have confirmation he’s still alive – ”

Eyebrows shot up all around at that.

Riley continued, “So anything you find on him or Sally is still important. Like why her body was dropped on a judge’s lawn?”  He searched their faces. “Anybody know of someone with a beef against the judge?”

“Ah, shit, everybody pissed at a judge.”  Romeo shook his head. “That ain’t nothing. But nobody talkin’ trash about the judge. What about Mrs. Judge?”

“Yeah,” Tusk broke in. “My aunt says someone in her salon is always yammering about a rich-ass bitch who pissed them off. Maybe the judge’s wife got gambling debts – ”

“ – or she ran over somebody’s dog with her car,” Arnie added.

Then Baby G suggested, “ – or she’s sleeping with somebody’s...wife.”  He grinned.

Boris rolled his eyes and said nothing.

Riley held up his hand before they had Berringer’s wife killing Sally. But they’d given him a reason to take a closer look at the entire Berringer household.

He fished out his money clip and handed Romeo two fifties. Before heading to his truck, Riley told the group to text him with anything if they couldn’t reach him to talk. Riley’s cell phone rang as he climbed in. He cranked the engine and answered to find Kirsten calling.

“Where’ve you been, Kirsten?”  He smiled at her sigh and knew it was because he’d used her first name. “I called you half an hour ago.”

“I’ve been busy. We’ve confirmed the identity of the body this morning and that the deceased
is
little Pia’s father, but he isn’t married to her mother. Philly PD is releasing his name to the press.” 

Ah, hell. The grandmother had bragged about Pia’s dad being a model father. But was that a mother’s opinion or the truth?

“What’s his name?”  Riley had found out the vic’s first name was Vance and that he was an electrician, but Officer Malone had returned before Riley got Pia’s grandmother to share her son’s last name.

“Vance Montoya.”

“Did you find out if he’s connected to St. Catherine’s in any way?”

“That’s why I’m calling. I’m sure you recall the woman you spoke to in the hospital,” Kirsten added with a tinge of annoyance. “Pia’s grandmother is Vance’s mother. She said her son had been trying to work things out with Pia’s mother who is a drug addict living in New Jersey. The grandmother had tried to talk her son out of letting Pia stay with the child’s mother in Ludlow, because the grandmother didn’t believe Pia’s mother was ever going to stop doing drugs, but she says her son loved the woman.”

“Guess what they say about love being blind is true,” Riley quipped.

Kirsten ignored him. “The grandmother said Vance told her yesterday he found Pia’s mother overdosed so he called for an ambulance, but he couldn’t find Pia. He rounded up people to help him search for his little girl, which has been collaborated.”`

“Are you sure his girlfriend died of an overdose?”

“Yes. And Vance was a good father, based on what his mother said. The last she heard from Vance was when he went home to an old house he has in the woods near Evansburg State Park.”  Kirsten paused. “That’s twenty miles away from St. Catherine’s and the grandmother said they were Baptists and she’d never heard of St. Catherine’s. That absolves St. Catherine’s of being linked to all these murders so I don’t want to hear anything else about them.”

“Then don’t ask me questions.” 

“We had a deal, Walker.”

“I don’t see how that clears anyone from suspicion.”  Riley had thought they were on the same side...until now.

“Pia’s mother never lived in Philadelphia. No one in that group had any connection to St. Catherine’s or Philomena House.”  Kirsten all but shouted that.

Riley slapped the console cover. “We’re running out of time to find Enrique so while you and the rest of City Hall sits on your collective hands I’ll be asking the questions you’re all afraid to ask.”

“In case you haven’t heard, the pope is coming to Philadelphia. This city will go crazy if we put pressure on a church that was verbally trashed last year on assumptions.”

Screw all of them. He’d find Enrique even if it cost the pope’s visit. Seemed like the pope would put a child’s life first. Right? “I heard the pope was coming, but losing that visit wouldn’t keep me up at night.”

“Don’t make me do something I don’t want to do, Riley.”

He heard regret and worry behind that threat and caught that she’d used his first name, but it didn’t change anything. “Lock me up if you can live with the consequences. But make sure you show up with enough to put me away for a long time, because I’m not stopping until this is over. And it’s not over until the killer is caught and we find Enrique.”

Chapter 49

Lucinda forced a smile through clenched teeth and hoped she possessed a smidgen of natural acting ability. She had to present a composed image to get past security at Stan’s building where he managed a television station from his office as senior vice president.

The security staff knew Lucinda. Treated her as the wife of a very important executive in the company. She had a photo security badge that cleared her to come and go any time.

When she stepped up to the security desk, the officer on duty smiled, gave an obligatory look at her badge and wished her a nice day, clearing her so she could continue to the elevators. 

They wouldn’t be smiling for long.

Stan could not hide from her, not even here.

Nothing could stop her from getting her baby back.

She’d called Ziegler, but the doctor had been at the hospital with a critical case. That had left Lucinda no choice but to call Stan or the police.

A bell dinged, announcing the elevator stopping at the lobby floor. Lucinda waited for the car to clear then stepped in, thankful to be alone on the ride to the tenth floor where no one was expecting her. Definitely not Stan.

She’d considered calling him for all of a nanosecond. He hadn’t called her before taking Kelsey out of school. Lucinda could think of nothing but getting to her child first and talking to Stan later. She’d had another reason for not calling. If Kelsey wasn’t in this building, where she’d better be, Lucinda didn’t want to give Stan a chance to leave before Lucinda got here.

Please, God, keep my baby safe,
Lucinda prayed for the millionth time.