Fatal Encounters
by Irv Pliskin
Chapter 33
They streaked down the highway, siren wailing. Frank got on the tac band and asked for a couple of cars to back them up at Regina's apartment. He also asked for a cover car to watch his place. He arranged with the dispatcher to have the back up cars meet them at a small strip center a few blocks from Regina's apartment. He did not want to startle any one who was waiting for her, and have them jackrabbit when they saw three or four state police cruisers pull up.
Frank had no idea what he would find, but he and Hallen wanted to take no chances. Hallen cut the siren a couple of blocks from the meeting place and coasted the unmarked into the parking lot. There were two cruisers already there and he rolled up to them. One of uniforms, an old hand with years of experience looked up, saw Hallen and waved.
“How are you Jerry? How they Hanging?”
“Just fine Smithy, just fine. How're things with you?”
“Pretty good. What's up?”
“Well, do you know Frank Godowsky here?”
“Sure, how are you Frank.”
“Fine, Smithy.”
“First of all Frank has just been promoted to detective and will be working with me. Thought you should know.”
“Hey, good for you kid,” Smithy said. “Good for you.”
“Well,” Hallen said, “his fiancée has been threatened by a guy who calls himself Fist, know him?”
“No. Don't know him.”
“So we're going to check her place. This guy threatens to be there, waiting for her. He threatens to hurt her badly, since she has crossed Arnie Hudson. We think he may be in or around the place, and we are going to check it out. Frank and I will go up to the apartment in the unmarked here, and we'd like you guys to back us up, one around the corner from her house, and one in back of the development. Will that be okay? Will it work out for you?”
”Yeah, sure. Where is this place?”
Frank told them, and they set the plan in motion.
Jerry drove slowly past Regina's house, and saw no strange cars parked there, or any sign of activity. He pulled into one of the parking slots in front of the building. They got out of the car. Jerry, pushed his coat back, unbuckled his holster and took out his service revolver. Frank already had his out, and cocked.
Together they walked up to the door. Frank reached out, and turned the knob. The door was unlocked and swung open. Frank dropped to a crouch, and went through the door fast followed by Hallen.
The place was a mess. It had been ransacked, turned up side down.
Furniture was dumped into the middle of the room, sofa cushions and sofa back had been slashed so the stuffing hung out. The chairs and table were smashed. The TV Screen had been hit with a hammer, and the computer had been totally destroyed. Frank could see all of this from where he was crouching. Nothing was left intact but the telephone, and the telephone answering machine. It was blinking rhythmically.
Nothing moved, so he walked into the bedroom. There was similar havoc there: clothes torn from the closet and slashed with a knife.
All of it was piled on the mattress on the floor, and Frank could see where the mattress had been slashed as well. Everything was a chaotic mess.
But, there was a very disturbing odor in the bedroom, the coppery stench of dried blood and something else.
Carefully, Frank walked to the closed bedroom closet door, and gingerly opened it. He stopped, stupefied.
Arms duct taped to the metal clothing bar, a naked young blond girl was suspended there in the closet. Her eyes were staring, drying blood streaked down her torso, covered her breasts and ran down to the V of her legs. Cigarette burns and cigar burns dotted her forehead her arms and legs. There were knife cuts over her boobs and knife cuts over her vagina. Her throat had been slashed, and Frank could see the white of her esophagus. She was obviously dead, and had been for some time. Frank coughed and turned away. It took an effort of will to keep from throwing up. His stomach churned and he felt a sudden queasiness and weakness.
“Jerry, Jerry,” he croaked. “Come in here. We have a real problem in here.”
Hallen walked in, took a deep breath when he saw the horror in the closet and whispered, “Regina?”
“No, no,” Frank said. “Somebody else. Looks like her, but it's somebody else. Regina is blond, blond all over. This woman is not. Holy crap.”
Reflexively he crossed himself.
Once more he choked down the sickness. But he could feel the chill of horror infuse him.
'What the hell was this?” he wondered. “What was this?'
Hallen left the bedroom and went to the door. He signaled to the waiting cruiser and gave the sign to come to him: the military sign of a clenched fist up and down in the air. The "form on me" sign.
When the door opened, he called to the officer, “Use the radio and get a tech team and a doctor in here, please. I don't know that the land line is working.”
The cop got back into the car, and picked up the radio. Smithy got from behind the wheel and trotted over to Hallen.
“What's going on Jerry?” he asked.
“You can go in and look, Smithy, but if you just ate, i don't think you should.”
“Really? What the hell can be that bad?”
”Well, go see for yourself.”
Smithy walked in and came out a few minutes later, looking very pale and upset. “Geez," he said. "I've seen some awful stuff in this job, but that's really something. Shouldn't we call the locals, too. They will have to be involved in this.”
“Yeah,” Hallen said. “Why don't you do that? I'm going to stay here though and try to preserve whatever evidence we can. The locals in this town have a tendency to be pretty casual about evidence. That used to be the case at least. Maybe I can get this to be a State Police investigation. After all we found the body and the scene. I'll have to see. “
Frank came out the door taking big, deep breaths of fresh air. His color was bad, he felt terrible and he knew that he was in a cold, clammy sweat. It was time now to check on Regina.
He took out his cell, dialed the number and let it ring twice. Then he hung up and redialed, and on the third ring the phone was answered.
“Hello, Hello. Is that you Frank?”
“Yeah. It's me.”
“Are you okay? You sound awful.”
“No, I'm not very well, thanks.” Frank said to Regina on the phone. “There's been a problem here at your place.”
“A problem, what kind of a problem?”
“Stay cool, honey. Stay cool. I'll come by later and tell you about it. But it will take some time for us to work out right now.” He took a deep breath: “Tell me, do you know a woman around here, a blond woman who looks something like you? Same size, same height, that sort of thing?”
She thought for a moment. “Well, Yeah. Sort of. Evelyn Jugman, she lives in the unit behind me. Right across the street from mine. Some people have said we look alike. Why?”
“Just checking. Look, you stay where you are. Don't go out, don't do anything until I come to get you. Be a couple of hours though.”
“Frank, Frank what's going on? Please tell me.”
“I can't tell you now. I just can't. Too much to do. But, I do have some good news.”
“You do? What's that? It sounds like it's all bad news.”
“Not this. I just got promoted to detective.”
“Detective? Detective? Oh that's wonderful. Can you come here now...so we can celebrate? I can be ready pretty quickly for you. I really can. “
“Celebration will have to wait. Just stay where the hell you are. Understand. Please do as I ask. Please.”
“Don't plead with me. I will, you know I will. Come home as soon as you can. I need you, I miss you.”
“I'll do my best.”
Godowsky hung up, He thought for a moment about Regina, and he felt warmth as he realized the kind of celebration she may have had in mind. He even felt a stirring, but he pushed it out of his mind and went to talk to Hallen.
“Jerry, I may have an ID on that poor kid in there. Regina said that she has a neighbor who looked something like her. They were often confused for one an other. Her name is Evelyn Jugman and she lives in an apartment behind this one. Over there, across the street.”
“Okay,” Hallen said. “Why don't you and Smithy go and check it out. See what you can find out and what that person looked like. Get a picture if you can.”
“Will do,” Frank said.
“Smithy,” Frank said when he located the man, “Jerry suggested that you and I go check out a woman named Evelyn Jugman. She lives over there. She apparently looks much like the vic here. It is possible this was a case of mistaken identity. My fiancée is blond like that woman, and about the same size.”
“Okay. So let's go check it out.”
The two officers walked to the Jugman apartment. There was no response to their knock. Godowsky rang the bell, and knocked several times. They were about to leave and go back when the next door opened and a middle aged woman looked out.
Frank stopped his knocking and looked at the woman who was wearing a zipper front printed cotton house dress that had daises and rabbits and grass in a blaze of colors. She had big pink curlers in her hair, some of which were covered with a paisley head scarf, the kind Frank's mother called a 'babushka'.
She looked at the two men in State Police Uniforms and asked
”Is there a problem officer? Evelyn isn't at home now. She should have been, though, about four hours ago. But she's not here yet. Is everything okay? Did she have an auto accident?”
“We don't know ma'am” Godowsky said. “ We'd like to talk to her if we can.”
“Is something wrong?”
Neither policeman answered.
“Have you been Miss Jugman's neighbor long, ma'am?”
“Yes, she's lived here about three years now.”
“Would you give me your name, please?”
“I'm Adrienne Stabile. There is a problem, isn't there officer?”
“Well, we don't know. Do you happen to have a picture of Miss Jugman?”
“No, I don't, but there is a nice one in her apartment. I can go get it for you, so long as you return it.”
“Would you? That would be just great.”
“Yes. I have a key. Just in case I have to go in. She has a key to my place, too. We trust each other. Just a moment, and I'll get the picture.”
The woman went into her apartment and came back with an apartment key hanging from a large cardboard key tag. She opened the door and came out with a 9xl2 smartly framed picture of a pretty blond girl.
“Here it is.”
Frank felt his stomach sink. It was, he thought certainly the woman in the apartment. But he took the picture and he and Smithy went back to compare. By this time, the techs had arrived, and were taking pictures of the scene and doing their thing.
Hallen had been in touch with the chief of police of the area, and he agreed to let the Staties be in charge of the investigation, “in as much as youse guys was there at the start of all this, and youse seem to have a real inerest in this here case.” The locals were there to assist, and they were doing that by dusting for prints, inventorying the damage in terms of the items and with backup photos. The yellow crime scene tapes were up and the area was now full of official cars: the workers and the observers were everywhere.
As Godowsky and Smithy were walking up the steps to the apartment, to check the picture and if possible verify he identify of t he woman, an officious local police corporal stopped them.
“Just 'cause you guys is state police, don't mean you can go in there. They got enough guys in there now. They's wall to wall cops in there so I kent letcha in.”
“Smithy and I here, have been running errands for the detectives,” Frank said. “We have some information for Detective Hallen. He wants it right now. Check with him, corporal, and you'll see.”
The local cop reluctantly walked into the apartment and deliberately closed the door. They heard the lock snick closed. Godowsky smiled. “Now there's a guy who takes his job really seriously. Shall I screw up his day and open the door with my key?”
“Do that, Frank, and the guy might try to shoot you. Let him wallow in his little authority. That kinda cop gives the business a bad name.”
They heard the lock snick. the corporal stood in the doorway, frowning.
“Hallen says you guys ken come in. Kerful where you walk, you don wanna foul up no evidence.”
“Thanks” Godowsky said. “We'll be careful.”
By this time the body had been cut down and checked by the coroner, who was directing his techs to take it to the morgue for autopsy assessment.
She was already in a body bag, but they zipped it down to check the face with the picture. They matched.
“Jesus Christ,” Hallen said. “How did this woman get involved in all this?”
“I don't know, Boss,” Frank said. “But I bet it is a case of mistaken identity. She looks a hell of a lot like my Regina. Blond, same size, if you weren't too bright it would be pretty easy to make a mistake, I think.”
“You're probably right. But what kind of loony does this to anyone, let alone the wrong person. Jesus Christ.”
Hallen’s ruminations were interrupted when he heard Godowsky shout.
“Hey you there, don’t touch that answering machine. Jesus, don’t unplug it.”
He looked up. Godowsky was charging across the littered room, almost risking his neck on the clutter, to get to the local uniform who was about to unplug the blinking machine.
“What? What’s with you?” the officer asked.
“I gotta put it in the evidence box for the state police, for Detective Hallen.”
“Don’t touch it.” Godowsky said. “I’ll do that for him.”
The cop looked up, stood up muttered something that sounded like ‘Chicken Shit” under his breath and walked away.
Hallen came to Godowsky and asked. “What’s up Frank, what’s that all about? You seem to have pissed off that cop pretty bad”
“Sorry for the fuss Jerry, but that machine’s digital. Unplug it and we’ll lose whatever is on it. The messages will be erased, and I don’t think we want that. I don’t think I want to take any chances, so I’m going to listen now, and record what is on there on my tape recorder.”
He pulled out his little tape recorder, checked to make sure it was working and pushed the play message on the answering machine.
There were three messages, and when the voice came on, it was full of menace. The first message said, “Listen, bitch, you got to come back to work. Show up at Dream Gals tonight ready for work or I'll come and getcha. Hear me?”
The second message was in the same menacing voice. “Where the hell are you, bitch? I tole you to come to work. Now why da hell ain't cha done that? Don’t make me come out there to your place and getcha. I won’t be happy you make me do that.”
The third message, in the same voice said:
“Okay, you got whatcha deserved, you blond bitch. I toll ya nice ta come ta work, now that ya made me come out there an teach you a lesson, when you get off that there closet rod, you come to work, hear me? I didn’t do nothin’ much to your face, so you ain’t got no excuse. The boss says you come to work, you better come to work, hear me?”
The two cops listened to the messages with amazement. After a moment Frank said to Hallen, “It sounds like the dumb son of bitch thought it was Regina he was working on, and he obviously thought that he didn’t do her much harm. I think we should round that scoundrel up and talk to him.”
“We will,” Hallen said, “as soon as we get finished up here. Do you know where this place is, this Massage parlor place?”
“No, but I’ll find out.”
He went into the kitchen, opened an over the sink cabinet and found the local phone book. Checking under the heading of Massage he found a listing for Dream Gals and an address. “Here it is Jerry,” he said, “it’s about ten miles from here, in a strip center right off route 22. Shall i call Regina and find out who the ‘bouncer’ is or who she thinks this guy can be?”
Hallen thought for a moment, and then said “No. Let’s get out there when we can, check the place out and if a guy is there talk to him.
As a matter of fact, i think we go out there as two guys looking for a good time, and see if we can generate some interaction before we spring the tin on them. What do you think?”
“Sounds like a plan to me. We don’t want to get vice involved, do we?”
“Hell no, not yet at least. We’ll play it by ear. Okay?”
“Sure, boss. You bet.”
“I just hope you are not being sarcastic with that Boss shit. Because if you are, I’ll kick your ass all the way up to Scranton and beyond.”
Godowsky looked aghast.” No way. You are the boss, I use it as term of respect, honest. If you think I'm being a wise ass, please tell me. I want you to know that I think of you as my mentor and friend, as well as my boss. I don’t mean to offend, not in any way.”
“Sorry, I think I’ve been a just a little over sensitive. There are guys, you know, who would use that term as a sort of sneer. Sorry.”
“Jerry, you don’t ever have to apologize to me, for anything. I admire and respect you, and if you thought for one minute I would be at all critical. It will never happen. Never. I swear it.”
“I believe you. Sorry.”
Hallen felt that it was important for him to get to talk to the man who had made the tape. He was sure it was the killer, but he didn’t want to tip his hand. The locals were working too slowly checking out the apartment. They needed to be watched carefully to avoid serious goofs, or errors such as the one Godowsky caught. A statie needed to be there at all times. He picked up his cell, called his office and asked to be patched into Detective Barney Billing’s phone.
BB answered almost immediately.
“Jerry, BB. Where are you?”
BB told him. “Let’s see, you are about ten or fifteen minutes away from here. Are you involved in anything important?”
“Well, Jerry to be truthful, a half a cup of hot coffee and a couple of doughnuts.”
Hallen laughed. “I could use your help around here, if you can fit it into you schedule.” He told him where he was, and BB repeated the address.
“Be there as soon as possible,” he said. and hung up.
Twelve minutes later, siren wailing, he charged down the street in front of Regina’s apartment and screeched to a stop.
Hallen met him on the sidewalk, and conferred with him, telling him about what was going on, and what he and Godowsky were about to do. He outlined what he need from him.
BB nodded. “Is Godowsky in there?” Hallen nodded. “Good, I want to congratulate him. I think his promotion is a good idea. He’s a good man, smart as hell and really on the stick. I think he’ll go places, in the long run.”
“So do I,” Hallen said, “he’s an asset, a real asset.”
Hallen let the locals know that BB was in charge of the investigation and that he and Godowsky got in the unmarked and went off to find Dream Gals.
They were pulling away in the unmarked when Frank had a thought.
”Jerry, I wonder if I should tell BB about that phone answering machine. He might let them pack it without realizing it was digital.
And if he does that, we’ll lose what I think may be a prima fascia piece of evidence. Shall I give him a call?”
“Yes, I think so. Do you know his cell?”
“No, but I bet if the phone rings he’ll answer it. I know I would, and so would you.”
“That’s true. Give him a call.”
Frank dialed the familiar number thinking that it doesn’t take long to commit a number to memory when the person who owns it is important to you. On the second ring, there was a hesitant cautious, “Hello?”
“Is this you BB? Frank Godowsky, here.”
“Yeah, it’s me. Everything okay?”
“I hope you fellows haven’t yet packed the answering machine. “
“Not yet, but it’s on the list. I’m going through everything in the room to make sure we don’t miss anything.”
“Well, if you would leave it the way it is that would be a smart move.”
“Why?”
“The messages on it are a virtual confession of the crime, unplug it and they get lost since the thing is digital. I have them recorded on my hand held tape recorder, but regardless, I think it may be important to have them on the original device. We have to have a tech come in and find a way to preserve the messages, without electric power. I’m sure there’s a way, but I don’t know what it is.”
“Okay, I’ll call over to headquarters and find out what to do. Thanks for the heads up. Wouldn‘t want to lose important info like that. Hope you guys get lucky.”
“Thanks, I think we will.”
On their way to the Massage Parlor, Frank turned to Jerry and said. “I wonder if we should have made an appointment. I think that these places expect their customers to do that.”
“Well, we haven’t and I bet they will take walk ins: they certainly will let us in without an appointment, don’t you agree?”
“I’m sure you’re right, Jerry. We have a pass to almost anywhere we want to go don’t we? The badge opens a hell of a lot of doors.”
They pulled up before the Dream Gals’ store front. Hallen parked the car in a slot just in front of the door. They walked to the door and tried the handle. It was locked. There was a bell to ring, and they did that.
A burly man came to the door, and looked out at them. The door was open on a chain, and he talked through the narrow opening.
He said in a gravely voice that matched the voice they had heard on Regina’s answering machine.
“Yeah? What do you guys want?”
Hallen answered, sounding diffident. “We’ve been told that we can have some fun at this address. Isn’t that right?”
”You got an appointment?”
“No, but we were told to ask for a blonde named Regina. Friend of mine told me she would really show us a good time. Did he tell us wrong?”
“Your friend was right. She’s a hell of a hump. But she ain’t here yet. She’ll be in later, I expect her in a little while.”
“Can we come in and wait?”
“Well, since you got recommended, I guess so. Take at look at the other girls here, maybe they can help you out. Some of them is probably more accommodating than the Regina blonde. You ain’t cops, are you?”
”Do we look like cops?” Frank asked. “We’re just a couple of guys looking for a good time.”
He turned to Jerry. “Jer,” he said, “we don't have to stay here. I know another place where our money is just as good. It isn’t far, we can go there, it might be easier and we don’t have to wait for some dumb blond.”
“No, no,” the gravely voiced man said, ‘you don’t got to do that. We got a couple of chicks that aren’t busy right now. You can talk to them and see what you can work out”. He closed the door, reached up and released the chain and opened the door. ”There’s a cover charge of fifty bucks per man here, you know. That you gotta pay me before you go inside. You got the dough?”
Hallen reached in his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. He peeled a hundred dollar bill off the wad and handed it to the gravely voiced man.
“Okay, come on in,” gravel voice said.
The two police professionals walked into the hallway and then into the
‘Dream Gal’s reception room.
There were six young women sitting on the sofas in the room. Against the wall there was a bar, and a pin ball machine.
One of the young women stood up as they came in. “Hello,” she said, “I’m Sara. Would you like something to drink? Soft drinks, coffee, tea and we have some complimentary wine, if you prefer.”
They shook their heads no.
“Well come in then, and meet the ladies,” Sara said.
The other girls were standing up now. Sara started to introduce them, when Hallen said.
“Look, we came to see a girl named Regina. A blonde girl. My friend suggested that we see her. Is she here?”
“No, not yet. We haven't heard from her, but maybe FIST has.”
“Fist? Who in the world is Fist?
“He’s the doorman and bouncer. He’s the guy who let you in.”
“Why do you call him Fist?”
”Well his name is something real strange. When you put all of his names together, the first letters of his name spell FIST. He even has that tattooed on his knuckles. So we call him FIST. As a matter of fact that’s what he calls himself, too.”
“By the way Sara, how do you charge for your services?” Frank asked.
“A simple massage is $75 dollars. And you can get more, under certain circumstances, you know.?”
“What kind of circumstances?”
“You can make your own deal with your masseuse. You spell out the service you want, and she’ll work out the price.”
“Seventy five dollars for a massage,” Hallen said, “plus the fifty cover charge, that’s pretty expensive”.
“Cover charge? What cover charge?”
“Well, that fellow Fist, he charged us fifty dollars each cover charge?”
Sara looked shocked. “He’s not supposed to do that. If the boss were to find out he’s charging guys to get in, he’s gonna be in real trouble.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Well, maybe I can get my hundred dollars back. Let’s go talk to him, don’t you think Frank?”
”Yeah, I think so. We can start by asking him about Regina. She's the gal we came to see, isn’t she?”
“Okay, let’s do that.”
“Sara, can you get him in here for us? Would you do that?”
“Yes,” she said, “but be careful, he's’ a tough guy.”
“Don’t worry about it. There’s two of us, and my friend Frank here is an expert in Karate.” Hallen said. “Aren't you Frankie?”
“Oh sure. I have a Yellow belt, matches the streak down my back.”
Frank and Jerry laughed, the girl smiled and went to the door and asked Fist to come in and see the two new clients.
Fist walked in and looked at the two men.
“Whadda you guys want?”
“A couple of things,” Mr. Fist. “We'd like to see Regina.”
“I told ya, she had a small accident. Nothing serious, but she’s been hung up.”
