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“There’s a rumor that Violet shot Chen,” Juan said.
“I’m aware of the rumor,” Elena said. “We do not believe there is any validity to it, but I can’t go into any more details. You may go home, and I’m giving you the rest of the day off. Report back to the jail tomorrow to finish that rotation, then you’ll be back on your regular squad next week. And, Juan? Do not discuss this conversation with anyone.”
Steven Colangelo wasn’t as pleasant or forthcoming with Elena and Matt, Kara noted through the one-way glass. His rep tried to keep him calm, but Steve was belligerent.
“I’ve been sitting here for two hours twiddling my thumbs,” Steve said. “There’s no reason! You need to tell me if I’m being written up for anything, but you’re treating me like a suspect, not a cop. I have rights.”
“Yes, you do, which is why your rep is here,” Elena said. “I need to know where you were Monday between noon and twelve thirty.” She glanced at his wrist. “Nice watch.” It had a yellow face.
He scowled. “Check my logs. I don’t remember specifically, but it’ll be in my logs.”
Elena pulled a paper from her file. “You clocked in at 0600, took your seven at 11:48, and went back in service at 12:35. Where did you eat?”
He shrugged. “I don’t remember.”
“I have the security footage from the precinct that day. You took your seven in-house, went down to the gym.”
“I often work out during lunch.”
He flexed, and Kara knew the type. Thought he was tough when he was simply a bully.
“You left the building in civilian clothes at 11:55. Returned at 12:25.”
“If you know where I was, then you know where I was. This is tedious, Lieutenant.” But he had lost some of his rage. He glanced at Matt, assessed him.
“I have a witness who claims they saw you shoot David Chen and his bodyguard on the sidewalk late Monday morning. So if you tell me you were somewhere else, I can verify your alibi, and you can go on your way.”
He didn’t say anything. He stared down at his hands. At his watch. He was thinking. Kara could see him working through everything in his head, trying to figure out what to do. When the truth became evident, that there was no way for him to lie his way out of this mess, his entire body shifted, his face fell and he looked at his rep. “I’m not going to jail. No way. I need an attorney. Someone who is a damn good negotiator. Until then? I’m not saying another word.”
36
By the end of the day, they had very little from Steve Colangelo, but enough to generate small leads for Matt to follow.
Colangelo was being blackmailed.
A halfway decent cop goes through a rough divorce. Starts gambling, loses money, gets in fights, doesn’t care about himself or the job, takes bribes. But going from bribes to murder is a big jump.
Matt didn’t want to deal with the asshole, but he didn’t have a choice. Steve Colangelo was just one cog in a much larger wheel, and if they didn’t figure out how this conspiracy worked—and who ordered the murder of Chen and Craig Dyson—Kara would never be safe.
The DA granted Steve partial immunity provided that he served ten years in federal prison and fully cooperated. If he lied, the deal was off and he would be tried for killing Chen and his bodyguard, and as an accessory to Dyson’s murder.
Steve admitted that he had been working for David Chen for several years. “Minor” work, like intimidating business owners, relocating a meth lab in Chinatown that was too close to Chen’s business, moving problem girls to other jurisdictions. When Chen was arrested, he expected Chen would turn on him, but he didn’t. Steve waited it out and believed nothing would happen to him until last week when a man approached him at a casino in San Diego. Steve had just lost; he was angry and bitter.
The man identified himself as Conrad and said Chen needed to die. If Steve wanted the evidence of his crimes to go away, he needed to kill Chen before he entered the courthouse on Monday. If Chen was alive, the files would be on Commander Joe Campana’s desk before Chen exited the building.
Conrad gave Steve a Colt .45 and information about where Chen would be and when. The cameras would be disabled on Spring Street from the dog park to the corner of the courthouse, and as long as he killed Chen on that block, there would be no evidence.
Steve did everything according to the plan outlined for him, then he saw Violet out of the corner of his eye. She looked right at him. He didn’t think she recognized him because he wore sunglasses and a face mask, but he had a gun in his hand and she ran. He pocketed the gun, mask and glasses and walked briskly through the park, then circled around, heading back into police headquarters. But he told Conrad that Violet had seen him.
When Matt asked about the gun, Steve said he left it where Conrad told him to: under the seat of his personal vehicle. When Steve went home that night after work, the gun was gone and his file was there. Steve burned the file.
“I figured Conrad planned to frame someone,” Steve said, “but I didn’t think about it.”
Of course not, Matt thought as he silently fumed. Steve didn’t care who got hurt as long as he was in the clear.
“You will work with a sketch artist,” Elena stated.
He shrugged. “Whatever.”
