13: Accountability

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you
till it seems as though you couldn’t hold on a minute longer,
never give up then, for that is just
the place and time when the tide’ll turn.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Em leaned over, pushing her hair back as the harsh winter wind blew everything aflutter. “Man, I am not ready for this. I had ... a bit of a ... rough night.”

Doug grinned over the image of his partner suffering. “Attempting to blur uncomfortable memories?”

She rolled her eyes, something she wouldn’t be able to do in a few minutes. “Worse, I spent the night discussing details of the shooting with an angry mother upset at the idea of stray bullets around her precious baby.”

Doug smirked, the mirth clear in his twinkling eyes. “That is worse, you can’t drink at all!”

Em used her hand to block the wind from her eyes as she studied those behind the stage. “Why does he want us here? This doesn’t impact us, does it? Won’t it impinge on the objectivity of our case? Are we supposed to provide an alibi?”

Doug shook his head. “No, we discussed it before you dragged your sorry ass in.” He motioned to the woman standing beside Mike Eddleson, whom Em had never met. “Mike’s trying to get in front of this train wreck by coming clean. The main star of the show is Melissa, his wife. He’ll give the usual speech expressing contrition while denying culpability. She’ll stand by her man to the bitter end, despite hating him for putting her through this. We’re only here to show the case is ongoing and we have other leads than the commissioner. But we’re mainly here because the press is hungrier for details of an uptown shooting than a tired tale of infidelity.”

A pretty blond sidled beside Em on the far side of the stage as she struggled to restrain her hair with one hand. “Man, this wind is the worst for public appearances. Melissa looks terrible! Her long hair is all over the place. Mine’s shorter, but I’m glad I’m not standing before the cameras.”

Doug grinned at the newcomer, enjoying the situation. “Hey, Nicole. Still willing to stand beside your boss at a press event?”

“Ordinarily, I’d feel conflicted, but you’ve convinced me he’s a largely innocent pawn in a larger chess game. I’m prepared to guard him against any flanking moves.”

Doug chuckled. “We’ll have to play chess sometimes. It’s not often women use chess analogies.” He ran his hand through his close-cropped hair. “Personally, I don’t find the wind so oppressive.”

Em hid her smirk behind her fist, but Nicole rolled her eyes. “No, you wouldn’t. Em’s almost in your position with her short hair. A decent amount of hair spray and it’s cemented in place. But Melissa’s makes her look worn and haggard, which won’t help if everyone thinks it’s because of Mike.”

Instead of responding, Em turned to her partner. “You play chess? I’d think you’d be a Go aficionado.”

Doug shrugged. “I’m a misplaced soul split between cultures. I play Go with my friends and family, but chess with my white co-workers. Naturally, I prefer Go since my friends are more competitive players, but I appreciate the strategy of both games. Though, of course, chess is a bit ... simplistic, like most of America’s views of the world.”

Em smirked. “Says the man who’s never set foot outside the country.”

Nicole nudged her hard in the side. “Shh! They’re starting.”

Commissioner Eddleson approached the microphone, accompanied by his wife, and checked that it was on. The breeze produced a constant whistle in the background, which worsened when amplified, verifying the mic was live. Em considered the woman. While Mike looked a bit harried, his short white hair hid the effects of the wind and cold. Melissa’s hair was strung out in a large fuzzy halo around her head. She had the assurance of someone who knows what they want and looked comfortable. She didn’t waste time straightening her hair like Nicole.

“We should have held this indoors.”

“Mike’s hoping the inclement weather will cut short any awkward questions.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, you heard the rumors yesterday concerning my close association with Martha Adams. I didn’t want to get into it while the focus was on her demise, but I’m here to clarify the issue.” Mike swallowed, stretching his neck before continuing, while Melissa clasped his hand as if transferring her strength into him.

“I was, in fact, having an illicit and secretive affair with Martha at the time of her death. That’s why I put officers Rules and Wei in charge of the investigation. I wanted them beyond the reach of outside influences, but also free to investigate me fully, without fear of pressures to either convict or clear my name prematurely.”

Mike paused, lifting their hands and kissing Melissa’s closed hand before turning back to the microphone. “I informed my wife, Melissa, right away, explaining how it came to pass. I won’t bore you with the minutiae of my life, but the two actions are unrelated. I’ll allow the lead investigator, Emma Rules to explain, but first I’d like to say that I’m sorry for keeping this a secret. I planned to come forward after learning of Adrian’s death, but didn’t want my association to cloud the investigation.

“Enough time has passed, and the case has progressed far enough, it’s no longer a concern at this point. I’d like to take this time to apologize to the citizens of New York for this ... indiscretion, and for the subterfuge in this case. Yet this was a private matter between us, and frankly, we hadn’t made any long term plans at the time. Beyond that, I have no excuses for what I did to Adrian, though he never suspected anything.”

Mike released Melissa’s hand. She glanced back for an instant and stepped to the microphone, giving a brief smile before speaking.

“This has been an incredibly troubling period for me. For both of us, though nowhere near as difficult as for Martha and Adrian. But, I can tell you with a clear conscience that Mike had no part in what happened to them. He was with me at the time. When the news was first reported, I feared he’d slipped out while I wasn’t aware, but it’s evident he didn’t. I’m a light sleeper, and even if we weren’t touching, if he stood, I’d have awakened. What’s more, what I’ve learned of the investigation makes it obvious there were many other people involved in this. The murders were carefully orchestrated well in advance, with actors put into motion ahead of time. This was no crime of passion.”

She glanced back, breaking into a relaxed smile, proving she was either comfortable with what occurred or a tremendous actress. “Mike and I are ... managing. We’re still taking everything a day at a time, but we’re discussing the issues in our lives rather than holding everything in. I think that’s good, despite how painful it’s been exposing our emotional scars to the world. But understand this, whatever else happens, I love my husband and he loves me. We may not be able to make this marriage work, but I trust and support Mike. I’m not sure I’m ready to forgive him, but I understand how it developed.”

Melissa joined her spouse leaving the wind whistling into the microphone. The two hugged before Mike stepped back up.

“Normally we’d take questions, but seeing as how everyone is freezing, let’s continue so those of you who don’t plan on sticking around can take off. Detective Rules, if you please.”

Em squared her shoulders and approached, followed as usual by Doug, who had no intention of saying a thing.

“Thank you, Commissioner. I’m sure we’re all eager to get out of this breeze. There have been several significant advances in this case. The reporter who broached the subject of Mike’s involvement with Martha yesterday was informed the information was uncovered by the murderers. His possession of it was a part of the criminal conspiracy in that it furthered their plans. As such, his publisher has decided not to pursue the story. The article and his source material will not appear in print. However, we discovered the man during a routine traffic stop and found him disposing of the evidence. He’s now under arrest. The decision not to publish was made by the publisher. It was based on the integrity of the information and not on the NYPD’s views on the issue. From what I understand, they’re publishing a separate piece not based on their original source.

“To clarify Melissa’s point, we’ve established the times of death of both Adrian and Martha Adams and determined that Commissioner Eddleson is not a suspect. There was no way he could have committed the murders. We’ve also decided the cash discovered in his trunk was planted there by someone else. The same amount was transferred from Martha’s account the day before the murder, apparently to cast suspicion on the Commissioner. Based on the timeline, it’s likely Martha wasn’t involved in the transfer and this is merely another of their misdirections.

“On a related note, there was an attempt on my life yesterday. Someone hired a homeless man to shoot me in front of my apartment building. Luckily for me he was a terrible shot.” Uneasy laughter tittered among the press corp. “This demonstrates they have connections within the police department and pulled my private information to shut the investigation down. However, he provided us with a decent ID of his contact, so we’re closing the loop. The case is moving forward, despite this minor distraction. There seems to be a large number of individuals involved in this conspiracy. If any of them don’t wish to face the death penalty, I’d suggest contacting us and discussing a plea agreement. We will identify and arrest each and every one of you. It’s only a matter of time, and time is running out. Shooting me won’t stop this inquiry, and neither will embarrassing the commissioner. The only thing which will stop it will be the incarceration of everyone involved.

“Now, as usual I won’t release any pertinent information about the case which might hinder the investigation, but we’ll take questions.”

Several reporters shouted at once, so Em pointed to one at random.

“Was anyone injured in the attempt on your life?”

She grinned. “Only the shooter, but I avoided critically injuring him so we were able to question him. No bystanders were hurt, but that was more luck than anything else. The attacker was shooting indiscriminately.”

“We heard the attacker is schizophrenic.”

“That’s true, but it’s part of the ongoing conspiracy. They selected him because of his illness, and took away his pills. However, he’s still coherent enough to provide a positive ID. As most of you are aware, there are a lot of victims of schizophrenia who aren’t a danger to others and can manage their disability. This man was down on his luck and was forced into this action by desperation. It’s another reason why we need to curtail this group, as they’ll stop at nothing to escape exposure.”

One reporter laughed as he shouted his question. “I don’t suppose you’d care to share where this occurred?”

“Well, the criminals already know where I live, but I’d rather not have gawkers and news reporters there if it happens again. The fewer people involved the better. However, we feel confident they won’t be stupid enough to try the same failed technique a second time.”

A female correspondent stepped forward. “Was it the commissioner’s wife’s idea to appear here, or the commissioner’s?”

Em stared at the woman, noting which network she represented. “I don’t think that’s really a serious question. She wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t being honest. The commissioner would be a fool to have someone hesitant testifying on his behalf. Frankly, the commissioner’s no dunce.”

“Have you determined who’s pulling the strings in the case yet?”

“No, so far, we’re still connecting the pieces. We want to ensure we have all our ducks in a row before we go after the ringleaders. We’ve got enough evidence, we just need to cross our t’s and dot all our i’s.”

“It seems you’ve gotten a lot of leads, but haven’t been able to implicate anyone yet.”

“That’s not true. We’ve implicated several people, but as I said, we’re still building a case. Just because we haven’t arrested everyone doesn’t mean they’re skating. We’re not going to compromise the investigation by rushing the details. When we arrest these men, we intend to convict each of them.”

“How long was the relationship between the commissioner and Martha Adams going on under Adrian Adams’ nose, and was he aware of it?”

Instead of answering, Em motioned Mike forward. Melissa hid her face behind her hand. The commissioner squeezed her hand and approached the microphone.

“I’m sorry, but that’s a highly personal question and has no bearing on this case or my job. I’ve admitted it was a mistake and that we found ourselves in it without planning it in advance. However, I’m not going to besmirch the reputations of two fine individuals who served the people of this city honorably, especially when they can’t speak for themselves.”

The reporter wasn’t ready to quit. “Don’t you think your actions belittled their honor?”

Mike waved his hand like a ref declaring a foul. “This news conference is over. If all you can do is spread dirt, hurting innocent victims and harming the reputations of the departed, that’s on your own souls. I’m not going to subject my wife to such rudeness.” With that, he reached down and turned the microphone off, escorting his spouse off the stage. She appeared to be visually shaken.

“Wait, how many people were endangered during your gunfight?” someone else shouted. Em turned and gave them a dismissive wave while walking away, never glancing back. Doug glanced from his partner to the journalists, and followed the lead detective. The assembled reporters were quiet for a moment and then scrambled to collect their notes and escape the freezing wind.

Doug glanced at Em as they headed towards the elevators. “I’m not sure turning up the heat on our suspects is helping.”

Em shrugged while removing her coat, tossing it over her arm. “We have another witness, but you’re right. He’s a risky bet in trial, which was their plan all along.” She considered it a moment. “I think we may need to change tactics. By applying pressure, we’re reacting to events, playing catch-up. Instead of always letting our opponents have the first move, we need to draw them out. Draw them to center stage where we can catch them in the act.”

“And how do you anticipate doing that?” Nicole asked.

“I’m not sure,” Em admitted before turning to her partner. “By the way, you’ll have to cover for me tomorrow. I got dragged into attending a wedding as a favor.”

“Pardon me, but you’re taking a day off in the middle of the biggest case of your career?”

“Actually, the case is stalled at this point. I thought getting away would clear my head, allowing me to see things more clearly. Getting away from the city and breathing the country air should ease the constant stresses, and it won’t hurt stepping aside so anyone else gunning for me will be stymied.”

“You’re running away?” Nicole asked, blinking rapidly.

“Not at all, consider it a false gambit in chess. While everyone is watching me, it’ll free Doug to investigate freely under the radar.”

“It must be nice calling the shots,” Doug mumbled.

“It’s not just that. Given the simultaneous release of alternate clues, it’s clear the conspirators are watching how we react. If the lead detective takes off, rather than causing them to flee, it’ll likely confuse anyone trying to cover their tracks. They know we’re on to them, evaluating the evidence, so given this green light they’re likely to try something while I’m away. With you still investigating, and the Port Authority and airports being watched, hopefully we’ll shake something loose. It’s like when we followed the stolen computers. You give someone a lead so they let their guard down.”

Doug raised an eyebrow. “Is this wedding gay or straight?”