Midnight Caller - By Diane Burke Page 0,41
looked the sergeant straight in the eye. “And that makes it personal for me, sir. Very personal.”
The sergeant stared intently at him.
Tony paused before asking, “Will you be removing me from the case, sir?”
“Are you going to give me a reason to remove you, Marino? Will your personal involvement with this woman impede your ability to investigate this case?”
“No, sir.” Tony fought to hide his relief.
The sergeant nodded and Tony returned to his seat.
“All right, men. I know we’ve interviewed every hospital employee and come up with nothing. Interview them again. We need to go deeper. We found a connection. Find out every place these women have ever taken their kids. I want to know and I want to know it yesterday. What school do they attend? What park do they play in? What babysitters do they use? Where do they shop? Where do they fill their medications? What doctors do they use? Carol Henderson is missing, men. Missing. Not dead yet. What are you waiting for? Go!” The men stood to leave. “Marino, give me a minute.”
Tony joined the sergeant in the front of the room. He was surprised to see empathy in the sergeant’s eyes. “As you know, I don’t have the budget or the manpower to provide Ms. O’Malley with 24/7 protection. Especially since we’re not even sure she’s the next target.”
Tony nodded. “Understood.”
“But I will authorize an increased police presence in her neighborhood. Intermittent, unscheduled drivebys that may throw off anyone who is watching her place.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The sergeant cleared his voice. “Make sure Ms. O’Malley understands the gravity of her position. See if you can get her to leave town, go visit relatives or something. And if you want to remain on this case, you keep me in a close loop on this one.”
“I will, sir. Thank you.”
Tony left the building, slid behind the wheel of his car, and slipped his key in the ignition. What was he going to do? He had to find Carol before it was too late. But he was torn. Someone was targeting people he knew, people he cared about. And right now Erin appeared to be at the top of the list. His jaw clenched with determination. He had to find Carol. And he had to find a way to protect Erin. The question was how?
“I’ll have the tuna salad on rye with lettuce, tomato and pickle. Gimme potato salad and beans as my sides, a can of Coke and a chocolate chip cookie.” Patrick Fitzgerald finished his order, nodded to Tony and left the line to find a table. Tony placed his order, paid for the two lunches and joined the older man.
“This deli has the best box lunches in town,” Patrick said. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“My pleasure.” Tony took a bite of his sandwich.
Patrick took his time spreading a napkin on his lap. “Is this table okay? I got the one closest to the back. Away from everybody. After all, I’m sure what you are about to ask me is private and confidential. You won’t want all the other patrons listening in.”
Tony, surprised by the elderly man’s insight, paused. “What gave me away?”
Patrick chuckled. “I didn’t get to be seventy, son, without developing a strong power of observation and some good old common sense. My common sense tells me that a detective I’ve met twice, once at a child’s birthday dinner and then at a break-in, isn’t asking me out to lunch because he missed my company. My power of observation tells me you’re smitten with our Erin. You want to pump me for information.” The old man sat back in his chair and grinned.
“You are observant, Mr. Fitzgerald.” Tony smiled.
“Now spit it out. What do you want to know? Or maybe I can save you the trouble. Erin and her family have lived next door to me for the past four years. Erin used to go out with some doctor fellow, but no one lately. She’s a great gal, a good mother and deserves to get herself hitched to a good guy. That boy of hers is the smartest little whip I’ve ever met. And I’m sure your power of observation told you that I have a sweet spot for Tess.”
Tony chuckled. “Well, you come right to the point, don’t you?”
Patrick nodded. “Only way to be. So what do you want, son? You want me to put in a good word with Erin? I’ve already done that a time or two, but I’ll be happy to