The Nightlife: New York - Chapter 13

Konowicz stood with Oberman outside the front door to Bemichis Restaurant with Trish Anstrom, a thirty-something single mom who worked nights as a waitress.

“I saw her pick him up off the ground, and take off running down the street carrying him. It was the damnedest thing. Like I said on the phone, I heard a gun shot, and by the time I looked out the door, that’s what I saw. I think the police arrived a few minutes later. I couldn’t really see well. It was dark and the streetlamp is over there.” She pointed across the road to the light post, huffed another huge whiff off her cigarette and continued, “I hope it wasn’t Aaron. But he hasn’t been to work since that night, and all this happened not ten minutes after he walked out the door.” Finishing her cigarette, she reached into her pack for another one to light from the glowing butt of the first.

Konowicz grunted to get her attention. “Let me see if I got all this. His name is Aaron Pilan, he’s twenty-two, about five foot eleven, skinny with dark brown hair and eyes, lives in the Reisner Apartments over on 52nd, about six blocks down. He doesn’t answer calls or text messages, and his voicemail is full. He was last seen leaving here at midnight August 6th. Is that correct, Ms. Anstrom?” She nodded yes repeatedly through the haze of cigarette smoke.

“Was there anything you could think of to add to this? Have you ever seen the woman you said, picked him up and ran off with him? Did you recognize her?” Konowicz pressed, still evidencing a slight nasal quality to his speech.

She finished her second cigarette, stomping it out in the planter, and again shook her head no. “I’m not even sure it was Aaron.”

Oberman showed Trish the artist’s rendering of the woman. “Do you recognize her? Was this the girl you saw that night?”

She frowned. “Maybe. Couldn’t see real well. I can’t say for sure.”

“Do you have any pictures of Aaron?”

She started shaking her head. “Wait a minute.” She turned and entered the restaurant, motioning them to follow.

“Here, on the wall, a picture from a wedding party we did a couple months ago. I’m sure Aaron’s in it.”

“Yeah, that’s him alright,” Oberman mumbled to Konowicz.

Konowicz turned to her abruptly. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Anstrom. You’ve been very helpful.”

“You’ll let me know if you find out anything? He’s such a sweet boy. I’m worried about him.”

“Sure thing. We’ll be in touch.” Konowicz’s toothy smile did not reach his eyes.

Only took a few hours to get what he needed to pin this case down. In the evening, as their official workday came to a close, Konowicz brought glad tidings to his partner.

He dropped a scrap of paper with a scrawled note on Oberman’s desk. “Got the address on that cell phone for the Pilan kid. He’s in 204 at the Reisner Apartments. Got time for a visit?” Konowicz smiled. He could feel they were getting close.

Oberman grinned, his first genuine smile of the day. “Looks like we’re doing some overtime.”

* * * *

“Hello, I’m Detective Oberman and this is Detective Konowicz. We’re with the 124th precinct, New York P.D. We’d like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind. May we come in?” Two butt-ugly dudes claiming to be cops put subtle pressure on the door, daring Kyle to deny their entry.

Kyle instantly went on guard. Looked like they had real badges, but he smelled something malicious and sinister––apart from their body odor. He didn’t trust them.

“Well, I’m not sure what this is about. Is there a problem?” He didn’t like the idea of these two inside the door. They were pushy. Oberman actually slid his foot in the door as they stared down Kyle with you-don’t-want-to-mess-with-us looks. Kyle stared right back and let them continue speaking from the hallway.

“We need to see Aaron Pilan. Is he here? We need to talk with him.”

That struck him weird. Aaron was as harmless and law-abiding as they came. Kyle couldn’t imagine what these two might possibly want with Aaron. He paused for a moment, and then decided to play along.

“No, actually he’s not here. I haven’t seen him in days. If he’s in trouble, I’d like to help. He’s a good friend.” His instinctive reaction was to make sure they didn’t catch Aaron by surprise.

“You know anything about his involvement with this woman?” Oberman showed Kyle a drawing of a woman’s face. The fat man pushed his bulk into the door a couple more inches. Kyle held his ground, letting the door push against his body as he tried to look casually at what was a fairly accurate likeness of Michelle. He pretended not to notice how they tried to force their way into his door. They pretended to care about his rights and privacy. None of them were very good actors.

“No, I’ve never seen her before.” He handed the drawing back to the fat cop wedged in his doorway. “Can you tell me what this is all about?” If he gave up Michelle he’d be giving up Aaron, so he continued to stonewall.

“Look, we know he was with her recently. We know he lives here. We can’t go into details because of the on-going investigation. If you know somethin’ and you’re not telling us, it’s only gonna hurt Aaron. If you want to help your friend, you need to help us find him.” Oberman played the standard authoritarian manipulation game.

There was little these creeps could do to help Aaron. Cops like this rarely ever helped anyone but themselves.

“I told you I don’t know anything. I haven’t seen or heard from him in days. His cell phone is disconnected. I don’t know what else I can do to help you.” Kyle put more pressure on the door, forcing Oberman to back up a couple inches.

Konowicz stepped toward Kyle menacingly, as if he would shove past Oberman and force his way through the door. “Listen here. We’re gonna find out everything eventually. With a little more investigation we’ll know all about you, your friends, and everyone that passes through your little bachelor pad. Pretty sure we’ll find something you won’t like. Maybe one of your friends’ smokes weed, snorts a little blow, or they’re popping somebody else’s pain pills. It’s a given. You’ll do a lot more for yourself and your friends if you cooperate.”

“I don’t do drugs, and I don’t hang out with anyone that does,” he informed them calmly. He waved his hand in dismissal of their bullshit. “You can threaten all you want, I don’t know where Aaron is and there’s nothing illegal at my apartment.”

Konowicz snapped back, losing his cool, “If I learn you’re lying, I’ll book your ass for obstruction of justice! You’ll sit in lock-up just long enough to lose your job and this shit-hole apartment you squat in! Don’t fuck with me punk!”

“I’ve said all I have to say. I’m done with you. Good day, Officers.” He shoved the door closed in the detective’s faces. He heard cursing and some back and forth whispering, and then they slipped a note under the door with an N.Y.P.D. business card.

Call me with any new information you get about Aaron Pilan and the woman.

Scott Konowicz

Kyle stood with their card in hand, debating what to do about the situation. Should he tell them about Michelle? Should he leave an anonymous tip? Should he just warn Aaron and stay out of it? The detective’s threats seemed to be mostly intimidation. They didn’t have anything on him, and he didn’t know anything. What you don’t know can’t hurt you … right?

Delia overheard parts of the conversation from where she was standing a few feet inside the door. “What was that all about?”

“I’m not sure, but I think Aaron’s in trouble and it’s got something to do with Michelle.”

* * * *

“You have a voicemail from your friend Kyle. He wants you to call as soon as possible. Is very important.” Michelle handed Aaron her iPhone after dialing Kyle’s number.

“Hey, Kyle, it’s Aaron. Got your message. What’s goin’ on?”

Kyle explained what happened with the two detectives, and then told Aaron how he felt about them and their threats. “Dude, I’m freakin’ out! They weren’t messing around. It’s pretty serious. They were talking about abstraction of justice. Threatening to arrest me! I didn’t know anything, so I couldn’t tell them anything. Is there something I should know? What’s happened? Are you and Michelle in trouble?”

“I have no idea. Seriously.” Shit, shit, shit!

“Really? So … how’s it going with Michelle?” Kyle had a suspicious tone to his voice. Aaron wondered what he was thinking. What kind of assumptions he must be making by now.

“Ahhmm … She’s great, we’re good. I’m telling you the truth, Kyle. I have no idea what those guys want. Honestly, this is a total surprise. But thanks for blocking for me, I appreciate it. I owe you one. Maybe I should get an attorney to call and find out what’s up.” Shit! What the fuck do I do now? What if they find us?

Aaron’s mind raced through possibilities. He didn’t know what to say. He felt like a fugitive in hiding every second that he lied to Kyle. He didn’t have a clue what to do if the detectives ever tracked down him or Michelle.

Kyle sighed, “Okay, man, cool. Just be careful. I’m telling you those guys are creepy. I had to take a couple shots of Patron to calm down after they left. Oh … yeah … um … Delia’s here. She wants to talk for a minute.”

“Kyle, wait. I gotta go. I don’t have time for her right now.”

“Hi, Aaron, are you okay? Those officers sounded serious.” Her soft lilt seemed unfamiliar. Delia played the concerned friend role, a new act for her.

He wasn’t prepared to deal with Delia. He’d written her off as a thing of the past. “I’m fine. We’re fine.” He hoped Delia might catch the subtle hint and leave him alone.

He wanted off the phone so he could talk to Michelle. He had a whopping crisis to avert, namely Michelle being hunted by NYPD for assaulting an officer.

“I was hoping we could meet and talk. I want to talk about things between us. Everything has happened so quickly. I’ve been thinking about you. About us.”

“There’s nothing to say. You broke up with me. You wanted to see other people. It wasn’t what I wanted, but now everything’s different. I’ve changed. I thought you wanted your freedom?”

She laughed nervously and stammered, “Well, yeah, but … I understand that you’re angry. I would be too. I want you to know I was wrong. I want to see you again. It’s hard to talk over the phone. She’s probably there with you right now … listening. Can we talk in private? Can you come see me tonight? I’m here at Kyle’s apartment.” She was starting to beg. Kinda weird. She’d never been like this before.

Aaron cut her off. “Delia, I’m not mad at you. I was, but it’s over now.”

“I’m not asking you out on a date, okay. I think we need a chance to talk. It’s only been two weeks since we split up. Please Aaron. I really need to see you. I want to make it up to you. It’s all my fault.”

“Listen, this is a really bad time right now. I gotta get off the phone. There’s nothing to talk about. Michelle is really good to me. I’ve moved on. I’m sorry but I gotta go. I’ll call back, maybe, in a couple days. Take care. Bye.” He hung up on her.

* * * *

Kyle could see the wheels turning in Delia’s head. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what had happened. If Kyle had Michelle in his bed, he’d drop Delia like a bad habit.

Kyle imagined that devious mind of hers cooking up a scheme to get her hands on Aaron again. He’d told Aaron more than once she was a selfish brat. It took Michelle’s influence to finally pull him from Delia’s manipulations and mind games. What was she up to now?

“Delia, I know how you feel about this. Everything happened suddenly with Aaron moving out, and you were real close for so long. I hope you’re not thinking of talking to those cops. Don’t mess with them, Delia. You call those detectives and you’re playing with fire. This isn’t about Michelle––you could get Aaron in trouble too. Let him live his life. If he’s making mistakes, let him deal with it. You let him go and now he’s gone. He’s not your toy to play with anymore. You hear what I’m saying? Don’t get involved!”

“Alright already! I heard you. Don’t have a fit about it. I never said I would do anything! And I can talk to him if I want to. She doesn’t own him!”

Delia wouldn’t look him in the eyes.

* * * *

“Is wise to stay away from the girl. She is dangerous and selfish. She will be a problème if you get involved with her again.” Michelle watched him carefully, looking for his reaction to her advice.

“Do I detect a hint of jealousy?” The handsome devil smirked at her knowingly.

“You know she’s not right for you. Is difficult to have close relations with people. They are not like us.” She pursed her lips in admonishment as though above such triflings. “Is true I care for you. We are bonded. What affects you affects me. But I could never be jealous about this girl. She is an enfant terrible, a spoiled child. She is obsessed with you.”

Aaron grinned at her admission. “You are jealous,” he chuckled. “Admit it, maybe a little?”

He kissed her on the lips and stroked his fingers through her hair. “You’re right, as usual. She is silly, and immature, and there is nothing for you to be jealous about. You know you own my ass. Besides, she could never pull off that stunt you did against the wall the other night. That was insane. After that performance, how could Delia compare?” The brat enjoyed teasing her. He was gaining confidence.

“Aaron … do you still have feelings for this girl?” His nonchalant barb about her control over his life made her sick to her stomach. “I hate the thought I take away your choices.” Her voice fell to a whisper. “I do not wish to own your ass as you say so crudely.”

“Michelle, ma belle.” He smiled as he ran his fingers over her jawline. “No really, I don’t think of Delia for even a minute. You’re the only one who has my attention. You’re the one I want. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Mmm … Oui.” She smiled as he played with her.

“So what about the real issue? The police.” Aaron gave her the raised eyebrow.

“They are silly and stupid like the girl, but very dangerous. If they become a problème, we will deal with them and move on. I do not condone senseless death, but I know how to take out the trash.”