Chapter 10: A Night Out
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Cassidy arrived outside of The Cavern nightclub at half past seven, Monday evening. She did not expect to see the club’s strange group of six regulars or any of the club’s patrons tonight. The club was closed until Thursday evening. The person she expected to see was David Burrell. She had called him earlier that day and requested access to the club’s surveillance videos. When she arrived, David was waiting outside the front doors of the ‘The Cavern.’
“Thank you for doing this,” Cassidy said as she walked up to him.
David turned and opened the front door to the club for Cassidy.
“You made it sound important.”
“It’s time sensitive,” Cassidy corrected dismissively.
Her response was not at all inaccurate. Cassidy knew that the club’s security recordings had a two-week lifespan. She learned that during her first meeting with David Burrell. By her calculation, she knew that she had until the end of the week to recover video of the night that Albert Haynes made the call to the burner phone that may have been inside the club.
David led the way into the vestibule of the club with Cassidy close behind. The emergency exit signs provided the only light, and they did little more than highlight the room’s boundary. The center of the vestibule was barely visible. David walked over to the wall on his left and turned on the lights above the entrance, providing them with enough illumination to see their way across the vestibule. David led the way to the entrance of the main room and turned on the lights above the bar. That gave them more than enough light to guide them to the hallway on the right.
“I heard about your partner,” David broached as he walked down the hallway to his office. “I'm sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Cassidy returned, slightly detached.
David unlocked the door to his office and pushed it open. He turned on the room’s overhead light and stepped just inside. With David’s gestured invitation, Cassidy followed through to the center of the room.
“I thought the case was closed?” David questioned while closing the office door.
Cassidy quickly came up with a lie she could use.
“We’re just tying up loose ends.”
“Does this Haynes person have a connection with The Cavern?” David asked as he removed his overcoat and moved toward his desk.
At first, Cassidy was without the words to respond. Her training forced her to regard David as a suspect, but her intellect told her that that was next to impossible since he was living in Great Britain when all nine of her victims were being killed. After a moment of thought, she came up with a reply that she felt comfortable with.
“We’re hoping to eliminate The Cavern as a connection.”
David threw his overcoat over the left chair in front of his desk then moved to the opposite side of it. Following his lead, Cassidy removed her overcoat and tossed it on top of his.
“I see,” David returned as he stood behind his desk.
David said nothing more as he turned on his computer and activated the security program inside. In response to a gesture from David, Cassidy moved in beside him and watched as he brought up the program. When it was up and running, he gestured to the chair. Cassidy took the seat behind the desk as David stepped aside.
“How do you pull up the recordings from the Saturday before last?” Cassidy asked after taking a moment to examine the display on the monitor.
David leaned in and pointed to a location on the display.
“Just type in the date and time here and press enter.”
Cassidy wasted no time reacting to his information. She typed in the date for the Saturday before last and a minute before the time that the call from Albert Haynes was made. As the playback started, she watched with her full attention. David noticed her focus and moved to the other side of the desk, leaving her to her task.
“I’m going to be out for a few minutes. If you should need me, just press the button on the phone marked kitchen.”
Cassidy gave David a quick glance as he left the office. Her attention was fixed on the monitor before her and the video playing. The space of time on the video that she examined passed in less than five minutes. The playback showed the entrances to the club, the activity behind the bar and the interior of David’s office. The main room was not visible, nor was the hall outside of the bathrooms. By the end of her viewing, Cassidy was more than a little frustrated by the omissions. She saw no one on a cellphone in the observed areas. The person that received Haynes’ call had to be somewhere outside of those spaces. After a single run through, she concluded that the identities of everyone in the club at the time the call was made had to be acquired and examined. That was the only avenue left to her for identifying the receiver of that call.
Cassidy was not discouraged. She noticed that the strange six regulars were nowhere to be seen in the video during the time of the call. Those were the individuals she most wanted to see. The fact that the call Albert Haynes’ received could be linked to The Cavern put them on the top of her list of suspects. In fact, they were the only suspects that she could refer to by name. Cassidy also noticed that David was in his office during the time the call was made, and he was not on the phone. His continual fall into the realm of implausible suspect enhanced her filling of ease around him.
Cassidy thought about her next move. She adjusted the surveillance recording to the time just after Haynes received the call and began collecting pictures of patrons and employees exiting the club. She put the images into a file she created and labeled each with the time of their capture. A little later, David came back into the office carrying a tray. On top of it was a carafe of coffee, a pair of cups and saucers, a sugar bowl and a small pitcher of cream.
“I hope you’re a coffee drinker,” David said as he set the tray on the end of the desk. “If not, I’m happy to fetch a tea bag and some hot water for you.”
“That wasn’t necessary.”
Cassidy gave the tray a look out the corner of her eyes as she continued collecting pictures.
“You’re my guest,” David returned pleasantly. “It’s a force of habit.”
“Thank you,” Cassidy responded without specifying a preference.
David poured himself a cup of black coffee and then settled into the chair opposite her.
“Are you finding what you’re looking for?”
Cassidy was reluctant to respond. As a police officer, answering questions during an investigation was something she did not do. Plus, her dismissive manner was her way of discouraging David from entertaining romantic thoughts concerning her.
“I’m sorry. Was my question out of line?” David queried after seeing Cassidy’s discomfort.
David’s apology caused Cassidy to feel even more ill at ease. The fact that she was exploiting this man’s kindness while treating him like a suspect was not sitting well with her off duty status. For the first time, she entertained the thought that she owed David Burrell some civility.
“You don’t have to apologize, Mr. Burrell,” Cassidy explained with some frustration. “I’m just not comfortable giving out information about an investigation.”
“So, you do think there’s a connection with someone here and the killer?” David asked with a fixed stare.
“I didn’t say that,” Cassidy returned defensively.
“No, you didn’t,” David calmly said while giving his guest a studied look.
Cassidy noticed David’s steady look and became upset with herself for speaking sharply. The last thing that she wanted was the start of a rumor that Albert Haynes had an accomplice. She knew such a rumor would not be received well by her superiors, or up the chain of command several levels beyond Lt. Graham. Taking a moment to consider the damage that her words had already caused, Cassidy concluded that anything she might say to undo the damage would have the opposite effect, so she went back to collecting facial images off the security video.
“Will this take long?” David asked after a moment of silence.
The question took Cassidy by surprise. Up until that moment, she did not realize that she was imposing upon David, so she was content to take the time she needed, within reason. The fact that she was continuing an investigation on a suspended case, against the wishes of her superiors, while barred from working in the field, made her actions feel illegitimate. Inconveniencing a private citizen made her feel like a nuisance.
“If you have something to do, I can download what I need and…”
“No,” David quickly corrected. “I have nothing to do. I just thought you might want something to eat. I fancy myself an above average cook.”
“Please, don’t bother,” Cassidy discouraged with a shake of her head.
David got up from his chair despite her declining his offer.
“It’s no bother,” David assured with a smile. “I enjoy cooking, and did I mention that I’m good at it.”
“Are you trying to spoil me, Mr. Burrell?” Cassidy asked with a mildly suspicious look.
“A good entrepreneur is always trying to spoil a potential customer, Detective Tremaine.” David responded with a vaguely devilish grin.
“I can afford to buy my own food,” Cassidy returned with a suspicious scowl.
“There’s no hidden agenda, Detective.” David reported nonchalantly. “I would be doing this for you even if you weren’t a woman—and attractive,”
Cassidy was caught off guard by his remark and was hesitant to respond to it.
“Men always have an agenda.”
“I suspect that would be a wasted effort on you, Detective Tremaine” David retorted with a wide smile.
His remark and smile riled Cassidy's suspicion, so with a dubious look directed at David, she asked the obvious question.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t think you’re easily swayed by the admiration of men,” David explained with an assessing squint.
Cassidy did not find his reply offensive. She relaxed and responded more sociably.
“I’m not accustomed to being admired by men.”
“I don’t believe that for an instant, Detective Tremaine,” David quickly contradicted.
David’s expression turned quizzical as he finished his thought on the subject.
“I think it’s more like you’re not accustomed to being adored by a man. And if it did happen, I suspect he let you down.”
Cassidy was momentarily stunned into silence by this remark. After fighting off a blush, she brought sternness back into her voice.
“Don’t be so sure you know me.”
“I’m not,” David replied with indifference. “But I am fairly sure that you’ve had more than your share of admirers.”
Cassidy gave David a hint of a smile as she glanced out the corner of her eyes, then continued scanning the computer monitor.
“I’m not hungry, Mr. Burrell,” Cassidy said with forced pleasantry. “Thank you.”
David returned to his seat in the chair opposite Cassidy. He was not dismayed by Cassidy’s sharp rebuke. His expression looked to be one of indifference as he sat back in his seat while crossing his legs and arms. Cassidy noticed his movements out of concern for his feelings. When she saw that he was undamaged by her words, she went back to collecting faces of individuals off the security video.
Cassidy began to realize that the number of patrons she would have to investigate was becoming excessive. She concluded that identity searches and background checks on all the occupants inside The Cavern at the time of the call was something that she could not do at work without the knowledge, permission and assistance of Lieutenant Graham and her peers. She marked her conclusion with a sigh.
“Is there something wrong?” David asked.
Once again, Cassidy was confronted with the problem of responding to a question that was not in her nature to answer. She studied David a moment, then answered with the least offensive reply she could think of.
“No, no, it’s nothing.”
“I’m happy to help if I can,” David returned.
Cassidy considered his offer. She entertained the idea that David might have some knowledge of the people on the video, but she was reluctant to take him that deep into her confidence. In the end, she decided the long way was best. The long way meant doing it by herself and in her spare time.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” David asked. “It looked like you ran into a problem.”
A third request on the same subject was just enough to annoy Cassidy. She never liked having her decisions questioned. It suggested that the other person knew better than she. Her reaction to such affronts were always the same. Her defenses went up and her responses were laced with exasperation.
“I’m fine, Mr. Burrell. You know what, I think I am going to take a copy of this recording with me. Do you have a disk I can use?”
“Sure,” David answered with a smile.
David got up from his chair, walked around to the back of the desk and opened the lower desk drawer to the left of Cassidy. From it, he retrieved a container of computer disks and set them down on top of the desk.
Once again, Cassidy was embarrassed by her words and attitude. Her repeated abashment was an additional annoyance to her. She did not care for being flummoxed by anyone. People that made her feel flawed or ineffectual were perpetual irritations, and she generally disliked them. It always reinforced the way she behaved in that person’s presence, but here, it was turning out to be an unworkable remedy with David Burrell. He was quickly becoming the worst annoyance she had ever known—not because of the way he treated her, but because she could not find it in herself to dislike him.
After taking a deep breath to center herself, Cassidy retrieved one of the disks from the container, inserted it into the computer and began the process of recording the footage that she wanted. Cassidy deftly manipulated the program that started the recording process. David returned to his chair and watched. While she manipulated the program, he thought to ask her a new question.
“What motivates an attractive woman to become a homicide detective? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Talking about herself was something that Cassidy never cared to do with people she did not know or was inclined to keep at a distance. Despite her practice, she felt no compulsion to deflect David off the subject. His pleasant manner made her feel at ease, and she appreciated the fact that it steered him away from what she was doing.
“It runs in the family,” Cassidy returned while holding her focus on the computer monitor.
“Your parents are police officers?” David inquired.
“Just my father and a couple of uncles,” Cassidy explained while continuing to hold her attention to the computer monitor. “I also have two brothers on the force.”
“So, this is about daddy's little girl competing with her brothers for the admiration of her father,” David surmised behind an appraising look.
Cassidy turned her attention toward David behind his remark, but it was not annoyance that diverted her attention. For the first time, she was intrigued by the conversation. Now she fixed her full attention on David.
"Are you psychoanalyzing me, Mr. Burrell?" Cassidy asked.
"A little, maybe,” David answered with a smile. “You interest me, Detective Tremaine."
"Well, you're wrong,” Cassidy corrected with an obvious flair of indifference. “If I was desperate for my father's admiration, I wouldn't have joined the NYPD.”
"So, your father disapproves of you being a police detective?" David questioned her.
Cassidy took a moment to ponder the question with a blank expression before responding.
“Actually, he would disapprove far more if I was still a uniformed officer. As far as he's concerned, that's where the real men work. My father was a beat cop for twenty-four years. My brothers are beat cops as well. I'm the only detective in the family.”
"Ambitious—no," David said and then quickly corrected. "Competitive..."
"Is that a bad a thing?" Cassidy asked suspiciously.
"No, not at all," David answered with a smile.
"But it's not attractive in a woman?" Cassidy queried with a scowl.
"I think that depends upon who you ask," David countered still smiling at her.
Cassidy was immediately embarrassed and flattered by the attention she was getting from David. She had no response for his remark other than a brief blush. Shortly, she turned her attention back to the computer monitor and started the process of reconstructing her defenses and professional manner. For the next several seconds there was silence.
“So, is it Miss or Mrs. Tremaine?” David gently asked after a time.
“Detective Tremaine and I’m divorced,” Cassidy answered with a glance toward David and renewed defiance.
“Really?” David questioned with surprise.
Cassidy noted the tone of his response.
“That surprises you?”
“You just look a little young to be a divorcee,” David explained.
“It happens,” Cassidy returned without taking the time to think about it. “He’s a mistake.”
“It sounds like he’s still in the picture,” David said while contemplating Cassidy’s reply.
Cassidy paused to consider how her answer had given him that impression. She then concluded that the die was cast and elected to explain why James was still in her life.
“We have children,” Cassidy said. “Two—joint custody. He gets them the first full weekend of the month when school is in and two weeks over the summer.”
“How old…?” David began.
“I’m not talking about my children,” Cassidy interrupted with a definitive shake of her head.
With his usual politeness, David accepted that subject to be no longer appropriate for small talk. He allowed a silence to grow between them before beginning a new subject.
“Well, since you don’t trust my cooking, Detective Tremaine, can I invite you out for a dinner at a restaurant.”
Cassidy was flustered by the invite, but she hid it almost completely. After a deep breath, she turned her full attention to David and his invitation with a serious expression.
“I’m flattered, Mr. Burrell, but I’m not…”
“Flattered?” David interrupted with mild surprise. “No, I was just hoping to find out why you’re so interested in my club.”
Cassidy was made visibly embarrassed by David’s challenge to her assumption. She caught her breath behind a startled expression. An instant later, she began fumbling out words in search of an explanation.
“Oh, I um, I thought…”
Cassidy cut short her explanation in response to the wry smile that quickly spread across David’s face. She immediately returned her conduct back to professional defenses and her general inclination of defiance.
“You have every right to be flattered, Detective Tremaine,” David extolled with a slight grin. “I was hitting on you. But that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in knowing why you’re here.”
Cassidy relaxed behind his confession. Her embarrassment suddenly became a source of amusement for her. She recognized David’s deception as a joke at her expense and returned his smile without reluctance.
“Thanks, but I’m not hungry, Mr. Burrell,” Cassidy answered with some sass.
Cassidy turned her attention back to the computer monitor with her smile still in place. She was not long into her refocus when David tossed out a new query.
“Not ever?”
Cassidy recognized the question as a challenge to her declaration that she was not hungry. His smug expression suggested that he was toying with her, and she liked it. She felt disarmed by David’s attention, and despite her best effort, she did not want it to end.
“I’m not hungry tonight, Mr. Burrell,” Cassidy answered with a smile.
“So, there’s hope for the future,” David quickly responded.
“Mr. Burrell, I don’t want to get your hopes up,” Cassidy deflected with a smile.
“Then you shouldn’t have walked into my life, Detective Tremaine,” David countered without hesitation.
Cassidy released a short, constrained chortle. Afterward, she gave David an amused look then responded to his remark beneath a failed effort to hide her amusement.
“Well then, I'm sorry for having to disappoint you.”
“Such is the life of a lonely bachelor,” David countered dejectedly.
Cassidy lost the ability to contain her amusement. She looked away for a moment and shook her head as she gave way to a muffled giggle. With renewed control, she turned her attention back to David with a smile.
“I find it hard to picture you as a lonely bachelor.”
“Appearances can be deceiving,” David retaliated with feigned sincerity.
“Are you trying to work on my sympathy, Mr. Burrell?” Cassidy questioned with a forced look of disapproval.
“I’m trying to win your affection, Detective Tremaine,” David answered in a soft voice and a faint smile.
At that moment, Cassidy was both flattered and agitated. She knew her job was the only thing restraining her from entertaining this man’s advances, but her job came first, and that reality played a part in every response she gave. She looked away to hide her blushing smile. A moment later, she wrestled herself for control and responded with a blank expression.
“I can’t get involved right now.”
“Can you eat lunch?” David asked back pleasantly.
“I eat lunch occasionally,” Cassidy answered with a nod and a smile.
“Can you make small talk?” David asked with continued gentility.
“When I have to,” Cassidy answered with a definite smile.
“Can you laugh?” David asked in his usual manner.
“When I hear something funny,” Cassidy answered with a small chuckle.
“Then have lunch with me, Detective Tremaine?” David asked earnestly. “Just lunch,” he continued with a wide smile. “Lunch is the universal tryout date. I absolve you of any obligation to get involved.”
Cassidy was amused by David and his invitation. Her inclination to entertain his attention doubled. She had not reveled in the attention of a man since before her first born, seven years earlier. And even then, it did not feel like this. Cassidy had long since relegated James into the category of a protest love. He was everything that the exquisitely attractive, smoothly articulate, perfectly manicured man of her dreams was not. James was rugged, athletic, and he used blunt language. Those were characteristics that she once believed would make James a better husband than any charismatic playboy. David Burrell was the type of man she told herself not to want and believed she could never have.
“Okay, Mr. Burrell, if you like,” Cassidy agreed without a smile. “But it will have to wait until I'm done doing this.”
“And exactly what are you doing, Detective Tremaine?” David asked.
“I told you. We’re just tying off some loose ends,” Cassidy evaded.
“We? I don’t see anyone here but you,” David gently challenged.
“It’s my case,” Cassidy defended.
“I thought the NYPD put you on administrative leave after the shooting,” David mused aloud. “Did I hear wrong?”
Cassidy’s feelings of romance were suddenly replaced by exasperation. She did not like that David was peeling away her deception. Her reply was tinged with annoyance.
“I’m back at work as of today.”
“And now you have an assignment, without backup, without a warrant and without DVR disks,” David pointed out in a questioning tone.
Cassidy went silent for several seconds behind David’s remark. She finally surmised that she had no other choice but to come clean with what she is doing. It seemed obvious to her that David had his suspicions about her search through his surveillance video. She thought it best to tell him the truth in the hope that she could procure his silence at the same time.
“I’m not convinced that Albert Haynes worked alone,” Cassidy confessed flatly.
“And you believe this confederate is in some way connected with my club?” David questioned with concern.
Cassidy was hesitant to go further than she had, but she soon concluded that she had gone too far to worry about the rest. Her only concern was for the prevention of rumors. She felt confident that David could be trusted not to speak of this if she brought him in on her suspicion.
“During the Saturday night, before last, a call was made to Albert Haynes from a phone at this location. I’m trying to find out who made that call.”
“Was it to a house phone?” David asked with surprise.
“No,” Cassidy answered. “It was a to burner phone. To identify the person who made it, I need to see him, or her, making the call.”
“And that’s why you’re looking through my surveillance recordings,” David returned with a nod of understanding.
“There are no cameras in the main room or most of the public spaces inside the club, so I’m going to have to go about this another way,” Cassidy explained.
“And what way is that?” David asked with interest.
Cassidy took in a deep breath and let it out behind a frown before responding.
“I’m going to have to identify everyone who was in The Cavern when that call was made and do a background check on each of them.”
“Does that include me?” David asked with a start.
“You were recorded,” Cassidy informed with a point to the surveillance camera on the side wall. “You were here when the call was made, and you weren’t on the phone for at least five minutes on either side of the time of the call.”
“That’s a relief,” David returned.
“The problem I’m facing right now is identification,” Cassidy pondered. “There’s more than three-dozen people in this recording.”
David noticed Cassidy’s concern about the numbers. He could see that she perceived that to be a major problem, and an obvious solution quickly came to him.
“Can’t the police do searches using the images of faces?”
Cassidy barely gave the question a thought before answering it with a despondent intonation.
“Not without notifying my Lieutenant, and I’m under orders to leave this case alone.”
“He can do that?” David asked with a confused look.
“While I’m on desk duty, yeah,” Cassidy explained. “Right now, I’m just a file clerk with a badge.”
David considered Cassidy’s situation for a moment when another idea came to him.
“Well, I can’t give you background, but I can get you the names of most of the people who were in the club that night. And I can probably get you the name of someone who knows the persons that I can’t identify. Would that help?”
“How can you do that?” Cassidy asked with suspicion and intrigue.
“The staff should be able to affix names to the regulars,” David answered nonchalantly. “I can match up credit card receipts with the tables and the times. And the waiters and waitresses always remember the tables where a patron sat, so who sat where won’t be a problem.”
Cassidy’s spirit brightened a little. She knew that it was not a perfect solution, but it did have the luxury of putting a portion of the workload on someone else. After taking a moment to consider his proposal, she responded with a question.
“You would do that?”
“Yes,” David answered with a shrug. “But I will want something in return.”
“What?” Cassidy asked surprised and suspicious.
“On our lunch date, you have to call me David.”
Cassidy’s concession to his condition came in the form of a smile then a grin.
ns216.73.216.13da2
and then Add to home screen.