"It's the husband," he said. "Go arrest him.”
"He's got an alibi," Meyer said.
"Right," Brown said, nodding. "The flower-shop lady.”
"Did you go to that restaurant?" Byrnes asked.
"No, not yet.”
"Better do it right away. See if anyone saw them there together.”
"Meyer'll be going down there this morning,”
Carella said.
"Not enough days in the week, Loot," Parker explained.
"Who's this other guy?" Byrnes asked.
"Denker? We don't know yet. No make on him in the computer. He's supposed to be a private eye.”
"Why would anyone in his right mind want to say he's a private eye if he ain't one?”
Parker said.
The detectives all laughed.
Even Byrnes laughed.
"All right, all right," he said at last.
But the men were still laughing.
"All right, let's calm down," he said.
"But the husband hired him, is that - right?" Brown asked.
"Yeah.”
"To protect her.”
"Yeah.”
"What bullshit," Parker said.
"She'd better watch her ass," O'Brien said.
"That's what we figure," Carella said.
"Gee, no kidding?" Parker said. "You guys must be masterminds to dope that out. Wake up, Farm Boy," he said to Kling. "I'm about to explain police work to you.”
Kling hadn't said a word thus far.
Now he said, "Fuck you, Parker.”
"Thank you," Parker said, and stood up and bowed to him. "But be that as it may, this is the way this thing is shaping up. Bowles ... is that his name?”
"Bowles, yes," Meyer said.
"Bowles hires this one jerk to kill his wife, and the guy fucks up. Twice, no less. So Bowles tells him to get lost, and he hires himself another jerk, this time from Chicago. Only the first jerk isn't going away so fast, he wants the rest of his money.”
"His delivery payment," Brown said.
"Pay or play.”
"Thank you, Dr. Watson," Parker said, and grimaced and shook his head in sour acknowledgment of the simpletons surrounding him. "So he calls Bowles and tells him to pay up or else, and Bowles pays him off with a bullet in the head.”
"You're forgetting that Bowles has an alibi," O'Brien said.
"Alibi, bullshit. Lean on the flower-shop lady, the alibi goes down the toilet.”
"Maybe," Carella said.
"Maybe, my ass. She's fucking Bowles, what do you think this is? So he tells her I have to run uptown to take care of something, sweetheart. If the cops ask you where I was on Monday, such-and-such a time, you tell them we were having lunch together. She says, Certainly, darling, let me suck your cock.”
"Maybe," Meyer said.
"No maybes. Why do you think Bowles wants the wife dead? 'Cause he's already got the flower-shop lady on the side. Meanwhile, we now got this second jerk joined to the wife at the hip, ready to smoke her the minute he finds the right time and place. There's your case, gentlemen. Arrest Bowles for the fuckin murder, and the flower-shop lady as an accessory-after. Then run that phony private eye out of town on a fuckin railroad tie.”
The room went silent.
"Sounds good to me," Byrnes said.
Carella hated to admit it, but it did.
DetectivestThird Grade Randall Wade looked as mean as tight underwear. Tall and black, with narrow shoulders and a lean, muscular body, he stepped up onto the witness stand, raised his right hand, and placed his left hand on the Bible the clerk of the court extended. He seemed uncomfortable in a suit and tie. His hand on the Bible showed the oversized knuckles of a street fighter. His face was badly pockmarked, and an old knife scar over his left eye made him appear particularly threatening. Louise Carella gave him the once-over and hoped the jury wouldn't find him as frightening as she did; she was having trouble believing he was truly a cop.
"Detective Wade," Lowell said, "I show you this nine-millimeter Uzi assault pistol and ask when first you saw it.”
"On the night ... well, let me correct that," Wade said. "It was still dark, but it was morning already. The morning of August first last year.”
"Where did you first see this pistol?”
"In the hallway of a house at 1143 Talley Road.”
"Where is that, Detective Wade?”
"In Riverhead. The Four-Six Precinct.”
"What were you doing there?”
"We were there to apprehend a pair of suspects in a murder case we were investigating.”
"Which murder case was that?”
"The murder of Anthony John Carella.”
"And which suspects were you there to apprehend?”
"Desmond Whittaker and Samson Cole.”
"Is Samson Cole the same Mr. Cole who is the defendant in this trial?”
"He is.”
"Was Mr. Cole in that hallway at 1143 Talley Road when first you saw this pistol?”
"He was.”
"Where was the pistol when first you saw it?”
"In Mr. Cole's right hand.”
"Can you tell me how the pistol came into your possession?”
"It was seized as evidence after Mr. Cole was subdued and apprehended.”
"When you say `subdued` ...”
"He had raised the gun into a firing position.
It was necessary ...”
"This gun?”
"Yes, the gun in your hand. He had turned it on us and was about to fire. It was necessary to take him by force.”
"When, exactly, did you seize the pistol as evidence?”
"After Mr. Cole was in handcuffs.”
"What did you do with the pistol then?”
"Tagged it as evidence and gave it to my superior officer.”
"May I have your superior officer's name?”
"Detective-Lieutenant James Michael Nelson," Wade said, "commander of the Forty-fifth Detective Squad.”
"Detective Wade, what is the usual procedure when evidence is passed from one individual to another in the Police Department?”
"There's what we call a Chain of Custody tag attached to the evidence.”
"Can you tell me what is printed on these tags?”
"First there are the words Received From and then the word By and then the words Date and Time. There's room on the tag for three people to write in the information. After that, you have to use a supplementary tag, which is usually stapled to the first one.”
"So that when you passed this tagged pistol on to Lieutenant Nelson, for example, he would have indicated that he'd received it from you, and then he would have signed it after the word By, is that correct?”
"That's correct.”
"Would you know what happened to the pistol after you passed it on to Lieutenant Nelson?”
"Yes, sir. It was sent to the Ballistics Section for test-firing.”
"Your Honor," Lowell said, "I would like this so-called Chain of Custody tag marked in evidence.”
"No objection," Addison said.
He was stroking his beard, Carella noticed. Idly stroking his beard. Seemingly throroughly bored with all this stuff about the pistol.
"Mark it Exhibit Five for the prosecution," Di Pasco said.
"Detective Wade," Lowell said, "would you please take a look at this tag?”
Wade accepted the tag, glanced at it, nodded.
"Can you tell from that tag who after Lieutenant Nelson was next in possession of the pistol?”
"Yes. Receipt of the pistol was signed for by Detective Peter Haggerty at Ballistics Section, on the morning of August first at eleven twenty-seven.”
"The chain of custody, then, as indicated on the tag was from you to Lieutenant Nelson and from Lieutenant Nelson to Detective Haggerty.”
"That's correct.”
"Are there any other names on that tag?”
"None.”
"Would anyone else have been in possession of this pistol at any time? Other than the persons whose names appear on that tag?”
"No one else would have had possession of it.”