me out onto the church steps. Darkness had overtaken the streets, and we looked in vain for any sign of the elusive cleric.
“Is there a staircase that leads down from the choir loft?” I asked.
“Not on that end, Coop.”
“Then he must have moved even faster than I thought he was going.”
“Or he sprouted wings,” Mike said, exasperated with me. “Let me get this right. You didn’t recognize his face.”
“I didn’t really see his face in court this morning.”
“But it was well-lit there.”
“Yes, but he had on a big pair of sunglasses. I didn’t see any of his features, except that his face was long and angular, and his skin was unusually white with irregular red scabs or something.”
“So, you’re giving me a make on a tall, thin guy with a ponytail?”
“I told you he was wearing a collar. And I said a gray overcoat.”
“Detail on that?”
“Generic.”
“One of retail shopping’s best consumers and you can’t detail the coat? Would you buy this scrip from a witness, Coop? ‘Oh, yeah, Ms. DA. Ask the man to turn around so I can see the back of his head. Bingo! That’s the guy who did it.’ Come in out of the cold, Madame Prosecutor. I think you’re having a brain freeze.”
“I’m not exaggerating, Mike. See if that’s who Gaskin was here to meet. Maybe there are connections between this murder and the trial of the defrocked priest, but I’m just too thick to make them. It’s almost like Battaglia wished this on me.”
Mike pushed open the door and practically rammed it into Gaskin’s chest. “I asked you the nicest way I know to stay right where you were, didn’t I?”
“I thought you’d gone off and left me, Detective. You’re correct about my calling the bishop first. I should have done that. I’ll go back to my own church and make a plan.”
“You happen to see the young man who just left the cathedral?” I asked.
“I’m sorry? I didn’t notice anyone,” Gaskin said.
“He must have been waiting in the choir loft when you entered.”
“Waiting for what? Are you implying? ...”
“He only started to move when Mike and you got halfway down the nave, closer to him.” I was creating a scenario that had the two men planning an assignation in the cathedral.
“You were off base last night when I came to my own church to try to help, and your techniques of information-gathering are even more preposterous today. What young man are you talking about?” Gaskin said. “Who is he?”
“Ms. Cooper was hoping you could tell us that. Might be a man of the cloth, Mr. Gaskin. Caucasian. Tall and thin, hair in a kind of ponytail, hasn’t outgrown his acne.”
“I’ll sleep on it, Chapman.” Wilbur Gaskin pulled on the door handle and let himself out as the cool evening air rushed in, the chill attaching itself to me like a second skin.
Mike’s fingers were riffling through his hair, and when his eyes wouldn’t meet mine, I knew he was trying to curb his annoyance with me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nice job, Coop.”
“Hey, I told you I saw Gaskin—”
“And then you freaked him out so he wouldn’t even wait to talk to us.”
Two young men, both in the garb of Episcopal priests, appeared through a large oak door behind the altar, looked up when they heard our voices, and started toward us down the long nave.
“I’m telling you I think that guy with the collar was the one who showed up at the Koslawski hearing.”
“Heads up, Coop. Everybody in this joint has a collar. It’s a church. Your guys wear beanies, our team likes the white choker around the neck. Makes sense that whoever came to court to watch Bishop Deegan testify was one of his troops.”
“Then what’s he doing in an Episcopal cathedral, at the precise moment when a crucial piece of evidence is found?”
“Tall guy, long hair, gray overcoat, and acne. Won’t exactly make for a riveting AMBER Alert. Let’s hit the road.”
“May we help you?” one of the young priests said as he approached.
“NYPD Homicide. We’re just about to leave, thanks. Is the bishop in, by any chance?”
“No. He’s not. I’m his secretary. May I give him a message?”
“Sorry this happened here is all. Some of the Homicide Squad detectives will be questioning your staff—what they saw, what they know.”
“We understand that, Detective. We’ll do everything to help. They’ve already told us they’ll be searching the cathedral.”
“So long as you understand. You know a man called Wilbur Gaskin?”