Corpus Corpus Read online

  As it swung open, William Newport exclaimed, "Don't worry." Backing into the room, he raised his arms. "I am not going to resist. I'm not stupid."

  Bogdanovic stepped into the room. "Are you William Newport?"

  "Yes I am."

  "You are under arrest for the murder of Theodore Janus." "I expected you people to show up sooner or later. Frankly, it's a great relief."

  As Reiter continued to brandish his weapon, Leibholz pulled down Newport's arms and snapped on handcuffs.

  "Before we ask you any further questions," said Bogdanovic, "you must understand that you have the right to remain silent. Do you understand?"

  Newport looked toward Dane with a quizzical smile. "You're the lady prosecutor from California. Why are you here?"

  "Theodore Janus was my very dear friend."

  Newport's young face wrinkled with puzzlement. "Really?"

  Bogdanovic continued, "Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer."

  Newport giggled. "That's funny. What irony. You need not go on, sir. I understand all my rights."

  "Do you wish to invoke them?"

  "I'm not a hypocrite, sir."

  "May I interpret that as your consent to submit yourself to questioning regarding the murder?"

  "I welcome the opportunity to explain what I prefer to call an act of righteous retribution."

  Signaling Reiter to holster his gun, Bogdanovic said, "Very well, William, we're listening."

  "I presume by your presence that you have a pretty good idea of my motive. I hope you will do me the courtesy to tell me what I did to lead you to me so quickly."

  "In a nutshell," Bogdanovic said, "you should have left your camera at home."

  "But that was impossible. I needed it to prove that Janus's death was not mere happenstance. The camera was the means to show that his murder had been planned, and to make it clear that he'd been made to pay for his sins."

  "I grant you that the picture showed premeditation. But how was anyone to know by looking at it that Janus had been called to account for what you considered to be sins?"

  "I intended to send the newspaper a second photograph, along with a letter of explanation. Alas, you arrived before I had time to deliver them. They're in an envelope in the darkroom."

  As Reiter went to retrieve them, Bogdanovic asked, "We know that you killed Janus because he was responsible for freeing the people who murdered your father. But that was years ago. Why did you wait so long?"

  "I was only two years old when my father was killed. I had some growing up to do. That was not so easy, in as much as my mother died a year after Janus got my father's killers off. She died of a broken heart. That was another sin for which Janus had to pay. Of course, a three-year-old child is not in a position to go out seeking revenge. As the years went by, I was busy being a kid and a teenager, and then there was college and getting my life started. I was willing to wait. I watched that trial in L.A. The more I felt that Janus was likely to get that killer off, despite your efforts, Miss Dane, the more I despised him. And the more I saw pictures of the mother of the woman he'd butchered, and how she suffered, the more I realized the time had come for Janus to suffer for all the pain he caused my mother, me, and all the other victims of all the criminals that Janus's legal trickery had kept from getting everything that they deserved under the law."

  Dane asked, "Why did you send him letters?"

  "I wanted him to know he was being hunted. I could easily have killed him with that shot I fired at him at his ranch, but I aimed away just enough to miss him, yet close enough for him to know somebody had tried to kill him."

  Bogdanovic asked, "How did you know where he lived?"

  "I found out all I could about him by reading his books and every newspaper or magazine article I could find. His books were exactly like the man I saw on television: smug and arrogant and filled with conceit. Then I read in a newspaper about his getting some award and that the presentation dinner was to be held at the Gramercy Park Hotel. It was as though fate was on my side. I decided that the perfect time for him to die was shortly after he'd received his award."

  "Why did you masquerade as a reporter?"

  Newport smiled proudly. "I thought I pulled that off well."

  "You certainly did," Dane said, "One of the TV news cameramen thinks you asked the best question of the night."

  "You probably won't believe me, Miss Dane, but when I asked him how he could sleep after all that he'd done to hurt so many people, I hoped he would say he was sorry for the pain he caused. If he had answered that his conscience had bothered him once, I might not have killed him. But he was the usual arrogant, self-centered Theodore Roosevelt Janus. So I hung around until the dinner was over, waiting for my chance. But I couldn't shoot him right away because he was talking to people coming out of the hotel. He was playing big shot with his award under his arm and lighting up a cigar."

  "So you followed him to his car."

  "Yes, but at a safe distance. For a while, I thought he might not make it."

  Dane asked, "Why did you think that?"

  "He started staggering as if he was drunk. But he got to the car all right, so I rushed up to it before he could drive away. But he didn't. He sat smoking his cigar. I could smell it through the open window as I walked up. When I found him at the wheel with that expensive cigar in his mouth, I told him my name and who my father was, and that he was going to die. But he just sat there looking straight ahead as if I didn't exist. That pissed me off. The indifference! I pointed the gun at the side of his head and shot him once. He didn't even flinch!"

  "Why did you take that picture of him?"

  "I didn't want the police to assume he'd been killed in an attempted robbery. I wanted it known that it was a premeditated act. And I wanted to show all his victims that Janus had finally gotten what he deserved. I hoped it would bring them closure."

  "Where is the gun?"

  "I threw it in the river."

  "Where did you get the gun?"

  "It was my father's. It was one of two he was carrying the day he was murdered. He had a thirty-eight and a twenty-two. But they never gave him a chance to draw either of them. I used the thirty-eight to shoot at Janus and deliberately miss him. Both are in the river."

  Reiter stepped from the darkroom. With the corner of a large clasp envelope held between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand, he asked. "Is the second photograph in this?"

  Newport nodded. "You won't find fingerprints. I wore gloves."

  "WHILE YOU WERE arresting William Newport," Goldstein said as Bogdanovic and Dane entered his office, "there was a message for you from our friend Dr. Hassan Awini. The autopsy on Janus has been completed."

  Bogdanovic sank into his usual chair. "What does the distinguished medical examiner want from me? My congratulations for finding the obvious? We always knew how Janus died, and now we know who did it and why. The good doctor is a little late. All we lack is the gun Newport used."

  "Nonetheless, Awini said that before he sends the bullet that he got from Janus's head to ballistics for comparison to the slug that Wiggins brought in, he needs to speak to you."

  Bogdanovic glowered. "Did he tell you why?"

  "I didn't talk to him. I was on the horn with Vanderhoff at the time, telling him that you'd solved the Janus murder. Officer Sweeney took the call. You can ask her. Or you can call Awini yourself. Use my phone."

  When Bogdanovic picked it up, Goldstein punched a button to put the call on the speakerphone.

  The voice of the medical examiner was a cheery contrast to the nature of his work. "Johnny!"

  Bogdanovic sat on the corner of Goldstein's desk. "I'm told you want to talk about the slug you got from Janus's head."

  "That's right. Very interesting. It's a twenty-two caliber, fired at fairly close range, and certainly it was capable of having killed Mr. Janus."

  Bogdanovic stood and glared at the speakerphone. "Capable? What th
e devil does that mean?"

  "It means the man was not shot to death."

  "What? Of course he was," Janus insisted. "I have just come from booking the killer. He confessed to shooting Janus."

  'Johnny, I did not say that Mr. Janus was not shot. I said that he was not shot to death. You may recall that when I examined the body at the scene of the crime, I remarked that there was very little blood. That is because Mr. Janus's heart ceased to pump blood before he was shot."

  'Just a darn minute, Doctor," Goldstein interjected, "Are you telling us Janus died of natural causes?"

  "Hello, Harvey," Awini said, sounding surprised. "I did not know you were on the line. What I am saying is, the bullet was fired after Janus's heart stopped. I've said nothing about death by natural cause. Quite the contrary. Now, I did find evidence of severe coronary arterial blockage. The man was definitely on his way to having a massive heart attack. But the cardiac arrest he suffered was not the result of his heart disease."

  "So what killed him?"

  "Pending the toxicology and serological analyses, it is my opinion that the cause of death was poisoning. But this is very puzzling to me, because my preliminary examination of the stomach contents disclosed nothing indicative of a poison being present in anything Mr. Janus either ate or drank. Only the toxicology report will provide the answer."

  Bogdanovic asked, "When will you have it?"

  "I've assigned it the highest priority, John, but with all the budget cutbacks imposed on my office, I've had to reduce the overtime costs."

  "Damn the overtime, Hassan," blared Goldstein. "Forward the bill to my office."

  "I'll require a memo to that effect, Harvey."

  "You'll have it in the morning, which is when I'll expect to see the toxicology report."

  Bogdanovic switched off the speakerphone.

  "This is certainly a first for me," Goldstein grumbled as he drummed fingers on his desk and looked toward Dane with a frown. "Maggie, have you ever heard of someone being murdered twice?"

  "That's an impossibility."

  "Well, somebody apparently believed once was not enough."

  Slouched in his chair, Bogdanovic pouted. "There is no way that William Newport could have poisoned Janus. So, if Janus was not shot to death, if he was poisoned, I have been running around in circles like a dog chasing its tail. First, I looked for a mob connection, then some link to Paulie Mancuso, and when none of that added up, I dreamed up a story of a revenge-minded stalker."

  "You were right on that score," Dane said.

  "Except for the fact that Newport didn't kill Janus. While he was plotting his revenge, someone else had murder in mind, but with the distinct advantage of being able to get close enough to Janus to slip a little poison into him."

  Goldstein said, "He certainly ate a great deal, but we all ate the same food."

  "Maybe the poison was in a drink. There wasn't a moment when Janus didn't have a glass in his hand, or within easy reach."

  "I recall one moment," Dane said. "He bumped into a waiter and dropped his glass."

  "That's just great," Bogdanovic said as he returned to his chair. "The butler did it."

  "No need for sarcasm, Sergeant," Goldstein snapped. "Maggie is on our side."

  "What about you, sir? Did you by chance see anyone who might have slipped a fatal Mickey into Janus's glass?"

  After pondering a moment, Goldstein answered. "There was a young woman who asked him to autograph a book. She could easily have dropped something into Janus's martini."

  "Did you notice if she happened to be wearing a ring that might have had a hallowed-out compartment for a dose of poison?"

  "The chief and I share your frustration, Johnny," Dane said, sympathetically. "But we have no evidence that Theo was poisoned at the Black Orchid dinner. It could have happened much earlier. There are slow-acting poisons."

  "Maggie is right," Goldstein said. "I propose that we wait till the toxicology report is in. Awini could be mistaken."

  With a morose expression, Bogdanovic shook his head. "When was the last time you heard of Awini being wrong? The ugly truth is that I've wasted all this time tracking down a young man who didn't kill anyone, and in the meantime the actual murderer has every reason to think he's in the clear. He has to have seen the picture of Janus with a bullet wound in his head."

  "I see that as a plus," Goldstein said. "A killer who's certain someone else is being hunted as Janus's murderer is not going to feel the necessity to be on alert."

  "That feeling will evaporate the moment the news media reports the fact that Janus was poisoned."

  Goldstein smiled impishly. "Who says the newspapers have to know that we know Janus was poisoned?"

  "They'll know when Awini releases the autopsy results."

  "Hassan is not about to report on the autopsy until he has received the toxicology report. And who knows how long it might take him to get around to reviewing it?"

  "Excuse me, Chief, but you told Awini you expect to have the report first thing tomorrow. Once we have it, we have the legal obligation to immediately turn over possibly exculpatory material to Newport's lawyer."

  "Has Newport exercised his right to have a lawyer?"

  Dane answered, "He waived it at the time of his arrest."

  "That is true," Bogdanovic said, "but he still has the right to speak to an attorney anytime he chooses. When he finds out he didn't kill Janus, he'll be screaming for a lawyer."

  "Of course he will, "Goldstein retorted. "But until he has a lawyer, and as long as Awini is not through with his work, we are under no obligation to reveal anything beyond the charge against Newport. Which is what?"

  "First-degree murder."

  "Amend the charge."

  Bogdanovic grunted. "Change it to what?"

  "Attempted murder."

  "The kid confessed."

  "He confessed to shooting Janus."

  "In addition to attempted murder," Dane said, "Newport can be charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm and possession of a gun. District Attorney Vanderhoff might also choose to tack on the associated offense of attempted assault with a deadly weapon. There's also failure to report a dead body. And there is even a law against abusing a corpse."

  "Newport did not know he was pumping a bullet into somebody who was already dead."

  "It doesn't matter. His intent was to commit murder. Give me a moment to refresh my memory of New York's criminal statutes by going through a copy of the Penal Law and Criminal Procedure Law handbook and I may come up with further offenses."

  Goldstein folded his hands upon his belly. "That's what I love about the criminal laws. If you're not sure you've got the grounds to make one charge stick, you can look up another one that probably will."

  "What can we expect to gain by changing the charge?" Bogdanovic demanded.

  "I expect us to gain time," Goldstein said. "Time for you to look for the real killer. I will begin by issuing a statement to the press that, pending further investigation, Newport is being held on a variety of charges, including those Maggie listed—all of which are eminently supportable. I will also let our friend Hassan know that, in view of the pressures on him to hold down costs, I have changed my mind and that there's no need to hurry the completion of his autopsy report. You then proceed on the basis of Awini's preliminary report that Janus was poisoned."

  "If Newport gets himself a lawyer and the lawyer finds out about this subterfuge, he will raise unholy hell," said Bogdanovic.

  "I'm confident that by then you will have arrested the true killer. I can't envision any defense attorney complaining about police methods that cleared his client."

  "And consider how sweet it will be for you, John," said Dane cheerfully, "and how surprised the true murderer is going to be, when you show up at his door to execute an arrest warrant."

  Goldstein came upright in his chair. "There was another message that arrived while you were arresting Newport," he said as he rummaged in papers on his desk. "Mar
ian Pickering Henry has invited the three of us to a Christmas party on Saturday evening. Sounds like fun. Can you make it, Maggie?"

  "I'd be delighted to attend, after I call my son in California."

  "Good. I'll give her a call and accept for all of us."

  WEDNESDAY MORNING, WITH a feeling of satisfaction, Bogdanovic sat at his desk and again read the thrilling front-page headline of the Graphic:

  JANUS MURDER CASE SENSATION!

  POLICE SAY YOUTH THREATENED,

  STALKED FAMED DEFENSE LAWYER

  Charge Is Attempted Homicide

  While Investigation Continues

  An hour earlier he had stopped at a newsstand, bought the paper, read the headline, and turned to the story on page three to read:

  Less than three days after famed defense lawyer Theodore R. Janus's body was found with a single, fatal gunshot wound in the head as he sat in the front seat of his Rolls-Royce on posh Gramercy Park East, police sources report that a suspect, William Newport, a teacher of photography, is being held on a charge of attempted murder, pending further investigation.

  "We have no doubt that charges against Newport will be amended to conform to the true nature of his crime," said Chief of Detectives Harvey Goldstein in a statement released late yesterday. "In the meantime, our investigation continues."