Chapter Thirteen
Gerald pushed back against Joseph, refusing to be intimidated. “What’cha gonna do, boy? Break my nose and force me to sue you for assault? Let go of me right now!”
Eleanor watched Joseph tense up even more, refusing to loosen his grip. Joseph started to reply, asking what the hell Stinger was doing here, but a couple of NYPD cops burst in through the front door – both burly white guys who looked weary and worn. One of them pulled his gun and pointed it at Joseph.
“Release him right now!” the cop shouted.
Joseph let go of Stinger and stepped back. “The police department are protecting you?” he asked.
Stinger chuckled sinisterly. “You called the cops, you stupid boy.”
The cop who was doing all the talking seemed confused. “There was a report of a burglary here. What’s going on?”
Stinger brushed himself down. “I was just leaving.”
The other cop held up his hand. “No one’s leaving until we find out what’s happened.” He transferred his attention to Stinger. “Did you call us, sir?”
Eleanor stepped forward. “We called you. This is Joseph’s apartment. We came back to find it had been ransacked, so Joseph called you.”
Joseph glared at Stinger. “And this asshole showed up before you did, because he’s been tapping my phone.”
Stinger’s jaw dropped in surprise. “You’d better have a good lawyer – going round making accusations like that.”
One of the cops frowned at Eleanor. “Wait, are you saying this man might be the robber?”
She inspected Stinger who was scowling at her. “I don’t know. He showed up after the burglary had taken place, so I couldn’t really say.”
The cop stepped away from the doorway. “In that case, sir, you’re free to leave.”
“But he’s been tapping my phone calls,” Joseph growled. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”
“Then I suggest you report him to the police,” the cop said.
“Didn’t I just do that?” Joseph asked.
“We’re here to check out the burglary,” the other cop explained. “Mind if we look around?”
Joseph shrugged. “Sure.”
He turned back to face Stinger, but he’d gone – having fled while the attention had been off him. Eleanor wondered what he’d wanted and why he’d arrived so quickly. She had a bad feeling she was probably going to find out soon.
The cops made a quick inspection of the apartment and took photos of the carnage, while Joseph and Eleanor stood watching by the door. They both drifted back over. “Has anything been taken, sir?”
“I don’t think so. Not as far as I can tell.”
“Right. And that guy’s been tapping your phone you think?”
Joseph nodded. “Yep.”
“Well, alright. We’ll file this information and send round a detective as soon as we can.”
“How long will that take?”
“Hard to say, sir. There’s a lot of crime going on in
the city – murders, shootings, drugs, gangs… we don’t have the manpower to cope.”
“So my little break-in’s heading to the bottom of the pile, I guess.”