CHAPTER 6
CELESTE CANTOR MOVED through the crowd like a great white shark. No pun intended. She was graceful and smooth, and anyone who noticed her got out of the way immediately.
I left Trilling at the bar and followed behind her like a remora. She certainly wasn’t cold or menacing. She stopped and talked to a couple of people as we worked our way to an empty table in a corner.
An old-time narcotics detective gave Cantor a hug. He said, “Did you hear about Tabitha Arnold? She died from carbon monoxide after she got drunk and passed out in her kitchen with her car running in the garage.”
Cantor nodded. “And I just heard Ralph Stein and Gary Halverson both committed suicide down in Florida.”
The retired narcotics detective shook his head and looked down at the floor. “I heard. I knew Gary had advanced lung cancer. I just can’t believe they’d use propane tanks to blow themselves up.”
It was a shock to hear from a credible source about the retired detectives, longtime associates who’d started as patrol partners. Police suicides were becoming an epidemic.
Cantor continued to make her way through the crowded pub, graciously accepting congratulations from a half dozen people on her imminent retirement. A few people also wished her luck in her campaign.
It felt like forever, but we finally reached a quiet table in the corner. Cantor sat right next to me and leaned in close so no one would overhear our conversation.
She said, “You heard about Ralph Stein and Gary Halverson. And poor Tabitha Arnold. Now we have Lou Sanvos. We all know the statistics on police deaths. But for four retired cops to die this close together … makes me a little nervous. They were all members of the Land Sharks. Sooner or later, you start to see a pattern.” She reached over and squeezed my arm. “I was hoping you’d come to the wake, Mike. You’re one of the few people I really trust.”
I saw where she was going but kept my mouth shut. No way I wanted to volunteer for something. I was going to make her say it out loud.
She looked me in the eye and said, “I want you to look at these deaths. But quietly. Just you on it for now. I don’t want to start a panic. I can get you a special assignment. You can report only to me. What do you think?”
I didn’t want to speak too quickly. I considered several options. Then I said, “I’m not sure why we need to keep it quiet. A little coverage might help flush out information, if there’s anything to it.”
“That’s where personal and public interests overlap. Obviously, it’s no secret I’m running for City Council. If these deaths turn out to be something other than what they appear, it’ll look bad for me on the campaign trail that I didn’t catch it. This is the sort of thing that falls directly under me as an inspector. But if I have you look into things, and if it turns out to be more than random deaths, I look proactive in having recruited you to solve them. You’re the best homicide detective out there. Hands down. No one will question me about these deaths if they know I assigned you the investigation.”
I appreciated her honesty about how this could affect her campaign. She was also right. These deaths alarmed me and deserved to be investigated.
I slowly nodded. “I’ve got some time. But I don’t need to be reassigned to you. Harry Grissom is on vacation. I’m the acting supervisor on the squad. I should be able to cover this without drawing too much attention.”
Cantor patted me on the arm. “I knew I could count on you. As I get closer to my retirement date, I find I have less and less time for real police work. As I said, you’re one of the few people I trust to do it for me. I’ll get you some reports to read over the weekend so you can get a head start.”
Just as I was about to temper her expectations, Cantor stood up to greet a well-wisher. Whether it was official or not, she was already on the campaign trail.