Stalked - By Allison Brennan Page 0,75
Suzanne had discovered. She might see something he hadn’t.
He called Patrick and asked, “Anything on Theissen’s losing battle with the subway train?”
“I’m on my way to Rikers with one of Joe DeLucca’s cop buddies to talk to the kid who pled on the involuntary manslaughter charge. From our read of the case, a disagreement between rival street gangs ended with fists flying. Theissen stepped in and tried to mediate, got pushed back as the train was approaching. Busy time of day, lots of trains. The conductor used the emergency brake when he saw the fight on the platform, but it was too late.”
“And someone pled?”
“One year, in exchange for naming names. Official report is that there were three different gangs all using the same station. One kid made an off-color comment about another kid’s girl, the boyfriend pushed him, a third party stepped in, and then mayhem. The kid in Rikers, nineteen-year-old Gregory Bascomb, was pushed into Theissen, then hit Theissen because he thought he was being attacked from both sides. Theissen then tripped over another gangbanger and fell on the tracks.”
“No trial?”
“Nada. Plea deal was good enough for both parties, and they have several arrested for other charges.”
“Why are you talking to this Bascomb?”
“If we’re going off the theory that Theissen’s death wasn’t an accident, I want Bascomb to ID everyone on the platform who was involved in the brawl.”
“You’re thinking one of them might have planned this? That’s a lot of assumptions.”
“Maybe it was a crime of opportunity. You said Presidio wondered if Weber had been stalked. What if Theissen was being followed? The killer saw the gangbangers, understood the dynamics of how to manipulate the group.”
“As a distraction. Possible.” Sean wasn’t sold on it because there were too many variables that couldn’t be controlled. Sean didn’t like leaving important things to chance. “I’m stuck in Queens waiting for Suzanne and DeLucca to figure out what to do with the guy who pawned Weber’s ring.”
“I’ll let you know if I learn anything at Rikers.”
Sean hung up and still Suzanne wasn’t out of the interrogation room.
He flipped through the neat stack of files on DeLucca’s desk. Nothing pertaining to this case. He stared at the computer. Why had Weber canceled her meeting with the reporter? Who was she meeting that night, and why hadn’t she put it in her planner? Why meet at Citi Field?
According to the sister, Weber had been close friends with Theissen, who had worked at Citi Field in security up until his death.
Maybe Weber hadn’t set up a meeting because of the Cinderella Strangler case—maybe it had something to do with Theissen’s accident.
Or maybe that’s what the killer wanted her to think.
Suzanne came down the hall. “So Rogan, we’re letting Bartz go on a misdemeanor charge of selling stolen goods. NYPD will handle him. His alibi checks out the night Weber was killed.”
“The killer gave him the ring?” Sean said.
“Most likely. But we don’t have much to go on, Bartz is an idiot, the sketch artist is pulling her hair out, and security cams in the area aren’t giving us anything except the guy’s ass. He knew where the cameras were. Just like he knew where the cameras were in Citi Field and avoided them.”
“I’ve been having a hard time figuring out why a reporter with a long career and the gut instincts to match would meet anyone at Citi Field, even someone she trusted,” Sean said. “If it was someone she knew, why meet there, in the middle of a baseball stadium? If it was someone she didn’t know, why would she agree to it?”
“That’s been bugging me all along.”
“Her buddy Theissen worked there before he died. What if she was meeting another employee? Or thought she was? “It would have to be legit; at least she thought it was legit. So there should be a record of the arrangement somewhere. An e-mail. A phone call.”
“We have her cell phone records.”
“When did she cancel her meeting with her reporter friend?”
Suzanne flipped through her notes. “I don’t have a specific time,” she said. “They were supposed to meet at a bar at nine thirty, but she called to cancel late that afternoon.”
“Likely she set up the Citi Field meeting right before that.”
“I’ll have my analyst pull all the calls to and from Weber an hour before she cancelled on Banker. This just might be it, Rogan.”
*
But the phone numbers didn’t lead anywhere, and Sean was even more frustrated than earlier.
Rosemary Weber had called Banker at