The next day, after discovering that there had indeed been another party at their Jason Tam crime scene, Olivia and Danny had gone through every piece of evidence they had so far. Jason Tam, a successful businessman, had been found dead with traces of codeine and anti-depressants in his blood and he had also sustained a contusion to the head - which they were still no further forward in discovering with what or how, but Doc Hammerback was on it and kept them informed of his every finding.
Adam Ross, one of the lab techs, had since confirmed that the sample of Jason Tam's stomach contents had contained only the codeine, trace constituents and tom yam goong, the hot and sour soup - no curry. Which made Olivia once again doubt Susan Tam's testimony. Not only had they not eaten the entire contents of the meal as she had claimed, now it had been revealed that Jason Tam had eaten only the soup, which explained the full carton in their trash. And then of course, there was the fingerprint they had found on the chip bag.
The plot was thickening and it was about to get thicker, still.
Danny had come up from Homicide after speaking with Flack. They'd gotten a new lead on Mikey McCarthy's whereabouts and had been about to mention the possibility of hauling McCarthy in for questioning when Flack told him he had skipped the address. Again. Just like the day before, the residence was being let out to yet another family. The guy was more elusive than the Scarlet Pimpernel. It was almost as if he knew the police were looking for him.
Sitting at a table inside the break-room, Olivia looked up from the paperwork strewn before her as Danny came inside. One hand was wrapped around a mug of cold coffee and she caught the expression on her partner's face. 'I'm not going to like it, am I?'
'Seems along with the address he gave when he got out the big house this new one isn't where he's at either. The house is currently being let to a Korean family. Didn't Flack tell you any of this last night?'
'We don't talk about work on our dates.'
'Heh, he said the exact same thing just yesterday. So what do you get up to?' he grinned.
'Scrabble, Bridge...what else?' she deadpanned. Amongst other things. She thought back to the events of the previous night. Focus, Olivia. 'So, the only positive lead we had is fast turning into a dead-end. The guy could have left the state for all we know.'
'Slow progress is real progress. Or so Mac says. We'll find him,' he said, going over to the hot plate and pouring himself a fresh coffee. 'And when we do don't forget you owe me a cold one.'
'The guy was serving time for identity theft. He's probably adopted a new alias and moved to the West Coast.'
'We'll see. What about you?' He shook a packet of sugar and ripped open the top. 'Finding anything?'
'Given the information you just dropped it's looking more and more confusing by the minute,' she admitted. 'I spoke with Tam's psychiatrist, Dr. Kang. According to her, he had been responding well to the new drugs and she confirmed that during his last few visits he was feeling somewhat more positive about life. She certainly didn't seem to think he was a suicide risk.'
Danny put his cup down on the table and dropped into the seat opposite Olivia. 'Voluntary suicide not an option then. Getting back to chip guy, what I can't get my head around is how we dusted all over that house and he wasn't anywhere else except for the bag. Hate to say it,' he shrugged, 'maybe it's a red herring.'
'I don't believe in red herrings.'
'We can only scratch him off the list by hauling him in.'
'And we can't do that 'til we find him.' Olivia's cell phone rang and she dipped a hand into her jacket pocket. It was Mac. She answered.
'Olivia,' Mac's voice came over the line. 'Is Danny with you?'
'I'm looking right at him.'
'I have some new information on your vic, Jason Tam,' he said. 'I'm in my office.'
'We're on our way.' She ended the call and got to her feet. 'Mac has new info.' She began gathering the paperwork together.
'Hallelujah. I might get that beer after all. Or maybe...the kiss?' he winked at her.
She smiled at him as she tucked the reports and analysis sheets into the case-file. 'Keep dreamin'. As for me, I'm fresh out of enthusiastic anticipation. I'm adopting a 'let's wait and see' approach.'
They left the break room and made their way down the long, brightly-lit corridor headed for Mac's office.
'You and Flack got plans for tonight?' Danny asked, as they walked side-by-side.
'He's pulling a graveyard. I'm hopeful mine won't go over much later than usual.'
Most of the time no one ever finished his or her shift at the time it was supposed to. Give or take a couple of hours. She hoped tonight that wasn't the case. She needed some alone time. Time to work through her ever-growing muddle of emotions. She needed to talk with Evan and get his slant on the whole Flack/Don thing. The fact that she had started using his first name would only have Evan confirming what she knew anyway, that she was in too deep and beginning to fall for him.
The memory of last night came back to her. The things he had said, and before events had taken an unexpected turn, their love-making prior...Just like she had spoke the truth when she had told him she'd never known anyone like him, it was true that she had never known a lover like him. He had this knack of making her feel so beautiful, so romantic and the next like some wanton, wild thing driven by lust. There were times she felt completely powerless, helpless almost, in his arms and there were the other times when she was in control and he was the powerless one...A wave of heat flooded her body, while a wave of something else entirely worked its way through her entire being.
Great sex, that's what she had been telling herself for weeks and she thought if she kept telling herself that, she'd be all right. How wrong could she be? She hadn't planned on him, on the feelings - feelings that she had kept locked away and never allowed to surface - that he brought out in her. So many before had tried and failed to knock down the Chinese wall she had built around her heart, to get inside. Yet he had. Effortlessly. She had let him in...and now she was afraid that she would never get him out.
'Must be gettin' pretty serious,' Danny said. 'What is it now, few weeks?'
Olivia gave him a flat look. 'What is with you and this unhealthy interest you have in my personal life? What, you don't have a life of your own so you get off on mine?'
He chuckled, nodding at one of the lab techs as they passed by. 'You're too buttoned up, Duke. Would it hurt to open up a little? I think not.'
'Thanks for that, O Wise One,' she said drolly.
'I thought you me and were gettin' tight? Let's not spoil it.'
'Then quit poking your nose into my private life. Besides, shouldn't you be concentrating on your own?'
'Ouch. You ever thought about batting for the Mets?'
'The Red Sox called me once. You ever gonna pull your head out of your ass and just ask her out?'
Danny's eyebrows shot up, giving him an almost comical look that Olivia couldn't help smile about. 'She been talking to you?'
Funny how he knew exactly who she'd meant. 'Wouldn't you like to know.'
They reached their destination and through the plate-glass windows that surrounded Mac's office, he was behind his desk, telephone in hand, a muffled conversation just audible. Looking up, he saw the two CSIs and beckoned for them to enter.
Olivia closed the door quietly behind them and they settled themselves into chairs, waiting for their boss to finish his call. While Danny fiddled with his shield, Olivia's eyes rested on an A4 framed picture of Mac during his time as an Officer in the Marines. There was another photo of him shaking hands with Bill Clinton, along with various mementos and awards, badges and medals. It was funny what a person's personal space could say about them. Apart from the war memorabilia and newspaper cuttings taken from numerous cases over the years, that had in some way meant something to the man in charge of them, there was very little in the room that gave away its owner. There were no photographs of his wife. It was almost as if there were some sort of pathological fear of letting anyone know anything about him. Something they had in common.
Her eyes shifted back to her boss and she was startled to see that he was looking right back at her. She felt that odd twinge of heat again and feeling the blood rise to her cheeks, she quickly averted her gaze. It fell on his arms. He wasn't wearing his jacket and he had his shirtsleeves rolled up. She could see the light sprinkling of hair that coated them and distinguish the well-developed muscles in his forearms and was reminded of the day she had literally walked into him. How solid he had felt. And of course the night at Sweet Basil came to mind.
What's going on with me? First Flack...and now this.
After a few more uncomfortable seconds, where Olivia wasn't sure where to put her eyes, finally Mac put the telephone down and looked at them both. 'Sorry about that, I've been waiting for that call most of the afternoon. So, Jason Tam.' There was a file in front of him and he pushed it towards them. 'I've been in touch with his insurance company, your vic had a five million dollar policy on his head.'
Danny let out a low whistle, while Olivia scanned through the file. 'In this business, that's what we call motive,' said Danny.
'Our grieving widow's already made a claim,' Olivia said, although her tone was not of surprise.
'Guy's not even cold,' Danny remarked.
'The insurance company are withholding payment for now. Until Sid reaches his final COD anyway,' Mac said. 'Thoughts?'
'Dryin' up. We're still trying to get hold of Mikey McCarthy,' explained Danny.
'This is the guy whose print was on the chip bag?' Mac asked.
'That's him.'
'How's that panning out?' he inquired.
'Not so much panning out, as going down the pan,' Olivia said, glancing at Danny, who nodded his agreement. 'The address he gave isn't where he's at.'
Olivia quickly brought Mac up to speed.
'So as it stands,' she finished, 'we have no clue where he is.'
'Let's not concern ourselves too much with him. For now anyway. Judging from the evidence in this file,' he said, taking it from Olivia, 'we need to have another chat with Mrs. Tam.'
*
Mac and Danny had driven out to the Royalton Hotel on West 44th where Susan Tam was at present living until CSI no longer declared her home a crime scene. Olivia had stayed at the lab to work some more on Jason Tam's personal effects and sort through his business paperwork.
When Susan Tam opened up the door to her hotel room on the ninth floor to the two detectives on the other side she didn't look like a woman whose husband had just died under suspicious circumstances. Her hair was perfectly pinned in place and her make-up freshly applied. There was something about her stance that didn't feel right to Mac. He was beginning to wonder if Olivia's suspicions about the widow were just.
'Detective Taylor,' she greeted with a wry smile. 'I was expecting you. Reception called to say you were on your way up. Please come in.'
'Thank you,' said Mac, entering the large and luxurious suite. 'This is Detective Messer.'
Susan Tam nodded at Danny as she closed the door behind them. This was the first time Danny had a proper look at the woman. He had to admit she was impressive. Impressive in the same way that his fifth grade teacher had been, perfectly coiffed, dressed and manicured. She looked too perfect and too comfortable for a woman who was in mourning.
'Can I offer you both a drink?' she said, guiding them towards the sofa by the window.
'No, thank you,' Mac said as he sat. Danny shook his head. He didn't bother sitting, choosing to stand at the side of the sofa where Mac sat.
'Then how can I help you?' Susan Tam sat on the matching chair and crossed one slim leg over the other. She folded her hands in her lap as she looked at Mac and waited.
'Your husband's life insurance policy, Mrs. Tam,' Mac began and he caught the sudden flicker of something in the woman's face, 'we were surprised to learn that you've already made a claim.'
'Well, yes,' she said nodding, 'it is after all my right. Jason was my husband, he wanted me to have that money.'
'I doubt he expected it to happen through this turn of events,' Danny said.
Susan Tam lifted her chin and met Danny's cool gaze. The detective had his hands in the pockets of his jeans, but his attitude was anything but casual. She could see the suspicion in his eyes. 'Haven't you heard the saying, 'You never know what's around the corner', Detective?'
'Shame your husband hadn't,' he replied, his gaze unwavering on her.
'I'm not sure I like your tone.'
'Mrs. Tam,' Mac intervened, 'no doubt the insurance company explained that until a cause of death is decided, the policy can't be claimed on.'
'They did explain that, yes,' she said returning her attention to Mac. 'And I think I understand what it is you're not saying. My husband is dead, Detective Taylor. Whether I lodge a claim on the policy this month or next year makes absolutely no difference whatsoever to that. It isn't going to bring him back. I'm simply setting the wheels in motion. Claiming what is rightfully mine.'
Mac nodded. 'When you came down to the Police Department the other day and myself and Detective Cordukes interviewed you, what you told us that you ate for dinner the night your husband died?'
Susan Tam nodded. 'Yes. Yes I can.'
'You told us that your husband ate the entire contents of the meal.'
'That's right.'
'Only he didn't. The coroner found only traces of soup in his stomach.'
She frowned, her gaze ticking between the two detectives and then she gave her head a shake. 'Well, all right, so I made a mistake. Tell me, Detective Taylor, can you remember what you and your wife ate for dinner last Thursday?'
'I don't have a wife,' Mac simply replied. 'Your husband died of a fatal overdose which he wasn't aware that he'd taken, Mrs. Tam.'
'And a couple days later you try and claim five million on his life insurance,' Danny added. 'We spoke to your husband's psychiatrist and she said he'd seemed happier than he'd been in a long time.'
'Proves what she knows,' Susan Tam said bitterly.
Mac frowned. 'When we spoke last time, you were adamant that your husband wasn't suicidal. Are you suggesting that Dr. Kang misjudged your husband's condition?'
Susan Tam shifted uncomfortably in the seat and got to her feet, she wandered over to the large picture window and stood looking out, arms folded over her chest. 'Have you ever visited a psychiatrist, Detective? To the likes of them you're just another patient on the books, they ask the same questions over and over...Are you feeling any better this week, Mr. Tam? Not suffering from any suicidal thoughts or tendencies? How's the medication coming along?' She stopped and shook her head, lips in a tight line. 'I lived with him. I knew what he was like. How much he was suffering.'
'Your husband's depression was more severe than Dr. Kang was led to believe?' Danny asked.
'Yes,' she replied quietly. 'Jason would get terribly embarrassed over his depression. He wouldn't let people know how he was really feeling, if he had bad days he would shake it off with a smile...but I knew...I knew how bad it was for him. He often felt like two different people and when things were especially bad he would talk about the dreams he had. About killing himself.'
Mac and Danny shared a look. Danny took his hands from his pockets, folded them over his chest and shrugged. It was Mac that voiced what they were both thinking.
'Mrs. Tam, forgive me, but are you saying that - '
'My husband committed suicide and I covered it up.' She turned away from the window and looked at the two men whose eyes were fixed on her, while tears filled her own. 'Yes.'
The admission hung in the air.
'My husband was a successful man,' she went on. 'A scandal such as this would have sullied his reputation and forced his businesses to fold. Jason would never have wanted that.' She turned back to the window, moistening her lips. 'After I finished talking with my sister on the phone, I went upstairs to check on him and...' She swallowed, her hand trembling as she began fingering the neck of the silk blouse she wore. 'I knew right away. I knew he had killed himself. It was too late to call for help, so my first instinct was panic. For my husband. If it came out in the press...I didn't want him to be remembered that way. So I dragged him out of bed and I...I...God forgive me, I pushed him down the stairs...' She began to quietly weep. On the table in front of the sofa was a box of tissues. Mac offered the woman one. She silently thanked him and plucked out two sheets.
'Mrs. Tam,' he said as she wiped at her eyes, 'you do realise that your testimony changes everything. In your initial statement - '
'It was wrong of me,' she said, turning her tear-filled eyes onto Mac. 'I know that. But I didn't want my husband to suffer anymore than he already had. The media would have eaten him alive. His entire past would have been dragged up, his parents death, the depression...the attempted suicide...all of it, for the whole world to see. He was a private man, Detective Taylor. I did what I thought best to protect his memory and if that makes me a bad person,' the tears fell again, 'then so be it.'
*
Danny and Mac had since arrived back at the crime lab and while Mac disappeared into his office to make some phone calls, Danny had gone along to the Trace lab to tell Olivia of the new turn of events. She had been sitting at a workstation peering down into a microscope when Danny walked in and told her the news.
'You've gotta be kidding me,' she said, disbelief peppering her words.
Danny shook his head. 'He killed himself and she covered it up.'
Olivia pushed herself away from the workstation. 'And you believe her?'
'Story's viable,' he shrugged. 'The contusion on Tam's head, he was a big guy and if she dragged him from the bedroom to the staircase and pushed him, it makes sense that he got banged up on the ride down.'
'I know it happens. I mean... family, friends, they discover the body of a loved one and stage the scene to look like murder or an accident. No suicide stigma and life insurance pays out.'
'Which she's just lost any chance of getting her hands on by admitting she covered it up,' Danny reminded. 'Gotta face it, Duke, the wife's looking pretty innocent right about now.'
'I don't know,' Olivia mused, sighing heavily. 'I really had a feeling about her.'
'Still not convinced?'
Olivia gave her head a slow shake. 'What does Mac think?'
'Same as, he's not entirely convinced of the credibility of her story. He's digging deeper as we speak.'
'Okay, well...let's weigh up what we have so far. We've got ourselves a seriously depressed, yet highly successful businessman who takes an overdose and a wife who stood to get a five million payout, but who's now admitting to throwing him down the stairs to cover up his suicide.' Olivia ran a hand over her face and exhaled heavily. 'Doesn't make any sense. I'm getting a headache.'
'Far be it from me to turn that headache into a migraine, but you're forgetting something.'
Olivia dropped her hand away from her face and nodded almost wearily. 'Our snack-eating ex-con...who we still haven't managed to find.' She waited a beat. 'Maybe you were right about him. About the bag being a red herring.'
'Thought you didn't believe in red herrings?'
'I don't. But this new evidence...'
'Don't tell me you're giving up on him, Duke. C'mon, up until this morning you were obsessed with the guy.'
In spite of her fatigue and steadily growing headache, she managed a wan smile. 'The wife's new statement kind of changes everything.' She stared at a spot on the wall over Danny's shoulder, the cogs in her brain turning over. 'Unless...'
'Unless what?'
She brought her eyes back to meet his. 'How heavy was Jason Tam?'
Danny shrugged. 'I think Doc said he was around two eighty.'
'So he was a big guy. And how heavy would you say Susan Tam was?'
'She can't be no more than a hundred and ten, and I see where you're headed with this.'
'We're meant to believe she dragged him from the master bedroom to the top of the stairs and pushed him? The woman looks like she'd keel over in a high wind.'
'Maybe this is where our mystery chip-eater comes into play and the possibility that our merry widow may not just be covering up for her husband's suicide.'
'She could be covering for our ex-con.'
'The obsession back in play?'
'I think we need to do a little reconstruction,' Olivia said with a nod. 'We need to make sure that the journey down those stairs was physically possible.'
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COPYRIGHT. © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DebraJay. 2006