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He walked us through a few more of his findings. Terri Hernandez stepped in a few minutes later, followed by Harry Grissom. I explained my disastrous initial contact with Kyle Banning. I could tell Terri was a little miffed I hadn’t called her to come with me. Even after I explained my reasoning that Banning could identify her from the bar.
Walter had one more interesting piece of information. He held up a NCIC criminal history for Banning. It looked like the only arrest was for assault against Celia Cartwright. We knew that case had never been filed. I had to say, “I’m sorry, Walter. I don’t see what you’re talking about.”
Walter held up the page and showed me an extra indent on the side where there should be information, but there wasn’t. Walter said, “I’ve seen this before. It’s something that was expunged when he was a minor. It must’ve been something pretty serious to have even made it onto the NCIC printout. Sometimes I’ve noticed this discrepancy when crimes have been expunged through the legal system. It’s almost as if the FBI created a back door to warn law enforcement about a serious issue with an individual.”
I said, “I guess it’s one more thing I can ask Banning when I interview him.”
“Probably the easiest way to figure out what happened. We could track it down. But it may not be that important.”
Harry sat in a hard wooden chair flexing his left knee and right hand. That was a habit he had developed in the last couple of years because it made his arthritis feel a little better. When I finished going through everything I had on the case and Walter added the information he had developed, Harry looked off into the distance as he nodded his head.
Harry said, “I’m impressed with the information you’ve gathered already. But we’re not about to get a conviction for homicide based on a couple of photographs. I agree it can’t be a coincidence that this guy, Kyle Banning, knew two different murder victims. But that’s not going to sway a judge when we try to get a warrant.”
I said, “I’m going to take another shot at interviewing him.”
“Did he ever ask for an attorney?”
“No. He said it was his policy not to talk to the police at work. So I intend to surprise him at home tomorrow.”
Terri asked, “Do you want to do surveillance to figure out the best time to catch Banning at home?”
I smiled. I already had a plan.
Chapter45
I EXPLAINED MYidea to the three solemn faces sitting around the table. Harry Grissom and Terri Hernandez were a little skeptical. Basically, it just involved interviewing Kyle Banning at his house on a Saturday morning.ThisSaturday morning. Tomorrow.
I knew the building where Kyle Banning lived. It had a doorman and decent security. My first hurdle was figuring out how to get to Banning without giving him advance notice. If I identified myself to the doorman, he’d make a quick call up to the apartment. Banning would say he didn’t want to see me at all. That was something I needed to avoid.
As soon as Harry Grissom reluctantly agreed to my plan, I went to my best source for finding out about the Bannings’ doorman: Ronald Higdon, Esquire.
Ronald gave me a big smile when I stepped through the pawnshop door. “Bennett, thank you again for getting that Detective Matthews off my back.”
“You can thank me by saying you found a way to help me get in the building I told you about.”
Ronald waved like it was no issue at all. “I called my boy Artie, who knows Midtown and the park. He got ahold of one of his delivery buddies named Soolie, who knows a lot of the doormen. Anyway, the doorman at the building owes a friend of Soolie’s a fair amount of cash. That came from some bad business decisions involving the Jets and the Patriots. So Soolie worked out a deal where his buddy is giving the doorman an extra week to come up with the cash if he lets you slip into the building. Simple.”
I appreciated the work Ronald had put in on this. It was too bad he always tried to go for the quick buck. He might’ve made a decent detective if he’d had some integrity. As it was, at least he was doing his part for law enforcement.
I said, “And what is this amazing feat of assistance going to cost me?”
Ronald was quiet for a moment. That was unusual. It made me nervous. He had already thought this through.
“Just a favor. Whenever I need it.”
“What kind of favor? You know I can’t do anything crazy. Unlike you, I have to follow a lot of rules.”
Ronald shrugged. “I don’t know yet what kind of favor. I just want to know you’ll come if I call. I won’t ask you to alter records or anything that would get you in trouble.”
I agreed and we shook on it. He knew I’d never breach an agreement like this. I already felt a twinge of concern about what I had just agreed to.
Ronald gave me the information about the doorman at the Bannings’ building. He even had the man’s schedule. I quickly smiled to see he was working Saturday morning.
I was proud of the amount of progress my team had made today. I just hoped it paid off tomorrow morning.
Chapter46
MY FRIDAY EVENINGwas busy. I’ll confess I was a little distracted while coaching the first girls’ basketball game of the season for Holy Name, a game with a small Presbyterian school from Midtown. I tried to concentrate on my duties as a coach, but my mind wasn’t focused on sports. All I could think about was tomorrow morning’s interview with Kyle Banning.
