The Starry Night of Death Read online

  THE STARRY NIGHT OF DEATH

  by

  Lawrence J. Epstein

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  The Starry Night of Death (The Danny Ryle Mysteries)

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Copyright © 2019 by Lawrence J. Epstein. All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, stored in retrieval systems, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recorded, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review.

  Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

  The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Please sign up for Lawrence J. Epstein’s mailing list to be among the first to know when his next book will be published: http://www.lawrencejepstein.com/list.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Suffolk County, New York

  April 1983

  My sister had been visiting me for two days before she managed to get herself arrested. I learned this from Al Flanagan who called from the District Attorney’s Major Offense Bureau. Not that dear Marlene had committed any major offenses, but some alert police officer had recognized that her maiden name was the same as mine and, knowing that Flanagan and I had often worked together, called him.

  “What did she do?” I asked. He could, no doubt, hear the irritation in my voice. I already had to redeem the family name from my father, a former hit man, but now, seemingly, I had the same task in regard to my only sister.

  “I’m going to let her tell it. Listen to her and then get back to me.”

  I rode over to the lock-up in Waterbend. The lock-up was a small building in back of the Municipal Building which housed the police station. I stepped into the station. I knew the police chief who showed me the report of the arrest. I read over what she had done, and then I angrily went back to see my sister.

  A sad-looking man lay on a cot in the cell next to hers. He would have looked distinguished if he hadn’t been behind bars.

  Marlene jumped up when she saw me.

  “Oh, Danny, I’m so sorry.”

  “You could have killed somebody, Marlene.”

  “I don’t think so. I was quite good at physics in high school, and I don’t think a rock of that size and at that velocity would have killed anyone.”

  I grabbed the bars to steady myself.

  “Just tell me what happened.”

  “Can’t you just bail me out so we can go home?”

  “Marlene, they haven’t decided what to do. You may not be going home. You may be going to jail.”

  “I...I...”

  “You are a most articulate person when not imprisoned, Marlene. Please give me the straight story, and we’ll take it from there.”

  She slumped down into the cot, gathered her strength, and looked up.

  “You remember my best friend from high school? Mary Jo?”

  Mary Jo. Popular. Pretty. A drunk. The three were related. I nodded and said, “I remember her.”

  “Good. I called Mary Jo when I got here and we agreed to meet. To go for a walk on such a nice Spring day.”

  I remained silent. Marlene wanted support and encouragement, but I was not yet ready to offer it.

  “We were walking. It was by where her father lives. You know that bridge on the way to East Hampton? It goes over the two lane road?”

  “I know it.”

  “Good. We were standing on the bridge. Mary Jo picked up some rocks on the side of the bridge. The rocks looked heavy, but, as I said, not dangerous. Anyway, she threw the rocks over the bridge and onto the road. She almost hit a windshield. The driver had to swerve. There were horns. A lot of horns. Mary Jo threw another rock and...”

  “And what happened, Marlene?”

  “There was almost an accident. The cars just missed, Danny. I saw the drivers. One man and one woman. They were fine. Just a little shaken up, but nobody and no car was hurt. The police car came just as I said to Mary Jo that maybe it would be a good idea if we left.”

  “Wait a minute, Marlene. You told me about Mary Jo throwing rocks. Did you throw any?”

  “Oh, no, Danny. I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone.”

  “Fine. Then tell me why you are in jail and Mary Jo is presumably free?”

  Marlene looked down.

  “The police stopped us. I looked over at her. She was crying. I confessed to the police that I was the one who threw the rocks.”

  I wanted to yell, but I wanted the story more.

  “And now, Marlene, please tell me why you told the police officer that you were the one who threw the rocks when you weren’t.”

  “It’s Mary Jo’s husband. You remember him? Jimmy Marvin?”

  I nodded. “I remember him.” A bigger drunk than Mary Jo. He enjoyed sneaking up behind kids and punching them. If anyone can be said to have been born nasty, that was him.

  “Jimmy hits her. A lot. Don’t tell her I told you this, but she had to go to the hospital twice. The first time she said she fell. The second time a nurse asked if she wanted the hospital to call the police. She begged them not to. Jimmy would have beaten her black and blue ten times over if she was arrested. I thought nothing would happen to me so I told the police I did it.”

  I was proud of her, and I was furious with her.

  I almost said, “Stay here,” and then realized the absurdity of such a command, so I just walked away.

  I went back around to the police station and called Flanagan. I told him the story. Then I told him to stop laughing. I asked him to do what he had to do to get her out. There hadn’t been any real damages, but I said I’d give the drivers some money for what they had gone through. I stood there for almost an hour as Flanagan called the drivers, the police chief, and maybe some others I didn’t know. Finally, he called back and said Marlene was lucky. No one was pressing charges. He said someone needed to talk to Jimmy Marvin.

  It was all small town life, cleaning up the messes, being different from the City. I had Mar
lene’s name taken off the police blotter. Effectively, she hadn’t been brought in at all.

  I walked back to the lock-up with a police officer who unlocked Marlene’s cell.

  She looked at me. “I had visions of going to Sing Sing.”

  “Let’s get out of here,” I said. “I...”

  I heard a voice. It was weak and pleading.

  “Excuse me.”

  I turned around. It was the man in the next cell.

  “I apologize for interrupting, but aren’t you Danny Ryle?”

  I nodded.

  “You’re the one they call The Fixer. You work for Congressman Lucey, right?”

  “I write speeches for him.” That was the story we used. What I really did was get the Congressman or his friends out of trouble, give him political advice, and do favors when needed. My main job, paid for by the Congressman’s mother, was to run a small group that helped people in trouble.

  The man in the cell just nodded. He needed a fixer, and that’s what I needed to be for him.

  “My name is Jesse Spring. I’m a lawyer. I know the lawyer who rents the office to Congressman Lucey. He’s the one who told me about you. And of course I’ve seen your picture in the paper and I’ve read about you. The stories made you sound a little scary to be honest.”

  I liked him. He didn’t ask me if I was the Ryle who was the son of the killer.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Spring. I hope the next time I’ll be able to speak to you as a free man.”

  “I don’t think so, Mr. Ryle.”

  “Why is that?” I asked.

  “Because I’ve just been arrested for murdering my wife. Please, Mr. Ryle. Please. I need your help.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  I drove my sister back to my house. She told me about her family. She thanked me twice. She said she was hungry, so we stopped on the way for some hamburgers and fries.

  She hadn’t yet met Ari and Betsy, the partners in the organization to help people, so I introduced them. Ari Eilat had fought terrorists for Israel. Betsy Revere was an ex-police officer who didn’t work well with some of the men on the force who teased and mocked her. Ari looked intimidating, but he was even more dangerous than he looked. Betsy could take care of herself just fine. I treasured her ability to read people and to do quick research. She had recently indicated she had a romantic interest in me, but, thankfully, those feelings seemed to have disappeared.

  The three of them said hello to each other.

  The phone rang, and I ran over to get it.

  “Danny?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is Don Edwards.”

  “Hello, Mr. Edwards. I’ve taken up mind-reading as a hobby. You’re calling about the murder suspect I met in jail, aren’t you?”

  “Your hobby is proceeding well, Danny. Yes, I am. Jesse Spring just hired me. It’s not official yet, but if I waited for official I’d be a day behind. He said he spoke to you. Can you help us?”

  “I don’t know, Mr. Edwards. He didn’t tell me anything about the case. As you may know, Mr. Spring is not associated with Congressman Lucey and he doesn’t seem the sort of person my group helps.”

  “You help the innocent, don’t you?”

  “Yes. People we think haven’t had a chance because they had no money or some injustice had been done. Excuse me if I’m incorrect, but Mr. Spring looked as though he had plenty of money, and I have no idea at all whether or not an injustice has been done.”

  “Did you speak with your sister, Danny?”

  “Yes, I did. Why do you ask?”

  “Because she wanted to continue lying. Mr. Spring told her that he was an attorney and that she should at least tell you the truth.”

  “And you think I owe him for that?”

  “Maybe you do or maybe you don’t. I mention it to point out that he reflexively favors the truth. He doesn’t shade it or give it a mask.”

  “I thought you said he was a lawyer.”

  “He gives us all a good name. Maybe the Bar Association should look into it.”

  “Mr. Edwards. My group and I need to hear his story if we’re going to consider it.”

  “Only you for now, Danny. I’ll hire you to be part of my firm. That way you will have access to him. Don’t get too excited. The starting salary is a dollar a year.”

  “Retirement here I come.”

  “I mean it, Danny. You’ve seen me at work. Spring is much nicer and smarter than I am. And you know that no one has ever accused me of being modest.” He paused. “This will bring a lot of publicity. All the TV from the City will be here and maybe more than that. I’ve already started getting some calls. I need somebody who can navigate his way through the big, bad media. And incidentally find the real killer.”

  “You’re convinced he’s innocent?”

  “Come to the jail tomorrow and listen. He’s being moved in two days to the County jail in Yaphank. That will be a tougher place for the interview.”

  “I’ll listen to his story, Mr. Edwards. But if I think he’s looking for a slick way to avoid justice, I walk out.”

  “If you leave can I have my dollar back?”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Tomorrow at ten, Danny. Please.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  I went back and told my sister, Betsy, and Ari what had happened.

  “What should we be doing?” Betsy asked.

  “Find out all you can about Jesse Spring and his wife. And we’ve got to talk with Mrs. Lucey. She’s paying us to be part of this organization that helps people. I don’t want to start taking cases which she disapproves. But let’s get as many facts as we can before we meet her.”

  I turned to my sister. “Marlene, can we go for a walk?”

  She just nodded. She knew what was coming.

  We walked for a few minutes. I wanted her to start speaking. Both of the obvious subjects would come to her.

  When she had enough walking, she turned to me and said, “Do we go to speak with Jimmy Marvin?”

  “Let’s wait in case he hears about a rock-throwing incident and figures out his wife was out with you then, Marlene. And ‘we’ don’t go. My team will go. You can talk with Betsy and try to find out what you can about Jimmy. Any arrests? Any lawsuits? Have Betsy go to some bars around his house. No co-workers yet. Let’s start slowly.”

  “I’ll talk to her tonight. Can she do that and check on Jesse Spring?”

  “She’s very talented. If we need to, we can bring in other researchers.”

  I stopped walking.

  “And now for Subject Number Two.”

  “Look, Danny, I know I said I would go see Dad on this trip. The kids and their cousins are beginning to ask about him. I told them he was on a long trip. But I’m still angry. I don’t know if I could control myself. I’m only going to stay here for a few days. It’s not a loss. I got to see you. And the inside of a jail cell.”

  “Tomorrow night, Marlene. We’ll go to dinner with him. You’ll have a good meal. If you can’t take it, you’ll walk out. You rent a car and drive it out there.”

  “I don’t know what to say to him. ‘Thanks for ruining my life?’ or ‘Don’t you feel guilty for killing all those people?’ I’m just not sure what will come out of my mouth.”

  “He’s getting old, Marlene. I have a friend. He stopped talking to his father for the last ten years of his father’s life. He went to the funeral and started crying. Not for his father’s death. Not even for the fact that he’d never see his father again to say good-bye. He cried for the fact that they never had a relationship that a father and his son should have. Don’t let Dad die without talking with him. Don’t lie to him. Don’t tell him he’s the best father in the world. Tell him the truth. Only do so to his face. Have some kind of relationship now before it’s too late.”

  She stared at me.

  “I’ll go to dinner and sit there. If I don’t speak, you’ll know that I just wasn’t able to do so.”

>   I nodded.

  The Great American Family.

  I called a reporter at Newsday and learned about Jesse Spring and the murder of his wife.

  I was surprised.

  My brain became alert. It was as though I was coming back to life.

  I listened to the reporter and kept thinking of possibilities. All of a sudden I could feel the insides of my body emerging as though from some hibernation.

  There was a murder.

  I was back in the game.

  CHAPTER THREE

  There wasn’t a conference room of any sort in Waterbend’s lockup, so Don Edwards and I had chairs just outside the cell. We got a promise from the man in charge of the lockup that the door would be closed and that he couldn’t hear while he was sitting at his desk.

  Edwards nodded and thanked him. Then Edwards took out fifty dollars and said, “You look hungry, Officer. Why don’t you go get some nice food and wash it down with some appropriate drink? Mr. Ryle here and I will take full responsibility for the prisoner. He will be right here when you return in an hour.”

  “That’s highly irregular, sir.”

  “That it may be, but we lead irregular lives in law enforcement, don’t we, sir?”

  “That we do.”

  “We won’t be mentioning this to anyone. Perhaps you can call over to the station, mention that we’re here, and ask them to stay away for a bit. That way, no one will know you’re not sitting at your desk.”

  “The waitress in the restaurant may know, sir. Or other customers. But that is a chance I will take. I’m a bit sweet on one of the waitresses.”

  “Why not give her a big tip?”

  “I could use a bit more if I want to do that, Mr. Edwards.”

  The lawyer gave him an extra twenty. It was expensive for a little quiet, but he was offering a down payment for future favors as well. It was a smart move.

  Once the jailer had gone, Edwards and I stared at Jesse Spring.

  Edwards was in charge, and so I waited for him to speak.

  “Mr. Spring, I’ve spoken to you already. I’d like to start by reminding you that whatever you say to either Mr. Ryle or me is completely confidential. I also want to remind you of the biggest potential danger you face. You might think that I refer to the murder charge staring at you. But I am not. Your biggest potential danger is lying, misleading, or omitting facts as you speak to us. If you do, we may not be able to give you the best possible representation. Do you understand that clearly?”