Cemetery Dance

Ritual Death at 'the Ville'

Possible Ties to Voodoo and Smithback Murder

By Caitlyn Kidd

D'Agosta stared at the espresso, which barely covered the bottom of the paper cup. Whatever happened to the preheated demitasses they used to serve it in? He shot it down, barely tasting it, snapped the paper flat, and began to read.

He had to admit, for a shit — piece of a story it was effective. Nora Kelly and the reporter had gone up to the Ville at night, jumped the fence, and heard the whole thing. Then they'd been chased away, by who or what was left vague, but the reporter insinuated it had the appearance of a zombii. The reporter went on to wonder how the city could have allowed a public road to be closed, and whether animal cruelty laws were being broken. There were quotes from Smithback's article on the Ville, descriptions of the veve left at his apartment door prior to the murder, as well as the weird stuff left at the murder scene itself. There was a pithy quote from the head of an animal rights group. While the reporter made no direct assertions of a connection between the Ville and Smithback's murder, the thrust of the article was unmistakable: Smithback had started writing about animal sacrifices, and he'd been planning to do more. And then there was a line that particularly burned him, typical of this kind of reportage. 'Repeated attempts to reach Lieutenant Detective Vincent D'Agosta, in charge of the Smithback homicide investigation, were unsuccessful.'

Repeated attempts. His cell phone was on night and frigging day, and his office number rolled over to it after hours. Now that he thought about it, he had gotten a call or maybe two from that woman, Kidd, but who has time to return every call?Repeated attempts, my ass. Twice, more like it. Well, okay, maybe three times.

Now he knew exactly why Laura Hayward had called.

The previous article, about voodoo, had been a joke. But this one had some real meat, and the piteous description of the bleating animal being killed was all too effective. Animal lovers, he knew, could be damn near rabid.

The theme song fromThe Good, the Bad, and the Ugly rang out in the coffee shop. D'Agosta quickly grabbed his cell phone, flipped it open, and walked out into the lobby.

The commissioner.

'We speak again,' said the commissioner.

'Yes, sir.'

'I assume you've seen the West Sider piece?'

'Yes, sir, I have.' He tried to keep his tone respectful, as if yesterday had never happened.

'It seems that you might be barking up the wrong tree with Kline — eh, Lieutenant?' The voice had a cold edge to it.

'I'm keeping all lines open in this investigation.'

A grunt. 'So what do you think? Ville or Kline?'

'As I said, we're pursuing both leads.'

'This thing has really exploded. The mayor's concerned. I just got calls from the News and thePost. This business about you being unavailable for comment… Look, you need to be out there, reassuring people, giving answers.'

'I'll schedule a press conference.'

'You do that. Two o'clock would be a good time. Focus on the Ville — and leave Kline out of it.' A crackle as the connection was cut.

D'Agosta headed back into Starbucks. 'Give me four shots of espresso,' he said. 'To go.'

Chapter 30

At the best of times, D'Agosta hated press conferences. And this was hardly the best of times. There was little to tell — and what there was to tell seemed to beggar belief. As he peered through the doorway into the briefing room — every seat taken, the reporters and cameramen and officials all shouting over each other — Commissioner Rocker came up beside him. 'Ready with your statement, Lieutenant?'

'Yes, sir.' D'Agosta glanced at him. Rocker wore his usual dark suit, a small NYPD pin set into one lapel. The commissioner returned the glance, looking even wearier than usual.

'You remember what I said: no Kline.'

D'Agosta swallowed. Forget all the coffee — he could use a double bourbon right about now. He hadn't planned to mention Kline anyway; he didn't want to get sued for defamation.

As they walked out into the briefing room and ascended the podium, the volume of noise grew even louder. Explosions of light peppered the room as a dozen flash units went off. The commissioner stepped toward the lectern and put out his hands for silence. It took a good thirty seconds for the crowd to settle down. At last, the commissioner cleared his throat.

'Detective Lieutenant D'Agosta, who is in charge of the Smith — back homicide, will say a few words about the current state of his investigation. We will then open the floor for questions. Before Lieutenant D'Agosta speaks, I would just ask all of you to please be responsible in how you report this case to the public. This is an exceptionally sensational crime, and the city is already on edge as a result. Causing additional unrest can only lead to further damage. And now, Lieutenant, if you would?'

'Thank you.' D'Agosta approached the microphone with trepidation. He gazed out over the sea of faces, swallowed painfully. 'As you are all aware,' he began, 'William Smithback, a resident of the Upper West Side, was the victim of a homicide one week ago. Members of law enforcement, under my direction, have been aggressively investigating the case. As a result, numerous lines of inquiry have been opened. We are pursuing several leads, and we feel confident that those responsible will be identified and apprehended in the very near future. In the meantime, we would ask that if anybody has any information of value to the investigation, they contact the NYPD immediately.' He paused. 'I'll take your questions now.'

Instantly, the hubbub resumed. D'Agosta held up his hands for order. 'Quiet, please!' he said into the microphone. 'Quiet!' He stepped back, waiting for a semblance of order to return. 'Thank you. You, in front.' He nodded at a middle — aged woman in a yellow blouse.

'What can you tell us about this Ville? Are they really performing animal sacrifices?'

'There have been several complaints about animal noise emanating from that location. This is one of the areas under active investigation. I might add that we have found no direct connection between the Ville and the Smithback homicide.'

'Speaking of the Smithback homicide,' the woman went on, 'are the autopsy results back? What was the cause of death?'

'The cause of death was a stab wound to the heart.'

He surveyed the crowd: the hands straining in the air, the lights and cameras and digital recorders. It seemed strange not to see Smith — back among the eager faces, shouting and gesticulating, cowlick bobbing.

'Yes,' he said, pointing to a man in the third row wearing a large, gaudy bow tie.

'Have you confirmed the identity of Smithback's killer? Was it Fearing, his neighbor?'

'Fearing wasn't a neighbor. He lived in the same building. Tests are still ongoing, but at present all evidence indicates that, yes, Fearing is definitely a person of interest in our investigation. He is currently at large and considered a fugitive from justice.'If a possible stiff can be considered a fugitive, that is.

'What's Fearing's connection to the Ville?'

'We have not established a connection between Fearing and the Ville.'

This was going better than he'd hoped: under the circumstances, the press seemed controlled, almost respectful. He nodded at another upraised hand.

'What about the search of Kline's office. Is he a suspect?'

'He's not a suspect at this time.' D'Agosta avoided glancing at Rocker. Jesus, how did the press always