Page 56 of Crosshairs
“Wow. That’s the best greeting I’ve ever got from someone at the NYPD.”
“Part of our new directives. Spread sunshine, then worry about solving crimes.”
“Between you and Harry Grissom, I’d say you guys are working overtime on the sunshine part.”
“Was there something specific you needed today, Lois?”
“I’m trying to follow up on some rumors that I heard.”
My stomach tightened. Had a rumor about Rob Trilling already slipped out of the NYPD? I didn’t even want to think about that.
Lois said, “It’s about the second victim in the Longshot Killer case. The fireman named Thomas Bannon. I thought about talking to his family, but I heard they’re a closemouthed bunch. You know how the Irish Catholics can be.”
“I know all too well.”
“Do you know Bannon’s family?”
“We’ve met.” I flexed my hand, which had been sore since I’d punched one of the brothers who’d assaulted us at Louise Bannon’s home. I added, “What’s the rumor?”
“That Bannon was a pervert. That he’d been caught downloading child pornography on a FDNY computer.”
“You’re not going to run a story like that, are you? It doesn’t do any good for anyone.”
“I’m not sure where I’m going with it. But I was hoping you might verify the rumor.”
“I’ve never heard anything about that.” Even as I said it, I realized I wanted to check this rumor out. It might also explain why Bannon’s in-laws and widow got so bent out of shape when I just asked a few simple questions.
Lois said, “I need to hear it verified from a reliable source. Any ideas who might talk?”
“I thought you and Harry Grissom had breakfast yesterday. He’s a pretty reliable source.”
“We had breakfast today too.”
“Did he say anything about the case?”
“Zilch.”
I chuckled. “He’s a puzzle, that one.”
“And I’ll figure him out one day. But now I’m looking for someone to quote. Even anonymously.”
“That doesn’t sound like it’s directly related to our case. You couldn’t get Harry to comment?”
“As I understand it, you and Harry have been friends for twenty years. Have you ever known him to talk about a case or police work with someone other than another cop?”
“Good point. I rarely see Harry talk to anyone about anything. You should consider yourself privileged.”
“He’s a lovely man. But now I feel like you’re trying to distract me.”
“Not really. I’ve honestly never heard that rumor, and I’m up to my eyeballs with other things to worry about.”
All I got was a quick thanks as she hung up.
If Thomas Bannon did download child pornography on a city computer, why was there no mention in any NYPD report? Just one more thing to add to my list.
CHAPTER 69
I HAD NEVER visited the offices of the Securities and Exchange Commission. There’s not a huge call for it when working homicides. The first thing I noticed was that the SEC was not among the agencies in the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building just east of Broadway but in the American Express Tower just west of the 9/11 memorial.