5: Laying the Foundation

The day will be what you make it,
so rise, like the sun, and burn.

William C. Hannan

Commissioner Eddleson approached the microphone as the press corps edged closer. There weren’t many reporters, many were already assigned to the tech conference at the Jacob K Javits Convention Center. The reporters knew something was up, but the commissioner’s staff kept a tight lid on the information, so they didn’t have a clue what it was.

“I’m sorry to announce that Councilman Adrian Adams of the Fourth District was found savagely murdered yesterday. His wife, the socialite and fund raiser, Martha Adams, is missing and believed kidnapped.” He glanced into the crowd and let the simple statement sink in before continuing. “The murder was horrific. Rather than get into unpleasant details, let me lay out what we’re doing.

“This attack on Councilman Adams wasn’t a single violent assault. Instead, an abundance of conflicting clues signals it was carefully staged to mislead the investigation. This wasn’t the murder of a single man. It was an orchestrated assault on the voters of New York, an attempt to undermine the voters’ voices in the governance of the city. I’m convinced this is a politically motivated crime against the people of New York.

“Councilman Adams was leading many important City Council projects, including the Economic Development committee. It’s not hard to guess it was the direction he was leading the city which got him killed. As a result, I will not waste your time detailing the grisly details. Since it appears to be a blatant attempt to refocus blame, I’ve appointed a special investigation team. These officers, Detectives Emma Rules and Doug Wei, have no other task than to root through the evidence and determine which clues are legitimate. Their only job is to catch the perpetrators of this crime. To ensure they’re not distracted, I’ve given them carte blanche. They can investigate any aspect of the case they feel warrants it. No one is above reproach in this matter. Not me, nor any politician, and certainly not any corporate interests. Whoever did this in the hopes of silencing this man’s voice will be sadly disappointed. Let me warn them, the people of New York will not stand for such an obvious assault on the choices of voters in this city.”

Mike Eddleson took a breath, steadying himself as he scanned the crowd, making eye contact with several of the reporters. “We’ll get to the source of this attack, and we’ll do it quickly. We won’t waste time with political committees or sending out hundreds of police officers working at cross purposes. Since this is a crime against the people of New York, we’re dedicating ourselves to solving it as efficiently as possible.” He made a broad sweeping gesture, indicating Em and her partner. “Now, I’d like for the two detectives to explain their plan of attack.”

Em glanced at Doug, cleared her throat and stepped forward. Doug hesitated a moment before following, standing slightly behind, letting her take the heat. After all, this was her investigation.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, as you can imagine, this is an unusual case. Despite the head start the attackers have, we’ve set up watches at the airports, bus stations and bridges. As Commissioner Eddleson said, we’re convinced those behind the attack are firmly entrenched in the political activity of the city. Thus we doubt they intend to flee. Given the abundance of faked clues, it’ll take time to separate the real evidence from the false. Yet we believe we have enough to proceed. Our biggest hope is in locating Martha Adams, as her life is likely in jeopardy even as we speak. We need the public and media to be our eyes and ears. We’re asking anyone who thinks they may have seen her to call the Tip Line. The mayor has authorized a fifty-thousand-dollar reward for any information resulting in a conviction. Your help is essential in locating Martha before something happens, and in identifying those responsible for this attack.

“Commissioner Eddleson granted us unprecedented leeway in this investigation. He’s given us the authority to operate on our own, to ensure that no political figure, city official or campaigner can sideline this case. Neither the Mayor nor the Commissioner can influence where or what we investigate. When we convene a grand jury, we’ll present our information so our decisions will be transparent, but we won’t bow to outside pressures. Like the Commissioner, we’re convinced this isn’t a simple case of homicide. However, we’re not ruling out any theories, evidence or suspects. Our findings will be laid bare for the jury, and they’ll evaluate the truth of our conclusions. Following this press conference, we’ll interview the Mayor and Commissioner. We hope to identify whether there are any outstanding political actions which may shed light on what occurred.”

Em tapped her prepared speech against the stand, signaling she was done before stepping back. “We’ll now take any questions from the press,” Mike announced.

“Commissioner! What time did the attack occur?”

Em approached the microphone, leaning in to ensure she was heard. “AS WE STATED— Oops, excuse me. I’m not used to these things. Is this better?” When several reporters nodded, she continued. “As we’ve stated, we’re trying to eliminate false clues. At this point, we need to examine each detail. We can’t confirm or deny any specific piece of evidence, including the estimated time of death or who was present.”

Mike stepped forward, taking over the microphone. “If you don’t mind, we’d prefer if you kept the questions focused on the investigation, not the crime itself.”

“Is Martha Adams considered a suspect, since she hasn’t been located?”

Em glanced at Mike, noticing his neck muscles stiffen at the inquiry, but his expression didn’t change. Acting quickly, she retook the mic. “No. At this point, given the circumstances, we consider her a potential victim. However, we plan on searching the city, monitoring everyone who entered or left Councilman Adam’s neighborhood and watching for any clues of her whereabouts. If she’s found unhurt, we’ll reevaluate our approach, but for now, there’s no direct evidence she’s involved.”

“I don’t suppose you’ll explain how you came to your decision?” someone asked.

Em cocked her head, staring at the reporter. The other reporters chittered, finding his predicament humorous and the question was abandoned.

“Was Councilman Adam’s residence covered by video surveillance? Can you determine who was responsible from that?”

Em started to step forward again, but Mike stepped in front of her, taking the question himself. “It’s city policy to not identify where cameras are located to prevent criminals targeting areas without observation. However, the NYPD Domain Awareness System was monitoring traffic in and out of the area. We’ll soon have a list of suspect vehicles which we can track.”

“Do you have any leads at this point?”

“It’s too early,” Em responded. “We’re still evaluating the evidence. There’s so much, much of it highly inconsistent, that we’re questioning which was planted and what is legit. Our focus is on locating Martha Adams and determining who took her. Those actions will be conducted by the larger New York Police Department. Doug and I will focus on identifying who had a vested interest in seeing the councilman killed, and following any financial or political motives to their ultimate conclusions.”

As Em stepped back, Mike nodded approvingly. Her cheeks flushed a cute pink, but not enough to be noticeable.

“So essentially there’s nothing you can supply us with?” a voice called out from the back. The Commissioner addressed the question.

“No, we have photos of Martha, their car, license plate and what she was wearing when she was last seen. We’ll also release any information about suspect vehicles in the area so the public can inform us of their location. This portion of the investigation is focused on finding Martha Adams, and we invite our citizens and the press corps to be a part of it. The sooner we find and return her to safety, the faster we’ll identify who was behind this horrendous attack. Since there don’t appear to be any more questions, we’ve prepared press kits featuring the relevant information, including photos of both victims.”

With that, Mike motioned Em and Doug back. They took his advice and backed away from the podium. That left the Commissioner to address any further issues as policemen began passing out the press kits. As Em and her partner headed back into One Police Plaza, Nicole Summers intercepted them.

“I wanted to congratulate you on your excellent delivery and wish you luck in your investigation. This is important to Mike and could either make or break your careers.” She clasped Em’s hands, leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before backing up, motioning them into the building.

Doug waited until they were inside before saying anything. “What was that about?”

She smiled playfully. “What do you mean? Can’t a girl wish a fellow cop well?”

“Please, I can spot a pretense a mile away. I saw her slipping you a note. What the hell did she pass you?”

Em lost her grin and pulled him into a side corner away from anyone else. “This is a delicate balancing act for the Commissioner. Clearly, he can’t be seen interfering with the investigation, especially if his involvement comes to light, so he’s got to keep his distance. When Nicole and I first met, Mike explicitly told me she’s gay. I of course told him I wasn’t interested, but we each laid out our positions.” She stopped the explanation there, waiting for his response.

“I don’t get it. He wants you to date someone in his office?”

Em grinned, but shook her head, leaning in to whisper in his ear. “No. It’s an elaborate ruse. Given our history, it won’t take long for the press to notice us palling around and jump to the obvious conclusion. Tonight, I’ll meet her in a cop bar before moving the discussion somewhere private. That gives me a chance to comment on how the investigation is proceeding, allowing Nicole to casually mention it to Mike. That way, no one can be forced to testify they explicitly asked or said anything about the case, other than as an aside. What’s more, the press may gossip about our involvement, but aren’t likely to guess its true intent. Mike can track the investigation without us having to call each other, which would turn up in any subsequent investigations. By the way, we never had this discussion. Understood?”

Doug grinned. “What conversation? I’ve got no gaydar and can’t spot any flirting I’m unfamiliar with unless someone points it out to me. I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about.”

Em put her arm around his and led him back into the people milling through the building. “That’s why I appreciate you, partner. You know enough to stay out of my private life and not ask embarrassing questions.”

“I’m sorry, but Mayor Rosen has a busy schedule and can only spare a few moments.”

Em turned and shot the officious aide a dubious glance and shrugged. “If he’s unwilling to grant us a few minutes, we’ve little choice but to regard it as obstruction. We’ll consider him a prime suspect in an ongoing criminal enterprise. If that’s how you’d prefer the mayor spend his time, feel free explaining it to him. We’ll certainly drop your name if and when we file charges against him.”

“You ... you can’t do that? He didn’t commit these crimes.”

“No, but he’s actively helping them escape justice by obstructing our investigation, which makes him guilty of the same crimes they’ve committed.”

The rosy-cheeked young man with dimples looked like he’d walked out of an Ivy League graduate program straight into a prestigious job. He set Em’s teeth on edge. The man glanced at the closed door before turning back. “I didn’t say he wouldn’t help. I was just cautioning that he has a busy schedule.”

“I’m sure Councilman Adams did too, but things turn up. The only ones who schedule a murder are those who orchestrate it.”

Knocking on the door to give his boss a warning, he opened the door for Em and Doug. “I don’t mean to be difficult, but I’m responsible for his schedule.”

“Then plan on us being here until we’re satisfied we have whatever information is relevant.”

“Detectives Rules and Wri?” Mayor James Rosen stood from behind his ornate desk. “Please have a seat. Never mind Peter, he means well, but if it were up to him, he’d time how long I’m allowed to pee.”

“The name is Wei, as in ‘Curds and’,” Doug explained.

The mayor was an affable fellow, with dusky skin and a close-cropped afro. However, he couldn’t pull off the military haircut, mainly because it was too short and fashionable. Instead he’d worked his way up as a federal prosecutor turned defense attorney specializing in civil-rights cases. A darling of the liberal left. “Of course, excuse me. With as many Chinese-Americans as we have in the city, you’d think I’d have such basics ironed out by now. I still slip up occasionally. No offense, I hope.”

“None, but it helps if you get things straight from the onset.” The detectives sat in front of the mayor’s desk. The mayor turned to his partner.

“The commissioner has wonderful things to say about you, but never hearing of either of you before, I’m a little at a loss.”

Em shrugged again. “Hopefully you won’t hear much more in the future. We’re hoping to wrap this up as quickly as possible and allow everyone to get on with their lives. I’m not used to this much attention. Most of what I do is behind the scenes, far from the glare of spotlights.”

The mayor laughed. “Yeah, intense scrutiny changes how you approach your job. It can be a little overwhelming.”

“Well, seeing how busy you are, let’s get to work. Can you think of anything Commissioner Adams was working on which may have triggered a violent reprisal?”

The mayor smiled. “He was in finance. His planned tax cuts upset a lot of people, including your NYPD. You’ve probably suffered enough departmental cutbacks to be pissed yourselves, but I doubt you’d kill for it. There wasn’t anything he was involved with where killing him would change the outcome. Most everything was well-established and would continue whether he was there to push them or not.”

“In that case, let’s focus on anything under the radar. Say something he might have been working on which wasn’t common knowledge. Potential issues which removing him would solve.”

“Ah, an interesting premise, but of course he wouldn’t have told me before they were ready to submit to the entire council. Have you tried his chief-of-staff? Simon Schmitt?”

“I spoke with him this morning,” Doug said, pulling out his notebook and flipping it open to a specific page. “If you don’t mind, we’ll read out his various projects and you tell us anything which might be a game changer worth killing over.”

James Rosen smiled and nodded, enjoying the opportunity to dish political dirt one-on-one with people unlikely to leak it to the press.

“Proposed changes to the retirement age of teachers?”

“Retirement age or when they can access their funds?”

“Uh, the latter,” Doug replied, smiling, happy James was already aware of the issue.

The mayor shrugged. “There might be some protests, but no one’s been killed each time we’ve screwed instructors and schools before. The problem with education is that teachers teach for the kids and won’t punish them by standing up for themselves.”

“There’s a proposal to do the same with the pensions of city workers.”

“The idea is to implement it in stages so it pays out lesser amounts while the people are still working. That reduces double-dipping. The full pension is only implemented after five years.” Here James shrugged. “The government officials would cause more trouble, but they’re afraid a big stink would ensure a Republican sweep, which often leads to a complete denial of pensions. They’ll protest, but they’ll back down as soon as the tide turns against them. No one likes taxes, and the public doesn’t like the idea of non-workers spending their tax dollars. That’s why the public doesn’t really protest the military’s treatment of vets.”

Doug scowled, but Em jumped in before he could say anything. “What about union officials?” Em pressed. “There’s always been a strong mob influence in the unions.”

James leaned forward, opening his hands against his desk. “The Mafioso are old school and unlikely to rock the boat. The big gangsters are all old men now, and the new guys are interested in finances and siphoning union dues. They have no clue how to hire out violent acts anymore.”

Em smiled. “OK, you’re using the ‘criminal element is too incompetent to cause trouble’ theory. I’m not sure they’d appreciate it, but I’ll accept it—for now.”

Doug flipped over another page. “There was also something about a new anti-gun policy?”

The mayor brushed the concern away. “Oh that, it’s a sugar cube for our base.”

“A what?”

James waved his hands. “A sugar cube, a red herring.” Seeing he was getting nowhere, he leaned back, his eyes unfocused as he remembered a vision in his distant past. “When I was young, a friend had a Norwegian grandmother. Whenever I’d stop by in the morning and the adults were talking, he’d ask his grandmother for coffee. She’d smile, pick up a sugar cube from a sugar bowl, put it on a silver spoon and dip it in the coffee. The cube would soak up the coffee, after which she’d take it out and give each of us one to suck on.

“It was an unnecessary gesture. I mean, a kid’s gonna love nana whether they get caffeine or not, but we loved it. After all, it was pure sugar, but it had the taste of the forbidden, and we could tell our friends we drank coffee. That’s what I refer to as ‘sugar cube’ issues. They’re items we throw to our constituencies, understanding they’ll never pass. Adams would submit it, I’d announce it and New Yorkers would get excited we were doing something about the gun problems in the city. But as soon as it’s announced the NRA would start raising funds across the country to toss the ‘gun-hating liberals’ out of office. Faced with that opposition, it would be soundly defeated the first time it came to a vote. Yet our base would be pleased we took a stand. Politicians of both stripes would claim they stood their ground and New Yorkers would have the forbidden taste of gun control. Everyone’s happy, everyone raises funds for their future campaigns, but nothing changes.”