Chapter 6: Police Investigations and Criminal Enterprises

When Cassidy arrived at work Wednesday morning, she was put back on the task of searching for social media images of the Pier 17 Concert on the night that Eric Calder was stabbed to death. Her task was to identify people who were in the area where the stabbing took place and to search for images that might give them a clue about who did it. Cassidy found the task boring, but even more so because she was doing it alone. The other members of her team were busy dissecting the lives of James and Kathryn Dryden along with their immediate family, friends and associates. The Dryden investigation was what she was eager to work on. Despite her desire to dig into the Dryden murder, Cassidy was aware of the time sensitive elements of the Calder murder and knew she was the obvious choice to be doing that.

It was 10:47am when Dt. Hale called his team together to discuss what they had so far on the James Dryden murder. Cassidy thought to include herself in the gathering and was halfway to a spot around Dt. Hale’s desk when Dt. Vera Washington intercepted her.

“Have you finished contacting everyone on that list?” Vera questioned abruptly.

Cassidy knew that Vera meant the people that were identified from numerous Pier 17 Concert social media posts. On top of identifying these individuals and checking to see if they had any connection to the victim, Cassidy needed to call them and inquire about who and what they saw at the concert and if they had other images or videos of the event. She had spoken to half the people identified and was waiting for call backs from more than half of the remaining names on the list. The remaining eleven names were being sought out and contacted by officers in nearby precincts.

“Not all of them,” Cassidy returned with a shrug. “But I thought I should be in on this discussion.”

“No,” Vera corrected dismissively. “You need to keep on that list,” she finished with an insistent stare.

Cassidy returned the dismissive look before going back to her desk. She was angered by the brush off but did not want to make a scene in her new position. She also had nothing to offer in the Dryden murder investigation. Plus, she could hear all that was being said from her desk, so she went back to the task of searching for social media posts of the Pier 17 concert while she listened to the meeting between Detectives Hale, Greene, Russo and Washington.

After roughly fifteen minutes of discussion, Detectives Hale, Greene, Russo and Washington agreed that Kathryn Dryden was not only the primary suspect in her husband’s murder, but that she was the person they all believed ordered the hit. A thorough background check on Mrs. Dryden uncovered that 33-year-old Kathryn Wells Dryden had been in a relationship with another wealthy man which fell apart when he learned she worked as an escort for a short time. They also discovered that Kathryn Wells was once a leading suspect in a grand theft larceny case, but no charges were filed, and the case was never resolved. There were also testimonials from acquaintances that described her as an unscrupulous vixen who toyed with men's affections for money. In addition to Kathryn Dryden’s background check, the team had yet to find any other supportable motive for anyone to want to kill James Dryden other than money. And Kathryn Dryden was the only suspect in possession of that motive.

“Okay, it's agreed,” Dt. Hale announced. “Kathryn Dryden is a good fit for the murder of her husband. But she will get away with it if we don't find the shooter.”

“The shooter has to be an acquaintance,” Dt. Greene declared. “There are no unusual expenditures or financial transactions in the Dryden’s accounts.”

“If he's someone she knows then so far he's invisible,” Vera countered. “So far, I haven't been able to find anyone she knows who could have been the shooter.”

“He has to be there,” Dt. Greene insisted.

“Maybe she hired someone with a promise to pay him later,” Vera suggested.

“Someone who doesn't know her personally would never do that—not without money up front,” Dt. Greene disputed. “We're looking for someone close to her or was close, a family member, maybe, or an old boyfriend.”

“I'm telling you,” Vera returned emphatically. “We've checked everyone. Her high school boyfriend has an alibi,” she added with exasperation.

“Keep looking,” Dt. Hale ordered. “We must be missing something. Double check her financials. It could be that she pawned something. Look into that. Do background checks on past girlfriends. Maybe we're looking for a friend of a friend. Keep digging. It has to be there.”

Detectives Washington, Greene and Russo disbanded after hearing Dt. Hale’s last command. They went back to their desks and began acting on their team leader's instruction. Cassidy continued with her work.

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

“Mr. Castellano, this is Tony McGuire. Mr. McGuire, this is Ruiz Castellano.”

It was 2pm Thursday when Mickey Nevers made these introductions inside Augusto’s Restaurant. Mickey rose from his seat and stepped back out from the table where Ruiz and his associate, Jorge Mendes, were having a large lunch.

There was no meal in front of Mickey’s chair. Ruiz and Jorge were representatives of the Sinaloa Cartel.

“Have a seat,” Ruiz spoke as he gestured toward the empty chairs across from him.

Tony gave Mickey a gesture to leave with a slight turn of his head, then waited on him to turn away before sitting across from Ruiz. Jeremiah took a seat at Tony's left.

“Thanks for taking my meeting,” Tony proffered as he settled in his chair.

Tony traveled to Jersey City for this meeting. Charlie and Ben waited in the car they all arrived in.

“You should try the Paella,” Ruiz suggested as he signaled the waitress.

When the waitress came over, Tony and Jeremiah requested water to the surprise of Ruiz and Jorge. After the drinks were delivered and the waitress dismissed, Ruiz and Tony settled back in their chairs and assessed each other.

“Mickey tells me he's running homemade candy for you,” Ruiz began politely. “So, why the move up to our nature-made sweets?”

“I'm looking to add to my business profile,” Tony quipped.

“Business profile?” Ruiz questioned back with a smirk.

“Yes, the market for homemade candy has reached its peak,” Tony retorted cavalierly. “I'm looking for something with more growth potential.”

“So, you're looking to import expensive candy that’s popular with the kids?” Ruiz stated with a questioning look.

“Precisely.”

“For sell in New York?” Ruiz questioned with a frown.

“I do business where the money is,” Tony returned unequivocally.

“New York is a crowded market, my friend. There are some people here who will not like you doing this kind of business in their—barrios.”

“That’s my problem,” Tony gently countered.

“Yes, my friend, that is your problem,” Ruiz responded with a smile. “I'm just a supplier—a wholesaler. I do business with whoever can pay the purchase price. So, your problems are no concern of mine, but the transaction has to be worth my time and effort.”

“Six-hundred keys,” Tony stated softly.

Jorge pulled a calculator out of his jacket and began tapping figures into it.

“Six hundred,” Ruiz repeated with indifference.

“Six hundred to start,” Tony reiterated with confidence. “We plan on being a repeat customer.”

“Of course, we have no objections to that, but you should expect some push back on that from your competitors.”

“We don't have competitors. We have—temporary obstacles,” Tony returned dismissively.

“If you say so, Mr. McGuire,” Ruiz said with a smile and a shrug.

When Jorge finished tapping into his calculator, he slid it in front of Ruiz. After a brief look at the number in the display, Ruiz turned the calculator around and pushed it across the table for Tony and Jeremiah to view.

“Deal,” Tony softly declared.

“Excellent,” Ruiz respond with a nod. “You will get a text with a time and place for the exchange. The instructions in that text are nonnegotiable. If you back out, the deal is off, and any future deal will include a fee to compensate us for our inconvenience.”

“Not a problem,” Tony assured.

“Good,” Ruiz stated while laying his hands flat on the table.

Ruiz smiled at Tony, then he signaled for the waitress. The waitress hurried over to the table and laid the leather bill presenter next to Ruiz and walked away. Without giving it a look, Ruiz pushed the bill presenter across the table toward Tony and rose from his chair while Jorge followed his lead.

“Good day, gentlemen,” Ruiz proffered before leaving the table.

Tony impassively accepted the bill and acknowledged Ruiz's good day with a nod. Tony and Jeremiah waited until Ruiz and Jorge were out of the restaurant before speaking to each other.

“For a buy like this, we're going to have to use nearly all the cash we can scrape together,” Jeremiah leaned in and quietly asserted.

“Whatever it takes,” Tony responded in like manner.

As he spoke, Tony stood and opened the check presenter. Jeremiah rose from his chair as Tony examined the check, retrieved a thin wad of bills from his pants pocket, laid several of them inside the bill presenter, closed it and then picked it up. He paused there with a thought.

“We should bring in Malcolm and Keegan,” Tony suggested.

Malcolm Ash and Keegan Walsh were a couple of construction workers that Jeremiah regularly employed and thugs that Tony infrequently hired. Malcom was 26 years old, big, husky and fearsome looking in appearance. Keegan was 23 years old, tall, muscular, handsome and in possession of an athletic physique. Neither had ever been in enough trouble to warrant a prison term, but they were not above profiting from moderately risky criminal ventures. Because of their youth, Tony used them sparingly as back up for Ben and Charlie or when he needed someone who was not well known within the local criminal and law enforcement communities.

“Should I tell them anything about—us?” Jeremiah softly asked.

“No—not yet,” Tony answered after a thought. “We’ll keep it for a surprise.”

Tony took the check presenter to the cashier and instructed her to keep the change, and then started for the exit.

When he got to the door, Tony stopped and turned toward Jeremiah with a frown.

“What?” Jeremiah asked after noticing Tony’s expression.

Tony thought a moment more.

“Find Lola,” Tony instructed just before donning his sunglasses and pushing through the front doors of the restaurant.

Jeremiah considered Tony’s words in disbelief. Then he donned his sunglasses and stepped out into the sunlight.