we’ll take some heat off by my calling her to confirm that her husband’s case was a suicide and that the NYPD is officially closing the case. Hopefully that’ll give us some breathing room.”
“Now that sounds like a great plan! I’ll let you know when we get some word from the tech guys.”
“Thanks, so what do we know about His Honor, Judge Fitzpatrick?”
Karla Adams stood up and said; “Judge Fitzpatrick was killed in a hunting accident near the Canadian Border about four months after Butelli died. A witness saw him crossing a fence and the gun slipped and it went off when the judge grabbed it, taking most of his head off. I have contacted the sheriff up there to get copies of the report.”
“Wow! That sounds convenient. I hope the sheriff did a better job of investigating the judge’s death than we did in the Butelli case.”
“They didn’t remember the case. It’s been almost 10 years.”
“Okay, keep us posted.”
“How about the ADA Donovan?”
“We don’t know for sure, but he left the DA’s office in early 2002 and moved to California.”
“I have a good friend who retired off the job and is an investigator for the state bar association, Karla. He may be able to help you track him down.”
“Okay, Chief, thanks. I’ll get the contact information from you after the briefing.”
Bryan Flannery took the podium and asked for any more developments, but received no takers. He dismissed the group and asked them to meet at the same time the following day.
Pat O’Connor shook his head at the interesting developments and asked Bryan Flannery to follow him to his office.
Chapter 27
Thursday, February 3 - Day 16
Chief of Detectives’ Office - One Police Plaza
Borough of Manhattan, New York
1700 Hours
B ryan Flannery joined Pat in his office and closed the door. Pat poured each of them a cup of coffee and got right to the point.
“I want us to reach out to Inspector Phil Beck in Staten Island. I’d like for him to meet us here to discuss his role in the Butelli case.”
“Yes sir, and you know he’s up for a promotion to Assistant Chief don’t you?”
“I’m aware and really don’t care. I don’t want you to repeat it, but if he handles anything else like he apparently handled the Butelli case, I’m not sure he is Assistant Chief material.”
“I can’t say that I disagree, but he is pretty well-liked by the troops.”
“Well-liked can be a good thing, but well-liked and tolerating sloppy police work is intolerable in our business, Bryan.”
“When do you want him to come in?”
“Let’s do 0900 tomorrow. We can talk with him together.”
“Okay, Chief. I’ll set it up, but he may resent having a measly captain in here.”
“I could care less.” Pat said.
“Thanks, Bryan, and let me know when the tech crew gets in the house across from Margaret Butelli’s place.”
“I’ll let you know. I’m sure it’ll be handled discreetly with a sealed search warrant.”
“Good. Make certain of it. We wouldn’t want to attract any attention. Once we get our arms around this, we’ll throw out some information to whoever is listening to cool their jets a little.”
Bryan left the office, and Pat poured himself a second cup of coffee and called Maggie.
“Maggie Parker.”
“Hello, Gorgeous. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Not at all. I’m just reading some travel expense reports.”
“I know it’s late notice, but would you like to go to the Steamboat tonight?”
“That would be fine, Pat. Can I meet you there around 7 pm?”
Looking at his watch, Pat saw it was almost 1800.
“Okay. I’ll see you in an hour.”
He finished some paperwork and penciled in the meeting with Phil Beck for 0900 hours tomorrow. He packed his briefcase and headed for the parking garage. On the way out he saw Angie Wilson still working at her desk.
“Are you burning the midnight oil, Lieutenant?”
“I’ve been looking at all of
“Now that sounds like a great plan! I’ll let you know when we get some word from the tech guys.”
“Thanks, so what do we know about His Honor, Judge Fitzpatrick?”
Karla Adams stood up and said; “Judge Fitzpatrick was killed in a hunting accident near the Canadian Border about four months after Butelli died. A witness saw him crossing a fence and the gun slipped and it went off when the judge grabbed it, taking most of his head off. I have contacted the sheriff up there to get copies of the report.”
“Wow! That sounds convenient. I hope the sheriff did a better job of investigating the judge’s death than we did in the Butelli case.”
“They didn’t remember the case. It’s been almost 10 years.”
“Okay, keep us posted.”
“How about the ADA Donovan?”
“We don’t know for sure, but he left the DA’s office in early 2002 and moved to California.”
“I have a good friend who retired off the job and is an investigator for the state bar association, Karla. He may be able to help you track him down.”
“Okay, Chief, thanks. I’ll get the contact information from you after the briefing.”
Bryan Flannery took the podium and asked for any more developments, but received no takers. He dismissed the group and asked them to meet at the same time the following day.
Pat O’Connor shook his head at the interesting developments and asked Bryan Flannery to follow him to his office.
Chapter 27
Thursday, February 3 - Day 16
Chief of Detectives’ Office - One Police Plaza
Borough of Manhattan, New York
1700 Hours
B ryan Flannery joined Pat in his office and closed the door. Pat poured each of them a cup of coffee and got right to the point.
“I want us to reach out to Inspector Phil Beck in Staten Island. I’d like for him to meet us here to discuss his role in the Butelli case.”
“Yes sir, and you know he’s up for a promotion to Assistant Chief don’t you?”
“I’m aware and really don’t care. I don’t want you to repeat it, but if he handles anything else like he apparently handled the Butelli case, I’m not sure he is Assistant Chief material.”
“I can’t say that I disagree, but he is pretty well-liked by the troops.”
“Well-liked can be a good thing, but well-liked and tolerating sloppy police work is intolerable in our business, Bryan.”
“When do you want him to come in?”
“Let’s do 0900 tomorrow. We can talk with him together.”
“Okay, Chief. I’ll set it up, but he may resent having a measly captain in here.”
“I could care less.” Pat said.
“Thanks, Bryan, and let me know when the tech crew gets in the house across from Margaret Butelli’s place.”
“I’ll let you know. I’m sure it’ll be handled discreetly with a sealed search warrant.”
“Good. Make certain of it. We wouldn’t want to attract any attention. Once we get our arms around this, we’ll throw out some information to whoever is listening to cool their jets a little.”
Bryan left the office, and Pat poured himself a second cup of coffee and called Maggie.
“Maggie Parker.”
“Hello, Gorgeous. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Not at all. I’m just reading some travel expense reports.”
“I know it’s late notice, but would you like to go to the Steamboat tonight?”
“That would be fine, Pat. Can I meet you there around 7 pm?”
Looking at his watch, Pat saw it was almost 1800.
“Okay. I’ll see you in an hour.”
He finished some paperwork and penciled in the meeting with Phil Beck for 0900 hours tomorrow. He packed his briefcase and headed for the parking garage. On the way out he saw Angie Wilson still working at her desk.
“Are you burning the midnight oil, Lieutenant?”
“I’ve been looking at all of
Similar Books
