Chapter 13
Ronan
Ronan was exhausted. He and Ten had spent most of the night tossing and turning, but not in the fun way.
Neither man was happy that they’d asked their seven-year-old daughter if she knew anything about a frozen head found in a freezer.
Not only had they asked, but Everly had come up with information no one else had.
Did the ends justify the means? Yes, probably, but that didn’t make explaining to Everly how organized crime worked any easier.
“Is Fitz gonna be mad that we knew about Brian Cullen last night and didn’t tell him?” Ten asked.
“No,” Ronan said, feeling reasonably sure of his answer.
“We still have to do our research on Cullen and speak with Maria. Right now she’s the key to this whole thing.
The head was in her freezer. It belonged to a possible boyfriend named Henri Pascal.
Her future husband is the alleged hit man.
All of these awful things revolve around Maria and we need to find a way to get her to open up to us.
“You think I’m the best person for the job?” Ten asked, seeming to read Ronan’s mind.
“Actually, I think you’re half of the equation.
Jude established a good rapport with Maria.
His charm and your gift might be the winning combination we need to get to the bottom of this case.
” As much as Ronan wanted to run the show and get Maria to confess, he knew Jude and Ten were the best suited.
He parked the Mustang in front of West Side Magick and hustled Tennyson inside and out of the cold rain.
“Good morning,” Fitz said, when they walked into the office. “I’m glad you’re both here. We need to make a plan of attack for the day.”
Ronan shrugged out of his wet coat. “We’ve got some news that might alter the plan.” He hung his and Ten’s coats and took a seat beside his husband.
“Last night before dinner I was talking with Everly,” Ten began. “This case came up. Apparently, the kids at school have been talking about it.”
“Wolf mentioned it last night. It’s all over the news and kids are coming to him because they think he has inside information.” Jude shook his head.
“Everly said the same thing. Anyway,” Ten continued. “She knew we’d been to see Fat Sal.”
“Christ,” Jude muttered under his breath.
“She said Fat Sal knew who killed our head,” Ronan added, hating that his daughter had seen this information in her mind.
“We thought the same thing,” Fitz chimed in.
“We did, but Everly went one step further. She knew Head Doe’s name and possible connection to Maria.” Ten’s eyes were on Fitz, obviously waiting for the captain’s reaction to the news.
“Who is he?” Fitz asked.
Ronan sighed. “Henri Pascal. According to Everly, he was Maria’s college boyfriend.”
Jude’s eyes widened. “Fat Sal’s so-called honest to goodness, frog leg-eating, beret-wearing Frenchman.”
“That was my take,” Ronan said, nibbling his bottom lip.
“Let me guess, there’s more.” Fitz tapped his notepad with his pen.
“I showed Everly pictures of possible suspects. Maria, Fat Sal, and Brian Cullen.” Ronan paused, not because he wanted to build suspense, but because it made him emotional knowing his daughter was the one who’d picked out the culprit. “She identified Brian Cullen as the killer.”
Fitz sighed deeply.
“Not only did she identify Cullen, but she said Fat Sal ordered the hit, so to speak.” What the hell kind of world was it where Ronan’s innocent daughter knew what a hitman was?
“I hate to ask, Ten, but did Everly have any idea how the head got into the freezer?” Fitzgibbon asked.
Ten shook his head. “No, and at that point, I wasn’t going to ask. I think the information we have so far is going to be enough for Jude to get Maria to tell us what she knows about Henri Pascal.”
“Almost, but not quite,” Jude said. “Ten and Ronan weren’t the only ones working last night.
After the kids were in bed I did some research on this Hatpin Hattie that Brian Cullen mentioned and Fat Sal dismissed.
She’s a legend according to everything I read.
It’s been nearly thirty-five years since the last hatpin murder and no one has any idea who the killer was.
It was the media who gave the killer her nickname after the autopsy on the first victim revealed that he was murdered by a hatpin. ”
“What the hell is a hat pin?” Ronan asked.
“I thought you might ask.” Jude tapped his phone and turned it around to show Ronan.
“It has a narrow metal shaft that’s usually six to twelve inches long with a decorative knob at the top.
They were used to keep women’s hats from blowing off in bad weather.
You’d stick them into the hat and into the woman’s hair like crossed swords. ”
“Wow, I’ve never seen anything like it.” Ronan couldn’t help but wonder how something so innocuous could be a deadly weapon.
“Cope’s mother loved them. Not only did they serve the purpose of keeping your hat in place, but they were weapons.
According to what I read, they caused a stir in the 1920s when women began using them as weapons.
” Jude grinned. “Of course, this was the reason Cope’s mom loved them.
There’s nothing like stabbing a man to get his hands off you. ”
Ronan laughed, but quickly sobered. “It’s fine to stab at someone to get them away from you, but how the hell do you kill someone with this thing? The shaft of the pin is so narrow, kind of like the pins you use to attach a boutonniere to a tuxedo jacket.”
Jude pulled his phone back and tapped several more times. “This is from the autopsy of the first man who was allegedly killed by Hattie.” He handed the phone back to Ronan.
What saw took his breath away. The picture showed a man’s naked chest with a small hole on the left side, between two ribs. “This tiny hole is what killed him?”
“Yeah. The pin pierced his heart.”
“This wound wasn’t instantly fatal.” Ronan looked back up at Jude, his alarm growing.
“No,” Jude agreed, “it took an hour or two for this man to bleed to death internally. There’s one more piece of the puzzle you’re missing.”
Ronan flipped back and forth between the autopsy photos and the pictures of the hatpins.
There was only one stab mark, otherwise, the victim’s skin was pristine.
The killer knew what they were doing, there were no hesitation marks or misses with the pin.
“Christ, you’d have to be damn close to someone to stick them in just the right spot. ”
“How do you get close enough to do just that?” Jude prodded.
“The killer had to get this man to let down his guard and take off his clothes. What better way to do that than with sex.” Ronan felt sick to his stomach. “She had to seduce her victim first, then kill him when he was at his most vulnerable.”
“Why?” Ten asked. “The mafia aren’t usually known for their subtlety.
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, for example.
Seven guys were machinegunned to death against a wall.
Or the way that John Gotti had Paul Castellano murdered in broad daylight in New York City so he could take over the Gambino crime family.
Why on earth would they use a woman to commit these crimes rather than sending a goon squad to kill them? ”
“For the reason you just gave,” Fitzgibbon said. “If Fat Sal had put a hit on this guy, the police and family would have known it was a hit. This would have brought law enforcement into Sal’s business, but if one of his enemies happens to die after being stabbed by a scorned lover?”
“Fingers aren’t pointed at Sal or the family,” Ten said. “I hate to say it, but that’s ingenious. How many men were allegedly killed by Hatpin Hattie?”
“Six,” Jude answered.
“Oh no,” Ten said, shaking his head. “No, that’s not possible.”
“What’s not possible, Ten?” Ronan reached for his husband’s hand. Ten’s reaction was scaring him.
“I saw six unnamed male spirits appear by Maria’s bed the other day. Are you trying to say that Maria was Hatpin Hattie?” Ten shook his head.
“I’m not saying anything. You’re the one connecting the dots.” Jude paused, tapping his phone again. “Does this guy look familiar?”
Ten’s hand flew to cover his mouth. He silently nodded his head.
“How about these guys?” Jude flipped through five more pictures.
“Those are the men that I saw the other day, minus the duct tape and fancy suits.” Ten sighed. “It doesn’t mean Maria killed them all. These men could have been friends of her father’s or guys she dated or…” Ten’s mouth hung open.
“All six of these men worked for rival families,” Jude said gently. “They were killed between 1979 and 1991.”
“Six men over twelve years,” Ronan said. The ramifications were horrifying. “Hattie had to befriend and seduce each of these men in order to get close enough to kill them. Not only did she stick them, but had to wait around for them to die. How traumatizing must that have been for her?”
Ten wiped tears from his eyes. “Jude, we need to be gentle with this woman. She’s been through so much. I don’t want to cause her one more ounce of pain.”
Jude nodded. “Yeah, I agree.”
“It’s possible Maria might be ready to confess,” Fitz said. “If you tell her what you know about her medical condition, she might be more willing to talk.”
“When I was with Maria the other day, I saw that she only had a week or two left, Fitz. What are you going to do if she confesses to the murders of these six men?”
Fitz sighed. “I don’t know, Ten. If she confesses, then that starts the wheels in motion.”
“You need to stay out of the room,” Ten said. “Or we need to offer her some kind of immunity.”
“Even if she killed these men in cold blood?” Fitz asked.
“You’re sitting here assuming that these murders were committed by an innocent woman being controlled by her husband, father, or both.
What if that’s not the case? What if she enjoyed killing?
Or sought out hit jobs? Or just killed them on her own.
If she couldn’t have the man she wanted, she’d kill all the rest.”
Ronan held a hand up. “That’s enough, Fitz. We get what you’re trying to say. Let’s take this interview as it comes. Get as much information as we can and make decisions after. Ten, what do you think?”
“I’ve worked a lot of cases with you all over the years. You’ve never known me to shy away from speaking with potential killers, or giving you information I know will see them convicted. This case is different. Maria is different.”
“I get where you’re coming from, Ten. I really do.” Fitz set a hand over his heart. “Like Ronan said, let’s see what happens and we’ll make decisions together as a team. My vote won’t count any more than yours. Deal?”
Ten nodded. “Deal.” He got out of his seat and headed for the door. “I need a few minutes before we leave.” Without another word, Ten left the office, shutting the door behind him.
“Is he going to be okay?” Fitzgibbon asked.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine.” Ronan had never seen Ten act like this before.
He knew Ten led with his heart. What they were going to have to do was temper that with stone-cold facts.
Was it awful that Maria was on her deathbed?
Yes. Did that mean she shouldn’t be held accountable for the crimes she committed in life? No.
Ronan, Fitz, and Jude swore an oath to protect and defend. Nothing would stop them from seeking justice if indeed Maria was Hatpin Hattie.