Taddio- The Case of the Crooked Cop
Prologue
Cray was finished. The college toga party was a prime spot for getting some 'E' sold. The truth was Cray was about five years too old to be at a toga party. Drug dealing got harder as you got older. A good dealer works all night to raves and parties. He always met gorgeous young women and rendered them insensible, insensible enough to sleep with anyone, even him. Yeah, he thought to himself, I have scored plenty of pussy. He had to be careful about trading drugs for sex. Many other drug dealers gave product for sex and ended up owing the mob. Cray was a bit smarter than average dealer and made sure he always made enough cash.
He was just thinking about a young Goth girl he scored with last night. She slept with him in exchange for half a tablet. All of a sudden his thoughts about his seedy love life disappeared from his mind all together.
He spotted Taddio just in time, Cray hid behind an industrial bin. Taddio was a legend on the Eastside. Every criminal knew him by sight and knew enough to stay out of sight. Cray was relieved the old man was not a narcs officer.
Cray watched the old detective who was standing in the alley way smoking his cigar and staring at a particular spot on the ground. The detective bent down and touched the bitumen and said "Smith I miss you old friend, I am so very, very sorry. So sorry that I was never there when you needed me."
The old man stood and with an expression of agony on his face. Cray figured it could not be easy getting down or up when you are as big as Taddio.
He watched the Detective, the mythological monster of the criminals of Grover, slowly waddle out of the alley. Taddio then got into his 1967 black Volvo and drove away into the breaking dawn.
Cray was trembling all over. Even when that man was acting crazy he was scary as shit. Cray took out a joint and lit it to calm his nerves.
A Week Earlier
Detective Armando Taddio received the call from Doctor Tame at two o'clock in the morning. Tame informed him that he spotted Constabul Constance Blackwell in the emergency department of the General Hospital. Armando and his wife Samantha rushed to the hospital. When they arrived Blackwell was in a hospital bed. Her face was smashed and her fudge brown eyes were filled with tears. She looked so small and frightened in the impersonal hospital bed, it was quite easy to imagine what she looked like when she was a little girl.
She did not bother waiting for Armando to ask any questions she just launched in to her story, "I went on a blind date that my sister arranged with a guy name Geoff Greene. She knew him from University, it was going well. I have been seeing him for about a month now. He was bright, seemed sensitive and very attentive." Taddio nodded, he had noticed Constance's elevated mood but he thought personal information should be offered- unless there was a crime that had taken place of course.
Blackwell continued, "He knew I was a cop and due to the coverage with The Crossbow Killer case he was aware that I worked with you. I expect a certain level of curiosity when I tell people that I am a cop, particularly now I work in homicide. This guy was kind of, umm, turned on by it. I told him that it was a bit much and tried to break up with him. Then he threw me against the wall and punched me a couple of times, he finshed off with kicking me in the ribs. It hurts like hell!"
Constance began to cry, "Thing is Armando, if I was in my uniform, if I was on duty I would have known what to do. Instead I was in a cocktail dress and heels and I wasn't tough. I wasn't scary, I was just a sucker. I was weak and I don't know how long it will take me to get over it."
The Detective wrapped his arms around his protégé, "We are all weak Blackwell, I was weak that day in the alley when Smith, my ex-partner, was shot by some punk. You are weak now. However, we are always strong too. We are a strong team and I will look after you."
Samantha smiled, "Me too Constance, I am on your team as well and I will also take care of you. We love you Sweetie, you are our family."
Constance put her palm to Armando's grizzled face, "Taddio I don't want him arrested. I don't want anyone to know what happened. I know you have to tell the Chief but otherwise I just want to heal and forget." Taddio smiled and assured her that he would not arrest Greene.
Samantha took a brush and started to smooth out Constance's hair while Armando wiped the tears from her eyes. He poured her some water and held the straw to her split lip so she could drink. Samantha hummed and stroked Constance's hand until the young woman dropped off to sleep.
Samantha and Armando tiptoed from the room. Dr Tame was waiting outside her room for them, "I talked to her admitting doctor. Constance was brought in around Midnight with severe bruising. Her cheekbone is broken and she has some busted ribs. She is going to be fine. We just kept her because there was nobody to take care of her. "
Taddio was trembling with suppressed emotion, "We are there to look after her. Discharge her and she can come home with my wife and I. Thank you for calling me Tame, I appreciate it."
Samantha turned to Taddio, "I will fix her Honey, you do whatever it takes to make her safe." She stood on tip toes to give her beloved a peck on the cheek.
Taddio has a little 'chat'
Taddio marched off into Grover City as he had an appointment with a certain Geoff Greene.
Armando reached Green's modern apartment. He knocked and held his badge up to the security camera. The faux steel door slid open. The Detective took out his hand gun and walked into the apartment. It was a strange unit, everything was crisp white and metallic. Geoff was waiting for him, the tall fair man was waiting in his Swedish armchair. In his hand was a silver pistol and it was pointed at Taddio's head.
The Detective did not even glance at the silver barrel of the pistol. He just looked into the black eyes of Geoff Greene with an expression of cold determination, "Mr Greene, I don't know if you have ever heard of me, my name is Taddio. I am old and very alive. Do you know what that means Mr Greene? It means I have survived a thousand punks, hundreds of the seriously deranged and even a few criminal geniuses. I have outwitted, outlasted and overcome." Taddio stepped forward and held his handgun up so that it was pointing at Geoff Greene's young expressionless face.
Taddio continued, " I am the best of the killer catchers. Nobody and I am being literal when I say this, nobody, knows how to take longer to kill you in quite the most excruciating ways. If I was to kill you, I would never- ever,-be caught. Blackwell is my partner and she is my responsibility. I am most ernest when it comes to my responsibilities. I am going to make you a promise. If you are walking down the street and you accidently glance her way then you will be in danger. Present, clear and, I guarantee you, most immediate danger. I am ready for this conversation to end, what about you?"
Geoff Greene laughed with genuine merriment, "You know Taddio, I have actually played this scene over and over in my head since I was ten years old. To be honest, in my imagination you hardly ever make it through the door. I am so glad that now, in this moment, I let you get your speech out. It was particularly moving. I have no interest in Blackwell, she is not in danger right now. You are. You're the one with my pistol aimed at your head. I know that you too are armed but, I am not afraid to die."
Taddio ran through every file case in his imagination, he tried to match Geoff Greene's face or details with any person related to a previous case but he was drawing a blank. This man had a grudge, that much was clear. Why was a mystery to Armando.
Greene continued to speak, "Yes Detective, I can see that you have no idea who I am. No reason you should. I will tell you a story if I may. Fifteen years ago there was a young reporter named Grahame Green with a beloved son was on the trail of a story. It took up a great deal of his time but he always had time for his little boy. I came home from school that Valentine's day and there was no Dad. There was a corpse who had his face but that was all. I do not know who killed him or why. All I know is that the most important person in the world to me was shot into oblivion and his death barely registered. He was never given justice and nor was I. Why was this done, I do not know."
Greene was now choking up with emotion as he remembered his dead father, "They put me in a home. I was angry. I wanted to know who killed my father and the woman at the home told me not to worry because the great Detective Armando Taddio was investigating my Daddy's case. This super detective, whom she had read about in the paper, would find out who did this to my Daddy. I waited Ass Wipe, for you to call. You did not ring and you did not care. I loved him and he was not important enough for you to even ring. I was not important enough to you. I just want to know why? Then maybe I will kill you or maybe I won't, either which way my survival is not that important to me so think quickly Taddio."
Armando frowned, "I was never given a case about a reporter who died on Valentine 's Day. I am many things Mr Greene but I am not a person who would ever leave a child without a sense of resolution, for that would breed hate and obsession. I see you are a case in point of that. If I live past this moment, I will find out why I never saw this case, I promise you that. In future, if you want to get to me, come and see me. You do not ever bother the Constable again. Mr Greene, you are a coward and a cad. I do want you to remember one thing. There is a fine blue line between you and every immoral and dangerous criminal out there in our fair Grover City. A day may come when you need that fine blue line to save your ass. Do not irritate us further or we may be busy when you need us most of all, I trust you understand my meaning."
Geoff Greene stared hard into Armando's eyes as if he was trying to measure the weight of the fat man's soul. "Today Taddio you live, but I want you to start work straight away. I want to know the truth. I will never approach Blackwell again. I am assuming of course that you are as good of a detective as you say."
Taddio lowered his weapon and walked backward outside the cold, white clinical apartment. He rushed as quickly as he could to the station. Every murder case in Grover was always run past him. Even though there were other homicide detectives, Taddio had a reputation for precision and a knack of seeing holes in cases. It was almost Grover standard practice to never consider a case closed or unsolved until he called it. If Grahame Greene died from a gunshot wound fifteen years ago Armando normally would have seen it. There was only one explanation and that was a police officer hid it from him. The real question there is why?
Blackwell, was feeling better thanks to the warm caring personality of Samantha Taddio. Constance was a bit stiff and sore but with some make-up she only looked slightly out of sorts. She had been at the station trying to look busy. Mostly however, she just stood there staring at her phone wondering why Taddio had not called. She knew where he was going and why when he left the hospital and she had not seen him since. It did not take long for her to become concerned for her mentor's safety. She should not have let him go, she just wasn't ready to face her enemy again. She was not afraid of Geoff Greene. She was terrified of fear itself. She could not again face her own frailty.
She realised that letting Armando go and clean up her mess was weak. Taddio told her not to go. He told her that she to accept she was part of a team and she would have to have faith in that. He also said that is sometimes harder to do that than do everything yourself. She realised that she actually felt more fear than if she had gone herself She now understood what Taddio meant when he said it would take strength for her to stay behind.
Detective Armando Taddio walked into the room as the sun peaked out from the clouds and the day took on an optimistic air.
Taddio smiled at the concerned face of his young colleague. She felt a wave of relief sweep over her. He then said, " Geoff Greene will not be bothering you anymore but we do have a new case, or rather an old case." Her mentor then briefed her on everything that happened. Constance felt a little diminished that Geoff had assaulted her to get to Taddio. On the other hand, she felt proud about how significant she was to the Detective. He cared for her, she was a part of his family and that made her special.
She then assured, "Leave me to it, I will find the case files." Taddio watched her leave and made himself a cup of coffee while he waited for her to come back. His hand was shaking as it held the cup. He really thought that young fellow would kill him and that there would be nobody to look after his wife and Constable Constance Blackwell.
The Dirty Truth
Taddio grabbed at the files as soon as Constance brought them up. He quickly leafed through the pages, it was true he had never seen or heard of this case before. Then he looked at the signature on the bottom of the file and the name there was one he knew all too well. It was the signature of his old friend, the Chief.
"The Chief hid files from you, but why?" Constance was puzzled. She flicked through the tiny file on the death of Grahame Greene. "Oh, it says here that the case was passed on to the Feds. It doesn't say why though. I guess we should ask the Chief."
They walked over to the Chief's office. He was in the middle of some paper work. Constable Blackwell interrupted him, "Chief we have been asked by the family to investigate a cold case. It involves a journalist by the name of Grahame Greene who was shot at point blank range. It happened fifteen years ago on Valentine's day. You signed off on the transfer of the case but you did not show it to Taddio, which struck us as odd."
The Chief looked up at Blackwell with red rimmed tired eyes," I was not aware that I had to show Taddio everything. Look, the victim was a slime reporter who had interfered with many cases. The Feds wanted his file because he was putting together a story on our Senator Kenly when he disappeared. I signed off on it and got the hell out of their way. Something Taddio would not have done. I did not tell him because he would have put his massive nose in the middle of it. Now if you two don't mind I never want to hear about this case again. If I find out that either of you are still investigating what is a federal case, you Taddio will be retiring and Blackwell will be back on traffic duty. Am I understood?"
Taddio just stroked his moustache and tugged at Blackwell's coat to leave. Once they were on the other side of the Chief's door Constance whispered to Taddio, "Do we leave it or not?"
"We do not leave it, the Chief is hiding something, I won't be able to rest till I figure out what. I have some friends in the Feds. Let me call Williams, he owes me."
Later that day, in a diner near the docks, the two officers waited for Williams. Blackwell was looking through the grimy windows when she spotted the arrival of medium sized man with flat top haircut and a cheap suit, "I think that is Williams." Taddio turned to look out of the window and nodded. Williams walked in, ordered an egg sandwich and sat down in their booth.
"Detective, it is good to see you but I am afraid this is not going to take long. We never requested that case. Yes, Grahame Greene was doing a story on the Senator but there was nothing that aroused our suspicion or any reason for us to get the file. I am now interested but there is still not enough for us to investigate. I gather that you are on your way to talk to the Senator about Greene. Do you mind if I tag along?"
Taddio took a sip of coffee, "Actually Williams it would be good if you could. Before I go to the Senator I need to talk to the victim's son. I need to find out what Grahame had on the Senator." Constance knew they were talking about seeing Geoff.
She looked Armando in the eye, "This time I am going too." He nodded and they left for the apartment of Geoff Greene.
Soon afterward the three of them stood inside Geoff's gleaming apartment. Blackwell was nervous but she was hiding it beneath a thin mask of hostility. Geoff leered at her, "Hello my Lovely, could you not stay away?"
Constance felt the hand of fear reach up and grab her by the throat, she shook it off, "Greene, you even look at me and it will be the sorriest moment of you scummy life."
He did not seem bothered by her threat, "You are all scary now Constance but, you were not so terrified when you were cringing in the corner, crying, were you?"
Williams was baffled by the exchange, "Is there something I should know?"
Constance looked on the ground, "I BREIFLY dated this pig and he attacked me. He did it just to get Taddio's attention because he is not smart enough to use a god damn phone! Luckily for him I was not on duty or he would be cooling his heels in the lock-up." Williams looked at the non- descript pale Geoff and the feisty Blackwell.
"Well Constance, I am surprised you ever agreed to date him. He looks like a constipated librarian all pressed and bleached. Let me know if you ever want to date a real man one who would never hit a woman."
Taddio interrupted the exchange, "Geoff I am investigating the murder of your father. Not because of your threats but because a man died. At the time of his death, Grahame Greene was investigating a rather big story. Do you have his papers?"
Geoff shook his head, "No I have nothing of my father except his favourite suede coat, but I do know he worked for 'The Tribune.' I suggest you ask them. "
They left the apartment as quickly as they could. It was an impeccably clean place but it made them feel dirty and tarnished to be there.
They made their way to "The Tribune.' After asking around they were brought to a reporter who was a friend of Greene's by the name of Herbert Trumpkin. Taddio asked Trumpkin about Greene and the story he was working on. Trumpkin told them that Grahame Greene had been working on a case with the Senator. Grahame suspected that Senator Kenly had links to the mob.
Tumpkin showed the officers the file on Kenly and it had photos that showed him in the company of Jackson Main. Jackson was a petty criminal who at the time was involved with prostitution and money laundering for the mob. There was also a photo of Kenly with a tall young blond woman. Trumpkin told them that the woman's name was Daisy Dane who was a known prostitute. She went missing at around this time.
The Detective, Williams and Blackwell left 'The Tribune' and made their way to Finnegan's. Finnegan's was an Irish pub that sat in the Eastside precinct. Taddio walked in and was greeted by Mary the barmaid, "Hello Taddio and Blackwell. We have been all clean and honest around here. No more boxing matches." Mary was referring to a former case in which Finnegan's was the site of illegal bare fist boxing matches.
Blackwell smiled," Glad to hear it, listen, have you seen Jackson Main aka 'The Man' around here lately? We need to talk to him."
Mary smiled and called out with a loud voice, "Main, your favourite coppers are here to chat with you." Main stood up. He had been hiding behind the bar the whole time. His history with Grover's dynamic duo left a great deal to be desired and he did not want to tangle with them again.
Tom, the owner of the bar walked out of the backroom, spying Main behind the bar he turned to Mary, "I told you to clean the bar, not let dirty buggers like Main behind it!" Mary shrugged indifferently.
Taddio lent across the bar, "Main, you owe me and you know it. Remember, I cleared your name in that boxing match murder. I need some information and you are just the weasel who can give it to me." Taddio caught Main up on the situation and showed him photocopies of the photos from the Tribune.
Main shrugged his shoulders, frankly, he was relieved that the questions Taddio were asking had nothing to do with his mob friends, "Yes, I do remember this,Senator Kenly. He was one of my patrons when I used to run hookers. He only ever wanted her, Daisy Dane. He spent a fortune on her and one day he came to see me and told me that he wanted Daisy to be his courtesan. He was willing to buy her off of me. I took the money but later she went missing. Two cops turned up, they was angry as hell. They pushed me around and I told them about the Senator. One of the cops was Gene Power nown to you as the Chief. It turns out that he had known Daisy when he was at school and he was angry about her choice to be a hooker. He blamed me. Wasn't my fault, I did not tell her take drugs. I did not tell her to be a prostitute. I kept her safe, well, at least until she went missing."
The three officers walked outside and hopped into the '67' Volvo. Blackwell grimaced, "So we run into the Chief again. He never mentioned Daisy Dane. Well, I think we should go to the Senator before we talk to the Chief."
Williams put his sunglasses on, "Just be careful when you talk to Senator Kenly remember that he is a powerful man. If he did anything wrong we should go after him. However it is critical that you do not make any false accusations about a Senator. In a manner of speaking he is our boss or at least he can make our bosses life uncomfortable, there could be remifications that we would rather not incur."
Taddio nodded gravely, "True as that may be Williams, I would rather offend the Senator then upset the Cheif. I want to be really sure before I talk to him again."
The Senator let the officers wait for twenty minutes before they were allowed in his office. When they finally entered the room a stately looking grey haired man came over and shook their hands. He introduced himself as Senator Kenly. They had to shake his left hand because the Senator had lost his right hand during the war. He was a known war hero and won a great deal of support in the electorate due to his heroic status. Taddio took the lead on the questioning, "We are investigating the death of Grahame Greene. He was a reporter who was doing a story on you fifteen years ago. He had some compromising information about you and a girl you were seeing, a Miss Daisy Dane. She also went missing at the same time."
The Senator sat back in his leather chair and swung backward and forwards. "Greene, Greene, oh yes I do remember him. He was a young firebrand want to be hotshot reporter during the Eighties. I knew about the story and it would have damaged me politically. At the end of the day though, I was simply a widower who sought a woman's company. There would have been a scandal but it would have died down. I do remember some officers came to see me about the case though. I told them exactly what I am telling you. I did mention to the officers that I had found out that this reporter had been seeing Daisy on the side. Apparently it started with Greene looking for information and their relationship grew. I was upset about her infidelity after everything I had done for her and I told her to leave. I never saw her again. Now if you all don't mind I have important work to do and I must ask you to leave.
Williams turned to them after they were ushered out of the office and said "Well since you two managed to investigate the Senator without causing a major national incident I must bid you both farewell." He then took Constances hand and lifted it briefly to his lips then looked up with a cheeky smile,"As for you Ms Blackwell, meeting you has been the sunshine of my day." He then pranced off leaving Constance blushing and trying not to avoid looking at the amused face of Taddio. She then suggested rather gruffly that they should leave.
Armando and Constance went down to their car and hopped in to the Volvo. Taddio sighed, " I guess we should do a door knock in Greene's neighbourhood and see if anyone knows anything about what happened that day. I know I should talk again to Gene, but, I want to flesh out the case before I make any accusations."
Both officers canvased the neighbourhood. Mostly doors were slammed in their face. Those residents who would talk to them had nothing to say. This was because they had either not lived in the area for very long or had not know the victim.
Taddio and Blackwell were just about to give up when they came across Polly Mcgrew. She was an older lady who recalled that particular day, "I was hanging out my washing when I noticed two officers pull up to the Greene house. They walked inside and in no time at all there was a shot. I guess Greene must have pulled a gun on them, or something, and they killed him." Constance showed Polly a picture of the Chief and she confirmed that he was one of the officers.
Taddio put his head between his hands, "It has come to this Blackwell, we have to go and arrest our boss. I hope we are right." They headed back to the station without saying a word.
When they got back to Grover Central Police Station Taddio said to Constance, "Wait here." He then marched with determination to his boss's office.
Taddio Faces the Chief
The Chief looked up at the noisy intrusion of his oldest and most trusted friend. "Taddio, you right?"
Armando shook his head, "Gene, I have been investigating the case and all signs point to you as the killer of Greene. I don't want to believe it. Please give me a reason not to arrest you. Convince me, I beg you."
"I can explain Taddio. Fifteen years ago, Draper was the Chief. I was a humble homicide detective, like yourself. I mean you and I were friends but the detective I knew the best was Smith, your ex partner. He was your partner but he was my best mate. We were both supporters of Brother Football Club, we went to the same high school and we hung out together on the weekend. I mean we both liked you too but you were always at the library or going on driving trips with you wife. You never were one of the boys. Any way one day Smith came to see me and he is really worried about his step-sister. "
Taddio did remember that Smith's step-sister did go missing, Armando had offered to investigate and find her for him but Smith refused. He said he would find her himself. A few days later he said he had found Daisy and that she had shacked up with a sporting goods salesman up in Griffin. He never mentioned her again and Taddio had not thought to ask. He plonked down on a chair across from the Chief.
The Chief continued, "I told him I would help him. I grew up with Daisy, she was a sweet kid. When she became a teen she went through this wild phase. She started dating Jackson Main who got her hooked on heroin. It was not long before she was working as a prostitute for him. Smith had tried to get her out of it but she wouldn't listen. She went missing around Christmas. We both started asking questions and it appears that she became pregnant with, what we assumed at time, Jackson's child. We went over and visited Jackson. The scum told us that he had broken up with Daisy and that she had hooked up with a senator. He told us that he had the mumps and it caused him to be infertile. We had it confirmed that he could not have fathered Daisy's baby. We went to see Senator Kenly who told us that Daisy left him to be with Greene. "
Taddio said, "I knew Smith for years, I cannot believe that he was going through all of this and did not come to me for help." Armando rubbed his hand across his forehead, the ghost of Smith was haunting him. It was a ghost that wailed in a howl that was drenced with a sense of disappointment at the amount of times Taddio had failed Smith.
Gene put his hand on Taddio's shoulder, "You did not know Daisy as she was, a funny, smart and sweet girl. Smith loved her and so did I, you would have just seen a heroin soaked whore. Smith did not want you to know her that way. He did not want you to see him as a failure because he could not help his own sister. Anyway, we went to see Greene. We searched him and found a pawn ticket. He said that he never had a relationship with Daisy. He said she was just a part of his story. Smith and I went to the Big Vic's Pawn Shop and showed him the ticket. The item pawned was a gold bracelet which Smith had given to Daisy. She never took the bracelet off. We asked Big Vic who had pawned the bracelet and he showed us the contract that was signed by Greene. Smith was sure Grahame Greene had done something to Daisy. We then got the call about a girl who was found in the East River. We went to the Coroners and sure enough the body was Daisy Dane. The Coroner confirmed she was pregnant. Smith was in a rage. We went to get Grahame Greene to arrest him but Smith instead took out his gun and shot the young reporter in between his eyes."
The Chief opened up his filing case and took out his thermos and poured some whiskey for them both, "I was angry and upset at Smith and I was prepared to arrest him, it seemed to me though that he had gone through enough with the death of his sister. The court would have founded him to be temporarily insane. He would not have done much hardtime but his career would be over. I would have lost a friend and a good officer. I made the whole thing disappear. Untill Blackwell asked me about it I have never mentioned that day to anyone ever since it happened." The two men drank the warming liquid down and wrestled with their own thoughts and conscience.
Taddio said quietly, " You were right to hide it from me, I would have arrested him."
Gene took a large swallow of whiskey before saying, "You always were a better cop than me Armando, but, you do not have my fucking charm or winning way with wankers. On the down low, I have never before or since, a crook cop. I never took bribes. I always ran things by the book. I am not proud of what I did, covering for Smith or hiding shit from you. But sometimes law and justice is not the same thing. I grew up with Daisy Dane.She was no angel but she did not deserve to be murdered so young either. When I was faced with her killer, I wanted to kill him. The truth is, I was glad Smith did it."
Armando finished up his drink then said, "Chief, I do understand but I need you to know that I am going to reinvestigate this case. I will not have a blemish on this department's records. Besides I gave a certain man my word and although I would rather drink warm spit that talk to him again, I must. I want to ask a favour of you Chief, I want you to come and see that man with me. I don't want Constance anywhere near him. She has already gone back today. It would be cruel to do that to her again."
The Chief nodded and the two most experienced coppers in Grover took off to go see a man about his dead father. Constance had the joy of being left behind for the second time that week.
Gene and Armando sat down on the Greene's leather chairs and told him everything about the case. When they told him about his father having murdered Daisy Dane he stood up, "My father never had anything to do with Daisy in that way. The truth is that he and my mother broke up because my father was a raging homosexual. She begged him for a child so he managed to conceive me but they never had a real sex life. He married my mother to make his family happy. He was never attracted to women. I wouldn't go so far as to say he was happy when she passed from cancer but he was glad to stop living a lie. I don't know who killed that girl but it was not Grahame Greene."
Taddio and the Chief looked at each other, "Mr Greene, could we have a photograph of your father?" The young man went to get it for them.
While he was shuffling through his desk Gene whispered into Taddio's ear "Did that bloke really attack Blackwell?" Taddio nodded. Geoff came back with the photo and gave it to the Detective.
The Chief turned to Greene, "One last thing-" he then lifted his fist and smashed it into Greene's face three times in quick succession. The young man's skin split, blood poured onto his pure white carpet.
The Chief bent down really close to Greene and grabbed the back of his head by the hair lifting his face out of the pool of blood it had been lying in, "You never want to see me again. If I ever fucking so much as hear of you, you will rot in a prison. Your new roomie will be a man called Big Momma who will turn you into his fucking ass monkey. I fucking hate women beaters you pointless, dickless maggot." The Chief untangled himself from the bloodied man. Before he left he gave Greene one last kick in the ribs- replicating what Geoff had previously done to young Constance Blackwell.
"You know Chief I have always admired your skill with vocabulary." Taddio patted the Chief on the back and left Geoff on the floor trying to breathe through a busted nose and swollen lips.
The Chief replied as he wiped Geoff's blood off his hands, "Well Taddio, you are not the only one who knows how to turn a phrase. Can I assume you did not see anything?"
Taddio looked at the bloodied man on the carpet, "I saw you stamp on a lousy dog beyond that, I saw nothing at all. Let's take this photo of Grahame Greene to Big Vic." Armando was getting a real education on how a good cop can turn crooked, the odd thing was it felt good.
Soon they were back at the pawn shop. They showed the owner, Big Vic, the photograph. He confirmed that this man did not sign for the bracelet. He remembered that the man who put the bracelet into be pawned had signed with his left hand because he was missing his right one.
Taddio tooke out a photo of Senator Kenly and Big Vic confirmed that this was the face of the one handed man.
Gene looked at Taddio, "So it was Kenly who is the killer?"
Armando lit a cigar and said to Gene, "Iit was Smith who was the weapon of destruction but it was Senator Kenly who aimed and fired that weapon. We can nail Kenly on the murder of Daisy Dane. I am sorry that Smith did not live long enough to see his dead sister's justice served."
Taddio took out his phone, "Williams, I have solved the case. Daisy was the step-sister of an officer named Smith. She went off the rails and became a prostitute. The Senator used her services and became keen on her so he paid for her to be his courtesan. She became pregnant and he in a panic killed her and put her body in the East River. Grahame Green was investigating the Senator and he was getting close to working out that what the Senator did. When Smith and Gene went to see him he figures out how to solve all his problems. He pawned Daisy's gold bracelet and planted the pawn ticket in Greene's favourite suede jacket."
Gene laughed loudly interupting the phone call, apparently he and Big Vic were swapping off colour jokes. Taddio continued on the phone, " Kenly then told Smith a story about Grahame Greene and Daisy having an affair which ended up in a pregnancy. He then called in an anonymous tip and made sure that Daisy's body was found ensuring that Smith would be particularly homicidal. Smith searched Greene and found the pawn ticket. He believed that a Mr Greene had pawned the bracelet. After identifying the body, Smith went into a rage and killed Greene. The Chief then hid the filed burying it in the archives. Now I am on my way to arrest a Senator, do you want to come?"
Taddio turned to Gene, "The Feds will meet us there. Let us go and get this Senator for Smith."
Later that week
Blackwell put the lid on The Grahame Greene file. She took out a black marker and wrote 'Case Closed' on the outside and took it down to bury it in the archives.
Meanwhile, Taddio was in the Alley where Smith had been killed. Detective Smith died in the line of duty while in pursuit of a young hood. Armando went through the case in his mind. He then bent down and touched the spot where Smith had died and he offered up a prayer for his dead friend.
Armando felt he had failed Smith. He had failed to ascertain the level of despair Smith suffered when his sister disappeared. It upset him greatly that Smith turned to the Chief instead of him. Taddio could not help but feel that had he been there he may have solved this mystery in time to have stopped Smith from turning into the murderer of an innocent man.
If that wasn't bad enough, the second time he failed Smith it had killed the man. Armando's eyes prickled with unshed tears, he touched the bitumen and said, "Smith I miss you old friend, I am so very, very sorry. So sorry that I was never there when you needed me."
In his mind he made a promise that he would never let Blackwell down even if it killed him.
Never.
By A.Sims
The next case is the concluding case for Taddio and Blackwell and it has never been stranger or more bizarre check out The Hellfire Club Case.
THE HELLFIRE CLUB CASE
Cray was finished. The college toga party was a prime spot for getting some 'E' sold. The truth was Cray was about five years too old to be at a toga party. Drug dealing got harder as you got older. A good dealer works all night to raves and parties. He always met gorgeous young women and rendered them insensible, insensible enough to sleep with anyone, even him. Yeah, he thought to himself, I have scored plenty of pussy. He had to be careful about trading drugs for sex. Many other drug dealers gave product for sex and ended up owing the mob. Cray was a bit smarter than average dealer and made sure he always made enough cash.
He was just thinking about a young Goth girl he scored with last night. She slept with him in exchange for half a tablet. All of a sudden his thoughts about his seedy love life disappeared from his mind all together.
He spotted Taddio just in time, Cray hid behind an industrial bin. Taddio was a legend on the Eastside. Every criminal knew him by sight and knew enough to stay out of sight. Cray was relieved the old man was not a narcs officer.
Cray watched the old detective who was standing in the alley way smoking his cigar and staring at a particular spot on the ground. The detective bent down and touched the bitumen and said "Smith I miss you old friend, I am so very, very sorry. So sorry that I was never there when you needed me."
The old man stood and with an expression of agony on his face. Cray figured it could not be easy getting down or up when you are as big as Taddio.
He watched the Detective, the mythological monster of the criminals of Grover, slowly waddle out of the alley. Taddio then got into his 1967 black Volvo and drove away into the breaking dawn.
Cray was trembling all over. Even when that man was acting crazy he was scary as shit. Cray took out a joint and lit it to calm his nerves.
A Week Earlier
Detective Armando Taddio received the call from Doctor Tame at two o'clock in the morning. Tame informed him that he spotted Constabul Constance Blackwell in the emergency department of the General Hospital. Armando and his wife Samantha rushed to the hospital. When they arrived Blackwell was in a hospital bed. Her face was smashed and her fudge brown eyes were filled with tears. She looked so small and frightened in the impersonal hospital bed, it was quite easy to imagine what she looked like when she was a little girl.
She did not bother waiting for Armando to ask any questions she just launched in to her story, "I went on a blind date that my sister arranged with a guy name Geoff Greene. She knew him from University, it was going well. I have been seeing him for about a month now. He was bright, seemed sensitive and very attentive." Taddio nodded, he had noticed Constance's elevated mood but he thought personal information should be offered- unless there was a crime that had taken place of course.
Blackwell continued, "He knew I was a cop and due to the coverage with The Crossbow Killer case he was aware that I worked with you. I expect a certain level of curiosity when I tell people that I am a cop, particularly now I work in homicide. This guy was kind of, umm, turned on by it. I told him that it was a bit much and tried to break up with him. Then he threw me against the wall and punched me a couple of times, he finshed off with kicking me in the ribs. It hurts like hell!"
Constance began to cry, "Thing is Armando, if I was in my uniform, if I was on duty I would have known what to do. Instead I was in a cocktail dress and heels and I wasn't tough. I wasn't scary, I was just a sucker. I was weak and I don't know how long it will take me to get over it."
The Detective wrapped his arms around his protégé, "We are all weak Blackwell, I was weak that day in the alley when Smith, my ex-partner, was shot by some punk. You are weak now. However, we are always strong too. We are a strong team and I will look after you."
Samantha smiled, "Me too Constance, I am on your team as well and I will also take care of you. We love you Sweetie, you are our family."
Constance put her palm to Armando's grizzled face, "Taddio I don't want him arrested. I don't want anyone to know what happened. I know you have to tell the Chief but otherwise I just want to heal and forget." Taddio smiled and assured her that he would not arrest Greene.
Samantha took a brush and started to smooth out Constance's hair while Armando wiped the tears from her eyes. He poured her some water and held the straw to her split lip so she could drink. Samantha hummed and stroked Constance's hand until the young woman dropped off to sleep.
Samantha and Armando tiptoed from the room. Dr Tame was waiting outside her room for them, "I talked to her admitting doctor. Constance was brought in around Midnight with severe bruising. Her cheekbone is broken and she has some busted ribs. She is going to be fine. We just kept her because there was nobody to take care of her. "
Taddio was trembling with suppressed emotion, "We are there to look after her. Discharge her and she can come home with my wife and I. Thank you for calling me Tame, I appreciate it."
Samantha turned to Taddio, "I will fix her Honey, you do whatever it takes to make her safe." She stood on tip toes to give her beloved a peck on the cheek.
Taddio has a little 'chat'
Taddio marched off into Grover City as he had an appointment with a certain Geoff Greene.
Armando reached Green's modern apartment. He knocked and held his badge up to the security camera. The faux steel door slid open. The Detective took out his hand gun and walked into the apartment. It was a strange unit, everything was crisp white and metallic. Geoff was waiting for him, the tall fair man was waiting in his Swedish armchair. In his hand was a silver pistol and it was pointed at Taddio's head.
The Detective did not even glance at the silver barrel of the pistol. He just looked into the black eyes of Geoff Greene with an expression of cold determination, "Mr Greene, I don't know if you have ever heard of me, my name is Taddio. I am old and very alive. Do you know what that means Mr Greene? It means I have survived a thousand punks, hundreds of the seriously deranged and even a few criminal geniuses. I have outwitted, outlasted and overcome." Taddio stepped forward and held his handgun up so that it was pointing at Geoff Greene's young expressionless face.
Taddio continued, " I am the best of the killer catchers. Nobody and I am being literal when I say this, nobody, knows how to take longer to kill you in quite the most excruciating ways. If I was to kill you, I would never- ever,-be caught. Blackwell is my partner and she is my responsibility. I am most ernest when it comes to my responsibilities. I am going to make you a promise. If you are walking down the street and you accidently glance her way then you will be in danger. Present, clear and, I guarantee you, most immediate danger. I am ready for this conversation to end, what about you?"
Geoff Greene laughed with genuine merriment, "You know Taddio, I have actually played this scene over and over in my head since I was ten years old. To be honest, in my imagination you hardly ever make it through the door. I am so glad that now, in this moment, I let you get your speech out. It was particularly moving. I have no interest in Blackwell, she is not in danger right now. You are. You're the one with my pistol aimed at your head. I know that you too are armed but, I am not afraid to die."
Taddio ran through every file case in his imagination, he tried to match Geoff Greene's face or details with any person related to a previous case but he was drawing a blank. This man had a grudge, that much was clear. Why was a mystery to Armando.
Greene continued to speak, "Yes Detective, I can see that you have no idea who I am. No reason you should. I will tell you a story if I may. Fifteen years ago there was a young reporter named Grahame Green with a beloved son was on the trail of a story. It took up a great deal of his time but he always had time for his little boy. I came home from school that Valentine's day and there was no Dad. There was a corpse who had his face but that was all. I do not know who killed him or why. All I know is that the most important person in the world to me was shot into oblivion and his death barely registered. He was never given justice and nor was I. Why was this done, I do not know."
Greene was now choking up with emotion as he remembered his dead father, "They put me in a home. I was angry. I wanted to know who killed my father and the woman at the home told me not to worry because the great Detective Armando Taddio was investigating my Daddy's case. This super detective, whom she had read about in the paper, would find out who did this to my Daddy. I waited Ass Wipe, for you to call. You did not ring and you did not care. I loved him and he was not important enough for you to even ring. I was not important enough to you. I just want to know why? Then maybe I will kill you or maybe I won't, either which way my survival is not that important to me so think quickly Taddio."
Armando frowned, "I was never given a case about a reporter who died on Valentine 's Day. I am many things Mr Greene but I am not a person who would ever leave a child without a sense of resolution, for that would breed hate and obsession. I see you are a case in point of that. If I live past this moment, I will find out why I never saw this case, I promise you that. In future, if you want to get to me, come and see me. You do not ever bother the Constable again. Mr Greene, you are a coward and a cad. I do want you to remember one thing. There is a fine blue line between you and every immoral and dangerous criminal out there in our fair Grover City. A day may come when you need that fine blue line to save your ass. Do not irritate us further or we may be busy when you need us most of all, I trust you understand my meaning."
Geoff Greene stared hard into Armando's eyes as if he was trying to measure the weight of the fat man's soul. "Today Taddio you live, but I want you to start work straight away. I want to know the truth. I will never approach Blackwell again. I am assuming of course that you are as good of a detective as you say."
Taddio lowered his weapon and walked backward outside the cold, white clinical apartment. He rushed as quickly as he could to the station. Every murder case in Grover was always run past him. Even though there were other homicide detectives, Taddio had a reputation for precision and a knack of seeing holes in cases. It was almost Grover standard practice to never consider a case closed or unsolved until he called it. If Grahame Greene died from a gunshot wound fifteen years ago Armando normally would have seen it. There was only one explanation and that was a police officer hid it from him. The real question there is why?
Blackwell, was feeling better thanks to the warm caring personality of Samantha Taddio. Constance was a bit stiff and sore but with some make-up she only looked slightly out of sorts. She had been at the station trying to look busy. Mostly however, she just stood there staring at her phone wondering why Taddio had not called. She knew where he was going and why when he left the hospital and she had not seen him since. It did not take long for her to become concerned for her mentor's safety. She should not have let him go, she just wasn't ready to face her enemy again. She was not afraid of Geoff Greene. She was terrified of fear itself. She could not again face her own frailty.
She realised that letting Armando go and clean up her mess was weak. Taddio told her not to go. He told her that she to accept she was part of a team and she would have to have faith in that. He also said that is sometimes harder to do that than do everything yourself. She realised that she actually felt more fear than if she had gone herself She now understood what Taddio meant when he said it would take strength for her to stay behind.
Detective Armando Taddio walked into the room as the sun peaked out from the clouds and the day took on an optimistic air.
Taddio smiled at the concerned face of his young colleague. She felt a wave of relief sweep over her. He then said, " Geoff Greene will not be bothering you anymore but we do have a new case, or rather an old case." Her mentor then briefed her on everything that happened. Constance felt a little diminished that Geoff had assaulted her to get to Taddio. On the other hand, she felt proud about how significant she was to the Detective. He cared for her, she was a part of his family and that made her special.
She then assured, "Leave me to it, I will find the case files." Taddio watched her leave and made himself a cup of coffee while he waited for her to come back. His hand was shaking as it held the cup. He really thought that young fellow would kill him and that there would be nobody to look after his wife and Constable Constance Blackwell.
The Dirty Truth
Taddio grabbed at the files as soon as Constance brought them up. He quickly leafed through the pages, it was true he had never seen or heard of this case before. Then he looked at the signature on the bottom of the file and the name there was one he knew all too well. It was the signature of his old friend, the Chief.
"The Chief hid files from you, but why?" Constance was puzzled. She flicked through the tiny file on the death of Grahame Greene. "Oh, it says here that the case was passed on to the Feds. It doesn't say why though. I guess we should ask the Chief."
They walked over to the Chief's office. He was in the middle of some paper work. Constable Blackwell interrupted him, "Chief we have been asked by the family to investigate a cold case. It involves a journalist by the name of Grahame Greene who was shot at point blank range. It happened fifteen years ago on Valentine's day. You signed off on the transfer of the case but you did not show it to Taddio, which struck us as odd."
The Chief looked up at Blackwell with red rimmed tired eyes," I was not aware that I had to show Taddio everything. Look, the victim was a slime reporter who had interfered with many cases. The Feds wanted his file because he was putting together a story on our Senator Kenly when he disappeared. I signed off on it and got the hell out of their way. Something Taddio would not have done. I did not tell him because he would have put his massive nose in the middle of it. Now if you two don't mind I never want to hear about this case again. If I find out that either of you are still investigating what is a federal case, you Taddio will be retiring and Blackwell will be back on traffic duty. Am I understood?"
Taddio just stroked his moustache and tugged at Blackwell's coat to leave. Once they were on the other side of the Chief's door Constance whispered to Taddio, "Do we leave it or not?"
"We do not leave it, the Chief is hiding something, I won't be able to rest till I figure out what. I have some friends in the Feds. Let me call Williams, he owes me."
Later that day, in a diner near the docks, the two officers waited for Williams. Blackwell was looking through the grimy windows when she spotted the arrival of medium sized man with flat top haircut and a cheap suit, "I think that is Williams." Taddio turned to look out of the window and nodded. Williams walked in, ordered an egg sandwich and sat down in their booth.
"Detective, it is good to see you but I am afraid this is not going to take long. We never requested that case. Yes, Grahame Greene was doing a story on the Senator but there was nothing that aroused our suspicion or any reason for us to get the file. I am now interested but there is still not enough for us to investigate. I gather that you are on your way to talk to the Senator about Greene. Do you mind if I tag along?"
Taddio took a sip of coffee, "Actually Williams it would be good if you could. Before I go to the Senator I need to talk to the victim's son. I need to find out what Grahame had on the Senator." Constance knew they were talking about seeing Geoff.
She looked Armando in the eye, "This time I am going too." He nodded and they left for the apartment of Geoff Greene.
Soon afterward the three of them stood inside Geoff's gleaming apartment. Blackwell was nervous but she was hiding it beneath a thin mask of hostility. Geoff leered at her, "Hello my Lovely, could you not stay away?"
Constance felt the hand of fear reach up and grab her by the throat, she shook it off, "Greene, you even look at me and it will be the sorriest moment of you scummy life."
He did not seem bothered by her threat, "You are all scary now Constance but, you were not so terrified when you were cringing in the corner, crying, were you?"
Williams was baffled by the exchange, "Is there something I should know?"
Constance looked on the ground, "I BREIFLY dated this pig and he attacked me. He did it just to get Taddio's attention because he is not smart enough to use a god damn phone! Luckily for him I was not on duty or he would be cooling his heels in the lock-up." Williams looked at the non- descript pale Geoff and the feisty Blackwell.
"Well Constance, I am surprised you ever agreed to date him. He looks like a constipated librarian all pressed and bleached. Let me know if you ever want to date a real man one who would never hit a woman."
Taddio interrupted the exchange, "Geoff I am investigating the murder of your father. Not because of your threats but because a man died. At the time of his death, Grahame Greene was investigating a rather big story. Do you have his papers?"
Geoff shook his head, "No I have nothing of my father except his favourite suede coat, but I do know he worked for 'The Tribune.' I suggest you ask them. "
They left the apartment as quickly as they could. It was an impeccably clean place but it made them feel dirty and tarnished to be there.
They made their way to "The Tribune.' After asking around they were brought to a reporter who was a friend of Greene's by the name of Herbert Trumpkin. Taddio asked Trumpkin about Greene and the story he was working on. Trumpkin told them that Grahame Greene had been working on a case with the Senator. Grahame suspected that Senator Kenly had links to the mob.
Tumpkin showed the officers the file on Kenly and it had photos that showed him in the company of Jackson Main. Jackson was a petty criminal who at the time was involved with prostitution and money laundering for the mob. There was also a photo of Kenly with a tall young blond woman. Trumpkin told them that the woman's name was Daisy Dane who was a known prostitute. She went missing at around this time.
The Detective, Williams and Blackwell left 'The Tribune' and made their way to Finnegan's. Finnegan's was an Irish pub that sat in the Eastside precinct. Taddio walked in and was greeted by Mary the barmaid, "Hello Taddio and Blackwell. We have been all clean and honest around here. No more boxing matches." Mary was referring to a former case in which Finnegan's was the site of illegal bare fist boxing matches.
Blackwell smiled," Glad to hear it, listen, have you seen Jackson Main aka 'The Man' around here lately? We need to talk to him."
Mary smiled and called out with a loud voice, "Main, your favourite coppers are here to chat with you." Main stood up. He had been hiding behind the bar the whole time. His history with Grover's dynamic duo left a great deal to be desired and he did not want to tangle with them again.
Tom, the owner of the bar walked out of the backroom, spying Main behind the bar he turned to Mary, "I told you to clean the bar, not let dirty buggers like Main behind it!" Mary shrugged indifferently.
Taddio lent across the bar, "Main, you owe me and you know it. Remember, I cleared your name in that boxing match murder. I need some information and you are just the weasel who can give it to me." Taddio caught Main up on the situation and showed him photocopies of the photos from the Tribune.
Main shrugged his shoulders, frankly, he was relieved that the questions Taddio were asking had nothing to do with his mob friends, "Yes, I do remember this,Senator Kenly. He was one of my patrons when I used to run hookers. He only ever wanted her, Daisy Dane. He spent a fortune on her and one day he came to see me and told me that he wanted Daisy to be his courtesan. He was willing to buy her off of me. I took the money but later she went missing. Two cops turned up, they was angry as hell. They pushed me around and I told them about the Senator. One of the cops was Gene Power nown to you as the Chief. It turns out that he had known Daisy when he was at school and he was angry about her choice to be a hooker. He blamed me. Wasn't my fault, I did not tell her take drugs. I did not tell her to be a prostitute. I kept her safe, well, at least until she went missing."
The three officers walked outside and hopped into the '67' Volvo. Blackwell grimaced, "So we run into the Chief again. He never mentioned Daisy Dane. Well, I think we should go to the Senator before we talk to the Chief."
Williams put his sunglasses on, "Just be careful when you talk to Senator Kenly remember that he is a powerful man. If he did anything wrong we should go after him. However it is critical that you do not make any false accusations about a Senator. In a manner of speaking he is our boss or at least he can make our bosses life uncomfortable, there could be remifications that we would rather not incur."
Taddio nodded gravely, "True as that may be Williams, I would rather offend the Senator then upset the Cheif. I want to be really sure before I talk to him again."
The Senator let the officers wait for twenty minutes before they were allowed in his office. When they finally entered the room a stately looking grey haired man came over and shook their hands. He introduced himself as Senator Kenly. They had to shake his left hand because the Senator had lost his right hand during the war. He was a known war hero and won a great deal of support in the electorate due to his heroic status. Taddio took the lead on the questioning, "We are investigating the death of Grahame Greene. He was a reporter who was doing a story on you fifteen years ago. He had some compromising information about you and a girl you were seeing, a Miss Daisy Dane. She also went missing at the same time."
The Senator sat back in his leather chair and swung backward and forwards. "Greene, Greene, oh yes I do remember him. He was a young firebrand want to be hotshot reporter during the Eighties. I knew about the story and it would have damaged me politically. At the end of the day though, I was simply a widower who sought a woman's company. There would have been a scandal but it would have died down. I do remember some officers came to see me about the case though. I told them exactly what I am telling you. I did mention to the officers that I had found out that this reporter had been seeing Daisy on the side. Apparently it started with Greene looking for information and their relationship grew. I was upset about her infidelity after everything I had done for her and I told her to leave. I never saw her again. Now if you all don't mind I have important work to do and I must ask you to leave.
Williams turned to them after they were ushered out of the office and said "Well since you two managed to investigate the Senator without causing a major national incident I must bid you both farewell." He then took Constances hand and lifted it briefly to his lips then looked up with a cheeky smile,"As for you Ms Blackwell, meeting you has been the sunshine of my day." He then pranced off leaving Constance blushing and trying not to avoid looking at the amused face of Taddio. She then suggested rather gruffly that they should leave.
Armando and Constance went down to their car and hopped in to the Volvo. Taddio sighed, " I guess we should do a door knock in Greene's neighbourhood and see if anyone knows anything about what happened that day. I know I should talk again to Gene, but, I want to flesh out the case before I make any accusations."
Both officers canvased the neighbourhood. Mostly doors were slammed in their face. Those residents who would talk to them had nothing to say. This was because they had either not lived in the area for very long or had not know the victim.
Taddio and Blackwell were just about to give up when they came across Polly Mcgrew. She was an older lady who recalled that particular day, "I was hanging out my washing when I noticed two officers pull up to the Greene house. They walked inside and in no time at all there was a shot. I guess Greene must have pulled a gun on them, or something, and they killed him." Constance showed Polly a picture of the Chief and she confirmed that he was one of the officers.
Taddio put his head between his hands, "It has come to this Blackwell, we have to go and arrest our boss. I hope we are right." They headed back to the station without saying a word.
When they got back to Grover Central Police Station Taddio said to Constance, "Wait here." He then marched with determination to his boss's office.
Taddio Faces the Chief
The Chief looked up at the noisy intrusion of his oldest and most trusted friend. "Taddio, you right?"
Armando shook his head, "Gene, I have been investigating the case and all signs point to you as the killer of Greene. I don't want to believe it. Please give me a reason not to arrest you. Convince me, I beg you."
"I can explain Taddio. Fifteen years ago, Draper was the Chief. I was a humble homicide detective, like yourself. I mean you and I were friends but the detective I knew the best was Smith, your ex partner. He was your partner but he was my best mate. We were both supporters of Brother Football Club, we went to the same high school and we hung out together on the weekend. I mean we both liked you too but you were always at the library or going on driving trips with you wife. You never were one of the boys. Any way one day Smith came to see me and he is really worried about his step-sister. "
Taddio did remember that Smith's step-sister did go missing, Armando had offered to investigate and find her for him but Smith refused. He said he would find her himself. A few days later he said he had found Daisy and that she had shacked up with a sporting goods salesman up in Griffin. He never mentioned her again and Taddio had not thought to ask. He plonked down on a chair across from the Chief.
The Chief continued, "I told him I would help him. I grew up with Daisy, she was a sweet kid. When she became a teen she went through this wild phase. She started dating Jackson Main who got her hooked on heroin. It was not long before she was working as a prostitute for him. Smith had tried to get her out of it but she wouldn't listen. She went missing around Christmas. We both started asking questions and it appears that she became pregnant with, what we assumed at time, Jackson's child. We went over and visited Jackson. The scum told us that he had broken up with Daisy and that she had hooked up with a senator. He told us that he had the mumps and it caused him to be infertile. We had it confirmed that he could not have fathered Daisy's baby. We went to see Senator Kenly who told us that Daisy left him to be with Greene. "
Taddio said, "I knew Smith for years, I cannot believe that he was going through all of this and did not come to me for help." Armando rubbed his hand across his forehead, the ghost of Smith was haunting him. It was a ghost that wailed in a howl that was drenced with a sense of disappointment at the amount of times Taddio had failed Smith.
Gene put his hand on Taddio's shoulder, "You did not know Daisy as she was, a funny, smart and sweet girl. Smith loved her and so did I, you would have just seen a heroin soaked whore. Smith did not want you to know her that way. He did not want you to see him as a failure because he could not help his own sister. Anyway, we went to see Greene. We searched him and found a pawn ticket. He said that he never had a relationship with Daisy. He said she was just a part of his story. Smith and I went to the Big Vic's Pawn Shop and showed him the ticket. The item pawned was a gold bracelet which Smith had given to Daisy. She never took the bracelet off. We asked Big Vic who had pawned the bracelet and he showed us the contract that was signed by Greene. Smith was sure Grahame Greene had done something to Daisy. We then got the call about a girl who was found in the East River. We went to the Coroners and sure enough the body was Daisy Dane. The Coroner confirmed she was pregnant. Smith was in a rage. We went to get Grahame Greene to arrest him but Smith instead took out his gun and shot the young reporter in between his eyes."
The Chief opened up his filing case and took out his thermos and poured some whiskey for them both, "I was angry and upset at Smith and I was prepared to arrest him, it seemed to me though that he had gone through enough with the death of his sister. The court would have founded him to be temporarily insane. He would not have done much hardtime but his career would be over. I would have lost a friend and a good officer. I made the whole thing disappear. Untill Blackwell asked me about it I have never mentioned that day to anyone ever since it happened." The two men drank the warming liquid down and wrestled with their own thoughts and conscience.
Taddio said quietly, " You were right to hide it from me, I would have arrested him."
Gene took a large swallow of whiskey before saying, "You always were a better cop than me Armando, but, you do not have my fucking charm or winning way with wankers. On the down low, I have never before or since, a crook cop. I never took bribes. I always ran things by the book. I am not proud of what I did, covering for Smith or hiding shit from you. But sometimes law and justice is not the same thing. I grew up with Daisy Dane.She was no angel but she did not deserve to be murdered so young either. When I was faced with her killer, I wanted to kill him. The truth is, I was glad Smith did it."
Armando finished up his drink then said, "Chief, I do understand but I need you to know that I am going to reinvestigate this case. I will not have a blemish on this department's records. Besides I gave a certain man my word and although I would rather drink warm spit that talk to him again, I must. I want to ask a favour of you Chief, I want you to come and see that man with me. I don't want Constance anywhere near him. She has already gone back today. It would be cruel to do that to her again."
The Chief nodded and the two most experienced coppers in Grover took off to go see a man about his dead father. Constance had the joy of being left behind for the second time that week.
Gene and Armando sat down on the Greene's leather chairs and told him everything about the case. When they told him about his father having murdered Daisy Dane he stood up, "My father never had anything to do with Daisy in that way. The truth is that he and my mother broke up because my father was a raging homosexual. She begged him for a child so he managed to conceive me but they never had a real sex life. He married my mother to make his family happy. He was never attracted to women. I wouldn't go so far as to say he was happy when she passed from cancer but he was glad to stop living a lie. I don't know who killed that girl but it was not Grahame Greene."
Taddio and the Chief looked at each other, "Mr Greene, could we have a photograph of your father?" The young man went to get it for them.
While he was shuffling through his desk Gene whispered into Taddio's ear "Did that bloke really attack Blackwell?" Taddio nodded. Geoff came back with the photo and gave it to the Detective.
The Chief turned to Greene, "One last thing-" he then lifted his fist and smashed it into Greene's face three times in quick succession. The young man's skin split, blood poured onto his pure white carpet.
The Chief bent down really close to Greene and grabbed the back of his head by the hair lifting his face out of the pool of blood it had been lying in, "You never want to see me again. If I ever fucking so much as hear of you, you will rot in a prison. Your new roomie will be a man called Big Momma who will turn you into his fucking ass monkey. I fucking hate women beaters you pointless, dickless maggot." The Chief untangled himself from the bloodied man. Before he left he gave Greene one last kick in the ribs- replicating what Geoff had previously done to young Constance Blackwell.
"You know Chief I have always admired your skill with vocabulary." Taddio patted the Chief on the back and left Geoff on the floor trying to breathe through a busted nose and swollen lips.
The Chief replied as he wiped Geoff's blood off his hands, "Well Taddio, you are not the only one who knows how to turn a phrase. Can I assume you did not see anything?"
Taddio looked at the bloodied man on the carpet, "I saw you stamp on a lousy dog beyond that, I saw nothing at all. Let's take this photo of Grahame Greene to Big Vic." Armando was getting a real education on how a good cop can turn crooked, the odd thing was it felt good.
Soon they were back at the pawn shop. They showed the owner, Big Vic, the photograph. He confirmed that this man did not sign for the bracelet. He remembered that the man who put the bracelet into be pawned had signed with his left hand because he was missing his right one.
Taddio tooke out a photo of Senator Kenly and Big Vic confirmed that this was the face of the one handed man.
Gene looked at Taddio, "So it was Kenly who is the killer?"
Armando lit a cigar and said to Gene, "Iit was Smith who was the weapon of destruction but it was Senator Kenly who aimed and fired that weapon. We can nail Kenly on the murder of Daisy Dane. I am sorry that Smith did not live long enough to see his dead sister's justice served."
Taddio took out his phone, "Williams, I have solved the case. Daisy was the step-sister of an officer named Smith. She went off the rails and became a prostitute. The Senator used her services and became keen on her so he paid for her to be his courtesan. She became pregnant and he in a panic killed her and put her body in the East River. Grahame Green was investigating the Senator and he was getting close to working out that what the Senator did. When Smith and Gene went to see him he figures out how to solve all his problems. He pawned Daisy's gold bracelet and planted the pawn ticket in Greene's favourite suede jacket."
Gene laughed loudly interupting the phone call, apparently he and Big Vic were swapping off colour jokes. Taddio continued on the phone, " Kenly then told Smith a story about Grahame Greene and Daisy having an affair which ended up in a pregnancy. He then called in an anonymous tip and made sure that Daisy's body was found ensuring that Smith would be particularly homicidal. Smith searched Greene and found the pawn ticket. He believed that a Mr Greene had pawned the bracelet. After identifying the body, Smith went into a rage and killed Greene. The Chief then hid the filed burying it in the archives. Now I am on my way to arrest a Senator, do you want to come?"
Taddio turned to Gene, "The Feds will meet us there. Let us go and get this Senator for Smith."
Later that week
Blackwell put the lid on The Grahame Greene file. She took out a black marker and wrote 'Case Closed' on the outside and took it down to bury it in the archives.
Meanwhile, Taddio was in the Alley where Smith had been killed. Detective Smith died in the line of duty while in pursuit of a young hood. Armando went through the case in his mind. He then bent down and touched the spot where Smith had died and he offered up a prayer for his dead friend.
Armando felt he had failed Smith. He had failed to ascertain the level of despair Smith suffered when his sister disappeared. It upset him greatly that Smith turned to the Chief instead of him. Taddio could not help but feel that had he been there he may have solved this mystery in time to have stopped Smith from turning into the murderer of an innocent man.
If that wasn't bad enough, the second time he failed Smith it had killed the man. Armando's eyes prickled with unshed tears, he touched the bitumen and said, "Smith I miss you old friend, I am so very, very sorry. So sorry that I was never there when you needed me."
In his mind he made a promise that he would never let Blackwell down even if it killed him.
Never.
By A.Sims
The next case is the concluding case for Taddio and Blackwell and it has never been stranger or more bizarre check out The Hellfire Club Case.
THE HELLFIRE CLUB CASE