The Murderers (Badge of Honor 6)

“And the Five Squad allegations?”

“Before Ethical Affairs popped up, I was going to have a quiet word with a staff inspector I know pretty well, and ask him to please keep me out of it.”

Lowenstein chuckled. “A staff inspector named Weisbach?”

“Yeah.”

“And now?”

“This is the first time I’ve really thought hard about it. It seems to me the lines of authority are fuzzy. Dirty cops on the Narcotics Five Squad would seem to be Ethical Affairs’ business. Somebody on the Narcotics Five Squad doing Officer Kellog would seem to belong to Homicide.”

“Are you asking me?”

“Yes.”

“What’s Washington’s role going to be in Ethical Affairs?”

“I have been ordered to give Weisbach whatever support he needs. So far as I’m concerned, that means he gets the Special Operations Investigation Section, which means he gets Washington.”

“Why don’t you leave it that way? Let Washington run that down independently of Homicide? If he’s investigating corruption, and comes across something that looks like the Kellog homicide, he can pass it along.”

“That’s fine with me.”

“And I will have a word with Henry Quaire and suggest that he have Wally Milham run down this—what was the name?—Frankie Foley lead. Assisted by Detective Payne.”

“Can I ask why?”

“I think there may be something to it. Gut feeling.”

“Really? Why?”

“I just told you: gut feeling. Write this down, Peter: When you don’t have a clue, go with your gut feeling.”

“Thank you, Chief,” Wohl said, smiling.

“And I would like Milham to come up with something, to prove to Carlucci that a detective can have a very active sex life and still be a good detective.”

“I’ve known that all along,” Wohl said.

“I’ll bet you have.” Lowenstein laughed. “I think that when we finally get the true story of Mr. Atchison’s recent tragedy, it will turn out that money was involved. Insurance on the wife, maybe. Business problems with the partner. If that’s so, that means he would not have the dough to hire a professional hit man. And the mob only does that sort of thing for adequate compensation. And I don’t think they’d be interested in doing a contract hit for somebody like Atchison in the first place.”

Wohl nodded his head in agreement.

“And following that lead will be instructional for Payne,” Lowenstein went on. “He will learn that most homicides are solved wearing out shoe leather, not by brilliant reasoning. Or, in this case, by an anonymous tip that takes a hell of a lot of legwork to come up with what’s necessary to make it stand up in court.”

“Who do you think did Officer Kellog?”

“If I had to bet, I’d bet on Washington’s gut feeling. He thinks the widow’s telling the truth. I hope to hell the Narcotics Five Squad is not involved, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there was a Narcotics connection.”

“Neither would I,” Wohl said, somewhat sadly.

He looked at his drink. It was empty. He idly moved the glass so that ice cubes spun inside.

“Another, Peter?” Lowenstein asked.

“I shouldn’t, but I will,” Wohl said, and held up the glass to attract the bartender.

When he was to think about it afterward, with more than a little chagrin, Matt Payne realized that if he hadn’t been three quarters of the way into the bag, he never would have gone to Homicide at all that night.At the time, he hadn’t been thinking too clearly. The only thing he had been sure about was that he hadn’t wanted one of Amy’s pills. Pretending to swallow it while she watched was easier than arguing with her about it.