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Chapter 75
I felt myworld start to spin a little bit. What are the chances I would call the NYPD and reach Bobby Patel’s cousin?
Then William Patel said, “In fact, I have six cousins named Bobby Patel. You do realize Patel is the most common Indian name in the US, right? We’re like the Smiths in India.”
“What about Bobby Patel the FBI agent in Washington, DC?”
“Oh, that Bobby.”
I suddenly felt like I couldn’t catch a break. Was this some kind of conspiracy? All I could say was “He’s your cousin?”
William chuckled on the other end of the line. “No, I was just testing your gullibility. You failed. Now, let’s see if we can help you solve a homicide in Baltimore.”
I liked this guy’s attitude. I briefly explained the circumstances of the homicide. I left out why I was involved. I let him assume that it was somehow connected to a homicide in New York.
William said, “It helps if you can narrow down the parameters of your search as much as possible. The fewest possible phone numbers. The smallest spread of dates. And a relatively small geographic area.”
I gave him the date of Michelle Luna’s homicide. I even gave him the exact location within Baltimore.
William said, “Fairfield doesn’t sound like such a bad neighborhood. It’s not like Compton.”
“Bad things can happen anywhere, William.”
Then I gave him the phone numbers to Robert Steinberg’s, Rhea Wellmy-Steinberg’s, and Beth Banks’s cell phones. I didn’t want to risk using the names. Although William might keep things quiet, there was no telling what people at Google might leak. I decided to keep the suspects’ names to myself.
William asked, “Do you have enough probable cause for the Google warrant?”
“I’m trying to see if any of those three were in Baltimore. They knew the victim. I’m just trying to build a case. I’m not trying to charge anyone based on the information from the warrant.”
William’s enthusiasm didn’t fade. “Got it. I have a lot of friends over at Google. I might be able to do a quick check just to see if there’s anything worth sending them a warrant for. They’re good about little things like that. Know what I mean?”
I knew exactly what he meant. The world of investigations depends on people helping one another. I was a little worried about this being a major case. Then I remembered I wouldn’t be the one bringing charges. The FBI or the DC police would. I just had to hand over information to them.
It was an odd conundrum. If I waited on a warrant, the information wouldn’t come back until after I was sent home. Possibly by force. I made an executive decision. I said, “Go ahead and check first. All I need is a yes or no. I don’t need any details yet.”
William said, “I’ll call Google right now.”
