Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set #2: Books 5-8 (A Dead Cold Box Set) Blake Banner (read out loud books txt) 📖

be much, much harder for these parasites to do this kind of thing. For that much at least, we need to thank Ananda.”

She grunted and I grabbed my phone and called Inspector John Newman at his house, where he was sleeping. It was five in the morning.

* * *

By fifteen minutes after six we were in the briefing room at the station. We had four teams plus myself, Dehan, and the Inspector, who turned to me now and said, “Detective Stone, this is your show.”

I stood and faced the room. Sixteen cops, twelve uniforms and four detectives specializing in company fraud, all looked back at me, frowning, aware that something extraordinary was happening, but not sure what.

“First, let me say that what is discussed in this room this morning stays strictly among us. People’s lives are at stake. One careless comment or phone call, and people could die. Us included.

“Now, we have to act fast, and there can be no mistakes. This has got to go like clockwork. Team one, you will go with Inspector Newman and make the arrest on Senator Carol Hennessy.” There was a muffled gasp. I stared hard at them. “If she has prior warning that we are coming I will hold each one of you responsible. You will proceed directly from this room to the cars, you will speak to no one, and you will make the arrest.

“Team two, you will go with Detective Dehan and make the arrest on Anthony D’Angelo, Carol Hennessy’s personal secretary. Team three, you will come with me and make the arrest on Jackson Lee. Team four, detectives, Inspector Newman will give you the warrant to go into the Hennessy Foundation offices, freeze their assets, and conduct a far-reaching investigation into their financial activities. The warrant was granted at five forty-five this morning, and the judge wasn’t too happy. So your powers are extensive.”

There was some muted laughter. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was twenty after six. “Okay, let’s go!”

And we scrambled.

Within half an hour, shortly before seven AM, Newman and his four patrolmen had stormed into Senator Carol Hennessy’s apartment in Manhattan, dragged her from her bed, cuffed her, and marched her downstairs to the waiting cars.

Almost simultaneously, D’Angelo, four blocks away, was intercepted while doing his morning run along the banks of the Hudson. He struggled and tried to run, was restrained, and Dehan cuffed him and read him his rights.

Lee was also out running, in Morningside Park. We waited in the cars, in the dark, cold morning before sunrise, and as he exited onto Manhattan Avenue, intending to cross to his apartment block, I climbed out of the car and approached him. He stared at me in astonishment.

“Detective Stone? What on Earth…?”

“What’s the matter, Mr. Lee? Had you heard rumors of my death? They were greatly exaggerated.”

He stammered a moment. “No! I…it’s just, at this time of the morning…”

“There is no good time for being arrested, Mr. Lee.”

“What?”

I pulled out my cuffs and the team climbed out of their cars.

“I am arresting you for the murder of David Thorndike, Mr. Lee, for conspiracy to murder an officer of the law, and for concealing evidence of murder and conspiracy to murder.”

He was shaking his head and staring at me goggle-eyed.

“No! No, that’s not true!”

“Turn around!” Two patrolmen spun him around and I cuffed his wrists behind his back. “Okay, let’s get him to the station.”

It went like clockwork, and as we drove away from Morningside Park back toward the Bronx, the team of detectives were taking control of the Hennessy Foundation and starting their long, methodical investigation into one of the most corrupt institutions ever to be created.

By eight o’clock, we had our three major suspects in custody, and Lee in interrogation room number three. Dehan and I were sitting in Newman’s office. The expression on his face said he was somewhere between elation and terror at what he had just done.

“I don’t mind telling you, detectives, that I will be very glad to hand this over to the Bureau.”

I nodded that I understood, but said, “Can you give me an hour, two at the most, sir? I need to talk to Jackson Lee.”

He shook his head. “He’ll lawyer up, John. Hennessy and D’Angelo did it straight away.”

“I know, sir. But I think I can get to him. And if we have a confession, that will clinch it.”

“Well, I suppose I owe you that much. But the fall out has started already. We’re going to have the White House and the Feds all over us before very long. You’d better make it quick.”

“Thank you, sir.”

We grabbed some coffee and made our way to the interrogation room. Lee’s attorney was already there with him. He was a big man in his fifties who looked like he’d been around the block a few times and knew his way blindfolded. He drew breath but I raised a hand as I sat down and Dehan sat next to me.

“Please, counselor, we haven’t much time and you and your client need to hear what I am going to say. Pretty soon the Feds are going to claim jurisdiction over this investigation. When they do that, Hennessy is going to start pulling strings and your client and D’Angelo are going to have the buck passed firmly into your hands. This is a one-time opportunity for you to get in first, before the big Hennessy machine starts rolling.”

They exchanged a glance. They must have been telepathic because his lawyer looked at me and said, “What do you want and what are you offering?”

“I want the full story: what happened to David’s article? Where is it now? What happened to his laptop? Where is it now? Exactly how he killed David and, above all, his motivation.”

Jackson leaned