To Probe A Beating Heart (31 page)

             
“Gotta’ stay clean,” he mumbled.

             
“Speak up my man, we are home.”

             
“They could be listening, bugs.”

             
“Naw, they got zip, nada, nothing.”

             
“Still, careful is best.”

             
“Okay, we can still talk if you think loud enough.”

             
Averell paused and thought, “Can you hear me now?”

             
“Why yes I can good buddy.”

* * *

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

But I really do understand . . .

Jim McClarry was coming in when he ran into Vince Galley in the parking lot. “How you doing this morning,” asked Jim.

             
“C’mon upstairs and let’s get Alex and George, we should talk,” said Vince.

             
They went into the captain’s office, “Afternoon Vince, Jim,” said

George, “sit down.”

              Jim sat and Alex came into the office. “What’s up George, hey Jim, what’s going on?”

             
George started the session saying, “Listen guys, I know how you all feel about this case around the Shelton girl. The good news is that we have a way outside maybe with this character in up-state New York, a traveling salesman or something. The bad side is there is nothing that we can arrest him on. Nothing that even points directly at him, he became a person of interest when he possibly showed interest in the Melissa Winton crime scene, the cemetery. Then he looks kinda like the guy from 1991, and the kneeling man, kinda, nobody could possibly make a positive ID in either case. He has been interviewed twice, and we even went over some of his travel logs that show him somewhere else when each of our fifteen cases went down. We looked at his family, he was adopted from Europe, has one sister, his mother and father split up, his mother remarried and the new father adopted him and his sister. We got nothing on them, they still live in the Syracuse area, except the first father, he moved to California when the kid was five years old. He does not have a juvenile record sealed or otherwise, did a stint in the Army, nothing there and now does this salesman routine from Albany to Toledo, all along the I-90 corridor. That’s it, we got nothing to put him into any of the cases except Melissa’s, and that’s as thin as it gets. All things added up, I think that this is our guy. The feds will never give up and they’ll stay on him forever. They will watch him till he makes a mistake. For now, that’s it, we got other things to do and I want you guys to understand that we are not shutting it down,

it’s on the shelf and not in cold storage.”

              Alex looked at George, “You know that the way these cases have gone, the guy who did it is no dummy. If he has any inkling that we suspect this Danker character, he will hold up and convince us that it must be Danker. If it is Danker, and he knows that we suspect him then he also knows that we don’t have enough to arrest him, and all he has to do is sit tight, don’t do anything and sooner or later we will go away, and he will be free to do as he pleases.”

             
Neither Vince nor Jim was pleased with the status, but they were

frozen. If they acted out in some way, the case, slim as it may be, could be
blown away.

             
George continued, “Jim, you did some damn good cop work without all the advantages of the upstairs facilities before you earned your gold shield and became one of us. I like the way you work and want you to know that you will do better on some cases and some will go completely south. I don’t want you to be discouraged and give up. Remember there is no statute of limitations when it comes to murder and if he did kill Annette, or any of the others, he will make a mistake sooner or later and we will be right there. We will get him, just a matter of time. Now, I have to trust that you guys will take this the right way and let the feds do their thing. Are we on the same page?”

             
Sean was not smiling, “George, you know me a long time, I understand and Jimmy is going to be a good little boy.” As he said that Jim looked at Sean and did not challenge the use of ‘Jimmy’ or ‘boy’, Sean was not happy and now was not the time to remind him that your name was not Jimmy.

             
Jim did not like this either, but he understood, “I hear you Captain, I do not want this screwed up either.”

             
George looked at each of his men and caught a knowing look in each pair of eyes. “Now, we all have put time and effort into this and you can feel good about what you’ve done, a lot has been accomplished up till now and things will move at a snail’s pace from now till we get something else, so, y’all have things to do, right?”

              “Okay guys, now I have to get back to keepin’, the peace and writing tickets,” said Sean. He walked toward the stairs and Jim caught up to him.

             
“Sean, I know this is not going to be easy, but I really do understand.”

             
“I’m with you Jim.” his voice trailed off as if he wanted to say something else.

             
“What, what is it?”

             
“Well, no, nothing, I am pissed and feel like a drink. Wanna’ stop and have one after I get my paperwork done?”

             
“Margo and I have something on tonight, and she wouldn’t appreciate my hanging around a pub drinking when I should be home,” said Jim.

             
“Yeah, okay, hey why don’t you guys come over to the house this weekend and we will burn a coupla’ steaks and have a drink then.”

             
“Works for me, I’ll check with Margo and you clear it on your end.” Jim went back and did his last batch of paper work, said good night to his comrades and left the building. As he walked home, every other step was accompanied with another four letter statement of frustration.

* * *

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

Do you know this Aaron . . .

That week end, Jim and Margo went to Sean’s house and they charcoal broiled steaks, drank a few beers and told some stories. Neither Sean nor Jim was pleased with the situation and they let out the pent up frustration by splitting fire wood from Sean’s wood pile. After a few beers each, a couple of nicely done steaks and stacking about a half of a cord of fire wood, they were both ready for a good night’s sleep.

             
Sean took Jim aside and said, “We have to talk about the family.” The two went into the den and closed the door. Jim sat in an easy chair and Sean pulled a foot stool close and sat facing Jim as if he was going to tell him some big secret. “Jim, you heard the boss, time for us to back away, let it be handled by somebody else. I know that you don’t want to let go, but, trust me, at this point, we let go. The department here in Cleveland Heights is stuck, not enough to arrest, not enough to bring to a Grand Jury, not enough, not enough, not enough. It pisses me off, but it also opens another door.”

             
“What door, what are you talking about?”

             
“What I am saying is, well, we are family, you remember our conversation a few years back, we are Clan, cousins everywhere.”

             
“Yeah, I remember.”

             
“Well that bit we all heard about way back a hundred years ago, that was not just a story, it really happened. The family found the guy and put him in the pit to die. They did it then and they have settled other accounts since then that don’t get talked about. Remember, if you know something, don’t talk about it, if you don’t know, don’t ask and what you don’t know you cannot tell. It’s kind of simple, but it works, at least so far.”

              “So where are we going with this?”

             
“I’m sure that the clan has already made some contingency plans for our friend.”

             
“Such as—?”

             
“Such as, first making sure that he did do it, at least Annette, then figure how many of the others he did. Second, find the evidence that confirms as much of the suspicions as we can, everything if possible. Then third, well then he will be punished.”

             
“You mean pitted. We can’t do that, it’s not legal, it’s not ethical or moral or right. We can’t fall to that level, become gangsters and write our own rules.”

             
“I’m not saying that we will, I’m saying that the Clan will probably look very hard at this whole thing and then, they may act, they may wind up running him over with a truck, or shooting him. Hell, I don’t know what they will do, more than likely they would gather the information and go through some legal channel, local or state or federal and get the guy locked up. You know prison is not exactly the safest place for guys who murder little girls, no matter who puts him away, someone inside will feel entitled to put him down and say that he gives regular murderers and rapists a bad name.”

             
“Yeah, bad guys have daughters too.”

             
“Exactly, anyway, just be aware that this thing will not fall through the cracks. If the first try doesn’t get him, the next one or the next one after that or another one down the line will get him. Sooner or later, Averell Danker will pay the price for what he did.”

             
“Yeah, I guess if I heard that somebody did run him down with a truck, I wouldn’t feel bad about it.”

             
“I didn’t want you to think that we had to just accept a possible ‘Cold Case’ stamp on the file.”

             
“Understood, but now I am concerned that the family is getting a little too casual about how we can address this.”

             
“Just be aware that someone may ask you to be involved in some way, and you may have to make a choice. Think about it for a few days and we should talk again.”

             
“Okay, I hear you, it’s a lot to push around in my head, but I will give it thought. You think someone will ask me for something, like what?”

             
“Like the information that you gathered, that was a lot of work. I know it was sent to the feds, and we shared it with other departments, so, maybe somebody else may want to read it over. Hell I really don’t know, just be ready for someone from the family to contact you.”

             
“What would you do, if they asked you for the information?”

             
“Jimmy, I would do whatever it takes to get this son of a bitch, and hurt him. Assuming that he is the guy that did take Annette.”

             
“But that’s just it, we don’t know for sure.”

             
“They would make absolutely sure, before doing anything to hurt him. In fact, they would probably try to use the legal system to its max, collect the information, hand it over and let the system work.”

             
“Maybe, like I said, it’s a lot to think about and I will do just that, and thanks for the heads up.”

             
They went back to the kitchen and Jim thanked Nancy for dinner and her patience and said they were going to head home. He intended to fall asleep watching the Indians game on television and he would think about the family matter tomorrow.

             
They got back to their apartment, Jim turned on the television and went into the kitchen to open another beer when the phone rang. Margo answered it and handed it to Jim with a shrug of her shoulders. The voice on the phone was a deep authoritative sounding man with a slight brogue. “Good evening Jimmy m’boy. My name is Aaron and we have a few things to discuss.”

             
“Yeah, sure, and I have a ballgame to watch so why don’t you call back tomorrow,” said Jim.

             
“Allow me a minute and you’ll see the importance of this call,” said Aaron.

             
“Okay, a minute.”

             
“Annette Shelton.”

             
Jim turned toward the television and pushed the mute button on the remote. “Alright, you have my attention.” Margo sat up straight and looked quizzically at Jim. He responded by holding up a finger and listening to the caller.

             
“You’ve been collecting information on a number of missing children around Annette.”

             
“Yes, and—,” said Jim.

             
“And we are in a position to do something with it,” said Aaron.

             
“Does it involve this Danker character?” asked Jim.

              “That it well may lad, but the less I tell you, the less that you can tell someone else. We work behind a curtain of sorts, no names, no questions and no answers to the wrong people.”

             
“So what do you want from me?”

             
“Two things, first have you added anything to your files that has not been sent to the Feds?”

             
“No, what I have, was sent to them by the department.”

             
“And second, could we discuss several points that you made in these files?”

             
“Okay, now it’s my turn. First who are you?”

             
“If I said that I was a friend, and I’m trying to help, would that answer the question?”

             
“No, so you have to do better than that.”

             
“Well now Jimmy boy, I suppose that you have guessed who I might              be and that apparently is not enough either, so I’ll tell you this, in a long distance sort of way you and I are related and we are both closer to Annette than to each other. You are an officer of the law in America, I am also a part of that same profession, but I can tell you no more than that. I can say that we have the same objective in what we are doing, but you have to follow the rules, and I do not. It is because the investigation is stalled and there is no possibility of an arrest at this point that I am involved. I will try to keep this entire process legal, but if I have to cross a line, I will. Now I already have a copy of your files, but it may help if we could go over each item and be sure that we have a firm grip on everything.”

             
“You want me to help you?”

             
“Yes and your involvement would be between us, nobody else would even know that we have spoken.”

             
“I can’t do that, it’s not the way it’s supposed to happen. I may want to do something, but you have to understand, we have a process, slow and plodding, but it is the process that continues to protect us all and I can’t go against that.”

             
“Understood, Jimmy boy, and I respect your conviction, but, I may still call you with questions. I already know the answer to many of them will be to repeat what you have just said, but I still may call.”

             
“You know, I have to report this conversation.”

             
“You do what you must and I will too. I might suggest that you talk to your cousin and your wife about this, see what they suggest you do. Now go watch your ballgame, we’ll be talking again soon.” The line went silent.

             
“Aaron—.” But he was already gone. Jim stood looking at the phone.

             
Margo looked at him and said, “What was that all about?”

             
“This guy, says his name is Aaron, says he wants me to review my files with him.”

             
“Is that good or bad, I mean who is Aaron?”

             
“That’s just it, I really don’t know. He said, talk to your wife, talk to              your cousin.”

             
“So—.”

             
Jim dialed Sean’s number, “Sean, it’s Jim, I just got a call from a guy—.”

             
Sean cut him off, “Aaron?”

             
“Yeah, who is he?”

             
“That’s hard to explain. He is one of us, family, or more appropriately, Clan. Aaron is not his real name. I didn’t think that they would be that quick to start contacting us and I wanted you to be ready when they did.”

             
“Sean, this sounds a little off .”

             
“Yeah, a little strange, but I think you should give him some leeway, he is going to try to address a situation that we, the cops, can’t or couldn’t, like we were talking earlier. What did he want from you?”

             
“He wants to review my files with me.”

             
“Jimmy, if I was in your shoes right now, I would do it.”

             
“You think that I should, I mean—.”

             
“Jim, you built a couple of files that are all public knowledge, there

are no secrets buried in there. This guy, Aaron is one of us, he is on the

team that represents the Shelton’s interests. You will do nothing wrong. There may be a piece or two that they have or that they could find that once added to your data will open a big door, you’re helping them do their jobs. Jim, these guys have contacts everywhere, no telling what they may find.”

             
“Yeah, and no telling what they would do with all that info.”

             
“Well at some point, we may have to trust somebody.”

             
“Okay, Sean, do you know this Aaron?”

             
“No, we have never met, do you have a problem with this?”

             
“Well I have been thinking about our conversation and well, yes in

part
and then again, no, not really.”

             
“Then I would do it, and don’t tell anyone unless you are directly asked about it. And then be perfectly honest, hell it would just be a conversation with a relative about stuff from the newspapers, right?”

             
They talked for a few more minutes and Jim said, “Well I still have to think about this, and I have to tell George.”

             
“You should tell George, but you don’t have to.”

             
“Sean, I do have to.”

             
“Jimmy, that’s what makes you a good cop, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

             
Jim went back to the living room and pushed the power button on the TV remote, second inning, no score, he sat down next to Margo. She poked him in the ribs and said, “Well, are you okay?”