Tue Sept 5 - Franky

[FrankyEsposito]

"Nope. No good at all." I give him a good, solid, manly swat on the back. "You've been a lot of help, Danny. A lot of help. But I need you to try and remember what day it was when you ran them off. Take your time and think about it. Who did them Bums play that day? Was it a home game? What was the score?"

[Gaffer]

"Ye-aaah," says Danny as the memory comes to him, "'Twas last Tuesday, it was. They beat Hubbell an' them Giants. They was all tied up 'til the seventh when Joe Stripp put down 'at bunt an Terry blew th' throw t'Hubbell coverin' first. Benge got the win.

"I remember 'cuz Miss Hirt an' me both hate those so-called Giants, but I didn't get t'talk the game over with her on Wednesday." I tried talkin' t'Rosetti 'bout it, but he just wanted t'whine about the wife wakin' m up cuz there was a car runnin' in th' alley."

Danny has led the way back to the service door in the alley as he talked, "Right here is where I seen 'em loiterin-like."

Locksmith: Franky can tell after a minute's examination that the back door was expertly forced by a competent burglar.

[Gaffer]

This is the symbol smeared on the woman's photo:

Symbol.jpg (4.84 KiB) Viewed 1028 times

[FrankyEsposito]

I clap the old guy on the shoulder again. "Good man, Danny. You've been a huge help."

I head back to the apartment. I catch myself rubbing the side of my chin, hard, the way I do when I need a drink. Siobhan would laugh. Well, she'd laugh and then make me a drink. That would be real fine right now. Real fine.

I shake my head and go inside to see if Rory and Donnelly have found anything.

[Gaffer]

"Hey, Esposito," says Rory from the kitchen, "Bread in th' breadbox is just startin' t'get moldy. Milk in th' refrigerator isn’t sour. I figure she’s been gone about a week."

Donnelly comes down the hall from the bedroom with a rag in his hand. "This's inna wastebasket, smells t'me like chloroform, same smell onna pillow. No signs of a struggle, no bloodstains. Looks like the place's been tossed, but very neatly. I'd say a dame."

"Yeah, but no dame carried her outta here," says Rory, "We'll get the print boys in, but this looks like a professional snatch t'me. You find anything?"

[ooc - I'll assume you tell them about the service door and the apartment door being opened by a pro.]

[FrankyEsposito]

"Service door was opened by a pro -- just like the front door. Doorman saw some Turks hanging around last Tuesday -- hasn't seen the vic since then. Matches up with the bread."

[Gaffer]

"In an' out th' back, huh? Prob'ly hadda car waitin' in th' alley."

[FrankyEsposito]

"Yup. Doorman saw that, too. Vic's car is missing, too. Red Ford coupe. Already got a lookout for it."

OOC,Scene?

[Gaffer]

As Franky walks through the lobby, leaving the other cops upstairs to work what is, after all, their crime scene, he hears a furtive, "psssst!"

Turning, he sees the super, Rosetti, standing in a door that leads to the stairwell. "Hey, Esposito, c'mere," he beckons, "You wanna look at where that coupe hit the corner?"

[FrankyEsposito]

Must have scared Rosetti good and proper. Good.

I walk over and take a look. I expect the paint will match Marlene Hirt's red Ford, but you can never tell.

[Gaffer]

There's not only a considerable amount of red enamel scraped over the scarred bricks, but some bright glints of metal, too. The coupe really clobbered the wall with its left front fender.

[ooc - what's next for our intrepid detective?]

[FrankyEsposito]

I close my eyes and try to picture the car that I saw idling outside Alphonse Hirt's apartment. Did I get a look at the left front? Was the fender dented and scraped up?

Either way, it's back to the precinct to do the paperwork.

[Gaffer]

Franky only saw the car from behind.

Rory asked that you send over a statement to him this afternoon since you were the first witness and the first officer on the scene. Otherwise, it's their case and their paperwork.

You might want to update the APB on the coupe to note the possibility of the banged-up fender.

All that and lunch takes you until about two o'clock. You're all supposed to meet for dinner at seven.

[FrankyEsposito]

While I'm having a quick lunch, I'll make some phone calls to a few local car repair joints, see if anyone has done any work on a red Ford in the last week.

As far as paperwork, I'll update the APB to include the possibly banged up left front fender, then type out a quick statement for Rory and Donnelly. I'll also update the APB on Marlene Hirt (the real one) to include the suspected abduction date.

I'll also take some time to sort through my notes and update the case book with anything important. I'll sketch out a copy of the symbol and put that in as well.

As I'm going through the files I decide to call somebody from the local precinct in Red Hook and see if there's anything brewing there, specifically among the Turkish crowd.

[Gaffer]

Going back through the Suydam case file, you find a drawing of a symbol that looks exactly like the one you copied in Marlene Hirt's apartment. It's labeled: Symbol displayed by Suydam's criminal associates in several locations.

You come up dry on the repair shops.

Lou Feldner, a 76th Precinct detective down at Union and Henry tells you it's just the same old stuff, day in and day out. "You know, Franky, Red Hook never changes."

[FrankyEsposito]

"I hear ya, Lou. But let me know if you hear of anything hinky -- hinki-er -- going on."

I make a quick call to the lab to see if they've got anything new on those waders we found at Alphonse's place yesterday.

[Gaffer]

There's a report amid the papers on Esposito's desk. It indicates that comparative analysis of the mud and debris clinging to the soles is typical of the shore of the Buttermilk Channel along Red Hook in Brooklyn from Gowanus Creek to the midpoint of Governor's Island. That's practically the whole Red Hook waterfront..

[FrankyEsposito]

I make a note to go to the morgue again tonight -- I might have blown off that floater from the Gowanus canal a little too lightly.

All signs point to you-know-where, damn it all.

I flip a coin a few times -- heads for Long Island, tails for Red Hook. How many times can a quarter come up tails in a row?

I grab my jacket -- and when nobody's looking, a quick nip from the bottle in my desk drawer -- and head into Brooklyn.

[Gaffer]

You look back at your notes about Hirt and the floater from the Brooklyn Morgue. Hirt: 5'7", 150 pounds, blue eyes, dark hair. J. Sherrod: approx 6', over 200 pounds, blond. Plus Louis told you the Sherrod family had identified the body.

Where to in Brooklyn?

[FrankyEsposito]

I'll do a quick check for priors on Sherrod. If he's got a jacket I'll copy down his address, known associates, and any other data that leap out at me.

When I'm done with that it's off to the Pioneer Street Diner. I'll talk to the locals, show Marlene's Picture, ask around. If that doesn't pan out I'll try and find out if any of them know Azaff. If I get really desperate I'll show them the picture of the "Pyramid and Eye" symbol, see if that rings any bells.

I figure all that will take me a couple of hours, after which I'll rendezvous with my cohorts.