Chapter 27

   It was six hours later that Dwayne called Nik into headquarters. Nik had taken the afternoon off to grab a nap, after reading about his past. Despite his boasts about being able to stay awake, his eyelids had gotten heavier while listening to Dwayne’s theories in the car. He was none too happy to be called back in, and he took his time driving back.

   At 8:00p.m. Nik walked slowly up to his desk where Dwayne sat beaming at the computer. “This had better be worth risking your life over, kid.”

  “I think it is.”

  “Think? You’d better be damn sure.”

   Dwayne finally looked at him. “You didn’t sleep?”

  “I didn’t continue sleeping, that’s the problem!” Nik then looked at the computer. “You been web surfing all day?”

  “You might say that.”

  “Look, Dwayne, your dedication is cool, but we’re not going to solve this murder in one day. If you hadn’t noticed, there’s no political pressure here.”

  “I know, but it’s my first real case, Nik, and I don’t want it breaking me.”

  “No, I’ll be the one that breaks you, in half! Who are you trying to impress?”

  “You, for one.”

   Nik grabbed the back of his chair and looked down, sighing. “You don’t need to impress me, got it? I know you’re new, and I fuck with you because of that. Your response seems to be to work yourself toward burnout instead of telling me to go fuck myself, which I get told a lot.”

  “It’s tempting.”

  “So say it!”

  “It’s not my way.”

  “I see that.” Nik turned the chair around and sat down. “You have one minute to impress me. Go!”

   Dwayne’s smile returned. “Oscar DeBartolo isn’t his real name.”

  “55 seconds.”

  “I checked the social security, and it belongs to a Sacramento kid who drowned in 1989.”

  “45 seconds.”

  “The address might still be good, but we’re waiting on a warrant. In the meantime, I ran his picture, got nothing in the computer files.”

  “35 seconds.”

  “Karl Walters, the morgue assistant we just got, used to work in New York, and while I was eating dinner, he saw the pic and recognized him.”

  “25 seconds. And?”

  “Let me introduce you to Damien Tyler, former mob assassin for the Gianelli family and, up to recently, appears to have done some independent work off the books.”

  “15 seconds!”

  “Our victim is a hitman! And if my theory about that law firm guy is right, I think someone was cleaning up after themselves.”

   Nik looked at his watch, then nodded slowly. “I’m mildly impressed, okay? I say mildly because you got lucky. Did you check on the name Damien Tyler?”

  “I did.”

  “And?”

  “Tyler was a mob enforcer and hitman for that family. What’s I’m working on is getting evidence on his independent hits.”

  “Evidence you’re not likely to find.”

  “Why?”

  “Hitmen, or hitwomen, are rarely known on police records unless they’ve been caught by at least one agency.”

   Dwayne nodded. “Well, according to the New York cop I spoke to, Tyler had been disappeared before the trial fifteen years ago.”

   Nik smiled for the first time since walking into the office. “He’d been disappeared?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I think he disappeared himself. Was he ever officially arrested?”

  “For suspicion of murder, but it never even went to a judge.”

  “What a surprise. So the guy was known underground and not really officially on the books.”

  “Sounds that way.”

   Nik chose his next words carefully. “Then why continue?”

  “What?”

  “If he was a mob hitman, then who will miss him? Does it all matter?”

  “It does to me.”

  “Why, Dwayne?”

  “Because he was a murder victim, because it’s our case, and because I think in his post-mob days, this Tyler guy might have been into something nasty, if that lawyer is any indication.”

   Nik rubbed his eyes. “Do you realize that as of this moment I don’t care about this case?”

   Dwayne stared at the computer screen. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

  “Pretend your ass off. Solving a hitman’s murder is a waste of my, rather, OUR time.”

   Dwayne spun around and threw his pen at Nik. Nik ducked it slightly. “You want off, you go ahead! I don’t need you to help me on this. I want to continue working on it. If you don’t, I’ll ask to go solo.”

  “It won’t happen. I have say-so.”

  “You told the captain I’m ready, I heard you.”

  “I was fucking with him. You and I are stuck with each other for the next few months.”

  “Why? We can just say it didn’t work out, we didn’t click.”

   Nik shook his head. “It won’t happen.”

  “Why?”

  “You really want to know?”

  “Yes!”

   Nik stood up. “Because nobody else would work with you.”

  “What?”

  “That’s what your file says, you’re not a team player.”

  “And that’s bullshit! I always backed up whoever I was with.”

  “When you were in uniform, did you rat out some fellow officers for planting evidence?”

   Dwayne stopped cold. “Yes.”

  “Hey, I’m not blaming you. We all know that prick wasn’t guilty. Problem is, it was a character choice. Other detectives respect you, but they think your conscience will get them killed.”

  “Even if I was right?”

  “It’s not about right or wrong, Dwayne. You want some good advice?”

  “I think I’ll get it anyway.”

  “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not an oxygen waster.”

  “Give it to me.”

  “Take your experience with me, then find another town. Start fresh, you’ve tainted yourself.”

   Dwayne pondered that a moment, then said, “Advice taken. Until then, do we have any other pressing cases?”

  “Why? What’s so big about your hitman?”

   The phone rang and Dwayne picked it up. He gave a few “mmhmms”, thanked the person on the other end, then hung up. “I don’t know what’s so big, but we have the warrant.”

   Nik sighed heavily. He knew he’d just lost a battle. “You have 48 hours to prove that the case has a future. If you haven’t proven it by then, I’m shutting it down.”

  “Deal.”