Kensington-Gerard Detective Series

Chapter 3: THE CHASE - PART 3

Each EMT performed his work methodically. The older of the two paramedics was on the phone talking to the hospital, giving the victim's stats. "A female in her mid to late thirties," the young man reported. He didn't look old enough to drive, let alone be an EMT.

"Wait, I'm confused," Jessie frowned, wondering why they hadn't received a second call from dispatch confirming another casualty. "I thought we had a dead male."

"You do," he nodded in the direction of the crime scene. "He's back by Bow Bridge waiting for the coroner to arrive."

"And is that where you found her?"

"We found her in the area of the Ramble, passed out on the edge of the rock slab. One false move and she might have rolled down those cascading rocks right into the lake and drowned." He wrote something down on the clipboard he held in his hand. "She has some bruising under her eyes, probably from the impact of the airbag, some abrasions about the face, a large gash on her back thigh, and she's drowsy. Maybe a concussion, or maybe she's on something." He shrugged. "We've already asked the hospital to do a Tox screen to be sure."

Jessie entered the vehicle to take a closer look at the woman. She was pretty. Her long dark hair was slightly matted. Checking the woman's hands, she noticed a large diamond ring and matching wedding band on her left hand, and perfectly manicured fingernails like she'd just had them done. Dried blood was caked under her nose and on the side of her face.

"Unless she has internal bleeding, Detective, I'd say she's not critically injured," the paramedic added, "but we'll let the hospital decide on that."

Jessie watched the other paramedic insert an IV into the woman's vein. The woman jerked from the prick of the needle and opened her eyes. Her dark brown eyes were filled with panic as she glanced from one person to the next.

"You're going to be okay, ma'am," Jessie said softly. "I'm Detective Kensington from the two-one precinct." She gently brushed away a strand of hair stuck to the woman's cheek. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"A man, a man," she mumbled through swollen lips.

"What, man?"

"A man," she said, and slowly faded into an unconscious state. The yellow paisley print dress she wore was torn in several places and stained with blood. Jessie exited the vehicle and stood on the sidelines, watching the senior paramedic close the doors.

He nodded as he slid behind the steering wheel, flipped the switch for the siren, and sped out of the area toward Lenox Hill Medical Hospital.

"Who was that?" Zach asked, walking up beside her after checking the path for evidence.

"It seems we have two victims," she said as they walked side-by-side on their way to the crime scene. "The paramedic said we have one dead male by Bow Bridge," she pointed in the direction of the crime scene, "and this young woman," she said, "who is very much alive and on her way to the hospital."

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yes, very briefly. The woman was unconscious until the paramedic pricked her with a needle, then she blinked her eyes open."

"Is she going to be alright?" he asked.

"From what the paramedic said he thought she would be, but he's not a doctor."

"Did she tell you what happened?"

"I asked her. She said something about a man, but not enough to give me an idea. I suspect a man was involved."

"Yeah. Maybe it's the dead man at the crime scene," Zach pointed out.

"What? You think he turned the gun on himself after he did a number on her?"

"His wounds will tell the story."

"Okay, partner, we'll see." She gave him a side-glance, "You've been known to be wrong before." She grinned.

"Gee, thanks. I can always count on you to remind me of my flaws."

"By the way, they found her near the Ramble and several feet away from the auto. Sounds like she was trying to get away."

Zach hurried along the path with Jessie quickening her pace to keep up. Sergeant Jackson greeted them with a wave when they reached the scene. In the distance, the muffled sound of a helicopter's rotor echoed against the trees as it neared the crime scene. The pair walked toward the body on the ground. Sgt. Jackson stood by the sidelines with the witnesses; his flashlight aimed and illuminating the body on the ground. The detectives did the same and noted the victim's bent legs was a sign he tried to get away from his assailant. The victim was face down on the grassy knoll. His skull ripped apart by a bullet to the back of his head. A mass of flies buzzed at the site of the wound. "I guess we can rule out suicide," Zach said.

Jessie's stomach coiled. She tasted bile in the back of her throat and inhaled deeply to avoid losing the coffee she'd had earlier. She turned her eyes away, unable to continue to listen to the flies gnaw away on the victim. "What a disgusting sight." She shuddered. "I don't think I'll ever get used to it."

Zach acknowledged with a nod then turned his attention toward the sergeant. "Whatcha got for us, Jackson?"

"As you can see, we have a few witnesses, although they claim they only saw shadows before they fell over the top of the body." He flashed his light in their direction. "And we have a vehicle hung up on the cast iron rail of Bow Bridge."

Jessie remembered that bridge all too well.

When the helicopter arrived and hovered over the crime scene, the sound of the rotor blades magnified in the silence. Seconds later, the pilot flipped on the light switch and it was as though Mother Nature had taken control and forced daylight.

Zach squatted down next to the body and examined the wound more closely. All but one fly took off with a vengeance, giving him a chance to secure it in an evidence bag.

"Good catch, Detective," the investigator said while continuing to click his camera in rapid succession as he photographed every angle of the body.

"Has the ME been called?" Zach asked Jackson.

"Yes. Clara had another murder across town, but she's on her way." He no sooner finished his sentence, when the medical examiner arrived carrying her large kit. Clara was a strict, no-nonsense military-trained examiner. She knelt next to the body and went to work. "I'll take it from here, Detectives," she said.

Zach backed off but stayed close by and waited for Clara to say something.

"I don't think he's been here very long. Look at his skin. It's purple and waxy looking." She checked the victim's fingernails. "His nails are almost white." She looked up at the investigator. "Did you get all the pictures you need for the initial scene?"

"I did. Thanks."

Clara flipped the body over. Jessie was the first to recognize him. "Oh man," she said with disgust. "That's Lenny Scerbo," she mumbled under her breath. Hearing Jessie, Clara asked.

"You know this guy?"

"Yep," Jessie nodded. "I do."

"Well, it's looking like he royally pissed somebody off. This wound isn't the work of someone mildly annoyed."

"What's your best guesstimate for time of death?" Zach asked.

"Stop back and see me later. Without doing a thorough investigation though, I'd say a few hours, tops. But don't hold me to that."

"Let's question the witnesses," Zach said and headed over toward them.

Jackson had already marked the perimeter with yellow tape and acted as gatekeeper, allowing no one to enter or leave unless authorized by the detectives.

The thought of losing another confidential informant made Jessie's mouth curl in disappointment. "Dammit," she said in a low voice, "another CI. What's going on here?"

"Hey," Zach answered, "that's all part of the deal, Jess." He shrugged. "What are you going to do? There's always Tony Ricci."

"Yeah, but we asked Lenny to take the job at the chop shop because he was the more reliable of the two."

Zach shrugged. "It works if Tony gives us a lead to a mole in the department and the real name of this Sonny guy who owns the chop shop." He looked back at Lenny's lifeless body. "You want to call it, Jessie."

"I'm calling it a jealous husband, or his assailant knew he was working with us."

"Could be," he shrugged. "But judging from what you told me about the woman, do you think they were involved with one another? Of course, he was a widower."

"We've seen stranger things, but I can't imagine Lenny and this woman...at least, I don't think so. What little I saw of her toned body told me she took good care of herself. I'd say she was a runner with freshly manicured nails, and judging from the size of the rock on her finger, I'd say she has money...lots of it. Involvement with one another?" she shook her head. "Good lord, he's in his fifties. What the hell would a pretty little thing like her be doing with an overweight, filthy man like him?"

"Maybe he's her father," Zach countered.

Jessie's mouth formed into a sour twist. "If they were romantically involved . . . Ewwww." A fleeting image of the scenario rushed through her mind and caused her to shudder. "Nope. I'm not buying it. Maybe he was a friend, or maybe we have two entirely different cases here."

They crossed over the path on their way to see Jackson and the witnesses. Zach glanced over to the sidelines at a couple wrapped in a blanket. "Are these our witnesses?"

Jackson nodded in the affirmative. "That would be them."

"Are they cold?" Jessie inquired. "Is that why they're huddled inside a blanket?" she pointed.

"Ah, no. They're naked." Jackson chuckled.

"Oh crap, another image I need to erase from my mind," Jessie grumbled. "I guess I blocked that bit of information out on the way over here." She sighed. "Just freakin' disgusting."

"Now, don't be a prude," Zach said with a grin. "Did they ruin anything by falling on the body?"

Jackson raised his palms in the air. "I have no clue." He smirked.

Zach watched his partner's reaction and grinned.

"Take your pick, Zach, which one do you want to question?" she said.

He headed toward the woman, and she wasn't surprised.