Head Case by Michael Wiley

Author:Michael Wiley [Michael Wiley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2020-11-30T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-NINE

As Kelson drove back toward the city, he called Rodman and told him what he’d learned.

‘Wow,’ Rodman said.

‘Yeah, that’s pretty much what I said. I’m going back to Patricia Ruddig’s apartment. I’ll get more out of the deskman if I have to twist him out of his reindeer sweater.’

‘What if he has nothing more to give?’

‘Then I feel bad for his sweater.’

The deskman took no twisting – and he wasn’t wearing the reindeer sweater. Now his sweater was bright green. So was his hat.

‘Let me guess,’ Kelson said. ‘St Patrick’s Day early?’

‘Every day’s a holiday around here. I’ve got something for you.’ He peeled a Post-it note from a pad and slapped it on the desk. ‘There you go.’

Kelson read it. ‘Ken.’

‘He’s the doorman across the street. When you came before, you asked about video of the bike hitting Patty, and I told you our security camera was broken. But today I’m thinking I should ask who Ken’s boss got to fix the camera at his building when it broke last October. That was around Halloween – because I was wearing my pumpkin sweater – but it could’ve also been July. Long story short, the building across the street might have video of Patty getting hit.’

Kelson picked up the Post-it note. ‘I almost like you.’

‘Give it some time,’ the deskman said. ‘I’m very popular with the eighty- and ninety-year-olds.’

Kelson crossed the street. Ken stood inside the automatic doors, wearing thick olive-green pants, a blue wool coat with epaulettes, and a plastic-visored bellman’s cap. He needed a shave and had the complexion of a man who’d crawled out of bed after sleeping off a hangover.

The doors slid open under Kelson’s weight. ‘Morning,’ he said.

The man nodded hello.

‘Taciturn,’ Kelson said.

‘Sorry?’

‘I would call you taciturn.’

‘Sticks and stones.’

‘Right,’ Kelson said. ‘What’s the point?’

‘The point of what?’ His voice was flat.

‘Of having a doorman when you have automatic doors.’

‘Don’t know.’

‘Santa from across the street sent me to talk with you.’

Ken’s eyes were uncomprehending.

‘Mr Lucky Charms. The Great Pumpkin.’

‘You mean Jerry the Sweater?’

‘Is that what people call him?’

‘It’s what I call him.’ Flat.

‘Jerry the Sweater says you might have video of Patricia Ruddig getting hit by a bike.’

At her name, the doorman’s eyes showed sudden warmth. ‘Poor Patty.’

‘Heat wave in the tundra,’ Kelson said. He handed him a card. ‘If you have video, I’d like to see it.’

Ken stared out the glass doors as if a rush of residents might need his services. ‘I guess so.’ He led Kelson across the lobby to a utilities room. He went to a computer desk and accessed the date-stamped video files for the first week of the month.

‘Do you sleep in that hat?’ Kelson said.

‘No.’ He clicked the January 1 video.

‘I’m kidding,’ Kelson said.

The doorman watched the video load.

‘Sort of,’ Kelson said.

The doorman started the video playing at 08:57.

The camera pointed at the area outside the automatic doors, extending across the circular driveway to the sidewalk and street.

From 08:57 until 08:59, nothing moved. Then two cars passed. At 09:00, a van rolled by.

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