where’s…Richard’s file?”
“You ready to look at that?”
“Yes.” Kate hesitated. “No.” She stopped, took a deep breath. Be calm. “I want to see the file, but I’d rather not see the crime scene photos.” Another deep breath. “I was there. I don’t need to see them again.”
Work Richard’s case? Maybe Brown was right, that it was madness.
Brown reached over and laid a hand on her arm. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Floyd. I do have to do this.” Kate straightened up, all business now. “Where are the paintings? The ones found at the scenes?”
“Our lab’s going over them.”
“I want to see them.”
“Soon as the lab’s done their thing,” said Brown.
“By the way. Do you have a statement from Richard’s associate, Andrew Stokes? I assume someone’s already taken one.”
“In the jacket.” Brown grabbed another folder off his desk, opening it carefully and removing the envelope that Kate knew must contain the crime scene photos, which he slid into the center drawer of his desk before handing her the folder. “Why?”
“I just had a talk with him and I don’t know, but I’d like to keep an eye on him.”
“You were already conducting an interview?”
“It wasn’t an interview, ” said Kate. “It was a simple conversation, that’s all.”
Brown locked his dark eyes on hers. “Nothing is a simple conversation if you’re going to work with us on this case. You think you can you remember that?”
Kate raised her hands in defense. “Absolutely.”
“You’d better,” he said. “This Stokes guy, would he want to do your husband harm?”
“I don’t know him very well, but”
“How long did he work for your husband?”
“About two years.”
“And you didn’t know him?”
“We didn’t socialize. I’d see him from time to time at the office, but no, I didn’t know him.” The bank statement flashed in Kate’s mind, and she was about to tell Brown, but something stopped her. Was it that she suspected Richard could have been doing something illegal? She wasn’t sure, but wanted to find out before she said anything. “Richard had a talk with him. It’s possible Stokes was on notice, about to be fired.”
“People have killed for less,” said Brown.
“Says he was home with a cold. Has that been checked out?”
Brown tapped a few words into his computer and they both watched as data filled the screen, and Brown scrolled through it. “Here it is. Andrew Stokes’s statement.” He paused, reading. “Yep. Home with a cold. Wife was there. Building’s doorman verified that Stokes had not left the building that day.”
“I still say he bears watching,” said Kate. “Any possibility of putting a tail on him? The secretary confirmed that Richard was annoyed with him lately, plus the fact that he was probably about to get canned. I know it’s not much, but”
“We need more than a hunch to do that legally, McKinnon.”
“How about the fact that he paints for a hobby?”
“I thought you didn’t know him?”
“Just found out.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Maybe we can put someone on him.” Brown made a note on a legal pad, then looked up. “By the way, I’ve got you teamed with Nicky Perlmutter. He was in Homicide for five years. I chose him for my squad when I took over. Good guy. Smart. You’re gonna like him.”
Kate folded her arms across her chest, gave Brown a prove-it-to-me look. “And why’s that?”
“Because he’s one of the few guys on the force taller than you?”
“Funny,” said Kate.
“Perlmutter started up in the Bronx, on foot, so he knows the terrain.”
“You’re out of the Bronx too,” said Kate. “Why don’t you work the case with me?”
“ ’Cause I’m the boss,” said Brown. “And I don’t want a partner who’s in this for personal reasons.”
SEVEN
T he lemony-yellow street lamps provide the perfect
“You ready to look at that?”
“Yes.” Kate hesitated. “No.” She stopped, took a deep breath. Be calm. “I want to see the file, but I’d rather not see the crime scene photos.” Another deep breath. “I was there. I don’t need to see them again.”
Work Richard’s case? Maybe Brown was right, that it was madness.
Brown reached over and laid a hand on her arm. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Floyd. I do have to do this.” Kate straightened up, all business now. “Where are the paintings? The ones found at the scenes?”
“Our lab’s going over them.”
“I want to see them.”
“Soon as the lab’s done their thing,” said Brown.
“By the way. Do you have a statement from Richard’s associate, Andrew Stokes? I assume someone’s already taken one.”
“In the jacket.” Brown grabbed another folder off his desk, opening it carefully and removing the envelope that Kate knew must contain the crime scene photos, which he slid into the center drawer of his desk before handing her the folder. “Why?”
“I just had a talk with him and I don’t know, but I’d like to keep an eye on him.”
“You were already conducting an interview?”
“It wasn’t an interview, ” said Kate. “It was a simple conversation, that’s all.”
Brown locked his dark eyes on hers. “Nothing is a simple conversation if you’re going to work with us on this case. You think you can you remember that?”
Kate raised her hands in defense. “Absolutely.”
“You’d better,” he said. “This Stokes guy, would he want to do your husband harm?”
“I don’t know him very well, but”
“How long did he work for your husband?”
“About two years.”
“And you didn’t know him?”
“We didn’t socialize. I’d see him from time to time at the office, but no, I didn’t know him.” The bank statement flashed in Kate’s mind, and she was about to tell Brown, but something stopped her. Was it that she suspected Richard could have been doing something illegal? She wasn’t sure, but wanted to find out before she said anything. “Richard had a talk with him. It’s possible Stokes was on notice, about to be fired.”
“People have killed for less,” said Brown.
“Says he was home with a cold. Has that been checked out?”
Brown tapped a few words into his computer and they both watched as data filled the screen, and Brown scrolled through it. “Here it is. Andrew Stokes’s statement.” He paused, reading. “Yep. Home with a cold. Wife was there. Building’s doorman verified that Stokes had not left the building that day.”
“I still say he bears watching,” said Kate. “Any possibility of putting a tail on him? The secretary confirmed that Richard was annoyed with him lately, plus the fact that he was probably about to get canned. I know it’s not much, but”
“We need more than a hunch to do that legally, McKinnon.”
“How about the fact that he paints for a hobby?”
“I thought you didn’t know him?”
“Just found out.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Maybe we can put someone on him.” Brown made a note on a legal pad, then looked up. “By the way, I’ve got you teamed with Nicky Perlmutter. He was in Homicide for five years. I chose him for my squad when I took over. Good guy. Smart. You’re gonna like him.”
Kate folded her arms across her chest, gave Brown a prove-it-to-me look. “And why’s that?”
“Because he’s one of the few guys on the force taller than you?”
“Funny,” said Kate.
“Perlmutter started up in the Bronx, on foot, so he knows the terrain.”
“You’re out of the Bronx too,” said Kate. “Why don’t you work the case with me?”
“ ’Cause I’m the boss,” said Brown. “And I don’t want a partner who’s in this for personal reasons.”
SEVEN
T he lemony-yellow street lamps provide the perfect
Similar Books
