Author: Leslie Agostino (leslieago@netzero.net)
Title: INTO THE SHADOWS -- Part One
Timeline: This story takes place in the third season shortly after the episode Cliffy
Summary: The Danko’s become
targets of a crazed killer and the rookies race against time to catch him.
It was a dark and stormy night and the young woman couldn’t believe she had to go out to the streets to make a few bucks so that her boyfriend could snort cocaine up his nose.
"I must be outta my mind to listen to him," Lori Harris muttered. "At least it stopped raining."
Lori stepped out of the shadows as a car pulled up to the curb. When the window rolled down, she leaned in and flashed a bright smile.
"Hi," she said. "Up for a party or two?"
"Get in," the driver said.
Lori opened the door and got into the car. Turning to the driver, she said, "Honey, this is your lucky night."
The driver locked the doors and pulled away. Reaching into his pocket, he felt the butt of his gun. Glancing at his would-be victim, he said, "You have no idea how right you are, precious."
Meanwhile, in the men’s locker room at the 17th Precinct, Officer Mike Danko had just sat down to change into his uniform. Two fellow officers, Terry Webster and Chris Owens, slammed their lockers closed and faced Mike.
"God," he said, "it’s a mess out there. I could be at home with my wife curled up in front of a roaring fire."
"Michael, my man," Terry said, in amusement, "you don’t have a fire place."
"In my head, I picture this stone fireplace and on nights like this, Jill and I are wrapped up in a blanket in front of it. You should try it. Very romantic."
"You know, Terry," Chris said, "I think Mike’s lost it. Dreaming of fireplaces. Maybe we should tell Jill about this. Not telling what other dark fantasies lurk in that mind of his."
"Hey, don’t laugh. Besides, it’s not just my fantasy. Jill has the same one. When we start looking for a house, number one requirement is a fireplace. She even has our first night all planned out. We buy an Indian rug, a bottle of champagne on ice…"
Mike stopped as he saw the grins on his friends’ faces.
"Please continue," Terry said, "this is beginning to sound interesting."
"Yeah," Chris added. "I never realized Jill could have such fantasies. Tell me, what exactly does an Indian rug have to do with…"
Mike threw his shirt at them as he said, "If you two have to ask you really need help."
"Danko, Webster and Owens," Lieutenant Eddie Ryker said, entering the locker room, "if the three of you don’t mind, I would like to send the officers who showed up to briefing on time out on the streets."
"We don’t mind," Chris said.
"Move it, Owens," Ryker ordered. "Danko, you have exactly thirty seconds to show-up."
Mike quickly tied his shoes as his friends fled the locker room.
"Yes, sir," he said.
Ryker left the locker room shaking his head as Mike retrieved his shirt and shoved it into his locker. Strapping on his gun belt, he closed the door and headed for the muster room.
He slipped into a vacant seat as Ryker said, "First of all, I would like to thank those officers who volunteered to be here. I know there are other things you would rather be doing and your paycheck next week will reflect your dedication.
"Second, as you all know, on nights like this, tempers will flair, alcohol consumption goes up. Under no circumstances are any of you going to enter a situation without appropriate back up, no matter how routine it seems. We also are dealing with a full moon so even the most boring incidents can spiral out of your control.
"Danko, Webster and Owens, I want the three of you to, periodically cruise by Lobos. We’ve had several incidents there already tonight and I’m getting fed up.
"That’s it. Check your pin maps. Dismissed."
As Mike stood up, Chris asked, "What’s Lobos?"
"A western bar," Mike explained. "Gets pretty rowdy at times."
"Western bar? Sounds like my kinda place."
"That’s what I thought. Took Jill there one night for dinner. We couldn’t get outta there fast enough."
"Nice ambiance, huh?"
"The best man," Mike laughed. "Simply the best."
***
Later that night, Mike was cruising by a couple of warehouses when he received a call.
"Ludlow Seven," said the dispatcher, "check out a report of a body at 2160 McKee Avenue. Handle code two."
"Roger," Mike said.
Mike hit the lights, but not the sirens as he sped to the scene. When he arrived, he saw that a small crowd had gathered.
Remembering Ryker’s warning earlier that night, Mike reached for his microphone and said, "Ludlow Seven at the scene, requesting back-up for crowd control."
"Roger, Ludlow Seven," the dispatcher replied. "Ludlow Nine is responding."
Mike got out of his patrol car and approached the scene. When the people saw him, they calmly let him through and watched as he knelt beside the body of Lori Harris.
Feeling for a pulse, he wasn’t surprised to find the young woman was dead. He gently closed her eyes and stood up as Chris and Terry pulled up.
Mike walked over to them and said, "Call for a coroner’s wagon and homicide. I’m gonna start talking with these people."
"I’ll help," Chris said, as Terry picked up the microphone in his patrol car.
Mike approached the crowd and asked, "Who discovered the body?"
"I did," a man said. "I thought maybe she was drunk or something. She isn’t drunk is she?"
"No," Mike replied. "I’m afraid not. Can I have your name and address?"
"Sure. Nick Toscano. I live at 1310 Waterboro Avenue."
"That’s quite a distance. Mind me asking what you were doing around here?"
"Visiting a friend. There’s no law that says I can’t do that, is there?"
"No, sir. I’m just asking you the same questions a detective would ask you. It saves time."
"I understand. I’m sorry. It’s not every day I come across a dead body."
"Hey, it’s cool. This isn’t something I get used to, either."
Toscano relaxed. The last thing he needed was for some cop to be suspicious. He wanted to have more fun. Fun, that’s what was missing with this one. She didn’t even put up a fight. There’s no fun in that.
He glanced at Mike’s wedding band. Married, huh? he thought. I bet she’s young and pretty. Not a whore like this one. I also bet she would be a load of fun. Put up a fight maybe? Would she, pig? Would your pretty wife fight me? There’s only one way to find out. First, though, I have to perfect my craft. I can’t afford to be sloppy again.
Toscano glanced back up and noticed Mike watching him. No, Toscano mentally corrected. Not watching. Studying me. Maybe I should study you. Memorizing Mike’s badge number, Nick said, " Is something wrong, officer?"
"No. Just waiting for an answer to my question."
"I’m sorry. Was thinking about something else. I always seem to do that. Fade out like that. Ever since I got back from ‘Nam."
"You were in ‘Nam?" Mike asked, surprised. The guy didn’t look old enough to have a driver’s license let alone get drafted and sent to Vietnam.
"Yeah. Did three tours for the Army. Not something I look forward to repeating."
"I hear ya. Did three myself for the Airforce.
"I need to ask for your friend’s name."
"My friend’s…Why?"
"Like I said, it’ll save time."
"She doesn’t know anything about this. She was sleeping when I left."
"I understand that, Mr. Toscano, but…"
"What do we have, Danko?" Sergeant Taggert asked, as he approached the younger officer.
As Mike turned to face the lead investigator, Toscano slipped away into the shadows.
"It’s not pretty," Mike said. "She was shot once at close range and dumped here."
"Just beautiful. Is it too much to ask that anyone saw the killer dump her?"
"I doubt it. Officers Webster and Owens are asking the other people while I questioned the dude who discovered the body."
"Oh yeah?" Taggert looked around as his team started to set up around the crime scene. "Where is he?"
Mike looked around as well, baffled. He didn’t even see the guy leave. "He was here a second ago. Refused to give me the name of his ‘friend’."
"I’m not surprised. Probably married and didn’t want his wife to find out where he went to.
"Anyway, you got his name and address?"
"Yes, sir. Nick Toscano. Lives on Waterboro Avenue."
"A long way from home. I’ll talk to him tomorrow. Thanks for your help."
"Anytime. I just hope it won’t be too often."
Taggert glanced down at the body. "Danko, how old do you think she was? Nineteen, twenty?"
"Give or take. Why?"
"No reason. I just hate having bodies strewn around me that young."
"I hear ya. See you around, Sarg."
Mike headed for his patrol car where he was joined by Chris and Terry.
"What’s wrong, man?" Terry asked.
"Oh, nothing. Except the victim’s a brunette, a few years younger than Jill. It just got me thinking."
"About what?"
"Going home, pulling her into my arms and never letting her go."
"Some day, in a perfect society, maybe you will."
Mike grinned. "Now there’s a fantasy I can cling to."
The cops laughed as they got into their patrol cars. Their next stop, check out Lobos.
***
The next morning, Jill Danko was cooking breakfast when Mike came out of the bedroom and wrapped his arms around her waist as he kissed the back of her neck.
Jill turned around and smiled at him as she brought his face to hers and kissed him. "Good morning," she said.
"Morning. Have any plans today?"
"No. Why?"
"I thought we might have a picnic. What do you say?"
"I say, I’m all yours.
"Good. Now, all we have to decide is where to go. The beach or the park?"
Jill wrapped her arms around Mike and pulled him closer to her as she said, "I know this secluded alcove at the beach where no one can see us. It’s perfect."
Mike grinned. "Yeah? No one?"
"Not a soul."
"So we can do a remake of…"
"All day long," Jill replied, her eyes twinkling.
"Sounds like the perfect spot. I just have one question."
"What?"
"How did you come across this stretch of beach?"
Jill kissed him again. "Remember when a couple of us took Cliffy and his friends out on a field trip?"
"Yeah. I had to work that day so I couldn’t go with you."
"Well, that’s where we went. There are even small caves we can investigate if it isn’t high tide."
"Sounds fascinating. Should I bring a camera for the caves?"
"You could, but I don’t think anything will come out. We definitely will need flashlights."
"Got it covered. When do you want to go?"
"Let me check the tide schedule after breakfast and I’ll let you know. Now, if you don’t let me go, your breakfast will burn."
"Who wants breakfast when all I want is in my arms right now?"
Jill kissed him hungrily. "Sweetheart," she said, "what I have planned for you, you are going to need all the energy you can get."
Mike pulled away and looked at her, his eyes burning with passion. "Is that a promise?"
"Absolutely."
"In that case, I better go take a shower. A long, very cold shower."
Jill laughed as he headed back to the bedroom. Turning back to the omelet she was making, Jill thought about the night before and was relieved to see Mike in a better mood.
She had tried to wait up for him, but had fallen asleep on the sofa. It wasn’t until she felt Mike carry her into the bedroom that she woke up. When Jill saw the look in his eyes, she knew he’d had bad tour.
"What happened?" Jill had asked him, after he gently put her on their bed.
After Mike told her about the young woman’s murder, he had added, "All I could think about was what a waste it was. No one deserves to die like that. I don’t care what she did for a living."
"They’ll catch him, Mike," Jill had assured him, taking his hand in hers.
"She reminded me of you," Mike had continued, squeezing her hand gently.
"Really? In what way?"
Brushing her hair behind her shoulders, Mike had replied, "Except for professions, yeah. Shoulder length dark hair, slim build. Around the same age. It bothered me."
"But, it wasn’t me. I’m okay and safe. Remember that."
"I do. I just hope Taggert catches this guy. I have a feeling he won’t stop until he’s caught. And I don’t want any more kids losing their lives because there’s a nut case out there."
"He can’t be that good, Mike."
"It doesn’t matter if he is. The weather worked in his favor tonight. Washed away whatever evidence the killer left behind. It couldn’t have been better for him if he’d planned it. This nut is going to kill again. If he doesn’t, he’s gotten away with the perfect crime. And that bothers me. That girl deserves better."
Jill pulled him into her arms. "It’ll be okay, Mike. You’ll see. Taggert will find out who this animal is and catch him."
"I hope so, baby. For those kids out there, I hope so."
Later, after Mike took a shower, the couple had made love, mostly so Mike could forget the hurt he was feeling for a girl he never met and so that Jill could show him that she was safe and sound and in the arms of the man she deeply loved.
"I guess it worked," she muttered, with a warm smile.
"Hey, babe?" Mike called out. "Can I have a towel?"
"Coming right up," Jill said, as she turned off the stove.
She walked over to the hall closet and took down a large fluffy towel. Then she headed for the bedroom and straight for the bathroom.
As Jill opened the door, Mike grabbed her hand and gently pulled her inside.
"Hi," he said, as he pulled her to him.
"HI," Jill laughed as Mike started to nibble on her neck. "I thought you needed a towel."
"I do," Mike replied, as he continued his hunger fest. "Wanna do my back?"
"What about breakfast?" Jill asked, knowing full well doing his back was the last thing on his mind.
"We’ll eat later. Right now, all I want is you and you taste a hell of a lot better than eggs and cheese."
Jill tilted her head back as her body responded to Mike caresses and nibbles.
"In that case…" She slipped her robe off and allowed him to lead her into the shower stall.
***
Later that afternoon, the Danko’s let themselves into their apartment as the telephone began to ring.
"I’ll get it," Mike said, tossing the keys on the counter.
"Okay," Jill replied. "Want something to drink?"
"I’ll take a beer." Mike reached for the receiver and said, "Hello?"
"Hello, Danko," a male voice said. "I’m gonna do it again."
"Who is this?"
Instead of replying, the caller hung up. Mike hung up as well as Jill handed him a bottle of beer.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
"I have no idea. All he said was, ‘Danko, I’m gonna do it again.’ What ever ‘it’ is."
Mike followed Jill to the couch where they sat down. "Sounds mysterious," she said.
"Probably some crackpot. I doubt he’ll call again." Mike wrapped his arm around her shoulders and smiled. "Did you have a nice time?"
"I always have a nice time when I’m with you. But, today, I must say you certainly outdid yourself."
"Me? Babe, I wasn’t alone if you recall."
Jill shifted on the couch. "It certainly will be interesting to see if I can get all the sand out of every nook and cranny."
Mike’s grin broadened. "We can always do a repeat performance of this morning."
Jill slowly smiled back. "I do your back, you do mine? That performance?"
"Yeah."
She got to her feet and stretched. "I’ll race you."
Mike slowly placed his bottle on the coffee table. "Race me, huh?"
With mischief in her eyes, Jill said, "Yeah. Race you."
"And what do I get if I win?" Mike asked.
"I’m sure you’ll come up with something."
Mike grinned. "You sure like to live dangerously, don’t you?"
"Are you gonna talk all night or are you up for the challenge, old man?"
That did it. Before Jill could move, Mike grabbed her around the waist and easily hoisted her over his shoulder.
"Hey," she protested. "This isn’t fair."
"Who said I play fair?" Mike asked, as he carried her into the bedroom.
A few minutes later, the apartment erupted with squeals as Mike showed Jill just how old he was. Just then the telephone rang and the Danko’s decided to ignore it, not realizing that their idyllic lives were about to spiral out of control.
Meanwhile after the third ring, Toscano hung up, picked up his keys and headed out of his apartment.
He was going to hunt for victim number two. This time however, it wouldn’t be a hooker.
That’s where he went wrong. Hookers, they were used t the kind of games he played last night. However, someone like Mrs. Danko, a sweet innocent girl, they have no idea what kind of games he was capable of.
He would show ‘em. All of them. Especially Mrs. Michael Danko.
Oh, yeah, Toscano thought, as he remembered seeing Jill for the first time walking to her car with the cop he had met the previous night. It wasn’t hard to track Mike down. All he had to do was wait for the cop to leave for home and follow him.
He’s not too bright for a cop, he thought. How could Mike not see that he was being tailed? Once he saw Jill though, Toscano had his answer. If he had a woman as fine as Mrs. Danko was, he wouldn’t even notice if satin was hot on his heels.
Today he had gone back to the Danko’s apartment in time to see the couple head to the beach. Toscano watched and photographed the couple as they made love, more than once and investigated the caves that lined the shore.
Jill was beautiful, he had thought then. Beautiful, fresh and most importantly, young. He needed them young. Old women were too slow. They just didn’t get it. But Jill, she would be perfect. She was the one he had waited for his whole life.
The chosen one, Toscano thought. Yes, that’s who she is. The chosen one. She’s the one who will welcome my gift. Soon, she will welcome me.
Toscano got into his car, started the engine and drove out of the parking lot.
A half an hour later, he spotted victim number two as she periodically stuck her thumb out hoping for a ride. Toscano decided to oblige her.
He would give her a ride all right. One last journey to nowhere.
Pulling over to the side of the road, he rolled the window down as the girl poked her head in.
"Where you headed?" he asked.
"Memorial Hospital," the girl replied.
"What a coincidence. So am I. Hop in."
The girl opened the door and got into the passenger seat.
"I really appreciate this," she said. "At least now I’ll get to work on time."
"Oh, yes. I’ll get you there, precious. Right on time."
***
The next morning, Mike joined Chris and Terry in the briefing room as Terry handed him a cup of coffee.
"Did I miss anything yesterday?" Mike asked.
Seeing the look on Mike’s face, Terry asked, "Do you care? You look very relaxed."
"Oh, I am, Webster," Mike replied, with a grin. "It was very enjoyable."
"I bet." Terry grinned. "Is there anywhere in your apartment where you didn’t…"
"Nope."
The cops laughed as Ryker entered the room. They took their seats as he said, "This won’t take long. As most of you know, a second body was found last night. This time she was a student nurse out of Memorial Hospital. According to Taggert, this killer not only changed the type of women he’s after, but he’s getting more violent.
"So far, we have no witnesses to any of the killings, and this guy has in three days racked up two bodies. Possibly a third.
"A nineteen year old girl was reported missing an hour ago. I’ll be passing out her picture. Keep your eyes and ears open. We are not dealing with a sane individual and if we don’t stop him soon the body count just might rise.
"Any questions?"
"Are the FBI going to get involved?" Terry asked.
"Not yet, Webster. It’s too early to call them in. He’s not even sure he’s dealing with the same individual. All we know about these two killings is that he changed his m.o. from the first killing. Anyone with more questions or has any ideas, go see Taggert. He needs all the help he can get.
"That’s it. Check your pin maps. Dismissed."
Mike got to his feet as Ryker said, "Danko, when you have a minute, I would like to see you."
"Yes, sir."
"What did you do now?" Chris asked.
"I have no idea."
"Maybe your day off got a little," Terry said, "How should I put this? Out of hand?"
"No." Mike shook his head. "That can’t be it." Blushing deeply, he looked at Terry. "Could it?"
"Don’t look at me. I wore ear plugs."
Mike laughed. "Sure you did."
"Danko," Ryker said, "I’m starting to grow roots. I’ll see you in my office."
"Yes, sir. Right behind you."
"Good luck," Chris said, as Mike followed Ryker out of the room.
Once the officers were in Ryker’s office, the Lieutenant closed the door and said, "Have a seat, Danko."
Mike sat down and said, "Did I do something wrong, sir?"
"No, Danko, as far as I know. Why? Is there something you want to tell me?"
"No, sir."
"Then can I tell you why I called you in here or do you want to start guessing?"
"Sorry, sir," Mike replied, sheepishly.
"Two nights ago, you were the responding officer to the first murder scene. Is that correct?"
"Yeah."
"Do you remember interviewing a gentleman by the name of Nick Toscano?"
"Yes, sir. He told me that he was the one who found the body. At first he thought she was drunk."
"He didn’t see the bullet wound?"
"I guess not. It wasn’t brightly lit out there, sir."
"I understand. He gave you his address didn’t he?"
"Yes, sir. It’s all in the report."
"I know it is, Danko and both Taggert and I read your report thoroughly. There’s just one problem."
"What’s that?"
"The address he gave you was a phony. It’s an empty lot in the middle of nowhere. Did you get a good look at Toscano?"
"Pretty good, I guess."
"Good enough to give our artist a composite?"
"Yeah, but I might be able to help better than that. Toscano told me he did three tours in ‘Nam in the Army. That shouldn’t be too difficult to prove and it’ll have a picture of him."
"Provided the name he gave you wasn’t as phony as the address. Danko, check the mug books. If he’s not in there, get a composite made up. Then we’ll bother the Army."
"Now, sir?"
"Unless you have something better to do."
"Uh, no, sir."
Mike rose to his feet and left Ryker’s office. He had been thinking about that night since briefing and something told him he had screwed up. How could he have let the guy slip away? Never mind that, how the hell did he slip away without anyone seeing him?
As he entered the records’ bureau, the phone call he had received the night before started to bother him too. Was it Toscano who called him? And if so, what the hell was he talking about? The fact that a second victim had turned up last night and a possible third girl is now missing was beginning to drive Mike nuts. He wished he could see what the two women looked like and hoped neither bore a resemblance to Jill. He still couldn’t get the first girl out of his head; in spite of the great day off he had the day before.
Going to the records’ clerk, he asked to see the mug books, and promised himself not to think about what he had just heard.