Berry was heading over to the hospital to see Lee. He had stopped by his office first to put together a special picture that he thought might help Lee remember the face of the woman driver that hit him. Berry had Photo-Shopped the picture so the background was black and only the oval of the face was visible. He was hoping that when he showed it to Lee… at just the right time during his questioning… Lee might recognize the face. It was a long shot at best but Berry had hunch and he was feeling he had gotten better with his timing lately… maybe it was just the right time to jog Lee’s memory.
When Berry arrived at Lee’s room, Lee was up and sitting on the side of the bed. Hi Berry… It’s nice to see you again… thanks for coming by… Muffin’s been here several times… had to scold him though for making me laugh… it hurts my ribs… Lee stood up very slowly, cracked a huge smile, and reached out patting Berry on his shoulder… glad you stopped by.
I’ve been meaning to get over here to see you sooner… so much going on… but you might want to reserve your appreciation for later… to be honest with you I have ulterior motives for coming to see you. I want to jog your memory a little more… it’s very important… what you remember could be a key turning point in the case I am working on… I believe it ties into your hit and run.
Lee felt excited by the prospect he was the key to anything… he had always been what he considered an extra… and extra cog on the wheel… and extra person in the group… not in the center… not even at the end… but a backup singer… an understudy… Lee slid slowly back towards the bed and sat down. It impressed him that Berry considered him a key and thought he could help with the investigation… Lee decided was going be as much help as he could. If I can help in any way Berry just ask. I’m willing to do whatever I can to help you.
I’m glad you feel that way Lee… it can help you remember what happened… what you saw… what your memory stored… so let’s get started. I’m going to ask you some questions. I want you to stop and think about your answers… try to visualize your answers… to think of what your mind saw through your eyes… to try to see what you actually saw when it happened.
Ok, your approaching the street to cross to the other side… did you step off the curb and cross immediately… did you hesitate a little… did you just stand there on the other side for a while?
Lee tilted back his head, squinted his eyes, and looked up towards the ceiling as if he was seeing a vision… he was trying to see… in his mind… his actions that night.
As I approached, I was looking across the street at the bath house. I remember that I was thinking maybe I should just go back to Arnolds… I remember… I stood there for a while… maybe 5 minutes or so…
Good… that’s a start Lee… you’re getting the idea… what we are trying to do is allow your mind to retrieve memories it has stored from that night… now, when you stepped off the curb did you walk slow… fast.. or maybe run across? How quickly did you cross the street?
Lee continued trying to visualize his actions that night… I believe I started out rather slowly… but then my steps got quicker… I remember I was moving fairly quick when the car hit me… I remember now… when I saw the car… I thought I should have been more slow and careful crossing the street.
GREAT! OK… after you saw the car and thought you should have been more careful… you looked over at the driver… and you said previously you saw the driver was a female…
Yeeeessss… that’s… that’s right… Lee was still concentrating on visualizing that night.
Did you look the driver directly in the face? … did you see the driver’s face?
Lee’s face tightened up as he concentrated harder on what he saw… Yeeesaa… yeeees I did… that’s how I knew it was a female… Lee was nodding his head rapidly with his eyes closed as he spoke.
Berry held up the picture he had put together. I want you to open your eyes and look at this picture… do you recognize this person?
Lee straightened up, opened his eyes, and looked directly at the picture Berry was holding up.
OHH… MY… GOSH… THAT’S HERRR…
OK one more thing Lee… do you recognize her… do you remember seeing her before? Think hard!
Well, I’m not really good at women’s faces… but I remember thinking she was familiar… there was something… I couldn’t be sure… but I remember thinking she looked a little like a woman I saw a few days earlier… I only saw her for a few seconds … she had a hoodie on with the draw strings pulled tight… but she looked a lot like that picture too… I believe the reason I remember her face is because it seemed odd to me… not the hoodie… although I remember thinking it was the wrong color for her complexion… an awful shade of green… but the odd part is that she was laying on the ground next to a car when I saw her… then when she saw me she got up quickly, and took off disappearing into the crowd that was around the office steps.
Where was this Lee?
Huuuh… that when it all started…
What started? …
This whole mess… my involvement… what almost got me killed I think… it was at the Politico Office complex… I went there as a favor for Muffin… who I believe was working for you Mr. Sullivan.
You were looking for information on the committee…
Yeeees… that’s right… it was some political thing… you know I’m not into politics… I was following this groups that I thought might be connected… they were there doing some kind of protest at a senator’s office… Senator Parks… trying to pressure him on a vote or something like that… the group was gathering on the steps outside his office… I was trying to stay in the background… to see if I could find out anything without being obvious… I was standing in the parking lot listening to conversations as the protesters passed by… I stayed there until they were all standing around the office steps and the parking lot was almost empty… that’s when I saw her… in the parking lot.
Did you happen you notice whose parking space it was… who the car belonged to?
I wasn’t paying much attention to things like that… it could have been the rock star’s for that matter and I wouldn’t have known… I’m not the automobile aficionado type… but I do remember that is was a silver Lincoln town car… I may not know much about cars but I do know about class…
This is great Lee… you may have put a cap on this case and brought it to a resolution with your information… the problem is you may also have become a target for some very serious and dangerous people… when have the doctors told you that you can leave?
The last one I talked to said they plan to keep me here for at least two more days… I don’t like being a target Berry... this whole thing scares me. Lee started to cry.
Berry reached over and patted Lee on the back. We can keep you safe Lee… we can make sure no one can hurt you… trust me Lee… I’m going take care of that…
Lee looked up at Berry and forced a smile… thanks Berry… you know... you’re not so bad for a straight guy.
Berry smiled back. I’m going to make a call right now to get you good protection… he dialed his cell phone to call Dave.
Dave… I have that evidence we needed… a witness… yes a real live witness… I need some good protection over here at the hospital… for at least two days… this needs to be a real tight operation… we can’t afford a slip up… Berry looked over at Lee… I believe this may be the key… to bring the entire organization down… he felt a shiver go up his neck… those were almost the exact words he had heard over the phone back when the case began… just before the person who spoke them was killed. Berry shook off the strange feeling of déjà vu and continued his conversation.
Ok, that sounds good… you talk to the Chief and I’ll wait here until the arrangements are made… hang tight buddy… we’re on the home stretch. Berry was trying to sound positive even if he was a little anxious about it all going bad himself.
…
Dave was standing in the Chief?
??s office looking out the window. It had been a long day and it was probably going to be a long night too. The sun was almost gone having quietly ducked behind the tall buildings of the city… and night was beginning to sweep over its streets and alley ways. The night people were just beginning to stir… those who become most active in the wee hours… those hours that most people are sound asleep in their beds. They were starting to plot their ways to their evening jobs… and their nightly haunts. The city was putting on its night face… getting ready for its shift change… moving from the light to the dark… beginning to reflect dancing shadows from the brilliantly glowing neon jungle that came alive at night… instead of the brightly reflected colors of street windows that can catch your eye during the day… both a most impressive sight. But to Dave the night was an accomplice to those who wanted to hide their criminal activities… a friend to those who chose to reside on the other side of the law. He was thinking that it was his job to shine a light on those activities… his responsibility to see them clearly through the darkness… his thoughts were interrupted when the Chief entered his office and shut the door behind him.
Chief Dobbins strolled past Dave still standing at the window and sat down behind his desk. I’d almost forgotten how much leg work it takes… and phone calls… I usually don’t get involved… of course I’m briefed… but usually not personally involved… I would like to wrap it up for good and relax a little.
Dave turned to catch the chief’s eye. I know what you mean Chief… a lot going on… and lot more to come.
To an unknowing bystander it would appear that the Chief and Dave were just discussing their work in general terms… but to only a few who actually knew what was happening it was obvious that they were talking about the case that the Chief was helping Dave with without actually talking about it directly. Both of them weren’t sure if somehow… someone… maybe could still be listening.
I have some arrangement to make. I would like for you to come with me to the main interrogation room to make sure everything is setup and ready to go. Dave realized that the Chief was telling him that he wanted to talk in the interrogation room… the room he said he wanted to be the only place they would discuss the true details about the case… the room where he was having Benny make sure it was safe to talk.
As they headed down the hall the chief leaned over toward Dave and spoke softly. Do you know how to disconnect the camera?
Dave spoke softly back. Berry said it had only two feeds, a power and a send/receive cable…one unplugs from a socket… and the other unscrews from a connector.
Good… was all the Chief said.
…
After Lee’s protection detail arrived, stationing a person at each stairway, and another at the elevators, Berry left feeling comfortable with the arrangement and returned to his office. He wanted to look at his special program’s output to trace the links, but he was feeling fairly certain he had most of the connections figured out already. The big picture puzzle was becoming clearer. He could see most of the picture now. There were only a few pieces missing. Setting at the helm of his own creative techno-brain Berry settled back into the place he felt most comfortable… sure… he felt that all the rest of the work that went along with his investigative services was interesting too… but the part he liked the best… his strongest feeling of accomplishment… his sweet spot in life… was where he was right now putting all the pieces together.
He followed the connections in his mind… the brain behind what was going on… the person behind what he had been investigating both before and after he teamed up with Dave Lutz… had been working with the Grendandino organized crime family business since the family began… in fact he was the money behind the organized crime business Sophia’s father had built. Using his connection with the family, and the Grendandino crime family’s muscle, Mr. Big was able to push his way to a position of power in political circles... but eventually he decide that his current position of power was not enough and he began to plan a way to control even the White House.
In order to hide his involvement he planned to fund his new political move with the proceeds from organized amateur sports teams and the gambling on them which would be authorized by laws… laws that he indirectly would introduce and then pressure politicians that owed him favors to vote for. In order to make way for the amateur leagues he was also indirectly funding and influencing a push to remove violent sports from state funded universities. But the real bid was to control the person in the White house and he was grooming a person to be that puppet.
He was using the three daughters of the Grendandino family’s founder to help carry out his plans… since her father was dead he was helping Sophia rebuild her father’s family business. He needed the family muscle to pressure opponents and he needed the family business to route the gambling money through… so he could stay clean and in the background. He was using Sophia’s sister Marie to help sway public opinion against violence in state funded academic institutions. He needed her to help remove an obstacle to his amateur league’s ability to recruit young athletic stars. But the most sinister use was the way he was using Sophia’s other sister Isabel. He had used her trust and admiration to turn her into a hired professional killer. It was something he had accomplished over many years of gaining her confidence and feeding the hunger he knew she had for the revenge she had always wanted deep down inside… revenge for her father’s murder. He had used her rage and anger… and had it focused on helping him remove obstacles… and had also promised her a power position of her own in return.
It had all been planned… Isabel‘s marriage to Johnathan Taylor… Taylor’s rise up the political ladder… he had control over Johnathan through his wife… and would have control over the high political position he would put him into … it was Agustus Rensillere that was pulling all the strings.
But there was still a lose end… a couple pieces of the puzzle missing. Berry knew Rensillere had Senator Parks killed because he was going to vote against a bill Rensillere needed to have passed for his plans to work. Lee had unwittingly seen Isabel next the Senator’s car just before he was hit by the train so the attempt on his life was to cover up her involvement. Sophia had Loften killed to cover for her sister Marie… but why had the four college student been killed? Maybe when they got a chance to talk with Isabel that might become clear… but for now there seemed to be nothing tying their murders to Sophia, Marie, Isabel, or Rensillere… it didn’t seem to fit anywhere. Berry had a distressing thought… maybe there was another player… someone else they had not discovered yet… someone with a motive to kill four college students… and access to the LSD that Marie was using in her research.
Berry had a hunch… and most of the time his hunches were right… but this time he was thinking it was highly improbable… he couldn’t see a reason… and the reason was always something he had to know… even if it was just for his own satisfaction… there was always a reason… maybe not a good one… but a reason just the same. He would have to do some digging… to find a reason… a reason that his hunch could be correct.
When the phone rang this time he was ready to talk to anyone… he needed to… he needed a pause… a chance to let his mind flow freely… and that was just what he was going to get. Detective Lutz had called to say they had already impounded Isabel’s car and the forensics team was in the process of going over it. They were going to wait to bring Isabel in until the morning… so Berry had a short break before he had to get ready to talk with her… he leaned over in his chair and turned up the volume of the music he had playing in the background…