[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

him this morning. Kestenbaum says it's a logical after effect of the
electrical event."
"Electrical event? He makes it sound like a Broadway production. Meaning
what?"
"Berk survived the jolt from stepping on the manhole cover. But apparently
people who live through that experience can develop clotting in the blood
vessels along the path that carried the current through the body. So it's not
unusual to have a what'd he call it? an arterial thrombosis in the first few
weeks after the accident. A stroke is what killed him."
"And I was just beginning to feel we were so close to connecting Berk to
Galinova's murder, to figuring out what was going on between them."
Page 206
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Let's keep at it. Suppose he did it, suppose he's still the main suspect?
There's stuff to tie up here," Mike said, opening the door to the office.
It looked as though several people had left while we were in the study, but
Mona Berk and Ross Kehoe had come downstairs to talk to Briggs. Before I could
get any farther, the elevator doors opened and the squat figure of Rinaldo
Vicci burst into the room.
"Briggsley, my boy," Vicci said, rolling hisr in dramatic fashion, ignoring
both of us and embracing the young man. "I came as soon as I heard the news.
It's impossible to believe. Such a force, such a great life force."
Mona let them talk and walked over to us, glass in hand. "Some things are just
meant to be, Mike, aren't they?"
"Seems to me you could have waited another few days before starting the
celebration."
"You know, in my head I had it figured he was dead a week ago, the first time
I got the call. Sort of like a dress rehearsal," Mona said, smiling. "Made it
so much easier to take when I got the news today. It wouldn't become me to
fake my grief, would it?"
Briggs turned back to us. "Mona told me why you were here last week. This
really isn't the right time to be bringing a criminal investigation into my
father's "
"Oh, yeah? And you're giving death etiquette lessons while you got a party
going on here? Let me start by extending my sympathy to you. Sincerely. You
can't imagine quitebow sincerely because of how unfortunate the timing of your
father's passing is for me. I had bigger plans for him."
"Why don't you tell us what happened today? " I said.
A semicircle had been formed now. Briggs in the middle, facing us, with Mona
next to him and Ross Kehoe stroking her back as he watched the scene. Vicci
was on the other side of Briggs, his hands clenched and poised against his
lips, as though in prayer. There were four men and one woman gathering across
the room.
Mike told them to be sure not to leave before giving us their names.
"I'm so tired I can't even think straight," Briggs said.
"When did you get back to New York?"
"From the coast? I took the red-eye Saturday night. I've been up since then."
"Did you see your father yesterday?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I was here. Look, do I have to answer your questions right now? I
mean, I'm sure my lawyer would like to be here."
"Your lawyer? You in some kind of trouble?" Mike asked facetiously.
Ross Kehoe answered for Briggs. "Not a criminal lawyer, Mr. Chapman.
Obviously, Briggs had to get Joe's attorney over here right away. There's a
lot to attend to, a lot of financial matters to work out."
Page 207
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Kehoe had left Mona's side and was trying to create some physical distance
between Briggs and the two of us.
"We don't mean to upset any of you any further. We'd just like to know well,
how Joe died and who was with him," I said.
"He was alone," Briggs said. "I mean, the nurse was here. She's the one who
found him. She said he'd had a bad night."
That didn't make me feel any better about having dropped by to stir things up
in the morning.
"Your visit with him on Sunday was it just a regular well& ?" I didn't even
know how to phrase the question. I couldn't imagine anything normal about the
Berk family, but I didn't want to put the wordconfrontational on the table.
Mona started to speak. "My uncle loved Briggs. Why don't you sit down?" she
said, turning to her cousin, who seemed to be wilting before our eyes.
Kehoe picked up the conversation. "Detective, the kid's been through a lot.
None of his siblings give a damn about him. He and his father were getting
along really well these past few months. How about a couple of days to let him [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]