Alibi II Read online

  “Hey, Delgado, and Ross, get in here. Now!” shouted Captain O’Reilly. “Delgado, what the fuck is going on with you? I hear you’re about to be a family man?” asked the captain, patting Tommy on his back, as if he was a proud father.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m getting married and I’m inviting you to my wedding.” Tommy smiled. “You and the chief.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said, before turning to Ross. “Hey, Ross, how’s it going with you?” he asked Merva, not wanting her to feel left out of all the small talk.

  “I’m good, Captain, everything is well,” she retorted.

  “That’s good to hear. Listen guys, we got two cases I want you to pick up and report back to me pronto. The first is a drive-by on Twenty-third Street off the corner of Susquehanna. Looks like we got a woman in her midforties, shot in the back of the head, in stable condition at Jefferson; her name is Beverly Guess. Take this,” said the captain, passing a folder to Merva.

  “And the next case I got for the two of you is an old lady, shot and killed in the doorway of her apartment out in West Philadelphia. There was no forcible entry and no one heard a thing, not even the gunshot,” he said, passing another folder to Tommy.

  “I want the two of you to see what you can come up with,” he said, hoping they could solve the case before sundown. “The mayor’s office wants an arrest, so I need you guys to look sharp out there, you got it?”

  “We got it, don’t worry about a thing,” said Tommy, patting his back.

  “We’re on it, Captain,” added Merva, as she and Tommy walked out of the captain’s office, closing his door behind them.

  “So, where should we start, old lady or drive-by?” asked Tommy.

  Merva pulled a coin out of her pocket. “Heads old lady, tails drive-by,” she said as she flicked the coin, caught it, and slapped it on the back of her hand, “Tails! We do the drive-by,” she said as she stuffed the coin back in her pocket.

  “Tails it is,” said Tommy as he held the door for her to walk through.

  Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

  Daisy Mae Fothergill was in the final stages of being relocated and placed into the witness protection program. Her paperwork had been pushed through by none other than Detective Tommy Delgado. And after she testified she was immediately transported to Phoenix, Arizona, where two uniformed officers of the Relocation Unit’s specialized services were waiting for her. A woman by the name of Lori Snelling was assigned to Daisy and responsible for her intake. Her job would only last for ninety days and then she’d be out of Daisy’s life, forever. But, in the meantime, she would transition Daisy and morph her into her new being. Her job included detail for ninety days, processing Daisy’s new identity, home placement, society introduction, job searching, and education, and there was just a ton of paperwork involved for every detail and for every process that Lori was responsible for. But rest assured, when Lori Snelling was done, Daisy Mae Fothergill would no longer exist. She had ninety days and then Lori would be assigned a new case, a new life, a new person to delete from the face of the earth. Some cases required surgery or face-altering. High alert security services were needed in most cases, but not in Daisy’s. Lori was confident that Daisy Mae Fothergill would never be found again when she was done.

  Daisy remembered how nervous she was at the airport, her first time flying, and now a new place, and a new home, with complete strangers. She had said good-bye to everyone at the courthouse and had nothing familiar from her past except a picture book of her closest friends and relatives. She thought back to the day she had met Lori Snelling.

  “Hi, I’ve been assigned to relocating you. I’ll be picking up where Detective Delgado left off. If you have any questions, you are free to ask them. If I have the answers, I will provide them. If I don’t, I will get the answers for you.” Snelling smiled and helped Daisy with one of her carry-ons. “First, we will go to your hotel and check you in. I will explain the security detail that has been assigned,” she said, noticing the frown that appeared on Daisy’s face. “No, no, it’s just preliminary, all this is, just to get you started and on your way. We’ll be out of your hair in no time,” Lori said, raising her eyebrows and showing a confident smile.

  “What’s no time?” asked Daisy, wondering how long no time would actually be.

  “We got ninety days, and until then, let’s just say, I’m sort of like your shadow. The good thing, though, is if you need me, I’ll be right here. But, first things first, I need a name, a new name; that’s the only thing Detective Delgado didn’t fill in,” requested Lori, just wanting to get the ball rolling.

  “A name?” asked Daisy, never having thought of what she wanted to be called.

  “Sleep on it, let me know tomorrow. For the night, you’ll be in Motel 8, but once we get you situated you’ll be in your dorm, a regular ’ol college student like everyone else. Sounds like a lot of fun.” Lori Snelling smiled as if it was just the greatest thing in the world.

  “College, no one said anything about college.”

  “Detective Delgado pushed your paperwork. These are his instructions. Your new residence, courtesy of the state of Pennsylvania, is at Arizona State.”

  Okay, Mr. Detective, since you signed me up for college you can sign me out. Daisy couldn’t wait to get to a phone, boy, oh, boy, was she going tear into him when she did, and as soon as Lori closed the crappy Motel 8 door behind her, Daisy picked up the phone and called Tommy.

  “Why am I in a Motel 8, and why did you enroll me in college?”

  “Well, you have to do something, and there are people in place to keep an eye out for you. You’ll be fine. You’ll do great.”

  “I need a job,” said Daisy defiantly.

  “Doing what? You have no schooling. What, you gonna go back to stripping?”

  His question hurt her feelings, because he was saying it to do so and at the same time using her life against her.

  “I did what I had to do!” she barked back.

  “Okay, fine, now do what you need to do. It’s a great opportunity. I want you to make it out here, Daisy. I don’t want you to end up dead, you hear me, lying in the fucking gutter somewhere!” He caught his anxiety, his frustration, his hostility, and he remembered what his district’s psychiatrist told him to do and quietly counted to four and the anger was gone. He was in control. “Listen, Daisy, you can do this. I know you’re scared, but just give it a try. I hooked you up with Lori, isn’t she great?”

  “Yeah,” Daisy sighed with a hint of sarcasm.

  “What you say? I can’t hear you, speak up,” Tommy shot back at her, figuring she needed to be bossed around, just like any other woman he had ever dealt with.

  “I said yeah, she’s just great, she’s the best.”

  “Okay, so you got away with a nice little stash,” said Tommy, knowing all about the arrangement Vivian had made, because he was the one behind it.

  “How’d you know about that?”

  “Ah, hah, hah, don’t you want to know.” Tommy joked and teased, but he was really serious, and she would do what he said like everybody else. He knew that if she didn’t go, she would limit her chances of surviving, and so far in life, the odds weren’t stacked in her favor.

  “Hey, just promise me you’ll give it a chance.”

  “Yeah, I’ll give it a chance.”

  “Okay, and one more thing, Daisy.”

  “What?”

  “I’m betting on you, all my money is on you. I know you can do this.”

  That was two weeks ago, the night they had flown her in. And as scared as she was, she went along for the unknown ride. Lori Snelling turned out to be one of the nicest people Daisy would ever meet, caring, passionate, and understanding.

  The two bonded in an unbelievable way. It wasn’t hard to understand, though. Lori was from a small town in Oklahoma. One night after her seventeen-year-old sister had a fight with their parents, Lil’ Lori, as everyone called her, watched her sis
ter pack a backpack, even though her parents had told her she could not spend the night over her girlfriend’s house.

  “But it’s just a slumber party,” she defended, begging like a hungry homeless person. But it didn’t work, the Snellings were relentless and they never budged. After the house was quiet and everyone asleep, Christy tiptoed downstairs and came back into the room wearing her jacket.

  “Where you going?” Lori asked a fuming Christy.

  “I don’t know, but far, far, far away from here, that’s for sure. I hate it here and I hate them. They never let me do anything. I’m going out.”

  “Are you coming back tomorrow?” asked Lil’ Lori, hoping her sister would say no and that she was leaving for good so she could have her room.

  Lori watched as her sister fell silent, opening the window.

  “I wish never,” said Christy as she climbed out of the window and jumped off the ledge.

  “Well, can I have your Madonna poster off your wall?” pint-size nine-year-old Lori asked her seventeen-year-old sister from the window.

  “No, don’t be dumb,” Christy snapped in her usual valley girl snobbish way. “Close the window and be quiet.”

  That was the last time anyone ever saw Christine Allison Snelling. Her family would be forever broken. Her mother would have a nervous breakdown and her father wouldn’t speak for months. She was believed to have been abducted. It was because of her sister that Lori ventured into law enforcement. And to this day, she still searched, hoping to find her long-lost sister.

  “Knock knock, you ready, time for school,” joked Lori as she opened the door to the hotel room where Daisy was staying.

  “I’m ready as I’ll ever be,” said Daisy, next to her bags.

  “It’ll be great. Don’t worry, you’re going to love it. Did you decide on a name?”

  “No…well, sort of.”

  “Well, maybe for you the admissions line will be long today, but you have to figure something by the time we get there.”

  A name was important because it identified you to the world. A name was also supposed to fit a person like a glove.

  Daisy had a People magazine on a tabletop with Princess Diana gracing the cover. She was beautiful and regal and her life appeared perfect, loving, and safe. All her life since she was a little girl Daisy had dreamed of being a princess, playing with her dolls and acting as if she herself were royalty. She smiled at the kind face on the page smiling slightly at her. Then there was the challenge of a last name. Channeling her mother, only one came to life, Poitier, after Sidney Poitier, her mother’s favorite actor in all the world.

  “Diana Abigail Poitier,” said Daisy, smiling.

  “Wow, great name,” said Lori as she started gathering Daisy’s luggage and began helping her to the car with it.

  The college campus was thirteen miles from Phoenix, Arizona. On the way over, while Lori finished up the paperwork with Daisy’s new name, Daisy stared out the window in silence, thinking about everything she had been through. Her life had taken a dramatic turn that involved many lost lives. Her life was certainly a mess, to say the least, and while she couldn’t change what had happened in the past, she promised herself that there would be some changes moving forward. The vast green countryside promised a new beginning filled with new possibilities.

  Once on campus, Lori Snelling handled everything for Daisy. All she had to do was sit back and smile.

  “Wow, you’ll be staying in McClintock Hall, and here’s your Arizona State Welcome Kit, your key to your room, your school schedule, a booklet and directory of the campus, your counselor’s booklet, whom you really need to let help you, and here you go, a welcome bag with all kinds of goodies. Make sure you look at that school schedule folder, because it will let you know all the books you will need to purchase for your classes.”

  Lori stood over Daisy, passing her folder after folder, welcome kits, and bags of assorted goods, and when she was done, Daisy held a pile at least eight inches thick.

  “Wow, that’s a lot, but you can handle it, I know you can. Go through everything and remember your counselor can really help guide you until you learn your way.”

  “Thanks, Lori,” said Daisy, truly appreciating all that Lori had done for her over the past two weeks. She hadn’t just done her job, she had become a big sister, a mentor, a confidante for Daisy, and Daisy began to feel insecure at the thought of her leaving.

  “What will I do without you?” asked Daisy, tears in her eyes at the thought of being alone and having absolutely no one in her life.

  “Awww shucks, bumblebee, are you getting sentimental? Not you, city mouse with a heart of steel. Now you’re gonna be just fine, Daisy…I mean Diana.” She smiled, pointing out Daisy’s new name. “I don’t even question it. This is a new start and you can’t go forward if you stay in the past. Let everything go, and embrace the adventure of your new freedom, your new life, and don’t be afraid, just don’t be afraid.”

  “But…I have no one in this world. I’m like the most alone person on the planet.”

  “No, trust me, you’re not, there’s people way lonelier than you, believe you me. Listen, there are thousands of young people on this campus trying to figure out who they are, where they belong in life, and what their purpose is. Everyone wants to make friends. Trust me, there’s someone here dying to be your friend. I bet in less than a month, you’ll have plenty of friends. Really, you’re a pretty girl, and you’re gonna make friends with no problem. And besides, I’m here and I’m your friend, and I’m only a phone call away,” she said, giving Daisy a warm hug, letting her know she wasn’t alone. “Trust me, you’re not alone. It’s gonna be all right, just call me if you need anything. Besides, I’m still working with you. We have counseling to get set up, for these very issues you’re feeling right now. A lot of people suffer depression from being separated from their former life. Don’t worry, I’m going to help you get through this transition, this is what our ninety days is all about.”

  They found Daisy’s dorm and unlocked the door. A young woman was standing in the middle of the floor looking at a calendar poster she had just hung on the wall.

  “Hi, my name is Paige, Paige Hunter.” She smiled, extending her hand as Daisy walked in the door.

  “Hi, I’m Da…” she quickly caught herself remembering her new name. “Diana, Diana Poitier,” she said, extending her hand and taking Paige’s into hers.

  “I’m Diana’s aunt, you can call me Lori,” said Lori, though she was obviously a completely different race than Daisy.

  Maybe she’s an aunt through marriage. Paige smiled as she greeted her new roommate, a little upset that she’d no longer have the space to herself.

  Lori Snelling stood quietly as she watched Paige, carefully making a mental note to investigate her and run her through central, make sure she wasn’t a risk for Daisy. She stepped outside the room and used a paging device that had a keyboard attached to ask her unit to do a background check on Daisy’s roommate. She’d know more about this girl than this girl knew about herself in less than three point six minutes.

  “If you need anything just let me know,” said Paige, who was already settled, having moved into the dorm back in August when school began. She had the entire wall on her side of the room completely decorated with posters, calendars, and her life’s accomplishments. It was a little late for Daisy to have a problem with the left side of the room. Paige had already taken the twin bed and the wall on the right.

  “Yeah, sure, it’s fine. This side is just great.” Daisy smiled, looking at Paige, who was so stunningly beautiful that Daisy couldn’t stop looking at her. She had long black hair and big brown eyes. She definitely appeared to be mixed, although Daisy wasn’t sure with what, maybe Spanish, maybe Asian, definitely black, but she had no idea of Paige’s nationality at first glance.

  “Well, I’m hungry, would you like me to bring you back something from the campus market?”

  “Oh, no, I’m fine, thanks,” said L
ori.

  “Yeah, I’m fine, too,” said Daisy, thinking how lucky she was to have a nice, pretty roommate.

  “Okay, well I’ll be back, guys,” said Paige as she closed the door.

  The room was smaller than Daisy had expected, but at least her roommate seemed nice enough. Her bed felt great as she sat down on it, testing the mattress for firmness.

  “Not bad, right?” asked Lori.

  “No, it’s not bad at all.”

  “Well, I’m going to let you get settled,” Lori said, looking around the room, figuring it was best to let Daisy get comfortable in her new surroundings. She hugged Daisy and again promised she was only a phone call away. Daisy watched as she closed the door behind her. She looked around the room. It was hard to believe she was actually there. It was certainly a far cry from the rough inner-city streets of Philadelphia.

  Diana Abigail Poitier. She smiled at the thought of her new life and her new name. She spun around in a circle in the middle of the room before falling backward onto her bed. She had many plans for getting her life together. She was lucky to have gotten out of West Philadelphia and lucky to have another chance at life. She planned to do everything in her power to do the right thing and live a good life. At first she had been upset, but not anymore, everything for her would fall into place, her life wouldn’t be wasted. She had the power to be anybody in the world she wanted to be and she planned to use it. I think this might really work out.

  Tommy and Merva drove up Susquehanna Avenue and turned on Twenty-third Street, pulling up in front of 2234 N. Twenty-third Street, where police tape was hanging across the front door of the house, sealing off the home. Not even the family was to enter until forensics removed the tape.

  “Let’s take a look,” said Tommy as they both closed the car doors behind them. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to, but, who followed the rules anymore?

  Merva carried a camera and began snapping pictures. She walked down the block as Tommy looked around outside and on the porch. There were tire tracks in the street, and Merva took several photos of them, hoping that they would offer some type of evidence later down the line. She took pictures of the bullet-riddled front porch and the bullet-shattered window and then made her way up the porch steps.