Cross-Over Murders by Frank F. Atanacio Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Detective Peter O’Brien and Captain Frank Roque met Nick Barnum at Frankie’s diner on North Barnum Avenue. They wanted to go over the case file to keep everyone up to speed.
Nick and O’Brien were headed out of a short hallway coming from the bathroom, and they noticed the waiter dropping off three plates of food. It was a nice surprise as they watched the captain take the first bite.
“Everything go okay?” asked the captain smiling.
“My zipper got stuck,” Nick started. “If it weren’t for Pete over here, I would have pissed all over myself.”
O’Brien grunted.
The captain laughed.
“So I see you started without us,” Nick jumped right in.
“Food waits for no man,” smiled the captain. “And if you guys would have taken longer, I would have eaten your plates as well.”
O’Brien grimaced.
Nick smiled.
“So you didn’t get picked up this morning, right?” The captain asked as he took two small sips of his diet soda.
I nodded.
“Maybe you don’t look foreign enough,” O’Brien added.
“It doesn’t matter, when you’re standing outside of Madison and North, right across the North Avenue jail, someone would pick you up if the labor is going to be cheap,” Nick said. “I gotta be honest with you guys, I just got up too late and missed all the real opportunities. The only thing that was offered to me was just a cleaning job for six bucks an hour. I think.”
O’Brien laughed.
“Well Nick,” said the captain. “You gotta do better than that. We need to keep this just to three murders. And I’m telling you. Three is three too much.”
Nick nodded.
“So what are you going to do Nick?” O’Brien asked.
“What do you mean?”
“If a contractor picks you up,” he started. “Are you going to work the whole day?”
Nick nodded.
“And you’re going to take the money?”
Nick nodded again.
“So why don’t you just get out of the private eye business and do this,” he stated. “I’m sure it pays more money. Six bucks an hour sounds like more than what you’ve been making.”
Nick laughed.
“Don’t be rude,” said the captain as he eyed Nick’s sandwich.
“Let him get his cheap shots in,” Nick said as he moved his plate away from the captain. “It might be the only action he ever gets.”
“Are you serious with that?” O’Brien asked with unfeigned amusement. “The clown has jokes captain.”
“Again, Pete,” Nick continued. “I have something, you, well you simply have nothing.”
His tone of voice annoyed O’Brien, but he didn’t let it bother him as much as he wanted it to. Nick was a prankster, and he had the knack of rubbing the people the wrong way. The captain was use to it, but O’Brien was not. He found it offensive, and childish.
“Cut it out, you guys,” the captain ordered. “We have a job to get to and I don’t want you two girls to screw it up. We have three dead Cross-Overs and that’s where it has to stop.”
Nick nodded.
O’Brien was silent.
“Pete?”
“Of course captain.”
The captain smiled.
“We know that the murderer is either helping a painter, or owns his own painting company,” said the captain. “I have Perez, and Camacho checking on the painting companies in the area. I have Mack, and Weathers checking on contractors that hire sub-contractors, painters really to do their work. I have Jones and Martin checking builders, and property management companies. I’m not leaving any stone unturned. I don’t want this to get out of control.”
“And of course I’ll be with the little people,” Nick said.
“Make sure you check in on time,” said the captain.
“I know,” Nick said. “Janet gave me an ear full.”
The captain smiled.
“I’ll be the early bird,” Nick started. “And I’ll get the worm.”
“But Nick,” O’Brien started. “You’re gonna have to do more than just trying to get picked up. Questions, you’re gonna have to ask a lot of questions. And if they think you’re the police we’ll clear that part up for you.”
“How?” Nick asked. “How are you going to clear that part up? You know theses guys aren’t stupid. They’ll pick it up.”
“What do you think I was planning on doing?” O’Brien asked.
“Drive by and scare us away, right?”
“You got the drive by right,” said O’Brien.
“Then what are your plans?”
“I’ll drive by and harass you a bit,” he started explaining. “You know, call you names, push you around, slap you in back of the head a few times. Kick you in the ass and of course, making you look stupid.”
Nick smiled.
O’Brien smiled.
“No, that won’t work,” said the captain.
“That’s a good plan,” O’Brien shot back.
“The plan is good,” the captain agreed. “I just want it to be a regular black and white. What I’ll do is send either Fuentes or Cruz by.”
O’Brien frowned.
Nick sheepishly grinned.
“But get there on time,” said the captain. “This has to work and we need you out there as our feelers.”
Nick nodded.
“Remember,” said the captain. “Key thing is to get there early. Don’t play around with this. We need to stop a crazy killer.”
“Of course,” Nick added.
“Are you guys finished?” asked the waiter as he stood over the table with the check in his left hand.
“No,” replied the captain. “I think I’m going to have another open steak sandwich. I kind of enjoyed it. In fact, It was the best sandwich I had in months.”
“Wife stop cooking?” O’Brien asked.
“No, not really,” he replied. “But she’s cutting back on red meat. I guess she wants us to live a little longer.”
O’Brien nodded.
“Yeah,” said the captain as his attention returned to the waiter. “I’ll have another open steak sandwich, and a diet orange soda.”
The waiter looked visibly annoyed, but went off toward the kitchen to place the order.
“It was good,” said O’Brien as he looked down at his empty plate. “Maybe I should order another one too.”
Nick smiled.
“What?”
“If it’s not doughnuts, it’s fatty foods,” Nick replied.
“Hey, I’m a growing boy,” the captain joked.
“Me too,” added O’Brien.
“Growing fat,” Nick added.
The captained laughed.
O’Brien fumed.
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