Chapter Three: Interrogation

Trying to get some answers...

“Hey, Jack! Your mom’s on line two!” a shout was heard across the precinct.

“Thanks, Baxter,” Jack called back cheerfully. Henry Baxter nodded as Jack picked up the phone. “You got Kowalski.”

Rosalina Kowalski spoke hurriedly into her line, “Okay, I need you to pick up Madi from school--she gets out at half-past noon--I’m going to Carson’s Valentine’s Day party.”

“Uh...what?” Jack said, not catching anything she said.

    "Just, Jacky, I need you to pick up Madi today. I have to do your nephew's Valentine's Day party," Rosalina said.

    "Oh, yeah, sure. No problemo!" Jack happily replied.

    "Well, your father's home, so you can drop her off there, bud. Okay?" she explained.

     "Uh huh. Sounds good," Jack told her. "I gotta go, ma."

    "Okay, talk to you later, sweetie," Rosalina said and hung up the phone.

    Jack hung up his phone. As Woods walked briskly past, Jack called, "Hey, boss, my mom's got a thing, so I gotta pick up Mads at noon. That alright?"

    "Do what you gotta do," Woods said without looking at him. He was in the zone. "Derek, said you had something?"

    "Yeah, boss," Joey said. "We found the, uh, names of our, well, the owners  of the house."

    "Wendelin Oliver, thirty four years old. House is in her name. She's been living there for the past five years with her fourteen year old daughter, Brianna," Alex said, reading the information.

    "Do you know where they're staying, a number we can reach them at?" Woods asked.

    Sam concluded, "Far as we know, they're staying at The Greenwich Hotel.

    "Alex, Joey, pick 'em up. Sam, you stay and help these three," Woods ordered, indicating the three that still hadn't gotten anywhere with the list of watchers at the crime scene.

    "Gotcha," Sam said.

    Alex and Joey grabbed their jackets and headed out to The Greenwich Hotel, to get some answers.

************

Joey and Alex arrived at their destination, and parked near the front.

    Alex ran up to the front desk. "Hi! How can I help you?" the woman working asked him cheerfully. This was obviously her customer service routine.

    "NYPD," Alex held up his badge for her to see. "We need to know what room Ms. Wendelin Oliver is in, hon."

   "Oh, uh, let me check." He waited while she checked her computer. She quickly said, "Room 213. I have a room key if you want?"

    "Thanks," Alex said taking the key card.

    "No problem," she said as she turned to the person behind him. "Hi! How can I help you?"

   Alex figured that was her subtle way of saying Get the hell outta here, you're driving away business. He walked over to his partner. "213," he told him and they ran towards the elevator.

    When they reached the door, Alex knocked hard twice on the wooden surface. Light footsteps were heard on the other side, then the door opened to show the teenage girl from the earlier crime scene.

    "Hey, sweetie. I'm Detective Chance. This is my partner, Detective Derek. Is your mother in?" Alex asked.

   "Yeah. Come in," she said, stepping to the side. "Mom!"

    "What?" her mother said, stepping into view.

    "Cops are here," the kid told her.

    "Hi. Is there something I can do for you?" she asked.

    "Would it be alright if I asked you some questions?" Joey asked her. She nodded her head.

    Alex turned to the kid. "Would you mind stepping outside with me?"

    She shrugged and followed him out.

    "Brianna, right?" he asked.

    "Uh huh," she nodded.

    "You and your mom, you've lived in that house for five years?" Alex asked.

    Again, Brianna nodded.

    "What about your dad? He in the picture at all?" Alex continued.

    Brianna shook her head.

    Alex nodded his head encouragingly. "You know what happened? Why he's not around?"

    Brianna slowly nodded.

    Alex continued, "What happened to him?"

    She spoke in a smooth voice, "My father's name was George Beck, in no relation to the artist. After I was born, he stayed around till I was 'bout two. Then, after my parents divorced, when I was three, she got the house, so he left and kind of traveled this country and other countries. He pretty much stayed away. I mean, he couldn't be in the same room as my mom without fighting with her, but he'd show up every now and then on my birthday or Christmas. That's actually the only time he could. See, in the custody battle, my mom got near full custody. But they told her that my father was entitled to see me two times a year: my birthday and Christmas. But, once I turned nine, he just stopped coming period. That's when my mom dropped his name. She returned to her maiden name, made me change my name too. That's also when we moved into the house we live in now."

    After a pause to make sure she was finished, Alex asked,"You said you mother got near full custody. How? I mean, did father do something unsuited for a child?"

    "I don't know," she answered. "You'd have to ask my mother."

                   ************

Joey looked around at the scene. It was typical of a hotel room. Two rooms, one to sit and sleep in and the bathroom. Beautiful curtains blocked out the sunlight. Two made beds were on each side of the room. There were no belongings within the room, except an iPhone charging on the bedside table.

     "So, Ms. Oliver, you've been living in that house for five years with your daughter?" Ms. Oliver nodded briefly. "Your husband?"

    "Left. Been raising her myself. Won't even pay child support."

    "I see. So, did you divorce?" Joey asked.

    "Oh, yeah. George wanted to leave soon as he found out I was pregnant and that he was the father," she told him.

    "When was this, the divorce?" Joey continued.

    "Now, it'd be eleven years. Wow. Eleven years! Hadn't thought about it in a while," she explained.

                    ************

"Just a few more questions now, Brianna. Uh, where were you six to midnight May 2nd?" Alex asked.

     "Plane. Me and my mom were coming home. We went on a week long trip to Bermuda. We were coming home two days ago. So, yesterday, we were on our way back."

     "Ah," Alex said. "Just you and your mom, am I correct?"

     She nodded.

     Alex's phone rang. "Excuse me, hon." He took out his phone, and said, "Chance."

                     ************

"Ma'am, the night of May the second. Where were you?" Joey asked.

    "On a plane. Me and my daughter were coming back from our trip to Bermuda," Ms. Oliver told him.

   "Okay, and when did you arrive in New York?" Joey pushed on.

   "Early morning today. Maybe eight?" she estimated.

   "Very good. And did you bring anyone else along?" Joey asked.

    "Just me and Brianna," she told him.

    "Hey, Joey!" Alex called as he opened the door. "Come here, I need to talk to you."

     Joey nodded, then said to Ms. Oliver, "Okay, ma'am, we're gonna step out for a second." Joey headed for the door.

    Alex turned to Brianna and said, "Why don't you go wait inside with your mom." She nodded and went inside.

  ************

"I'm just saying that he looks shady!" Sam exclaimed.

     "You're only saying that based on his name!" Jen told her.

     "But his name is Carl Lowe! That sounds shady!" Jack added.

     Doug shook his head. "Yeah, but he didn't look shady, his name--!"

     "What in the hell are you talking about? And does it have anything to do with the job I gave you?" Woods came out of his office.

    "Uh," Jack took the initiative.  "Well, that's a dilly of a pickle. We were discussing the suspicion a name and/or person can hold," Jack finished strongly as his phone rang. "Kowalski. Oh, hey, Kim. Oh, yeah, sure. Yeah, I'll tell him."

   As Jack placed the phone back on the hook, Woods inquired, "What is it, Kowalski?"

   Jack reported, "Kim has something. She wants us to waddle on down there and she'll tell us what's up."

   Sam smirked. "Did you AdLib?"

   Jack smiled back. "Maybe a little. But, it's basically what she said."

                  ************

"Hey, Kim. What's up?" Jack called as the five of them walked into the lab.

     "Yeah, uh, so I got fingerprint results." She appeared in front of them. "Name's Olivia Nicole Dell. She was a fourteen year old girl. Brown hair, blue eyes, as you know. I, uh, took the liberty of doing some basic research, and I found out that Olivia went to J.F. Kennedy High School. She was a freshman. Played sports, freshmen teams, basketball and soccer. Oh, and she was a cheerleader. Very talented. Birthday was July twenty third. And, um, let's see. According to the school's notes, she was five feet, five inches, and a hundred and fifteen pounds."

    "Sam, she was bigger than you and she hadn't even reached her sweet sixteen!" Jack laughed, with Doug joining shortly after.

     "You realize that you are barely bigger than me, Jack, and that's after puberty!" Sam quipped. Jen chortled at Sam's observation.

     "Oh ho! The gloves come off and the claws come out!" Jack exclaimed giddily. "You, Sam, are--"Jack glanced at his boss as Woods rolled his eyes and glared at Jack, daring him to continue.

     "--a...dynamite gal. Any man would be lucky to have you. Sorry, boss. Got a little distracted," Jack finished.

     "Yeah? No kidding," Woods replied. "Please, Kim, continue."

     "That's kind of it," Kim told him.

     "Right," Woods said, whipping out his cell phone. "Get back to work, guys. I gotta make a phone call."

     His team went to the elevator as he dialed the number.

    "Chance."

    "Hey, Alex, I got some info on our vic."

                  ************

"So, what's up?" Joey asked.

     "Boss called. We got a name for our vic. Olivia Dell, fourteen years old. Sounds like she was pretty popular. Cheerleader type, along with basketball and soccer. Went to J.F. Kennedy High, freshman," Alex told him.

     "You gonna see if she knew our vic?" Joey questioned him.

     Alex nodded his head. "That was the plan. You go see if the mom ever met her?"

     Joey nodded and said, "Sure."

     He turned around, going back inside. He said to Brianna, "We're so sorry, but my buddy, Alex, he just wants to ask you a few more questions, okay?"

     "Sure," Brianna said as she headed back out to the hallway.

     "Hi, Brianna," Alex greeted. "Do you, by any chance, go to J.F. Kennedy High?"

    "How did you know that?" Brianna asked.

    "Wild guess. Do you know Olivia Dell?" Alex asked.

    "Liv? Yeah, sure. Why?" Brianna wondered.

“Hon, she was found dead in your house this morning,” Alex told her, not unkindly.

“What?!” Brianna cried. “She can’t be! I mean, I was--we were supposed to have a sleepover! My mom, she planned an impromptu trip to the Bermuda, so I had to cancel! Maybe I should have stayed, I could’ve done something!”

“Honey, there’s nothing you could’ve done. And, trust me, I’m gonna find out who did this,” Alex told her.

She nodded her head solemnly. “I believe you,” she uttered.

************

“Ms. Oliver? Did your daughter know an Olivia Dell?” Joey asked.

“I’m not sure. She has a bunch of friends coming around. Why? Who is she?” Ms. Oliver asked.

“She was the girl found in your house this morning,” Joey broke the news.

“Found?” she asked.

“Yeah. It’s apparent that she was murdered,” Joey told her.

She shook her head. “Why would someone do that in our house?”

“Uh, did you tell anyone you were going on vacation?” Joey asked.

“Yeah, um, we send out this newsletter every week,” she told him.

“Can I get a copy of it?” he asked.

“Uh, well, it’s on the internet. I’d print it out, but my computer is...well, it’s at the crime scene. But, you know, you can find it on there? It’s really easy,” she told him. “Just look up Oliver’s newsletter, and it should pop right up there.”

“Okay,” Joey said, jotting it down. “Thanks.”

Alex opened the door and Brianna ran into her mother’s arms. “Mom?! Liv is dead!”

“We’re so sorry,” Alex said, kindly. “We are gonna find out who would do this. Joey? Let’s do just that. We gotta get back to the precinct.”

Joey nodded. Then, offered his own condolences before heading out the door after Alex, while a deep grievance took hold of the room.

Author's Note

Sorry, I don't really have a reason for taking forever to upload this. But, you know, here it is. Enjoy,

rdawg15