No Mercy (23 page)

One of Joey Z's regulars witnessed the kiss Rachelle had given to him and the owner just shook his head and raised his hands, saying, “Hey, if only I was born rich instead of handsome.” The customer laughed because it was a typical Joey Z comment.

Joey Z looked at his watch as he spoke again. “Speaking of which, Mom and Dad should be coming in any minute. This will be a fun day.” Joey Z's parents came into the restaurant every third day and sat at the table in the back while they read various newspapers, still going strong well into their eighties and while working part-time with their dollhouse business in Smithtown. They had become part of the extended family, and Paul would even get her a Mother's Day card to leave for her when she would come to the restaurant every year.

Upstairs, the back of Paul's head was becoming damp again. He had just told Bud to stay away from Deborah to keep them safe, and yet he couldn't turn Rachelle away when she came to see him this morning. The conflict of his convictions was making him feel guilty. He was getting depressed and was having doubts about whether he could solve the case. Doubts would set in, and he could feel himself getting emotional from being overwhelmed. He needed to get in the shower quick and clear his mind.

Deborah was playing with the dogs when her phone played the song “Always on My Mind.” She laughed every time Bud sang it to Paul, so she thought it was a perfect song to let her know Bud was calling. She picked up the call. “Hello, Detective Johnson, may I help you?”

He had a smile just hearing her voice.

“What are you doing?”

“Playing with the dogs.”

“I'm jealous,” he answered.

“Well, you should be, because I have been rolling on the floor with them.”

The detective laughed as he spoke again. “I just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you. When this is over I would really like to have a chance to speak with you at great length.”

“I have always been here for you, Bud. Always. Whenever you need me. I am here for you.”

“You are an amazing woman, Deborah.”

“Only when I'm with you, Bud.”

“Don't forget. Move-in day was changed. One week later. I want this over before moving in.”

“I remember, silly.”

“OK, stay put. Officer Franks will be at the gate today.”

“I'm here, but don't forget I'm visiting Madison tomorrow with Rachelle and then to the mall for some shopping.”

“OK, we will have a couple of officers watching just to be sure.”

“You can watch me,” she answered with a giggle.

“Too dangerous. I'm worth too much to the bounty hunters. I'm not sure if I'm worth $250,000 or $1 million at this point,” he said with a nervous laugh.

There was silence for a few seconds when Deborah answered, “You're priceless, Bud.”

The detective was not used to such kind words. He took out the photo he kept of Deborah in his wallet and looked at it while he spoke again. “I better go, but I think we should have lunch at the Pie soon. You got me hooked on their grilled vegetable salad.”

“OK, Bud,” she replied, “be careful.”

She heard the click, but within seconds she received a text from him.
You mean the world to me, don’t ever think anything else.

Stony Brook University Medical Center is the largest academic medical center on Long Island. It is located on Nichols Road in Stony Brook, Long Island. The University associated with it is well respected with over twenty-four thousand students. On the grounds is a facility for veterans that allows about 350 honorably discharged veterans to have a roof over their heads.

Once he arrived, Detective Sergeant Paul Powers nodded at Officer Sinclair at the entrance and walked into room 218 on the eighteenth floor of the hospital, and looked at the swollen black-and-blue face of Detective Ellyn Baker. Her eyes were closed for about three minutes before she opened them to see Paul Powers standing over her with a concerned smile on his face. She was reminded just how handsome he was, and she thought it was ironic the moment she appreciated his looks, her own face looked like someone had rubbed charcoal all over it.

“Hey,” Powers said.

Baker closed her eyes again, but this time she had a smile on her face when she spoke. “I'm not ready to come back to work.” Paul laughed. “I love a woman with a sense of humor.” “Well,” she answered, “I'm just sorry you're seeing me before I get my facial.”

The detective laughed again before saying, “Ellyn, we got the fat man, and he gave everyone up. There is not much of a mystery here except where Simpson is and if there is someone calling the shots. They have put bounty money on us, and because you are part of us, you are worth $50,000 to them. This is why fat ass, excuse me, the fat man, Sysco, wanted to take you out.”

Ellyn Baker lay silently as her thoughts raced in her head. “I guess this type of thing is normal for Priority 1.”

“No, no it's not,” Paul answered. “This is related to a case we had about a year and a half ago. We thought it was over, but we were mistaken. This time it will be finished, once and for all. You have my number, and there will be an officer at the door. Do you have any questions or anything you need to tell me?”

Baker moved a bit in her bed to get comfortable and spoke. “How did they know who I was at the club?”

“The cops in East Hampton. They got to them with payouts. They informed Branca, Wiley, and Simpson.”

Baker moved her head toward the window as she replied, “If that is true, then how do we know if they haven't gotten to any of our team?”

Powers's face lost all expression as he absorbed Ellyn Baker's words. “Ellyn, just get well; we will take it from here. I'm going down the hall to see Chapman, and will stop back to say good-bye.”

As he started to walk away, the detective grabbed his hand and said, “Be careful, Detective.”

Paul smiled and squeezed her hand. “You're a good cop, Ellyn, and one hell of a kicker. For someone who doesn't like to wear shoes, you sure know how to use them.”

“Well,” she answered, “what I need right now is someone from Mary Kay.”

“You know,” Paul replied, “we will have to figure out a way to resolve you being at the club after a shooting but we have time to address it.”

He kissed her hand and walked down the hall to visit Officer Chapman. As he walked toward the room he called O'Malley, who answered on the second ring. Detective Sergeant Powers told him to get with Sysco again and to double-check the bounty list with the payout schedule. “I want to be sure there is no one left off the list that should be on it. Also, sit him down and see if he has been holding anything back on where Branca and his crew could be. Now that they have been implicated, they won't return to the club or their homes. Somebody is putting them up.” After that he directed O'Malley to meet him at the hospital with the list.

“Paul,” O'Malley interrupted the detective, “Linda Tangretti had to be released. We didn't charge her with anything yet. The fat man's confession is not enough to hold her.”

“Shit!” Paul yelled as he hung up.

He called Gina to find out where Lynagh, Healey, Franks, Johnson, Wyatt, and Caulfield were at that very moment. He asked her to give him an answer within ten minutes.
Good ole Gina
, he thought,
she always stays on top of where everyone is
.

When he hung up with Gina he sent ADA Ashley a text:
When is Cronin’s family coming in from California? Also let’s get O’Connor out a little at a time. Maybe he will be ready to vent to our undercover reporter
. He put his phone in his jacket as he walked in to pay his respects to Officer Robert Chapman.

Gary Reynolds was a part-time reporter for Nada at
Long Island Pulse
for five years while he took mass communications at Five Towns College in Dix Hills. It seemed the stars were aligned when he graduated, and the chance to work full-time was available. The only catch was that it would be as a prison inmate at Bedford Hills prison, undercover. Detective Lieutenant Cronin had set it up with Nada and got the approval of the DA's office that it would be for twenty-four months. Cronin did not want to take any chances with O'Connor and knew the only way to keep an eye on him was to convince him Reynolds was also a cold-blooded killer. They set up his fake name as Reynolds and even went to the trouble of creating his history in case O'Connor had his visitors check him out.

After six months of seeing Reynolds in the same circle at the prison he was able to befriend the former FBI Agent. Reynolds was being paid by the taxpayers while being on Nada's payroll for benefits. When he eventually left the prison, his story would be exclusive to
LI Pulse
and he would receive a bonus. At twenty-three years of age, he was dealing with the guards and the protocols of prison as well as the lousy food for the experience of a lifetime. Ashley had his doubts when Cronin initially wanted the setup at the prison, but once again it appeared it was the right call. It was now ADA Ashley who was communicating with Nada since the world still thought Cronin was dead.

Today was the first time since the initial order that the guards let O'Connor out of his cell. Outside there were only two others playing basketball, and Reynolds was sitting on a bench watching them.

O'Connor sat down with Reynolds, who promptly spoke. “Hello there, stranger. You must really be a bad boy to keep you in a cell so long. You must have a lousy lawyer.”

“They are pissed off that their precious Detective Lieutenant Cronin blew up in a million pieces. They have no proof, of course, that I'm involved, but they want to punish me anyway. Which makes me confused and suspicious of why I'm allowed to speak to you.”

“No problem, man,” Reynolds shot back. “You sat down with me,” and he got up to leave.

“No, no wait,” O'Connor answered. “I guess I am getting a little paranoid. You have time?”

Reynolds was a pro. “I've got another twenty years, man. What's up?”

“Fucking Robert Simpson. Our plan was to destroy the lives of the people who got me here. Then he enters the picture and convinces us to have bounties put on their heads. We have no choice because he has the money, but he can't let go of the girl. He really lost it. He starts killing young women to get Cronin's task force involved to make it easier to eliminate them.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Reynolds asked.

“Because,” O'Connor replied, “I will bring you in on this by getting messages to certain people through your visitors. I'm no longer allowed to have visitors, so I'm cut off.”

Gary Reynolds thought of every possible scenario to avoid suspicion. Even though he had now been in prison for fourteen months and had O'Connor's confidence, he did not want to blow it now. He asked, “If the people who visited you start visiting me, wouldn't that raise a red flag to everyone? Also, how could you get word out for them to see me with you being watched so close?”

O'Connor was impressed with the young man. “I have a guard who is a friend. He will take care of it for me.”

Reynolds breathed a sigh of relief at this moment that Cronin insisted no one at the prison knew of Reynolds being undercover. He simply did not trust anyone, and he was proven right again. Now his only worry was which guard. If the wrong guard was listening in to his conversation with his visitors, his cover would be blown and his life threatened. He decided to go for it.

“I'll do it, but I need to know which guard is involved. I need to know who has my back and who I can talk to. Also, our conversations are recorded. How to plan this?”

“My friend,” O'Connor replied, “will make sure the conversation is not recorded. He will be in touch with you.”

Just as he finished speaking, correctional officer Gene Blakely yelled at Reynolds to get up and head back to the building. All of a sudden Gary Reynolds felt very alone. He was given pause to say anything to anyone, not knowing which of the guards was a partner with the sicko he had befriended. He returned to his cell with almost a feeling of desperation. He did not want to bring attention to himself, but he was upset by the news about the demise of Detective Cronin. He also did not want to speak to his contacts through the DA's office until he knew which guard was on Simpson's payroll. He wasn't in his cell for ten minutes when correctional officer Tom Jenkins came to his cell to tell him his attorney was waiting for him in the attorney-client room. The officer led the young man to the room and greeted Al Simmons for the first time in his life. Tom Jenkins stood by the door as Gary Reynolds sat across the table from the attorney.

“You can leave us,” Simmons said to the correctional officer.

“Sorry, sir,” Jenkins replied, “I can't leave you alone with him unless his hands are in cuffs to the table.” Simmons looked at Reynolds, who nodded it was OK. “Go ahead then, Officer, I need to speak to my client in private.”

Jenkins came over and cuffed Gary Reynolds and left the room while standing outside the door with a window so he could keep an eye on things. The undercover prisoner stared at the attorney, not sure of what to think or say.

Finally, Al Simmons spoke.

“Things are reaching a boiling point, or should I say a climax.”

Reynolds just sat there in silence with his hands in cuffs, waiting for Simmons to speak again. Things started to get awkward, so the attorney spoke again.

“I was sent here by Detective Cronin to work with you.”

“Why now are you in the picture?” Reynolds asked. “I've been here for fourteen months, and the only contact I have had has been with ADA Ashley and Cronin. You say Cronin sent you, yet I've been told he was blown to pieces.”

Simmons reached over the table and whispered into Reynolds ear, “He's alive. I have been sent here by ADA Ashley to let you know.”

Reynolds inhaled a long breath and exhaled as Simmons sat down in his chair to speak again.

“He is dead in our eyes to keep the bounties off of the women. Thanks to your information. This is why I'm here. You are now my client, and all information will be passed through our conversations.”

As Simmons continued to speak, Reynolds interrupted him.