AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The last girl. Her name was Estella. She turned me down flat. She said she’d never have sex for money. Even when I tried to argue the hypocrisy of being paid to go on a date but not accepting money for sex, she wouldn’t budge. That one happened quickly. We were behind a restaurant in lower Manhattan. There was no one around. There was some sort of kitchen utensil. It wasn’t quite a knife, but it had a pointed end. It was just wedged against the wall. I don’t know why I picked it up to look at it. Then when Estella denied me again. I couldn’t keep myself from stabbing her. Just once. The look on her face is burned in my memory. I knew I was way out of control, but it was like there was nothing I could do about it. I got rid of her body in the river and just went back to my regular life. I thought the four incidents were separated enough that I might be okay, especially when I didn’t see anything in the news about the cops looking for anyone.”
He took a step closer to me on the ledge, and I felt like he was about to climb down and back onto the roof.
Chapter107
I STOLE Aglance over my shoulder and saw that Harry Grissom and a uniformed patrol officer had joined Terri, Allie Pritz, and the detective who’d followed us. Allie stood between Terri and the other detective. I realized everyone had just heard Perry Martin’s confession. On one level that was good. Plenty of witnesses to explain how he’d volunteered everything. On the other hand, I didn’t know how the details would affect Allie. It was tough to read her expression in just a quick peek.
I took a step closer to Martin. I slowly extended my hand. His eyes met mine. He was looking for any reason to step down from the ledge and back onto the roof. I said, “Sounds like you need help. We can get you some help.”
Martin said, “Really? You’d help me?”
“I promise.”
I knew Harry had been in this situation several times. I wanted to ask his advice. But I knew not to turn my back on a suicidal person. I wanted the coach to know he could come down from the ledge. I didn’t go into any details about what might happen to him in the near future. But for now, he wasn’t going to be a suicide while I was standing there.
I could feel my heartbeat start to settle down. I took a deep breath.
Martin stood up straight and took another half step toward the roof.
I could see his brain working through what might happen to him. He hesitated. I didn’t risk saying anything just yet. I wanted him to take that one definitive step toward me. My hand was still extended. Martin leaned in to grab my hand and step down onto the roof.
Then I heard the gunshots. There were two in very rapid succession. One of them hit Martin in the neck. The shock of the bullet stunned him. He reached for the wound with one hand and stumbled slightly. Blood sprayed from his carotid artery. He wobbled on the ledge as I tried to spring forward to steady him.
But it was too late. One foot slid off the edge. He disappeared from my sight silently. The only evidence he had ever stood on the protective ledge were drops of blood.
I spun quickly to see Terri and the young detective holding back Allie Pritz. I immediately realized what had happened. Allie had snatched the gun from where the young detective had tucked it in his waistband. She had gotten off a couple of shots before he was able to stop her.
I had to peek over the edge of the building. Before my vision started getting blurry and the world started to spin, I could clearly see Perry Martin’s body on the sidewalk next to the entrance to the hotel. A couple of uniformed officers were moving toward him.
Then I eased away from the ledge, got ahold of myself, and went to Allie. By now she was sobbing uncontrollably. Her face was a mask of tears, snot, and anguish. I gave a nasty look to the young detective for his poor tactical sense. A gun wasn’t supposed to be taken off a cop so easily.
I looked at Terri, who was shaking her head. Neither of us had seen this coming.
Chapter108
ALMOST A WEEKafter Perry Martin was shot, I found myself sitting in a car with my friend Sergeant Kathy Figler. I’d been waiting for a chance to find the bullies who had been threatening my sons. Kathy’s team had figured out who the boys were after they saw the video from Holy Name. I didn’t want special treatment. Kathy assured me that they were more interested in getting a gun away from a kid than just helping a fellow cop. I decided to accept that and was now just along for the ride.
Kathy and I sat in the front seat of her relatively new Ford Explorer.
I’d slipped into the car, leaving mine parked a few blocks away.
As we sat there, one of the first things Kathy said was “You doing okay after the bullshit on the hotel roof?”
“Still trying to wrap my head around it.”
“You did a hell of a job. No one can tell when a witness is going to snap. You guys did everything right. Everyone except for the moron who kept his gun stuffed down his pants without a holster.”
“For the record, he’s not part of Manhattan North Homicide. He’s a detective in the Five-Two.”
“I think I know who you’re talking about. Good-looking kid about thirty with long hair?”
“Sounds like him.”
“At least you and Terri weren’t hurt.” Kathy spent a moment staring at the bruise that covered the side of my face, then added, “Too badly.”
“Believe me, after tangling with a former lineman, I feel lucky to have only a few cuts and bruises.”
Kathy said, “What about the girl who shot the killer?”
