attract any attention. But this guy went tear-assing down the steps. He was after Teddy, and my best guess is that he never caught him, or we’d have gotten a call informing us that our double homicide has been upgraded to a triple.”
She thought about it for a few seconds. “Y’know,” she said, “you’re pretty smart for a pack mule.”
“We still have to nail both of them,” I said, “but we have a better shot at finding Teddy. Any word from NCIC on Annie Ryder?”
“As of an hour ago, they haven’t yet come up with a viable hit on her. She has a three-year-old Maryland license with a Baltimore address, but she hasn’t lived there in more than two years. Since then, she got a speeding ticket in Nashville and another one on the Jersey Turnpike. She’s not easy to pin down.”
“For all we know she got those tickets on purpose, just to throw the bloodhounds off the scent,” I said. “Q was right. She doesn’t want to be found.”
“Oh, we’ll find her,” Kylie said. “In the meantime, let’s go see if Leo Bassett has had the cocktail sauce removed from his jacket and the broom removed from his ass.”
CHAPTER 29
On the way downtown, I got a text from Chuck Dryden.
“Good news,” I said to Kylie. “We’ve got ballistics back on Raymond Davis’s Walther. It’s a 100 percent match with the gun that killed Elena. Of course, there’s no way we can prove that Raymond was the shooter.”
“No, but on the plus side,” Kylie said, “we don’t have to bring him to trial.”
West 21st Street was back to normal. The media vans and the paparazzi were gone, most likely in hot pursuit of the crime du jour.
Leo buzzed us in and was anxiously waiting for us when the elevator doors opened. “Detectives,” he said. “I’m so glad you’re back. I must apologize for my little hissy fit the other night, but I was beyond distraught about Elena.”
“We understand perfectly,” Kylie said. “There have been some developments in the case, and we have some pictures we’d like to show you.”
“What kind of developments?”
“First, we’d like you and your brother to look at some photos.”
“Suspects?” he said, tapping his fingertips together as if he were applauding.
“Persons of interest,” I said.
“Oh, I love that term,” he said. “Let’s do it. I’ll get Max.”
We sat down at the dining room table with both of them and laid out six mug shots, two of which were Teddy and Raymond.
“I’ve never seen any of them in my life,” Max said immediately.
Leo took his time. He picked up one of the pictures and stared at it. “Oh, of course,” he said.
“You recognize him?” I asked.
“I thought I did, and then I finally figured it out. He looks like a young Richard Widmark.”
“The actor?” I said.
“Yes, but the early years. Like when he played Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death, ” he said. “I’m sure this is absolutely no help at all, but at least I’m taking a few minutes to put a name to the face.”
“I didn’t need a few minutes,” Max said, looking directly at me, although the dig was clearly aimed at his brother. “I’ve never seen any of them. Leo said you had some developments in the case. What are they?”
“There was a shooting on the Lower East Side last night. This man is dead, and this one is wounded and on the run.” I pointed to Raymond’s mug shot, then to Teddy’s. “We have good reason to believe they stopped the limo and killed Elena Travers.”
“Who are they?” Max said.
“Raymond Davis and Teddy Ryder. Do either of those names ring a bell?”
They both shook their heads.
“They’re career felons, but this crime is way above their pay grade,” I said. “They may have been turning over the necklace to the person who hired them when the shooting went down.”
“Did you recover the necklace?” Max said.
“No, but we were hoping you might be able to identify the probable shooter.”
I handed Max the fuzzy surveillance
She thought about it for a few seconds. “Y’know,” she said, “you’re pretty smart for a pack mule.”
“We still have to nail both of them,” I said, “but we have a better shot at finding Teddy. Any word from NCIC on Annie Ryder?”
“As of an hour ago, they haven’t yet come up with a viable hit on her. She has a three-year-old Maryland license with a Baltimore address, but she hasn’t lived there in more than two years. Since then, she got a speeding ticket in Nashville and another one on the Jersey Turnpike. She’s not easy to pin down.”
“For all we know she got those tickets on purpose, just to throw the bloodhounds off the scent,” I said. “Q was right. She doesn’t want to be found.”
“Oh, we’ll find her,” Kylie said. “In the meantime, let’s go see if Leo Bassett has had the cocktail sauce removed from his jacket and the broom removed from his ass.”
CHAPTER 29
On the way downtown, I got a text from Chuck Dryden.
“Good news,” I said to Kylie. “We’ve got ballistics back on Raymond Davis’s Walther. It’s a 100 percent match with the gun that killed Elena. Of course, there’s no way we can prove that Raymond was the shooter.”
“No, but on the plus side,” Kylie said, “we don’t have to bring him to trial.”
West 21st Street was back to normal. The media vans and the paparazzi were gone, most likely in hot pursuit of the crime du jour.
Leo buzzed us in and was anxiously waiting for us when the elevator doors opened. “Detectives,” he said. “I’m so glad you’re back. I must apologize for my little hissy fit the other night, but I was beyond distraught about Elena.”
“We understand perfectly,” Kylie said. “There have been some developments in the case, and we have some pictures we’d like to show you.”
“What kind of developments?”
“First, we’d like you and your brother to look at some photos.”
“Suspects?” he said, tapping his fingertips together as if he were applauding.
“Persons of interest,” I said.
“Oh, I love that term,” he said. “Let’s do it. I’ll get Max.”
We sat down at the dining room table with both of them and laid out six mug shots, two of which were Teddy and Raymond.
“I’ve never seen any of them in my life,” Max said immediately.
Leo took his time. He picked up one of the pictures and stared at it. “Oh, of course,” he said.
“You recognize him?” I asked.
“I thought I did, and then I finally figured it out. He looks like a young Richard Widmark.”
“The actor?” I said.
“Yes, but the early years. Like when he played Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death, ” he said. “I’m sure this is absolutely no help at all, but at least I’m taking a few minutes to put a name to the face.”
“I didn’t need a few minutes,” Max said, looking directly at me, although the dig was clearly aimed at his brother. “I’ve never seen any of them. Leo said you had some developments in the case. What are they?”
“There was a shooting on the Lower East Side last night. This man is dead, and this one is wounded and on the run.” I pointed to Raymond’s mug shot, then to Teddy’s. “We have good reason to believe they stopped the limo and killed Elena Travers.”
“Who are they?” Max said.
“Raymond Davis and Teddy Ryder. Do either of those names ring a bell?”
They both shook their heads.
“They’re career felons, but this crime is way above their pay grade,” I said. “They may have been turning over the necklace to the person who hired them when the shooting went down.”
“Did you recover the necklace?” Max said.
“No, but we were hoping you might be able to identify the probable shooter.”
I handed Max the fuzzy surveillance
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