The Cutting Room

Manny nodded, handed him the picture, and got up from his seat. ‘Help yourself. When did you figure out how to turn on a computer?’

Mike ignored the jab and moved into Manny’s chair. He watched the entire clip through three times without saying a word, then ran it a fourth time and paused at forty-one seconds in, studying the screen. ‘That window cleaner there … it’s a knock-off.’ He captured the shot and zoomed in on the far corner. ‘I thought so,’ he said, mumbling under his breath. ‘I thought so. That there’s the Shoprite logo. On the red part — doesn’t that look like a grocery cart to you?’

‘Could be,’ Manny said, studying the screen. ‘What’s Shoprite?’

‘Shoprite’s a supermarket chain up north. New York, Jersey, Connecticut. I’m not sure it’s around anymore, but that’s where you need to focus, Alvarez. Have the boys in Tech see if they can enhance that picture — I’d bet my bottom dollar that’s Shoprite. Been a while since I saw that brand. They used to have some crazy commercial about how Shoprite’s got the can-can sale, with a bunch of French dancers singing about stocking up on peas.’

‘I thought you were from the Midwest.’

‘Ahhh,’ Mike grumbled. ‘I’m a native New Yorker, Alvarez. Born and raised in Elmhurst. That’s in Queens, you know. I worked with the Minneapolis PD for eight years before coming down here for some sun.’

‘Minnesota? Jesus, how the hell did you end up there? How does anyone end up there?’

Mike ignored the question. ‘One day it will all become clear. Listen, sorry about the titty comment. I didn’t realize she was a victim. That was bad of me.’

‘Well, thanks for the tip,’ Manny said with a nod.

‘What I would do if I was you is put her in NCIC, and mark it special attention to the tri-state area — see if the boys up there got something for you. Send the picture, but let them know there’s a video available.’

‘That’s a good idea.’

‘Your long shot ain’t so long now,’ Mike continued smugly. ‘And you got a date/time stamp on this, for whatever that’s worth, assuming it’s authentic. I’d put that on there, too. It’ll help whoever is looking narrow down dates. I’d also send that video off to the Behavioral Analysis Unit at the FBI. Let the profilers take a peek. Could be they’ve seen the rest of your video. Or maybe they can tell you if it’s for shits and giggles or if it’s the real McCoy.’

‘Okay, okay, I got it. Now it’s your turn to speak English, Pops. What the hell is a “shit and giggle”? And what’s a “real McCoy”?’

Mike rolled his eyes. ‘Damn immigrants. Learn English.’

‘I left Havana on a twenty-two-foot fishing boat that was missing an engine with twenty other people when I was five. Been speaking English from the second I stepped on the sand at Key Biscayne. You’re yapping in old fart, not English. I’ll send it to BAU. You’re right. It can’t hurt none.’

‘Nope. It can’t hurt,’ Mike replied as he started across the room to his desk. Then he stopped, turned abruptly, walked back. ‘You know, I can work up that NCIC for ya. Maybe contact the cold case squads myself and see if I can shake some trees.’

‘You’re not busy with your own load?’

‘Nah. I’m good. I got the time. And it looks like you need the help.’

Mike Dickerson wasn’t the only one counting down days till his retirement party. Even though he still had about six months to go, Mike hadn’t caught a new case in a long while, and he wasn’t going to. He was in wind-down mode. The squad sergeant didn’t want to hand out new cases to someone who’d have to be dragged out of retirement to be a witness for the next five years as those cases worked their way through the system. It was too much of a hassle. And if Mike was the lead on a case and he died — well, that would be terrible. And even more of a hassle. That was the danger of working cases when you were nearing seventy — your age became a liability and all that ‘invaluable experience’ that used to look so great on a résumé now added to the argument that your shelf life had expired. Until he officially called it quits, Mike was on ‘light duty’, which might seem like every government employee’s dream, but Manny didn’t think Mike saw it that way. The guy had been on the job for almost four decades, and he wore his pride the way he did his badge — right in the open for all to see. It might be hard to walk away, but Manny thought it was probably worse to stay and watch the world carry on without you.

Manny ran a hand over his smooth scalp. ‘You think you can help me out?’ he asked hesitantly. ‘You know, this video is a fucking monkey wrench. I still have a shitload of crap to get done on Skole without this nipping at the back of my thoughts.’

‘Sure, Bear, sure. I know some faces in the NYPD. It’ll give me something to do.’

Manny nodded. Partnering up in Homicide was not done at the City. There weren’t enough bodies or enough resources. And that was fine by him — he didn’t like partners. And if he had to pick a partner, it never in a million years would’ve been ornery, stubborn, conventional, conservative Mike Dickerson. But Manny himself was only seven years away from collecting a check, which seemed like a lifetime … a lifetime ago. Now it wasn’t so far off. Just seven more wild Miami-Dade PD Homicide Christmas parties. So he could feel for the old man; he didn’t think he’d want to leave when the time came, either. Plus, being nice to a guy on his way out of the job and maybe even out the door seemed like the right thing to do. Of course it was exactly that sort of charitable thinking that had led him down the aisle three times. Manny had a feeling this partnership might not fare any better …