Page 74 of Crosshairs
The office door opened. Harry leaned out and motioned me into the office like they were on a coffee break.
As I stepped inside, Inspector Udell said, “Hello, Bennett.”
I smiled and said, “Inspector. Nice to see you.” I glanced over at Dennis Wu.
He said, “Is it nice to see me too?”
“Of course. It’s always a pleasure to deal with a representative from Internal Affairs.” I was surprised that earned a smile from Wu.
Harry said, “We’ve been discussing the Rob Trilling situation. Inspector Udell says we can reinstate him.”
The inspector chimed in. “Should be easy. No one even realized he’d been suspended. There’s no official notice yet.”
I couldn’t help myself. I looked at Dennis Wu.
He shook his head and said, “Sounds like another Bennett screwup to me.”
Inspector Udell turned to face Wu. “Screwup? Are you some kind of moron? Bennett followed the evidence that was available. He did what he thought was right. He investigated, then corrected a mistake.” The inspector turned toward me. “Drove to Albany on a hunch. You can’t teach that in the academy.” She paused, then looked back at Wu. “Besides, as I understand it, you were at Trilling’s apartment when he was sitting in personnelright inside One Police Plaza.” The inspector shook her head in disbelief.
Dennis Wu said, “Fine, he’s fucking Columbo.” He stared at me. “What’s your plan?”
“I need to talk to Trilling first. Make sure he’ll still work with me. I wouldn’t blame him if he told me to hit the road.”
Wu said, “Is that an option? Because I don’t want to work with you.”
Inspector Udell said, “That can be arranged.”
Wu said, “You need IA on this. You know it. We gotta keep this quiet until this caper is over.”
Inspector Udell nodded. Then she looked at me and said, “What are you waiting for? Get your ass moving.”
CHAPTER 93
I FOUND MYSELF back at Rob Trilling’s apartment building, feeling a little uncomfortable about the awkward conversation I was about to have. It can be tough to look someone in the eye and tell them you really believed they were a killer. And the way Trilling held his feelings inside didn’t put me any more at ease.
I stood in front of his building and rang the buzzer for Trilling’s apartment. I looked at the two Band-Aids on my fingers. I wondered if the girl with the knife and the long brown hair was home. The one I’d thought was Juliana at first. I’d say it was none of my business, except my daughterismy business. That was an issue I might bring up later. For now, I was on an apology tour.
Trilling’s voice came through the intercom and I asked if I could come upstairs.
Trilling paused, then said, “The apartment’s a mess. I’ll meet you out front in a minute.”
I walked over and waited by my car. A couple of minutes later, Trilling strolled out in jeans, a jacket, and cowboy boots.
I said, “I’ve never seen you wear boots before.”
“Is that why you’re here? To talk about my fashion choices?”
I got right to the point. “No, I’m here to tell you you’re no longer a suspect in the Longshot Killer case. And you’re no longer suspended.”
Finally, after almost a full minute, Trilling said, “What happened? Have you found the real sniper?”
“I think so.” I explained everything about how I thought Joe Tavarez could be the sniper, including my theory that someone had planted the .308 casing in Trilling’s car. I even went into my trip to Albany.
Trilling never interrupted me. When I finished, he said, “Darcy Farnan confirmed the trip?”
“Not exactly. She wouldn’t say anything officially without your consent. But I can guarantee you she’s on your side and wants things to work out.”
Trilling looked off into space. When he was done thinking, he turned to me and said, “Darcy’s the best.” He paused, then added, “You drove all the way to Albany?”