PART III - Chapter 28: EVEN A RED CAN FALL IN LOVE



Chapter 28

Even a Red Can Fall in Love

(Ó 2010)

 

In the meantime, while Logan remained the gracious host to his dinner guests, the Pinchot’s, halfway around the world in the city of Chicago, David Todd entered his office, which he shared with his partner Noel Jaworski. It was late morning and David found Noel in front of the ever expanding boxes of files which carried the names of thousands of “suspects” that were the result of the ever present pressure from the “task force”. David first thought that his partner was just going through the continuing tedious and frustrating task of just keeping these files in order. 
 

The work was exasperating, the main reason being that most of the men who had their names reported to them, with the informants identity guaranteed “full anonymity”, were men who had angered the women, (and in some cases, the men), who were their wives or lovers. They had to go through the typical routine for each suspect, which was mostly just surveillance by a two-member team for two to three days. David and Noel were responsible to examine every report and to continue further investigations for any suspect who may become a “person of interest”.

 

However, David and Noel knew that this “task force” was really all about Dee Dee Stillwater. For Dee Dee Stillwater had never done anything unless it was for the betterment of Dee Dee Stillwater. David and Noel were discovering her connections with the South Side Stone Soldiers, and it was common knowledge to them both that her name was in the dossier know as ‘The Pink Book’. But she was obsessed with this, she wanted to find this vigilante now for some burning reason. She was closely monitoring everything and constantly questioning David and Noel on the status of their investigations. What made David and Noel suspicious of her the most was that she just was not the same Dee Dee Stillwater, not using her usual tactics and not playing any race cards. Plus the fact that Dee Dee Stillwater used all of her political clout to pressure the mayor of Chicago to form this “task force”, and all of her clout and pressure began just one week after the attack on Julian Chekov.

Was Dee Dee Stillwater connected to Pieter Chekov somehow?

 

David looked at his partner and he had the usual thought that he was extremely frustrated at having to organize yet another fresh batch of names for these files. However, what David Todd did not realize was that Noel was actually in deep mental thought going over two separate files that he had opened on his desk.

 

“More men experiencing their ladies scorn?” David quipped.

 

Noel looked up at his friend, with an expression of unearthing on his face, “Dave?” he said calmly, “I think that we might have something.”

 

His partner’s statement had taken him aback somewhat; he was, for a split second, in stunned silence. The reason being that he began to believe that he would never hear someone tell him of any type of possible break in this investigation. “What do you mean we might have something?” He then asked.

 

“Here, look at this.” Noel said opening one of the files from the task force, “Some time ago one of our friendly ‘anonymous tipsters’ finked on one of their neighbors, a guy named Logan Morrow. So, once the boys got around to it, they did the usual routine that is expected, they watched the guy for a few days and nights. Nothing came up as usual. He did though leave his place early on the morning of the twenty-eighth of March. He was followed to a Walgreens that was around the corner from his apartment complex. He just picked up some over the counter cold medicine.”

 

“Okay. So?”

 

“So, like I said the boys who were tailing him found nothing unusual. So, they wrote it off to the usual things that make up most of the shit on the rest of these guys on file, pissed off wife or girlfriend, or somebody who thinks he has an asshole for a neighbor. So, they sent the file to us where we place it in the archives here. So, I did our usual, looked at the name, read the report, and placed it in the archives here with the rest of these schleps.”

 

David then tilted his head in confusion, “Okay Ski, now what’s the ‘something’.”

 

Dave then held up a morning memorandum, one of the many updates that they receive on many of the on going investigations throughout the other departments. “I get this memo from Missing Persons, it’s the list of names on recently opened cases that have been updated to a possible suicide, you know for if we find unknown bodies, and one of the names stood out to me. Here take a look for yourself”

 

David stepped over and looked at the list; there was the name of Logan I. Morrow, Bank Employee, Chicago branch of the Bank of Paris. Ms. Josephine Oliver, also an employee of the Bank of Paris, was one of the persons who filed the report with Missing Persons, she last saw him on the evening of Tuesday, March 27, 2001.

 

“Okay, what about him?”

 

Noel answered, “Look here at these dates and compare them.”
 

David looked at the dates, the date on the missing persons report showed that it was filed on the afternoon of the thirtieth of March, he then saw the date that Mr. Morrow was supposed to have reported to work, which was the date that noted as reported missing, “Why, that’s two days after . . .”

 

“The last morning he was under surveillance.” Noel said

 

David evaluated the reports for a few more seconds, then asked, “Why do they think there is a possible suicide?”

 

“I called over to Missing Persons, they told me that there was a note left behind, actually two notes. The first note was to an assistant telling her that he had personal business that morning, that morning of the twenty-eighth. The other was found the next morning, it said something about that this Morrow guy could no longer live without his wife and that he had to leave, something like that. Turns out his wife is dead, so they think he may have gone by himself someplace and off’ed himself.”

 

David continued to look down to the files, he was considering everything that he was seeing and hearing, stroking his unshaven face. “Who is this Janeane Garifino, the woman who reported him to the task force?” He asked.

 

“She lives in the same building as his.” Noel answered, then after some more seconds of deep thought by the both of them he asked, “So what do you think Dave? You think it’s something, or just a big coincidence?”

 

David then stood, looked at his wristwatch and answered, “I think that we should pay a visit to both this Miss Oliver and Miss Garifino. But, strictly off the record for now.”
 

* * *

A half an hour later, a wide-eyed Josephine Oliver was looking up from her desk to both Detectives Todd and Jaworski as they were showing her their credentials. “I know you two from the news; you’re on that case with that crazy man who’s running around crippling all those bad folks.”

 

“Yes ma’am that is us.” David said, “It’s our claim to fame as you might say.”
 

“Why do you need to speak with me?”
 

“It’s about your supervisor, Logan Morrow; you filed a missing person’s case on him a couple weeks ago.” David answered.
 

“Oh come now, you don’t think that Mr. Morrow would have anything to do with that now do you?”

 

“Oh no ma’am,” David answered in a humorous tone, “you see that’s the power of the media, they make everybody think that the only thing that Detective Jaworski and I do is work on that one and only investigation.”

 

“That’s true ma’am,” Noel added, “Fact is we are just as bogged down with other investigations as any other cop in Chi-town.”
 

“I guess that just comes with the celebrity status we got from T.V. and all.” David said to her confidently, “No it’s not that at all, you see they upgraded your boss’s status to a possible suicide and we just want to look into it further. Can you help us?”

 

“Oh, you don’t think Logan may have killed himself do you?” She asked with a saddened expression.

 

“It’s only a possibility ma’am,” David said sounding concerned, “You were fond of him?”

 

“Oh yes, everybody likes Mr. Morrow, he truly treated everyone with respect. I’m doing his job now, until he returns anyway. He recommended me for this position in the note he left.”

 

“He did.”
 

“Yes, oh I just hope you are wrong and that he comes back. I like my new position and everything, but I would rather have him here, and not … well … you know … you being right with what you think.”

“There were two notes, correct?” Noel asked.

 

“Yes, the first was a simple one instructing me to take his messages for the day, that he had some personal business to attend too.” She then became silent in her thoughts. “I hope this ‘business’ wasn’t his word for … you know?”
 

“Yes ma’am.” David said.

 

“So I did just that for the day, I thought nothing of it really because Mr. Morrow was always here for work, he never took a sick day and he really only took an absence for vacations and such. He was a real hard worker.” Josephine said, “But, the next day when I came and saw that he wasn’t here, well, I didn’t get concerned at first. I saw that he wasn’t in his office right at the start of the morning, I paid no attention to it at first, I had all of his messages here, you see he walks past my office to get to them. When he did not show for the first two hours of the day I began to get worried, I took the messages to his office then. I went to use his phone to call him at home and when I did that’s when I noticed that something was missing.”

 

Noel asked, “And what was that?”

 

“It was the small picture of his wife that he had on his desk, it was gone and it was always there.”

 

“His late wife?” David asked.
 

“Yes, God rest her soul. Poor thing. I just became very suspicious that something was wrong. I then opened his office locker, but I saw that everything was still in there. Then I went to his desk, opened the top drawer and I found the envelope addressed to me and the supervisor of the bank. I opened it and after I read it I called the police.”

 

David then said, “We never had a chance to see the note, can you recall what it said?”

 

“Oh yes, I almost remember it word for word. He said that he could no longer go on being separated from his wife, that he has to go and be with her and to please forgive him. He then recommended me to take his position here, he apologized for going, apologized to me and to the bank for any inconvenience that he would be causing, that was about it.”

 

“His wife, she passed away some time ago, correct?” David asked.

 

“Yes, yes she did, it’s so sad. She was so young and beautiful from what I saw from her picture.”
 

“How did she pass away?” David asked, “Did she get ill, have an accident or something of that nature?”
 

“Oh no, nothing like that.” Josephine answered, “You sometimes wished it would have been that, maybe it would have been easier for Logan to accept.”

 

“How did she die then? If I may ask.”

 

“She was murdered.”
 

“Murdered?!” Noel asked in surprise. He looked over to David who gave him a raised eyebrow nod. “How was she murdered?”

 

Josephine then began to have tears come to her eyes, “You’ll have to excuse me, I get like this every time I hear this story myself, even if I’m the one telling it. It was by two men, Albanian mobsters Logan told me, they just took her into an alley and stabbed her twice in the heart.”

 

“Albanian mobsters?” David asked in surprise, “You mean mobsters as in the Mafia? Something like that?”
 

“Yes.”

 

“Now why would anyone from the ‘Albanian Mafia’ or any Mafia for that matter want to murder Mrs. Morrow?” David asked.
 

“Logan told me it was because he was a policeman at the time.”

 

“Wait a minute!” Noel then jumped in, “This Mr. Morrow, he was a cop?”
 

“Yes, yes he was.” Josephine said.

 

“Where?”

 

“Back in Paris, Paris France, where he’s from.”

 

David then asked, “Mr. Morrow is French?” Realizing that he may now be showing Josephine that he knew nothing of this missing person’s case, he looked at Noel and he added, “Why didn’t anyone tell us of this before?”
 

Josephine then answered; “Well personally I don’t see how you could. Those two officers who first came here didn’t ask all the questions you both have. They just took Mr. Morrow’s name and address; ask what he looked like, and some other things like if he were depressed or something. They seemed more like they were in a hurry and like they just didn’t care that much.”

 

Noel then asked, “So … he was a cop in France huh?”

 

“Yes,” Josephine answered, “he was in the French National Police, the division that dealt with organized crime and narcotics. He said he and his unit were creating a lot bad times for all the organized crime in France and Europe. They even tried to kill Logan twice when they found out who he was. They failed both time. These two Albanian men were looking to make a name for themselves found out where Logan’s wife worked. They waited for her … and killed her. Logan said it destroyed him, he could no longer do his job.”
 

“Holy shit.” Noel said, then realizing there was a woman in the room he said, “Oh excuse me, I’m sorry.”

 

“You don’t need to apologize for that, that was my sentiment exactly when I first heard it.” She said.

 

David then asked, “Can we take a look in his office?”

 

“Yes, sure, it’s just down the hall here.” She answered, “I hardly go in there, and I don’t know what I’m going to do when they make me move in there.” She then reached into a desk drawer and retrieved a set of keys, “Come with me.”

 

She then led them both down the hallway to Logan Morrow’s former office. She placed the keys in the deadbolt lock, then the doorknob and opened the door. She turned on the lights and said, “You can look around if you wish, you’ll have to excuse me, but I really feel sad when I come in here. Please understand.”

 

David consoled her, “We understand completely. We won’t disturb anything. We’ll let you know as soon as we are finished. Thank you very much Ms. Oliver.”

 

“Oh, you’re quite welcome, please if you hear anything let me know will you please?”

 

“We sure will.”
 

She then looked around the office and tears came to her eyes again, she then quickly stepped away and returned to her own.
 

David and Noel looked around the office briefly. They opened the locker and looked inside. There was a raincoat hanging there and Noel pulled it out while it was still on its hangar. He examined it then said, He’s a big motherfucker, I’ll tell you that.” He replaced the coat and then asked, “So, what’s your first impression?”
 

“Well, ex-cop … organized crime and narcotics … murdered wife … it fit’s the profile.” David answered.

 

“Sounds like a ‘Batman’ scenario to me too.” Noel said, he looked around the office and then asked, “What’s next?”

 

“Let’s go over to his apartment complex, have the landlord let us take a look inside his place. While we’re there, maybe we’ll pay a little visit to this Janeane Garifino. I’m not quite sure of anything now, it’s the fact now that we found out this Morrow guy is French.”

 

“Yeah, all of the Tappers targets would have let us know about any type of accent while he spoke to them. Especially Bartholomew, Divic, and Chekov.”

 

“Agreed, come on, let’s go.” David said and then shut the lights off to the office. Both men then exited and shut the door behind them. The both stopped by Jo-Jo Oliver’s office, thanked her and said good-bye.

 

 

* * *

 

“Nice neighborhood.” David said as he and Noel waited out in front of the apartment building that was the home of the missing bank employee, Logan I. Morrow. They had managed to find the name of the proprietor of the building, Mr. Albert Zenel, and contacted him. Mr. Zenel was surprised to hear the news that one of his best tenants had been missing.
 

“Yes, it is,” Noel replied sarcastically, “I’ve been sitting here admiring it now for over an hour.”

 

“He said he’d be here in thirty minutes, so I always add another thirty whenever I here that.” David said, however then he looked into his rearview mirror, Wait a minute, he said a dark blue BMW right?”
 

“Yeah.”
 

“Well, I think then that this might be him.”

 

A late model dark blue BMW was slowly making its way up the one-way street. There was a large open space in which the car would be able to park right across the street from them. The car then stopped right up along side of them and there was a younger man who rolled down his window and said, “Are you the two police officers?”

 

Noel answered, “Yes, are you Mr. Zenel?”

 

“No, I’m his son Mark, I do all the running around for him, we, I mean my family owns the building here.” The young man said. He was in his late twenties, early thirties. He had short curly hair with a receding hairline and a developing double chin. “Let me park and I’ll be right with you.”
 

“We’ll be right here.” Noel said and watched as Mark Zenel parked the BMW right across the street. Noel looked over to David and said, “He looks nervous, he looks Middle Eastern, cops seem to make them nervous all the time.” They then saw Mark Zenel exit his car. He was dressed in an older and worn out sweat outfit, with dirty, worn tennis shoes.

 

Both men then exited their car to greet the younger Mr. Zenel who briskly walked up to them with an extended hand and smile. David and Noel then felt as if they were about to shake hands with a used car salesman.
 

“Hey how are you guys?” He said, and his tone confirmed their feelings, “My dad told me to get right over here after he hung up the phone with you. So, you say that Logan is missing? We never heard anything about it, we’re all shocked. How long has he been gone?”

 

David answered, “About two weeks now, did you know him very well?”

 

“Just good enough to know that he’s a good paying tenant, he always paid in advance, right now he’s paid up for the next three months.”
 

“So, you never really like socialized with Mr. Morrow that much?” David asked.

 

“No, not really. He, my dad and I would sometimes have conversations, but as far as going out to dinner, or to each other’s houses, nothing like that at all. Logan kept to himself mostly, he’s a model tenant. Quiet, clean and respectful of the rest of the tenants.”

 

“Did he socialize with any of the other tenants?”
 

“I would say no to that too. He would sit outside here and have conversations, but I never saw him do the dinner out or in with any of them either. I bet Janeane on the fourth floor would like to have gone out with him though.”

 

“Janeane?”

 

“Yeah, Janeane Garifino, up there in the corner studio, one of the few studios we have here, just the right size for a single girl. She’s kind of a strange one though, Logan was kind to her though and I think she has a real crush on him.”

 

“Mr. Morrow ever date her?” Noel asked.
 

“No, he never did, like I said, she’s kinda strange.”

 

“Strange how?”

 

“She’s a real radical type, you know, politically. I think she’s involved with the Communists or something like that. My dad and her have had some real loud arguments about that, you see my dad from the old country.”

 

“What country is that?” David asked.

 

“Albania, we’re all from there. Dad and Mom brought my brother and sisters here when we were real young. Dad has no love for the commies.”

 

“Albania huh?” David laughed; he then looked at Noel, “How coincidental.”

 

“What do you mean?” Mark asked.

 

“Oh, it’s a little inside joke.” David answered, “Did Mr. Morrow ever date this Janeane?”

 

“Oh hell no,” Mark answered, “One reason is because Logan is way too sophisticated for her, and two, she’s more than half his age.”
 

“Oh, she likes older men huh?” Noel quipped.

 

“Like I said … strange, anyway you want to take a look inside his apartment I hear.”

 

“Yes,” David said, “If you wouldn’t mind.”

 

“Don’t ya need a warrant or something like that?”

 

“We could go that route if you want to make things difficult Mr. Zenel.” David said with seriousness, “However I feel you really don’t want to make things more difficult for us than they already are. Besides, we’re not investigating a crime here, just a missing person’s case. We feel that there may be a suicide involved here. We just want to look around and see if he left anything there that may help us find him.”
 

Mark looked back at him with quiet and nervousness, then a big smile came to his face and he said, “Oh I was just kidding. Come on, I’ll take you there and let you in.” Mark Zenel then escorted both men into the building. There he took them straight to the open elevator, entered and pressed the button for the third floor. The whole time Mark Zenel did not speak, David and Noel noticed, which made them now more secure with themselves knowing that they have made Mark Zenel nervous. It will help with their “off the record” investigation. The elevator door opened and then Mark Zenel put on a fake smile, “its right this way guys.” He came to the door that was the apartment of Logan I. Morrow. Zenel took out his landlord’s keys and opened the door, all three men then stepped inside.

 

The first thing David and Noel noticed was how spotless and orderly everything was. There were just now the beginnings of an extremely fine dust layer on the furniture and wood floor from not being cleaned for the past two weeks.
 

“Doesn’t even look like he’s gone.” Noel said.
 

They first entered the living room, all furniture in its place, nothing missing. They all then entered the kitchen, all kitchenware and utensils in place. David opened the refrigerator to find it fully stocked, he looked an unopened milk carton and looked at the expiration date. “Looks like he may have gone to the grocery store a couple of days before he disappeared.”
 

“Yeah,” Noel answered, “All the dishes are clean and put back in place; guy looked like he was a clean freak.”

 

David looked to Mr. Zenel, “Is the bedroom at the end of the hall?”

 

“Yeah,” Zenel answered, “It’s at the end of the hall, this is just a one bedroom unit, but the rooms are a good size for a guy living alone.”

 

David and Noel made there way to the bedroom. They found that the bed made, that there were small statues and decorative bottles on his dresser drawer. They opened the dresser drawers to find that they still had all his clothes in there. Socks, underwear, sweaters, etc. They then stepped over to the closet and opened the doors to find Logan Morrows entire wardrobe still there. Suits, sports jackets, ties, slacks and shoes.
 

“Man has nice taste in clothing.” David commented.
 

“Yeah,” Mr. Zenel said, “Logan is a snappy dresser I’ll hand him that.”

 

All the men then stepped out into the hallway and looked inside the bathroom; once again, they found a room that was impeccably clean. They also found all his toiletries and shaving kits there, put neatly in their proper places; all towels and wash clothes were neatly hung and folded.
 

After a quick look around they returned to the living room where Noel noticed the cabinet in the dining area. Placed on the flat top were the remains of lavender colored candle, the type that once lit, could burn for seven days. It was half consumed. He stepped over to the cabinet and inspected it. He then opened the doors that were below the flat top and close to the floor. There inside he found six more of the same unused candle. “Take a look at this Dave.”
 

David joined his partner and looked inside the cabinet. He nodded to him to let him know that he agreed that this seemed somewhat strange. David then looked at the flat top of the cabinet at the held consumed candle. He looked around meticulously and saw the there was a thin clearer line in the dust just behind the candle; the place where Lily’s photograph was placed for years. David pointed it out to Noel, who then gave him a silent nod.
 

David then stood up straight and asked Mr. Zenel, “Do you see anything here that is out of the ordinary Mr. Zenel? I mean is there anything missing or for that matter anything new here?”

 

“Well to tell you the truth guys, I really haven’t been in here hardly at all since Logan moved in.”

 

“And how long ago was that?”
 

“I would say almost seven years now. If there was anything that had to be repaired, he seemed to do that himself.” Mr. Zenel said with his plastic smile beaming, “And that was great for me because he paid for the materials himself, saved me a few bucks.” 

 

“Hmm, I see.” David responded, “Did this Mr. Morrow ever talk to you about his wife?”

 

“Logan’s married?” Mr. Zenel said in surprise.

 

“Yes, he was. You mean you didn’t know?”

 

“Hell no, he never even mentioned it to me.” Mr. Zenel answered; he then shook his head, “Ain’t that the shits.”

 

David then took one more look around the apartment and then said, “Well, I guess we all done here, let’s go out in the hallway.” The men then exited the apartment into the hall where Mr. Zenel then locked the apartment door behind them.
 

Mr. Zenel then asked, “So, you have any idea what happened to Logan?”

 

Noel answered, “From what we have so far, it looks as though there may be a possible suicide here. There was a note left at his office that mentioned something about his late wife.”

 

“Late wife!” Mr. Zenel said, “Not only is he married, but she’s dead?”
 

“I’m afraid so, from what some of his co-workers say, he loved her a lot. I guess it all might have caught up with him.”
 

“Jeez. Is there anyway you can find out if he … ya know … did it?”

 

“Right now there is nothing we can do until a body shows up.” Noel answered, “You sound as if you need to know this for some reason.”
 

“Well, I do have an empty apartment to rent here then if that’s the case.” Mr. Zenel answered; he then detected an air of repulsion from both of the detectives. “Hey, nothing personal here ya know, this is just business.”
 

David then said, “Well, at least you know that this Mr. Morrow has paid you in advance for three more months. You really have nothing to worry about until then, will you?”

 

“No … no I guess not. But you guys will let me know when you do find him won’t you?”

 

“Sure thing Mr. Zenel, I see that you are concerned.” David answered sarcastically, “Now if you don’t mind, my partner and I would like to try to interview the other tenants here. Thank you very much for your help here.” David gave Mr. Zenel an expression that was a mixture of both austerity and revulsion.
 

Mr. Zenel then realized that he was no longer needed, or for that fact, not wanted anymore. His plastic grin then came back to his face, “Oh, yeah. Okay then guys, I have to get back to my Pop’s place anyway and check on another building. If there’s anything I can do to help, just give me a call.” Both David and Noel remained silent and just nodded firmly back to him. “Okay then, I guess I’ll be going.” Still no answer from the two detectives, then Mr. Zenel turned and returned to the elevator. When the door opened, he gave a half-hearted wave back to David and Noel, who once again gave another silent nod. The door closed and Mr. Zenel was gone.

 

After a few seconds of silence Noel said, “Jeez what a fucking weasel. Man ain’t even pronounced dead and he wants to rent the place out right away.”
 

“That’s not the only thing,” David said, “If Morrow’s body is found, and then he rents it out now, and makes a cool profit of three months rent. Fuckin gypsy motherfucker. Come on let’s go.”
 

“Who do you want to talk to first? The neighbor next store?”
 

“No.” David answered, “The only person I’m interested in speaking with is up on the next floor.”

 

* * *

Moments later, David and Noel found themselves in front of an apartment door that was located on the fourth floor at the extreme corner of the building. Noel knocked on the door and in a few seconds, the voice of a woman answered from the other side. “Yes, who is it?”
 

“Chicago Police Department Ms. Garifino.” Noel answered, “May we have a word with you please?”

 

There was a moment of silence, then the deadbolt turned and the doorknob latch also unlocked, the door then opened slightly and the eye of the woman inside looked out from under the chain latch that was still attached. She looked at first Noel and then to David, there was an expression on her face that let them both know that she recognized them. They were waiting for the old worn out statement of how she had seen them before on television, however instead she asked firmly, “Can I see some form of identification please?”
 

“Oh sure, we’re sorry.” Noel answered and produced his badge and ID, David did the same. Once the woman was satisfied she closed the door to undo the chain latch and then opened it again, however she only kept the door opened wide enough for her to stand in. She was petite, about five foot five, with short dark brown hair, brown eyes and pale white skin that looked as though she had never had a blemish ever in her life. She was wearing green military fatigue pants with a green t-shirt that bore the portrait of Che Guevara; she also had a gold ring through her left nostril.

 

“What’s this all about?” She asked sternly.
 

Noel answered, “We would like to speak with you about a Mr. Logan Morrow.”

 

Suddenly Janeane Garifino became agitated, she leaned forward and whispered to them angrily, “They told me that my name would never be released to anybody, and that I would never be contacted by anyone.”
 

David then answered her, with a calm sternness and said, “But your name has not been given to anyone else Ms. Garifino, You gave your name to the police, and we are the police who in turn are now contacting you. Besides, we are the officers in charge of this investigation. Did you think that this report would never reach us? Come on now.” He saw that his words and demeanor had disarmed her from her defensive manner, he then stated more calmly to her, “Your name has not been released to anyone else. As for ever contacting you again, well I’m sorry, there has been a little change in events, which means that latter agreement is now null and void.”

 

“And what change of events is that, officer?”

 

David then asked, “First of all, do you know a Mr. Logan I. Morrow?”

 

“Yes I do.”
 

“And it was you that gave his name to the task force that is looking for our vigilante, correct?”

 

Janeane looked down to the floor as if she were ashamed and answered, “Yes, yes it was me. But, I think that I may have made a mistake with that. You all didn’t harass him or anything did you?”
 

“When is the last time that you saw Mr. Morrow?” David asked.

 

“Not for a while. I think he may be on one of his vacations again. Why?”
 

“You mean you don’t know?” David asked stoically.

 

“Know? Know what?”
 

“That this Mr. Morrow has been reported as missing, he hasn’t been seen or heard from for almost two weeks. His name came to us through a cross reference, so do you understand why we are here now?”
 

The news appeared to have stunned the young woman, she gasped slightly and her eyes widened, “Logan? Logan is missing?” She now crossed her arms and showed unease.

 

“Yes Ms. Garifino, he is missing. Is that event changing enough for you?” David asked, she looked up to him and she looked as if she were about to cry. “May we come in please?” She nodded yes, stepped aside and opened the door wider for them. Once they were in, she closed the door. It was as Mr. Zenel said; it was a small studio apartment, just large enough for her. There was a single bed in the corner; across from it was a kitchen area with stove, sink and refrigerator. On the other corner, there was a door where there was a small bathroom. The rest of the area was the living area; however, her walls were adorned with posters of Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx. There were also posters with Socialist slogans, and there were bookshelves that were filled with books by leftist authors.
 

David and Noel looked at the “décor”, and Janeane Garifino then said with civility, “Please sit down.”

“Thank you.” David said and then he and Noel sat on her sofa. She took a seat across from them in her chair. “Can I get you guys anything?” She asked, “Tea or something?”

 

“No, no thank you.” David answered, “First of all I need to ask what it is you do for a living?”

 

“I’m on the board of the Chicago branch of the Illinois Socialist Party.” She answered proudly.
 

Noel then asked, “That’s fine and dandy, but what do you do to make money?”

 

She then answered sadly, “I’m also a waitress and bar maid.” She then put her arms around herself as if she were cold; she rubbed her upper arms and asked with concern, “Logan has been missing for two weeks you say?”
 

David then answered in a consoling tone, “That’s correct. He did not show up for work at the bank where he’s been employed.”
 

“Oh.” She simply answered.

 

David then continued, “Tell me what you can about him Ms. Garifino. How well did you know Mr. Morrow?”
 

“Oh, pretty well I guess. I know that he’s from Paris, he’s been here for a while, I moved here about four years ago. He’s really the only person in this building that would talk to me and he treated me with decency, everyone else that lives here are such fascists.”

 

“How did he stand out from the others, I mean he say he treated you very respectfully, how do you mean?”
 

Janeane then swallowed hard, she was fighting her urge to both cry and show any emotion. “I would get into these arguments with some of the other tenants. They would see me coming home and start up with me and call me the ‘little commie’ or ‘little red riding hood’, emphasizing the ‘red’ part. I would look to Logan, because he’s from France, and ask him to tell them how it is for the people there under a socialist type government.” She then gave what appeared to be a slight smile, “He would disagree with me, and he would say something like, ‘be careful what you wish for Janeane’, but he would always tell those other assholes to back off from me. To leave me alone and to let me learn for myself. He always defended me that way.”

 

“Then you are fond of Mr. Morrow then?” David asked.

 

“Yes, I like Logan yes.”
 

David then paused for a second, he produced from his pocket his notepad and pen and began to take some notes. He then asked, “Did you and Mr. Morrow ever talk about other things other than your political beliefs.”
 

“Oh yes,” she answered, “we talk about the differences in the lifestyles of Europeans and Americans, food, movies, wine and soccer. Logan loves soccer.”

 

“Have you ever been in his apartment when you had these conversations?”

 

“No, no. Logan and I mostly spoke outside in the front yard of the building.” Then an appearance of perplexity came to her face, “Now that you mention it, you know, I have never even been to his apartment in all the time I have been here.”
 

David looked up at her, “You never have been in his apartment?”

 

“No. I have not. Why? Are you insinuating something?”

 

“No, not at all.” David answered as he held up his hand, “It’s just that Detective Jaworski and I were just in there and everything that he owns is still there. If you ever would have been in there, then you would have been able to tell us if there was anything missing or out of place and such.”
 

“Everything of his is still there? Then maybe he is on one of his vacations or something like that.”
 

“What do you mean by ‘one of his vacations’?”

 

“He would never tell anyone that he was on a vacation until he came back. He would be gone for two weeks or so, when I asked where he was he would just say that he was on a vacation.”

 

“How often would he do this?”

 

“Once or twice a year, I believe that he would just be going back to France or something.”
 

David then wrote something on the notepad, and then asked. “Has Mr. Morrow ever been in your apartment?”
 

“No, he never would come here, I did invite him a few times, but … he never would come in here.” She then looked around opening her eyes wide to keep any tears from forming. She then asked, “Where do you think that he may have gone too?”
 

David then looked up to her and said, “Let me be honest with you Ms. Garifino, because you do seem to be a bit fond of this Mr. Morrow. It may not be good here. You see, he left a note at his place of employment on the morning he disappeared; there is a chance that this may be a suicide. We’re hoping that it is not the situation, but you never know. We’re hoping that he’s just deeply depressed and is off hiding somewhere trying to get his head together. But from what was in that note, it may appear that we just might be waiting for his body to show up somewhere.”

 

“Oh I don’t believe that he would ever do anything like that.” Janeane protested, “Logan just is not like that. He’s the strong moral type. I don’t think that he would ever find any reason enough for him to hurt himself like … like that.”

 

“Well,” David said, “from what was written in that note there just may be some reasons.”
 

“I don’t believe it.” Janeane said in a huff.

 

Noel then spoke up, “Excuse me Ms. Garifino, but really, just how well did you know this Mr. Morrow anyway?”
 

“Well enough to know that he would never have any reason in which to kill himself.”
 

“You knew him that well huh?”
 

“Yes, I believe that I know him that well, why do you ask me like that?”

 

Noel then said, “Well then by any chance did you know that there was a Mrs. Morrow?”
 

Janeane looked as though somebody had just hit her in her solar plexus, she even shook a little, her eyes widened and her bottom lip began to quiver, “Logan … Logan’s married?”
 

There were a few seconds of silence between all of them when David finally answered her, “No Ms. Garifino, you didn’t listen to my partner, he said it in the past tense, he said that there was a Mrs. Morrow. Mr. Morrow mentioned her in his note. She died very tragically about seven, eight years ago. Mr. Morrow was … I mean is … a widower.”

 

Janeane expression was one of disbelief, she looked at David, then to Noel, then back to David. The tears then began to stream down her face and then she buried her face into her hands. “Logan was married? That explains a lot of things.”
 

“Explains what things?” David asked.
 

“It explains what an idiot that I am for one thing. By any chance can you tell me what the note said about his wife?”
 

“Sure, It said something about that he could no longer go on being separated from her, and that he was going back to her, something like that. So, with that wording, and the fact that he disappeared, well, you can see why we are suspicious of a possible suicide.”
 

“Do you know how she died?” Janeane asked.
 

“Yes,” David answered, “According to a co-worker of Mr. Morrow’s, she was attacked and stabbed to death by a couple of dirt bags who tried to rob her or something like that.”
 

Janeane began to cry, “I am such a fool.”
 

“Why do you say that?”
 

She took her face from her hands, it was red and tear soaked. She wiped her face with her hands and said, “I have to confess something to you both, when I’m finished you have to tell me if I’m in trouble or not.”
 

David then closed his notebook and placed it down, “Okay Ms. Garifino, tell me whatever you want, it will all be off the record.”

 

She sniffed and said, “I think that I made a terrible mistake when I reported Logan to your task force, I may have let my emotions get the best of me, and I usually don’t let that happen, considering my beliefs.”

 

“Are you telling me that you may have had a little more fondness for Mr. Morrow than you have let on here?” 
 

“Yes, yes I did, I mean I do.” She again then wiped her eyes, “He was the only man that ever treated me with respect and he always defended me, and well I guess … well.” She looked at the two detectives who both had no emotion showing on her face. “Oh, I know what you’re both thinking. You see me and the way I look, you see my home and these posters on the wall. I saw you looking over my books too. I know that I may look pretty pathetic in your eyes, but … I am still a woman, and I have to confess, even with all this you see, well, even a Red can fall in love, can’t she?”

 

“Yes, yes she can.” David answered sympathetically.

 

“I know he is old enough to be my father, but over the time that I have known him, well, I had what started out as a crush and it just blossomed into … this.” She held out her hands then continued, “I wanted more from him, I started to make advances and I felt he rejected me. I became angry; I thought that he may have had feelings for me too. When he rejected my advances, I thought that it was because of well … you know … well, just look at me, I‘m not Cindy Crawford you know.” She then cried some more. Noel then stepped over to the kitchen area where there was a roll of paper towels. He tore some of them off and then handed them to her. “Thank you.”
 

After a few seconds, David then asked, “So, you reported him because you felt rejected by Mr. Morrow?”
 

“Yes, yes I did.”

 

“And that is the only reason?”

 

“Yes.” She said now sitting up straight. “I saw the first picture of the vigilante in the paper, that drawing of what that girl saw, you know, the one that was raped. I thought that since Logan was big and strong looking that I could use that. I use to see him in his sweat outfits when he would go jogging, so I told the cops then that he looked like the guy in the picture. I thought that they would harass him a little or something.” She then dropped her head looking at the floor, “I feel like such an idiot, like a stupid immature little girl out hurt the boy that hurt her.”

 

“So then you are saying that you really don’t believe that Mr. Morrow has anything to do with the actions of the vigilante that we are looking for.” David inquired.

 

Janine shook her head ‘no’, “No, he has nothing to do with that. So, I guess this means that I’m in trouble huh?”
 

Noel was about to say something when David stopped him by holding his hand up to him, an instant plan was placed into his head and he decided to act on it. “Well, if you want to know the truth Ms. Garifino, you’re not the only one who has used the task force to seek out some revenge on some guy. We usually would blow them off and just file them just in case, but this investigation has developed some complications. If you’ve been following it you know what I mean, with the scandals and all the other aftermaths and all.”

 

“Yes I know of them.”
 

“Well then, you know of Julian Chekov then?”

 

“He was the last man that was attacked.” Janeane answered.
 

“Yes,” David continued, “Then you know who he is, or I should say, you know of who his father is.”

 

“Yes, supposedly some mafia bigwig I hear.”

 

David then stood up and walked to the back of the sofa where he was sitting and placed both his hands on the back, leaned down and looked sternly in her eyes, “Oh Ms. Garifino, there is no ‘supposedly’ to this. His father is indeed a mafia bigwig as you say. More than that, he is the head of one of the Russian mafia crime families here in the Midwest. Moreover, this Russian mafia is very different from there Italian counterparts, let me tell you. They are nothing like the classy gangsters that you are use to seeing in ‘The Godfather’, they are ruthless beyond belief. They just don’t kill you like you see in the movies, hell no; they have a monopoly on slow torturous death.”

 

Janeane began to look frightened, “Why are you telling me this?”
 

“Because Ms. Garifino, Julian Chekov was blinded by the vigilante, both his eyes were popped like little water balloons right there inside his skull, and then to top it all off, he was basically castrated by the vigilante also, Julian was kicked in the nuts so hard and so many times that both his testicles suffered the same fate as his eyes.” David let his words settle in with Janeane for a few seconds, then continued, “So you see Ms. Garifino, Pieter Chekov wants revenge for his son, and if the Russians have cornered the market on torture, they have also done so with revenge. Mr. Chekov the senior has what is known as a street bounty out on the vigilante. Do you know what a street bounty is?”
 

“No … no I don’t”
 

“Well it’s basically simple, anybody who can produce the man who blinded and castrated Julian Chekov, well then Mr. Chekov the senior will gladly hand over to that person two million dollars … in cash.” Janeane remained silent. “So, you can imagine that there is quite a lot of buzz and tension out there on the street. Even the good people of Chicago, who would never turn in the vigilante even if the know him to the police, well, two million bucks, cash, people would turn in their best friend for that.”
 

“But what has any of that have to do with Logan?” She asked.

 

“Two millions bucks is a heap a change Ms. Garifino, even from the standpoint of a socialist, wouldn’t you agree?”
 

“Yes I agree.”

 

“Be honest with me, that type of money would make anybody do anything.” David said, “Look at what this vigilante has created in this town, the scandals not only with guys you can’t stand like Mitchell Bartholomew, but there are some pretty pissed off powerful people on the street, and the street bounty is going to inadvertently bring more attention to that. Now here’s a new dilemma that my partner and I thought of this afternoon.” David looked over at Noel and gave him a nod and a wink, “There are now a lot of people who would like a way to find this man, this vigilante and the one really main way to do so is through my partner and I. We’ve been on this investigation since day one, Noel here spoke with the rape victim you just mentioned the night it happened to her.

 

“Believe it or not there just may be some corrupt people in the police department who could try and squeeze us for any information that we may have on any suspect that we may come across.

 

“Which brings us to, all of those names that we have been bombarded with over the past six months or so. Someone just may take it upon themselves to find their way into our office and into our files You see, Ms. Garifino, you, and all those other scorned lovers just may have unknowingly placed all those men in danger. So, my partner and I now must go through all those files again, and interview each person who filed those names to see how serious their accusations are. So, if they confess their real intentions as you just have, we can then in turn update it on that file so at least that man will not be a mistaken target of a pissed off Russian mob daddy out to avenge his blind and neutered son.”

 

“Oh my God,” Janeane whispered to herself as she bowed her head, “what have I done?”

 

“So,” David continued, “we decided to start with you since you are basically the latest one to file with the task force, and of course, this unfortunate circumstance with Mr. Morrow’s disappearance has led us to you. Because Ms. Garifino, if Pieter Chekov believes that your Mr. Morrow has anything to do with what happened to his son, then it is fortunate that he is missing, and maybe be even more fortunate for him if he is in fact … dead.”
 

Janeane’s eyes widened with worry and she asked, “What should I do then?”

 

“Let’s do this, my partner and I will go back to our office, we will type up some sort of form in which you will state that you made this statement under duress and that Mr. Morrow had absolutely nothing to do with the actions of the vigilante which we seek. The task force has never said anyone would be held accountable for any ‘mistaken filings’, shall we say We will place your affidavit on the front of the report that you filed on Mr. Morrow. That way, anyone who may get into those files will disregard him, and for that matter, all the others that we are going to have to clear on this.”

 

“Will I be in any trouble because of this?”

 

“No, I don’t believe so. Besides the council member who put this whole thing together is the one to blame for all of this.” David answered assuring her, “If she did not put this thing together, then nobody would be doing this. She didn’t foresee Pieter Chekov putting out a street bounty …” something then came to David, “so Detective Jaworski and I can inform the honorable Dee Dee Stillwater on the error of her ways. Are you willing to sign the statement that you believe that Mr. Morrow has nothing to do with these vigilante activities?”
 

“Yes, yes I will. Whatever you say.” Janeane answered.

 

“Good then one down … a thousand to go.” David then stood up from the back of the sofa and then reached into his pocket where he retrieved a small silver colored case; he opened it and took out one of his business cards. He stepped around the sofa and handed it to Janeane. “We will give you a call and set up a time to meet for when you can look over and sign the document. In the meantime, if you have anything else that you can tell us about Mr. Morrow that will help us to locate him, please call us here.”
 

Janeane took the card from his hand, looked at it and said, “Yes, thank you. You’re telling me that there will be no repercussions with what I did?”

 

“Like I said Ms. Garifino, ‘off the record’.”

 

“Thank you, I’m so sorry.” She then started to laugh, “I can’t believe this, me, actually apologizing to the police.”
 

“Stranger things have happened. C’mon Ski, let’s get going.”

 

Noel then stood, “Thank you Ms. Garifino, sorry to notify you this way on your friend.”

 

“Thank you.” She answered sorrowfully.

 

David then said, “Yes, thank you Ms. Garifino, we’ll be in touch.”
 

“You’ll let me know if you find out anything on Logan, won’t you?” She pleaded.

 

“Yes, yes we will.” David answered, seeing the concern in her eyes, “We will make sure that you are one of the first people we contact if we hear any new developments.”

 

“Good or bad?”
 

“Yes Ms. Garifino … good or bad.”

 

Then Noel said, “Oh wait a second, I need to know one thing before we leave.”
 

“What’s that?” Janeane asked.
 

“What kind of car does Mr. Morrow have? We can put out a bulletin on that. Who knows, if he left everything else behind, maybe he left that too. Do you know where he usually parks his car?”

 

“Well that is something that you won’t have to worry about Detective. Logan doesn’t have a car.”

“He has no car?” Noel asked surprised.

 

“No, he’s never had a car here.” Janeane answered.

 

“How does he get around?”

 

“Logan lives here like a European; he never saw a reason to own a car here. He takes public transportation everywhere he goes, the buses, the trains, the ‘L’, taxicabs, or he will just walk. That’s something that I admire him about.” She then wrapped her arms around herself and began slowly to rock back and forth in her seat.
 

David then added, “He never owned a car huh? That’s interesting. C’mon Ski, we gotta roll.”

 

The two men then made their way to the door leaving Janeane sitting on her small chair. They let themselves out and exited back into the hallway then shut the door behind them. Noel was about to speak when David silenced him with a hand motion. David leaned closer to the door, nearly placing his ear on it. He first heard nothing, and then in a few seconds, he heard the sounds of Janeane Garifino as she broke down and began to sob uncontrollably. David stepped away from the door, placed his fingers to his lips asking Noel to remain silent, and then he motioned for them both to go to the elevator. They quietly made their way to the elevator and then pressed the button that summoned it. In a minute, the doors opened wide and both men stepped in. The doors closed behind them and they then felt the motion of the elevator car as it descended.
 

“Jeezuz, I hate it when women cry like that.” David said.

 

“Hey man, where in the hell did you come up with all that bullshit back there?” Noel asked, “Man I gotta tell you, when it comes to off the cuff bullshit, man you are the best.”

 

“I’ll take that as a compliment, but it just came to me, right back there. It‘s the same as before, follow the money. Maybe Dee Dee wants to collect on that, the street bounty I mean. Maybe we can use that to gum up the works on all this shit.”

 

“Using that street bounty?”

 

“Yeah, we start by going through all those files; you and I personally will go to each one and get the complainant to tell the truth on their story. When Dee Dee has another one of her famous scream sessions for the news guys, we will tell the good people of Chicago of our intentions. That you and I learned of the street bounty that has been put out by ‘person’s unknown’ for anyone who can bring in the Spinal Tapper to them.”

 

“Yeah, and that two million bucks in cash will cause a lot of chaos and corruption, and that we now have to think of the personal safety of all the men who are now on file.” Noel said as the doors opened. Both men then exited the elevator and made their way to the main entrance of the building. They then stopped speaking between themselves, which over the years became a habit with them. They never spoke of anything they were investigating out in the open unless they knew it was secure and it paid off this time. Noel looked across the street and there was Mark Zenel sitting in the front seat of his car speaking into a flip phone. Whomever he was speaking to was agitating him because he was speaking angrily in his native Albanian tongue. Noel nudged David and motioned over to that direction. They both watched as Mr. Zenel continued his angry conversation. Suddenly Mr. Zenel noticed that both men were watching him from across the street and he instantly burst into his plastic smile and waved to them.
 

“Just having a conversation with my Dad!” He shouted.

 

David and Noel frivolously waved back and David said under his breath, “Okay you fuckin gypsy.” They both then began to make their way to their car, the stayed silent until they came to it. They both then entered the car, Noel on the drivers’ side, David on the passenger.

 

David looked around the car to make sure that all the windows were rolled up, he then continued the conversation. “Yeah, like you said, we are very concerned with the safety and well being of all those who have been reported to us. That two million in cash could also ‘create the possibility’ of even someone in public service to break into these files and jeopardize not only the safety of, but even a ‘high possibility’ of placing the lives of these men in danger.”

 

“And that we now must ask the good people of Chicago and the outlying regions to only make reports that have some substance, not the abusive tactics of wives and girlfriends getting back at their old man.”
 

“Yeah,” David said in agreement, “and then we can drag this all out, for a long while anyway. We can go through one or two of those files everyday, Stillwater really can’t argue with that.”
 

“Do you think that she will ever give up on this?” Noel asked.

 

“Are you kidding? There are a lot of asses on the line here when this thing blows open. Stillwater, those in the Pink Book. Things are unraveling, and Dee Dee’s behavior is showing it. 
 

“That’s true, but Jeezus man, how long can we keep this up?” Noel asked in frustration, “How long can we keep doing this? This constant shit of finding a way to keep her in check.”

 

“I don’t know Ski.” David answered, “Until something else comes along that will make this all seem irrelevant and unimportant, we just have to keep trudging along.”

 

Noel then started the car, looked behind him for any oncoming traffic, the drove the car down the street. As they were coming up to the BMW that Mr. Zenel was in the slowed down and first Noel gave a little wave. Then Noel made a sign with his hands. He made a “V” shape with his fingers, placed them on his eyes and then pointed at Mr. Zenel. Noel then sped off and then he and David had a good laugh. “That sure wiped that stupid assed smile off his face!” Noel said, “Did you see that?”
 

“Yeah man that was great. I needed that.”
 

They both stayed silent as Noel drove the car and began to make his way back to the station. He then broke the silence, “So man, what do you think?”

 

“I think we can drag it out for a few months at least.”

 

“No man,” Noel said seriously, “what do you think about this Morrow guy?”

 

David stayed silent for a few seconds, and then said, “I don’t know. It’s all still just circumstantial.”

 

“Some kind of circumstantial, wouldn’t you say?”

 

“Yeah, I would say.” David answered, “He does fit the profile that’s for damn sure. I mean he is everything that Chris said he could be. A loved one that was hurt? Shit man, they killed his wife for Christ’s sake.” He went silent for a second then continued, “You see that cabinet in the dining area, where the candles were? That little dust line I pointed to? It’s about as long as a standard picture frame, I have a feeling that’s what was there.
 

“And … he was a cop. Maybe a fuckin French cop, but a cop altogether. Let’s not forget that.”

 

“I’m not forgetting that, in fact it’s making me think more.”
 

“About?”
 

David took a breath and sighed, “A cop whose wife is murdered. Why? Simply because he’s a cop. It could happen to either one of us you know. If it did, what would you do? Would you go crazy and do the same thing? Then, what would you be expecting from all the other cops looking for you?”

“What are you saying Dave?” Noel asked with concern.

 

“I’m not saying anything … right now anyway. I’m just babbling off the top of my head. Besides, we have no way of proving this anyway. He’s missing, the girl admitted that she did it out of spite, and there’s this other factor.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“That he’s never owned a car since he’s lived here. C’mon man, how can you bounce around from place to place the way he did, and have no car. Were talking a difference of maybe sixty miles.”

 

“That is a factor I have to agree, but that does not answer my question.” Noel said, “What do you think?”
 

David looked at his partner, and then looked out the passenger window, “I don’t know. This is the closest thing we have ever had. I do not know. The apartment too, all so neat and clean, almost … military like. I’ll have to look into it a little further somehow.”
 

“Well then, you just answered my question.” Noel said.
 

 

“How’s that.”
 

“I feel the same way.” The traffic light just ahead of him turned yellow and then red. Noel came to a complete stop, turned to David and then said, “With all the pluses and minuses, I haven’t ruled him out either.”