“At the moment I’d have to say natural, but that could possibly change. It’s Dr. Montgomery’s first case since returning from an extended maternity leave, and I heard her say that she was determined to find some pathology if it kills her. She didn’t find anything whatsoever during the autopsy, so she’ll be reviewing the case with extra care.”
“So it’s your opinion Dr. Montgomery is still going to look into this case more than she already has.”
“That’s what she suggested,” Vinnie agreed. “And she’s persistent. I have to give her credit for that.”
Brennan and Carlo exchanged an unhappy glance, then Brennan’s eyes brightened. “I want to be sure you understand that we are here in strictest confidence. Paulie would be extremely unhappy if you were even tempted to mention the content of our discussion to anyone. You do understand, don’t you?”
“I do,” Vinnie said, and he was speaking the truth. “For sure,” he added. Vinnie, more than most people, knew that the myths about the Mafia were mostly all true. If provoked, mobsters were capable of episodes of extreme nastiness.
“I mean, something might happen to you or to your family.”
Although Vinnie’s anxiety had lessened to a degree as the conversation had proceeded, it now came back in a flash. In response to the threat, he merely nodded. It was this type of intimidation he’d feared when he’d first heard Paulie Cerino’s name.
“Paulie is very interested in the case of the mystery subway man. If you are interested, I can assure you that we did not kill the individual, but it is in the best interests of everyone that the case fades into the woodwork, so to speak. Paulie would prefer it stays as an unidentified individual who had a natural death. Do you understand?”
Vinnie nodded but wondered why he was being told what he was being told, as there was no way he could influence how the case was to be signed out.
“Let me hear you?” Brennan demanded.
“Yes,” Vinnie squeaked. All brazenness had evaporated.
“We are interested in this Laurie Montgomery-Stapleton. In your estimation, do you think she will follow up on her threats of finding pathology until it, quote, ‘kills her’? I believe that’s what you said.”
Afraid of contradicting himself, Vinnie was impelled to tell the truth rather than tell them what he sensed they wanted to hear. “She said she was going to find some pathology and that she was not going to give up.”
Brennan looked at Carlo. “Paulie’s not going to be happy.”
“I was thinking the same thing. No one is going to be happy.”
“What are we going to do?” Brennan asked, as if Vinnie was not standing there.
Carlo turned back to Vinnie, who was beginning to feel like an anxious mouse trapped by several cats. “Let me ask you something else. How do you think Dr. Montgomery would respond to a little grease on the order of several grand and maybe a grand for you?”
Nervous enough to be unsure of what was being asked of him, Vinnie said, “Are you talking about a bribe?”
“Some people call it that,” Carlo admitted. “There are lots of names.”
“I don’t think she’d respond well at all,” Vinnie said quickly. “I think offering her a bribe would make her certain there was something to be found. I mean, now she doesn’t know. All she knows is that it is rare not to find some pathology when you do an autopsy, maybe not enough to kill someone, but something abnormal. The man I work with the most—actually, Laurie’s husband—always finds something. It’s a challenge for him as well.”
“Anything else?’ Carlo asked Brennan. “Anything else you think we should ask?”
“I can’t think of anything,” Brennan admitted.
Carlo turned back to Vinnie. “It might turn out we have some more questions. How about you give us your cell phone number?”
Impatient to get away, Vinnie recited his phone number even though he didn’t want to do it.
“Thanks, buddy,” Carlo said, writing the number down. “Now, let’s see if there were any unintended mistakes made.” It was a 917 number, and Carlo quickly punched the numbers into his own phone. A moment later Vinnie’s personal ring sounded from his lab coat’s pocket. “Perfect,” Carlo said. He waited until Vinnie’s phone had answered the call before stopping it.
Carlo then reached out to shake Vinnie’s hand, and after doing so he squeezed tighter rather than letting go. “Remember about keeping quiet about our meeting,” Carlo said while looking unwaveringly into Vinnie’s dark pupils. “And if you can think of any way to dampen Laurie Montgomery-Stapleton’s enthusiasm for following up on the case of the subway platform, give me a call. As for my cell number, you have it on your phone.”
Finally, Carlo let go of Vinnie’s hand. “We’ll be around,” he said simply, and walked away. Brennan locked eyes with Vinnie for the briefest of moments and hurried after.
“Louie’s not going to be a happy camper when we tell him what we’ve learned about the case and Laurie Montgomery-Stapleton,” Brennan said.
“You can say that again,” Carlo responded.
Suddenly, Brennan stopped. “Wait a second! We forgot to ask Vinnie something else that Louie wanted us to ask.”
“What?”
Brennan turned, but Vinnie had already disappeared back into OCME.
“We forgot to ask if he had any suggestions of how Laurie Montgomery might be encouraged to just give up on Satoshi and sign him out as a natural death.”
“We asked him about whether she’d take a bribe.”
“But that’s not the same thing, you know what I’m saying? He might have another idea.”
They walked in silence until they got to the corner of First and 30th. Carlo pulled Brennan to a stop. “You’re right! We should have asked him.”
“Let’s call him. You wisely asked for his number—call him!”
“Good idea. Let’s do it from the car.” The car was where Carlo had left it, with its parking lights flashing. Unfortunately, there was already a parking ticket under the wiper, and a meter maid was standing next to it, waiting for a city tow truck. “Shit!”
“Sorry, ma’am,” Carlo said as he jogged up to the vehicle. “I had city business here at OCME.”
“Then you should have left the vehicle down the street with all OCME vans. We never bother tagging them.”
“Maybe you could reconsider this ticket,” Carlo said hopefully.
“Can’t do!” the meter maid responded. “Now get your SUV out of here before the tow guys arrive.”
Carlo mumbled some choice words for the meter maid but climbed into the SUV along with Brennan. Once settled behind the wheel, Carlo took out his cell phone and activated the redial button. Before the phone was answered, the meter maid was back rapping on his window.
“Okay, okay,” Carlo called out through the glass. As he started the engine, Vinnie answered.
“Now you’re going to get a ticket for being on your handheld while driving,” Brennan said, attracting a dirty look from Carlo. Hanging up on Vinnie before speaking, Carlo drove ahead on First Avenue until he could make a left onto a side street. Then he pulled over to the first fire hydrant and called Vinnie back.
“Let me get to a private spot,” Vinnie said when he answered. A minute later he added, “Okay. What’s up?”
“Listen,” Carlo said. “We realized we forgot to ask your opinion about this situation. Do you have any suggestions about Dr. Laurie Montgomery-Stapleton? Is there any way you can think of getting her to forget the subway case and just sign it out?”
“No, not at all. If I tried to do anything it would be the same as a bribe. It would make her more committed than she is now. Now it’s just an oddball challenge for her own personal reasons. If she thinks there is some criminality involved, it will turn her into a dog with a bone. I know because there already have been several cases in which she’d said A and everyone else said B, and after she’d looked into it, it turned out she was right. Besides, I don’t want to be involved with you people. I’m sorry, but it is true. I mean, I’m not going to say anything to nobody, like the fact that you were here or anything like that.”
Brennan, who could hear both sides of the conversation, motioned for Carlo to hand him the phone. With a shrug, Carlo handed it over.
“It’s Brennan. Listen! What about you writing an anonymous note saying that there are some nasty people who want the subway natural death to be signed out immediately, as it is an insurance issue for the family.”
