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The steps that lead down into the basement were rickety. Detective Tail voiced her concern. "Little girl," Iris whispered, "didn't I tell you not to talk? What're you trying to do, tell all the crackheads that we're in the building? Shut the hell up."
"I'm gettin' sick and tired of your shit," she whispered in Iris’ ear.
Iris turned and gave her the evil eye. "We'll talk about your feelings later, missy.”
The detectives made their way down the steps. The basement was dark and damp. There were puddles of stagnant water in certain spots. Casper switched on his mag-light. A large rat scurried away from one pool of water. A cockroach fell on top of Lori's shoulder. She screamed as she lost her footing. Casper caught her before she slipped down the staircase. "I hate freakin’ cockroaches. She looked at her left shoulder, then her right, “are you sure they’re off me?” she said, holding on to Casper.
“They’re off.”
"Are you gonna be all right?" Iris asked, holding back her laughter. The noise sent a few dopers running. As the team regrouped, they noticed flashes of lights coming from different directions in the basement: to the left, someone flicked a lighter, from the right another lighter flickered. With every flashing light, a haunting figure of a burned-out crackhead flashed before the detectives eyes. The damp smell of the basement mixed with the odors of human waste and crack smoke were overwhelming.
Casper pointed his mini flashlight straight ahead; illuminating a small niche where two crackheads were smoking; they paid him no mind. As he, Iris, and Lori came closer, they noticed that one crackhead was a teenage girl, and she had an infant on her lap. The other person took off running. The moment the girl saw Casper's ghostly face, she jumped up; her baby fell from her lap. The teenager ran, but she ran into a wall knocking herself unconscious.
“Holy shit,” Lori said. "Did you see that?" Casper ran over to where the girl had fallen.
"Move, Casper," Iris said. "What're you trying to do, give the poor child a heart attack when she comes to?" She shoved Casper out of the way, dropped to her knees, and tapped the girl lightly on the cheek. Lori picked up the screaming baby.
"What happened?" Toni asked.
Iris turned her head in Toni's direction. “Anything on the roof?”
Toni shook her head. "What happened to her?"
"She ran into the wall—"
"After she got a look at Casper, huh," Toni said, finishing Iris’ sentence. Casper smiled and shrugged his broad shoulders.
"Move Iris, I got this." Toni worked on the teenager for a few seconds before the girl's eyes fluttered.
"Where's my pipe... where's my baby!" the teenager shouted.
Toni looked at Lori who was holding the infant. "Give her back her baby, Lori."
Iris helped the girl to her feet, and Lori gave the teenager her baby. "Are you o.k.?" Iris asked. The young mother cradled her baby in her arm while she scanned the floor for her crack pipe. Casper spotted the crack pipe and stepped on it. She looked up at Casper and screamed. Iris calmed her down and asked about the man she was with. "Was that the father?" she asked.
"Yeah," she muttered, as she stared up at Casper. The girl shook like a plate of Jell-O on a bumpy car ride.
"Take it easy, baby, he’s with us, he's a good guy." Iris gave the teenager a warm, reassuring smile. "Give me the envelope," Iris said to Casper. Iris removed the mugshot and showed it to the girl. "Do you know him?" The teenager was still staring at Casper. Iris snapped her fingers in front of the girl’s face to get her attention. "Have you seen this man?"
The teenager had to tear her eyes away from the large, black albino. She glanced at the mug shot. "Dat's Danny..."
"Was he the man that ran—"
Just then Lori called out. "Over here, I got him." Fifty feet straight ahead Casper's mini light came across Lori; she was standing in front a man who was sitting on the ground with a crack pipe stuck between his lips. He flicked his lighter once, twice, three times trying to get his last drag before the cops took his pipe. He lit the stem and inhaled. When he exhaled, a cloud of smoke filled the damp air. Lori waved the smoke away from her face before she slapped the crack pipe out of his hand. Iris and Toni followed Casper to where Lori was standing. Casper swung his light from left to right. The man was sitting next to a pile of shit. To the right of him was a makeshift bed complete with cardboard, newspapers, and a piss-stained sheet. "Stand up sir," Lori said. "Is your name Daniel Lewis?" He stared at Detective Lori Tail. "Sir, is your name Daniel Lewis?' The man nodded his head. Lori repeated the question again.
"Yes... that's my name." Detective Tail spun the man around and cuffed him as she read him his rights.
At that moment, Iris’ cell phone went off; it was Mr. Chew. “Iris, are you sitting down?”
“Chew I'm right in the middle of an arrest, why, whatcha got?”
"I think I may have inadvertently found out who murdered your father."
"What? What did you say?" Iris’ heart slammed against her chest plate. "Who was it?"
“The man who killed your father was Jose Salsa Vega.”
Chapter 10
IRIS LOWERED HER PHONE and stared into space. “Iris, what's wrong, what is it?” Toni asked. Iris looked as if she’d seen a ghost. "I have to go," she said. "Toni, you and Tail take care of this collar. Casper, I need you to come with me."
"Iris, where the hell are you going? We're right in the middle of an investigation..." Toni shouted. She and Lori watched as their partners dashed up the staircase.
Iris parked her vehicle on Edgecomb Ave, right in front of a five-story walk-up. Lincoln Chew had told her that Salsa was holding a meeting on the fifth floor at building 618. He told her that all the apartments on the floor belonged to Salsa.
Casper knocked on one of the doors on the fifth floor. He turned to Iris, who was sweating profusely, and said, “Boss, you've got to be careful with this guy. He's a real badass.” Iris just stared at him.
Fourteen years ago, Iris’ father had been murdered and her mother was charged with the crime. And although her mother was innocence she was found guilty and was sentenced to twenty-five years to life. Mrs. Iris Williams had dropped dead from a massive heart attack after the sentence was read. Fourteen years later, Detective Iris Williams stood at the threshold of confronting the man that destroyed her family. "I don't give a damn about that," she said. Her whole body shook from anticipation as Casper knocked on the door for the third time. What will I do, she thought. Iris heard the peep-hole sliding on the door, then someone from behind the door spoke in Spanish. Casper answered back. The locks on the door disengaged.
Jose Salsa Vega sat behind a large glass desk. There were seven women in the room with him, and each of them were carrying a semi-automatic weapon. There was a kilo of heroin on top of his glass desk. One woman whispered something in Salsa’s ear. Salsa looked up and waved the detectives over. Casper moved first; Iris followed. Salsa said something in Spanish to Casper about his whiteness and all the women laughed. Casper told Salsa that he wanted to be on the payroll. Iris, who was standing a foot behind Casper, did not speak. But the hate that shined in her eyes was evident. Salsa stared at Iris as he spoke to Casper. "So, what would you be bringing to the table that I don't already have on my plate?" he asked Casper.
Iris remembered him from the old neighborhood in Far Rockaway, only his name was Joseph Vail back then, and everybody owed him money. The son of a bitch was not even Dominican. He'd learned Spanish from some of the girls in the neighborhood.
Before Casper could answer Salsa's question, Iris stepped in front of him. Salsa sat back in his chair and glared at Iris. “I know you...yeah, you're from the old neighborhood... You had the hots for Sammy ‘the face’ Russo.”
Iris just stared at him; her blood was boiling.
"Well actually it was your father that I knew." Salsa paused and snapped his fingers. “What was his name? Oh yeah, David, David Williams.” Iris felt her legs go weak at the sound of her father's name
. "Your daddy was one of my best customers; he’d borrow, and he'd pay back. How do you think he got that house in Far Rockaway?" he said with a wink.
Iris’ fist were balled so tight that her knuckles cracked.
"But one month that son of a bitch decided not to pay, bad decision," he said, wagging his index finger. Iris exploded:
“You fuckin' bastard, you killed my father.” She reached for her.9mm, but Casper grabbed her by the arm and whispered,
"Don't do it, Iris, don't do it. Look around you." Iris was oblivious to the female bodyguards at that point, her focus was solely on Salsa. She suddenly noticed all the guns that were pointed at her face.
"Be stupid, please..." Salsa said, smiling. Iris yanked her arm away from Casper. "Your fucking father was a thief. He took advantage of my kindness and nobody does that to me, nobody!"
A tear rolled down Iris’ cheek, and she'd quickly wiped it away. I'm gonna kill this mother fucker, she thought. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. And with complete disregard for her own safety, Detective Iris Williams walked closer to Salsa's desk, pressed her knuckles on top of it, and stared into Salsa's eyes. "You owe me now." She leaned in closer as she spoke.
Salsa moved his chair closer to the rim of his desk; his face inches from Iris’. "And what do I owe you, if you don't mind me asking."
Iris smiled. Then she whispered, "A life for a life. You owe me your fuckin' life, you fuckin' parasite. And when I come to collect, there won't be a place on God's green earth that your slimy ass could hide, do you hear me?"
"Bring it on, bitch, bring it on."
"Oh, I will." Iris turned her back and farted in Salsa's face, then she walked out of his apartment.
Chapter 11
BACK AT THE DOUBLE 0, Toni interrogated Daniel Lewis. He told the detective that he knew nothing about a murder. He also told her that he was in the building, but he and his family slept in the basement. "We didn't go up the stairs."
"But Daniel, how do you explain your DNA being found in the victim's apartment? Hell, your semen was found in her mouth, for God’s sake..."
Daniel, who was in a twelve by twelve cell, lowered his head. "I don't know." He sobbed. Toni studied the young man. Then she thought about what it would take to break into Liza Brown's second-floor apartment. The killer would have had to jump up to catch the bottom rung on the metal ladder and pull himself up. Toni stared at Daniel's emaciated body. Then he had to cut a perfect hole in the glass with a glass cutter, but when they'd searched him they found no glass cutter. He could've hidden it, Toni thought. She was having second thoughts about Daniel being the killer. He just doesn't fit the profile, she thought.
"Are you hungry? When was the last time you ate, Daniel?"
Daniel Lewis nodded his head and said, "Four days ago."
"I'm going to order some Chinese food, would you like that?" Daniel nodded his head again. Twenty-five minutes later, a Chinese girl walked into the squad room. "Is there a Detective Toni here?"
"Right over here!" Toni shouted as she waved her hand.
"I hope you got something for me," Lori said from her cubicle. The young Asian girl walked over to where Toni was sitting and placed the bags on her desk.
"Thank you," Toni said. "How much do I owe you?" The young Asian girl removed a receipt from her pocket.
"That'll be $10.75, please." The young woman glanced at the man who was shirtless and sitting in a large cage. "What did he do?" she asked Toni.
"He killed an old woman," Lori answered. She dug her hand in the bag and removed a bag of egg rolls.
Toni handed the young woman fifteen dollars. "Keep the change.” The young Asian woman’s hands shook as she reached for the money. "Are you o.k.?" Toni asked her. The young woman nodded her head. Toni studied the woman. She had piercings all over her face: She had three small loop rings in her left eyebrow, she wore a loop ring in her pierced nostril, she also had a ring in her bottom lip, and her tongue was pierced. She wore black lipstick on her thin lips, and her fingernails were painted black.
"If you need anything else, just call Mr. Ming." The Asian girl turned and walked toward the door. She paused and stared at the thin man in the cage again.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Toni asked again. The young Asian woman nodded her head, then she cried. Toni ushered the young woman toward her cubicle and sat her down. “What's the matter?”
She couldn’t bring herself to look Toni in the eye. "I don't want no trouble," the young woman said.
"What's your name?"
"Tina, Tina Ming," she said, staring at the floor.
"Why are you so upset, Tina? Has someone harmed you in some way? And why did you say that you don't want any trouble?"
Tina Ming rubbed the palms of her hands against her thighs. "It was all my fault. I shouldn't have—" Tina Ming froze mid-sentence.
"What?" Toni asked patiently.
"Me and Billy."
“What Billy? Billy Madison, the delivery boy?” Tina Ming continued to rub the palms of her hands against her thighs. She still couldn’t look Toni in the eye.
"I liked Billy, but I didn't think he would act like that."
"What did he do?" Tina Ming stood up and took off her jacket. She turned around, lifted her shirt, and showed Toni her back; there were black and blue bruises all over it. "Oh my God! Did Billy do that?"
Tina Ming pulled her shirt back down and nodded her head. "It was all my fault," she said as she sat back down. "He didn't even want to do it."
"Do what, hit you?" Toni was studying Tina Ming's body language. She was rubbing the palms of her hands against her thighs so hard that Toni reached out and stopped her. "Please, Tina, just take it easy. Now, you just said that he didn't want to do it. Do what?"
"Have sex. I tried to make him do it. That's when he went crazy and started punching me on the back."
"Do you want to press charges—"
"No, no," Tina Ming said as her head shot up and she looked into Toni's eyes for the first time. “I don't want no trouble. My father would kill me if he found out...” Tina Ming lowered her head again. "Please do not tell my father." Tina begged.
Toni placed her hand on Tina's shoulder. Then she said in a gentle tone of voice, "So what do you want me to do, Tina?"
The young woman lifted her head and looked at Toni. “I don't know, watch him. I read about the old lady that was killed on his block. When I was with Billy, he kept saying that he had no interest in young folk, 'I have no time for young folks,' were his exact words.”
"Did you just say that Billy lives on the block where the murder took place?"
"Yeah, his aunt lives on 150th Street. Billy stays there during the week. He told my father that he has a house in St. Albans, Queens. It's actually his Aunt Doris's house, but Billy stays there on the weekends. He’s always bragging about having sex with older women."
"Listen, Tina." Toni opened the top drawer on her desk and removed a card. "Take this. If Billy ever touches you again promise me that you will call."
Tina reached out her hand and took the card. "I promise."
An hour after Daniel Lewis was sent to the Men's House of Detention, affectionately known as The Tombs, Iris and Casper entered the squad room. “Grab your jacket, ladies, we're going to McDonald's, it's on me. I need a Big Mac after what Iris just put me through.”
"Are you all right, baby?" Toni whispered to Iris.
"No, I'm not."
"What was that phone call all about?"
"We'll talk about it later."
Toni told Iris all about her talk with Tina Ming and how Daniel Lewis didn't fit the profile. "Billy, our Billy?" Iris said as she flopped down in her swivel chair. "Look, Toni, I hear you, but Daniel's DNA was all over her and the bed. In my book that's a rap, hell, it should be a rap in yours, too. And as far as Billy is concerned, well, we'll keep our eye on him."
"C’mon, ladies, let's go," Casper said.
Chapter 12
BILLY MADISON STOOD in
his bedroom staring into a full-length mirror; he was completely nude. He turned from left to right, admiring his physique. Billy touched his barrel chest, then he ran his fingertips across his six pack. He stepped closer to the mirror so that he could examine his face. Billy fondled himself as he kissed his image repeatedly.
After he got dressed, Billy checked his night bag which contained: a small penknife, a pair of plastic flex cuffs and leg restraints, black electric tape, a diamond tip glass cutter, a small baseball bat, and a ball-peen hammer.
Billy knew who his victim was going to be tonight; Billy knew all his victims. He also knew that tonight's victim wouldn't be home until late because she was being honored, at a private party, for being the first Latina district attorney of Manhattan.
CASPER, LORI, TONI, and Iris entered McDonald’s on 125th Street. Ten minutes later they all were seated in the back of the restaurant. Everyone, except for Toni, was pleased with the capture of Daniel Lewis. And although Iris was smiling along with her comrades, her mind drift.
Casper picked up his cup of soda and said: "Let's make a toast." Everyone at the table raised their cups. "Here's to a job well done. Here's to the fantastic four." Everyone echoed Casper's words, except for Iris. She was staring at two little boys who were throwing their fries at one another. "Are you going to be o.k., boss?" Casper asked his friend.
"Yeah, Casper, I'll be all right."
"Yo, what was up with that phone call? You ran out of that basement like someone was holding your parent’s hostage," Lori said before she pushed three fries into her mouth.
"That phone call was none of your freakin' business, little girl."
"Whatever," Lori said, rolling her eyes. "And what about that Daniel guy?" she said to Casper. Lori took a bite from her cheeseburger, then she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "We're truly living in an evil world," she said with a mouth full of food. Casper took a sip from his cup as he shook his head. "No, Sunshine..."