TRAPPED

“A pool hall,” Alex commented dryly as she, Carolyn and Deakins came to a halt outside the place where Carolyn had directed them.

“Trust me,” Carolyn assured her. “Even if Benny isn’t here, one of his lackeys will be. We only need to nail one of them, and I’m sure I can get him to spill his guts.”

“We do this by the book,” Deakins warned them. “I’m just as worried about Goren and Logan as the two of you, but we’ll achieve nothing by going against protocol.”

“We don’t have time to get a warrant,” Alex argued. “It’s Sunday afternoon, and any judge on duty would probably laugh in our faces over it.”

“We have enough probable cause to go in there with no warrant,” Deakins said, “but we’d better be damned sure that whoever we grab does actually know something.”

“That’s not going to a problem,” Carolyn said. “I profiled Benny Matera a couple of years ago. He has seven guys that he keeps close to him as his confidants, and that hasn’t changed all this time. If Benny is responsible for Mike and Bobby going missing, then you can be sure that each of the mutts that he keeps around him will know what went down.”

Deakins nodded, quietly hoping that he looked more positive than he felt.

“Okay, then. Let’s do this.”

There was barely a dozen men in the pool hall when they walked in. Silence fell as several hostile stares were levelled at them.

“Well?” Deakins asked in a low voice. Carolyn hesitated just a fraction of a moment before answering.

“Rear pool table, on the left. Alvin Barone. He’s Benny’s right-hand man.”

Alex smiled coldly.

“Great. Let’s go introduce ourselves.”

They were almost to Barone when a tall, broad-shouldered man stepped into their path.

“You cops are in the wrong place. You got one chance to turn around and walk outta here.”

“Not until we talk to Mr Barone,” Carolyn said firmly. “Let us through right now, or we’ll come back with our whole squad and I swear we’ll shut this place down.”

Soft laughter resounded.

“You’ve got spunk, Detective. Admirable. Georgie, let them past.”

Georgie stepped aside, and Deakins, Alex and Carolyn found themselves face to face with Alvin Barone.

“Mr Barone, we have some questions for you about where you were on Friday night,” Deakins stated. Barone regarded him amusedly.

“I believe I’m under no obligation to answer that,” Barone said.

“No,” Deakins agreed. “But you might consider answering before forcing us into taking an alternative plan of action.”

Barone’s smile widened fractionally.

“Is that a threat, Captain Deakins?”

Admirably, Deakins didn’t so much as blink with surprise at Barone’s recognition of him.

“No, Mr Barone. It’s a promise. Trust me, you do not want to be arrested by us. Not today.”

By then, Barone was grinning broadly.

“You’ve got guts, Captain. Not many cops would dare to come in here and threaten to arrest me. Especially with only two little ladies to back you up.”

Both Alex and Carolyn bristled visibly, though neither said a word. Barone chuckled softly.

“My apologies, Detectives. That was unnecessarily spiteful. Many of my associates know from experience not to underestimate either of you on size alone. I assure you, I wouldn’t make that mistake, either.” Still smiling, he rose up smoothly out of his seat. “Let’s go outside. It’s more neutral territory, and we can talk without needing to feel in any way threatened.”

Outside, Barone eyed the three cops with seemingly perpetual amusement.

“What is this about? And should I be calling my lawyer?”

“Well, that depends,” Carolyn said coolly. “Where were you on Friday night?”

“I was at St John’s Hospital in Queens, with my mother. She’s terminally ill, and I’m afraid there’s not much time left.”

“And you were there for how long?” Alex asked.

“I arrived there shortly before six on Friday evening, and left around one the next morning.” He shrugged when they regarded him sceptically. “Feel free to speak to anyone at the hospital. They’ll confirm it.”

“You didn’t have any contact with Benny Matera that night?” Alex asked.

“Not that night, no. I did see him the next morning…” Barone trailed off, realisation suddenly lighting up his blue eyes. “Tell me, would your interest in my whereabouts on Friday night have anything to do with two of your colleagues?”

Deakins exchanged a sharp look with the women, and Barone chuckled softly.

“I should have realised as soon as you walked in.”

“Mr Barone,” Carolyn said tightly, “if you have something to tell us, I suggest you do so now.”

“Otherwise,” Alex added, “we’ll be more than happy to take you back to One Police Plaza, and we’ll continue this there.”

Barone held up his hands defensively.

“No need for that. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but I’m happy to talk to you. I caught up with Benny yesterday morning, as I said, and he had a very interesting tale to tell. He was in O’Reilly’s Bar the other night… Friday night, it was. He was there with some of his boys when a couple of cops wandered in. Benny said he recognised both of ’em… That guy, Logan, who punched out that councilman ten years back, and that nutjob, Goren.”

Alex stiffened in anger, and Barone smirked openly at her.

“My apologies,” he said, sounding anything but sorry. “He would be your partner, wouldn’t he?”

“And Logan is my partner,” Carolyn snapped. “Get on with it, Barone.”

“Fine. Benny said they were there for nearly two and a half hours before they… what did he say…? rolled out. Benny decided to follow. He thought he’d take advantage of their blurred state of mind, and give them a minor warning not to go where they weren’t welcome.”

“A warning in the form of a beat-down, you mean,” Alex said, and Barone shrugged.

“Probably. I won’t deny that. Benny has no love for any of you at Major Case… Especially where Detective Goren is concerned. Be thankful he’s not here right now, or you’d probably end up on the receiving end yourselves. I don’t doubt that he probably planned on treating your boys to a… what did you call it… a beat-down. After that they would have found themselves dumped rather unceremoniously back in Manhattan with a firm warning never to go anywhere near O-Reilly’s again.”

Deakins stared hard at Barone, looking angrier by the second.

“Except, neither of them made it back to Manhattan,” he said fiercely. “Where are my detectives, Mr Barone?”

“Yes, well, this is where the story takes an interesting turn. By the time Benny got outside, someone else had started the party without him.”

“What do you mean?” Alex demanded to know.

“What I mean, Detective, is that someone else was already accosting your partners. There were seven or eight men all together, according to Benny, and he didn’t recognise any of them. A fight broke out… apparently the newcomers were eager for your colleagues to accompany them somewhere, and the good detectives weren’t of a mind to comply.”

“What a surprise,” Carolyn muttered.

“According to Benny, Goren and Logan put up quite an impressive fight, but it wasn’t enough. They were both overpowered fairly decisively, apparently. They were wrestled to the ground, both shot in the leg and cracked over the head to knock them out. Then they both were bundled into a waiting car which took off very quickly. And that, Officers, is all I can tell you.”

Deakins regarded Barone in disgust and mounting anger.

“And I suppose that it didn’t occur to you to place an anonymous call to the police about it, that there might have been people concerned about their wellbeing?”

Barone laughed softly.

“I could have done that,” he agreed. “But then, that would suggest I actually cared about what happened to them. I don’t, Captain Deakins, and neither does Benny.”

“You’re half a step away from being arrested for impeding a police investigation, Mr Barone,” Alex said heatedly. Barone raised and eyebrow at her in amusement.

“I’ve told you everything I know, Detective. That can hardly be considered impeding you, can it?”

“Just try us,” Alex snapped. Barone looked across at Deakins, effectively ignoring Alex.

“And this is an official investigation, is it? It would be interesting, then, to see what the media makes of it. I imagine most of the networks would probably scramble for a story about two Major Case detectives who got themselves drunk in a bar in the Bronx on Friday night, and then got themselves assaulted and abducted. But then, I suppose a story like that would reflect badly on the Department, wouldn’t it?” He paused, taking in their angry expressions, and laughed out loud. “No, this isn’t an official investigation. I’ll wager you three are the only cops who know that Goren and Logan are missing. Now, I’ve told you all I know about it, so if you don’t know I’d like to go back inside.”

He started past them without waiting for an answer, and was almost to the door when Carolyn called after him.

“You might not care about what’s happened to our partners, Mr Barone, but are you also saying you don’t care about the fact that someone else seems to be moving in on Masucci territory?”

Barone froze, and then looked back at her slowly. Carolyn went on quickly, anxious to keep his attention.

“Two cops go missing right smack in the middle of Masucci territory. By your own admission, they’ve been assaulted and shot. You might be smirking about that now, but what do you think is going to happen when Carl Masucci finally hears about it? I know as well as you do that nothing like that is supposed to happen to cops without his explicit approval, especially a couple of high profile cops from a squad like Major Case. How happy do you think your boss is gonna be to hear that someone else has started moving in on his claim, and is on the brink of starting a war with the NYPD? Because I promise you that that is what’s going to happen if we don’t find our partners alive.”

Barone turned back to them, looking decidedly pale all of a sudden.

“What do you want me to tell you, Detective? I wasn’t even there on Friday night. All I’ve told you is hearsay. For all I know, it isn’t even true!”

“Is that what you really believe?” Deakins demanded to know. Barone sighed and shook his head.

“No. I don’t believe Benny made it up. I think it happened just as he said. But I also believe that he honestly didn’t know the men who grabbed Goren and Logan.”

“Do you know who might?” Carolyn asked. Barone smiled tightly, but this time there was no amusement in his eyes.

“Street kids, Detective. They see everything. Only trick is finding them, and convincing them to talk to you. But I’ll tell you now, you find the right child, and you’ll as good as have your partners back.”

Carolyn nodded, mildly placated.

“Thankyou, Mr Barone.”

The other man merely grunted in response and head back into the pool hall.

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