A Killing Gift

'Yeah, one other thing. Bernardino and his old partner had a falling-out last week. I didn't tell IA, but I thought you'd like to know.'

'I do. Thanks. You got a name for him?' Mike asked.

'Harry Weinstein. Big talker, big with the horses. He's retired now.'

April nodded again. She knew that.

'Oh, yeah. He was at the party. Tall guy, bald head, beard, yellow plaid jacket?'

'Yeah, that's the one.'

'What's his story?' Mike asked.

'Oh, he's a gambler from way back, had some scheme he wanted Bernardino to go into with him. I don't know the details. I just know that Bernardino blew him off, and he was pissed about it.'

'Has anybody interviewed him, Marcus?'

'I wouldn't know, Mike. The file's in the Sixth. I'm down here in the Fifth. We're working in the dark here.'

'Well, we're not keeping any secrets on this case, and we need all the help we can get. Go over there and tell Peter Ashley you have my blessing. He'll give you whatever you need. Good to have you on the team. I won't forget it. And let me know what time Weinstein left the party and who interviewed him.'

'Thanks, I will.'

The call ended. 'Looks like Marcus has had an attitude change,' Mike said.

'Definitely looking for a way in,' April agreed.

'Good for him. What do you know about Harry?'

April snorted. 'A real loser. He used to come and bug Bernie for betting money, years ago. Two dollars, five dollars. Never won much, never paid anything back.' After a stoical afternoon, April's features finally came alive as the lightbulb went off. Harry was a gambler, chronically in need of money, and his old partner had won the jackpot. Here was another recipe for trouble.

'Did you talk to him at the party?' Mike asked.

'Not me, I keep my distance there. I don't like him. I don't think Bernardino talked to him much, either. Who was he talking to?'

'I wasn't watching. The chief wanted to reminisce. You know how that is.'

'No, I don't know how that is. He doesn't reminisce with me.' April laughed without much mirth, and Mike changed the subject quickly.

'What about Harry as our killer?'

'He's a big man, and he's a loser. But Jack Devereaux and I didn't lose a fight with a sixty-year-old. I don't care what's wrong with my memory. That wouldn't be it. But he knows how to yoke, and maybe he has a friend.'

'What put you into this buddy thing?'

'You always have a sparring friend, a kind of a coach,' she murmured.

'No kidding.' Mike swerved into the exit lane. 'I'm thinking we shouldn't go to Brooklyn right now.'

April opened the passenger window as relief flooded through her. Good-even if Bill was their killer, she didn't want to search the house of an old friend's son. The day was heating up as the BQE took them to the Brooklyn Bridge, which dragged them into the worst Chinatown traffic of the week. Then north to the Village, where things weren't any better. Mike finally pulled up in front of the Sixth Precinct, where they spent the next three hours reviewing the file and time lines with detectives there.

As in every case, there were pieces of information that weren't shared with everyone. Mike didn't share the medical examiner's remark about the odor of spearmint on Bernardino's body or Ducci's finding Tiger Liniment, which contained oil of spearmint as well as eucalyptus oil, on his jacket. Neither mentioned Jack Devereaux's memory of smelling Icy Hot-which contained some of the same ingredients, but not all of them-on the killer. And absolutely nothing about the yoking cause of death. These bits were not for general release. They didn't want the details leaked. April put the mastiff with the chain leash on the table to assign a dog-fancier detective to track his owner down.

The case was a big operation. The hacker was still working on Bernardino's computer down at headquarters. Crime Stoppers was still driving around Greenwich Village with the van, hoping someone would come forward. At the end of the day, something else emerged. A check of all the people who had tickets for the party revealed that Harry Weinstein had crashed. Nobody remembered what time he had left and nobody had bothered to interview him. As usual, he'd been freeloading, and as a freeloader, he'd been overlooked.

Twenty-five

On Sunday, four days after Bernardino's murder, the story dropped to the back of the Metro section of the Times, and Harry Weinstein could not be located at any of his usual haunts. He wasn't at home, or his local beer joint, or any of the racetracks in the area, Yonkers Raceway, Belmont, Suffolk, New Jersey. And he wasn't picking up his cell phone, either. At least he wasn't picking up for private callers. Harry was out in the wind.

Worked out of the Sixth Precinct, the Bernardino homicide was taking on that air of workmanlike organization that always settled in when a case was in for the long haul. Half a dozen major lines of investigation were being followed at the same time. Bank and brokerage canvasses searched for accounts. Neighborhood canvasses continued. The hacker in Bernardino's computer searched for the files that had been scrambled in its hard drive. Bernardino's military record had been obtained, and all the people he'd known back then were sifted through. The list of black-belt members and teachers in martial-arts schools, including the one Bill frequented, were scanned one by one. There seemed nothing unusual about him. He was a popular guy. The case file thickened with interviews that didn't go anywhere and tips that had to be checked out. One by one, people who had known and worked with Bernardino, his friends and associates, were being ruled out. There was still no luck with the dog.

Only a few members of the task force knew about the missing lottery millions, and they were told they'd lose their jobs if it leaked to the press, so it didn't come out. The lid was on the pot, but inside the water was on a hard boil. A deep probe was also prying into Bill Bernardino's personal and business life. And now, despite his size and age, Harry Weinstein was moving up the list of suspects. He had a motive.

On Sunday morning April called Bill and caught him just as he was leaving for the open house at the funeral home where his father's wake was still in progress in Westchester.

'I'm in a hurry. What's going on? Anything new?' he asked.

'Just following up on a few things,' April told him. 'Tell me about Harry.'

Bill was silent for a moment. Then he said, 'Harry who?'

'Harry Weinstein, your dad's old partner.'

'Oh, Jesus, that crook. I haven't heard the bastard's name in years. Frankly, I was surprised that he showed his ugly face at Dad's party.'

'He crashed,' April said.

Bill blew air out of his mouth. 'Cheap asshole.'

'Yeah, well, what happened between them?'

'Christ, who remembers? Guy's a thief. He'd take money out of your back pocket while you're taking a piss. Anything, steal the shoes off your feet if you nod off. Dad gave up on him years ago. Why are you asking?'

'Just looking at everything, Bill.'

'Jesus-Harry?' Bill sounded puzzled. Then he was silent for a long time, suddenly not in such a rush.

'What do you know, Bill?' April asked.

'Nothing. Not a thing. Look, I've got to go. You coming today?' He sounded almost hopeful.

'No.' April wasn't superstitious or anything, but one viewing of a dead body was enough for her.

'How about the funeral tomorrow?' Bill was actually reaching for civility.

'I wouldn't miss it,' she told him.

Later she tried Harry's home. His wife, Carol, answered the phone promptly.

'Mrs. Weinstein. It's Sergeant Woo. Harry isn't picking up his cell. Do you know where he is?'

She laughed. 'Never. Harry could be in Florida, or out west, for all I know. People were out here this morning looking for him. What's going on?'