Read Online The Night Falconer by Andy Straka - Free Book Online Page B

and stuck a Bowie knife through my kid’s car seat.”
    “Christ, what’s the world coming to.” Fitzhugh stopped and gave us both a hard stare. “You piss somebody off?”
    “Maybe.” She told him about the threat she’d received and the note she’d found in the car.
    “Kind of moves us a little ways beyond the pet detective scenario, doesn’t it,” he said.
    We all looked up as a tall woman with short red hair came out of a doorway ahead.
    “Hey, Lieutenant,” Fitzhugh said. “We got visitors.”
    The woman glanced up from the file she was holding. “Yes?”
    “You remember Darla Barnes. And this is Frank Pavlicek. Also ex-NYPD, living in Virginia now. Folks, Lieutenant Stacy Marbush.”
    She stepped forward and shook our hands. There was a blankness to her face, the mask of one who had been on the job so many years she’d learned to bury her emotions. Her fingers were pale and gripped mine firmly.
    “Got a new case? Not more cat stuff I hope.”
    Darla smiled. “No. Still working the kitty thing.”
    “Jesus.” Appraising me. “What, you’ve gone and brought in more talent?”
    “I’m afraid so.”
    “Look, people, I’d really like to help with this, um, matter. You’re welcome to look at my report. But right now I’ve got a lead on a couple of rape cases.”
    “There’s been a more serious development,” Fitzhugh said.
    “Oh?” She raised an eyebrow.
    Fitzhugh excused himself to return to his post in front.
    Darla began telling the lieutenant about our discovery at the airport. About halfway through, Marbush motioned us into her office. We sat in chairs beside a metal table she was using as a desk.
    “So you’re trying to tell me you think these two things are related? Some doctor with a crazy bird story in Manhattan and your knife thrower in Queens?”
    “Yeah. We think they may be related.”
    “Okay. What else, exactly, do you expect me to do about this?”
    “I don’t know,” Darla said. “Maybe nothing. We just wanted to keep you informed. Frank here and his daughter, who’s also a private investigator, may be mounting some surveillance in the park, hoping to spot this falconer people claim to have seen.”
    All right,” Marbush said. “I’ll let patrol know about it. Anything else?”
    “You still think this whole thing is some kind of fool’s errand.”
    Marbush scratched the back of her head. “I don’t know, Darla. And no disrespect to either of you. But it’s the middle of summer. Kids are off school. The homeless don’t have as much need for the shelters. Right now, I’ve got a caseload that would break your heart. A lot of minor stuff, but several bigger offenses too. So if you’re asking me do I have time to go chasing down some woman’s lost cat or searching for some phantom bird man, the answer is no.
    “Even if there might be a link to what happened out at LaGuardia, all you’ve really got are vague threats and some missing pets. Why don’t you touch base with me again after the holiday. That’s about the best I can offer you right now.”
    “Fair enough,” Darla said.
    Marbush turned her quizzical gaze on me. “Pavlicek, your reputation precedes you. What’s your interest in all this?”
    “Help out an old friend,” I said, nodding at Darla. “Maybe rein in some guy with a big bird who’s gone off the reservation. That was about as far as it went until the knife thing.”
    “You think there’s something more here?”
    “I do. What do you know about this developer, Watisi?”
    She shrugged. “Whatever I read in the papers, same as everybody else.”
    “He’s clean then.”
    “Far as the NYPD is concerned. There may be tenant complaints and such. You can talk to the housing authority. But nothing criminal that I’ve ever heard of.”
    “What a guy,” I said. “So much money and he’s probably never even been audited.”
    “That, I wouldn’t know.”
    Darla shifted in her seat. “Frank and I have both tried to talk with this