Chapter 102
A young Yonkers patrolman happily gave me a ride back to the house where the chase had begun, where virtually the entirety of the local police department had arrived.
As I made my way through the crowd toward the porch, I saw Maggie Chin sitting next to Thomas Owens.
A couple of plainclothes Yonkers cops stood nearby.
A woman, whose stars on her shoulders and stripes on her sleeves indicated a long career with the Yonkers PD, marched up to me and asked, “Are you Michael Bennett?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m Assistant Chief Marietta Williams. I’m curious what’s caused such a commotion in my pleasant town. And along those same lines, I’m curious why we didn’t get a heads-up call from you prior to your jog through our city.”
She was being professional while also giving me a couple of jabs. I liked her attitude. I could tell she was the kind of person who got things done.
“To answer your second question first, Chief, we didn’t know what we were going to find.
I certainly didn’t think anyone was going to run from us.
We were following leads and they led us up here,” I told her.
“The two men we were investigating are part of a group that we believe is responsible for bombs that were recently set off in Manhattan.”
That seemed to catch the assistant chief by surprise. She let out a little whistle and said, “Your ATF partner deferred to you for any comment. I have to say I’m very impressed. That’s a big case with a lot of eyes on it.”
After I handed the assistant chief my business card and promised to give her an update when one was available, I climbed up onto the porch to talk to Maggie Chin.
I purposely didn’t acknowledge Thomas Owens. He was sitting sullenly right next to Maggie, but his back was straight and his head was still held high.
The first thing Maggie said to me was “What happened to your jacket? Aren’t you freezing out here?”
“My jacket was a casualty of the chase. It seems Mr. Owens here left a surprise for our suspect.” I cut my eyes over and saw a hint of a smile flicker across Owens’s face. “I had to use my jacket to put out the fire that consumed the suspect when he pulled the trigger to the remote.”
Without prompting, Owens said, “I told him to stop bullying me.” After a moment, he added, “Wish I could’ve seen it.”
Now I turned to Owens and said, “I know Agent Chin has read you your rights.”
Owens shrugged. “How much more trouble can I be in?”
I appreciated that perspective. It sure beat the whiners who complained about being harassed by police after committing homicide. I ran on impulse and said, “Mr. Owens, would you be interested in talking to me on our ride back to the city?”
“If you give me some details about what happened when Ellis pulled the trigger on the remote.”
That request alone gave me a window into how Owens’s mind worked. I imagined the interview would be unlike any I had ever done.