Missing - A Chroniclers Tale Pt. 02

I don't have an editor yet, so all mistakes are mine. There is no sex in this story and it's part of an overall idea I'm working on. There's no sex in this story but I hope the holes you are seeing will become clearer as more of the stories are published. Everyone is over 18 and if you live in New York City, all the mistakes are literary license.

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A month and a half after Patrick O'Connell was reported missing, Detectives Jacob Jakubowski and Angela Capriani were ready to shove the whole case into the farthest cold case filing cabinet. Their leads ended in brick walls or breadcrumbs that seemed to point right at Patrick O'Connell's girlfriend, Sara Anderson.

Jacob sat at his desk working on a timeline of Patrick's movements for the last two months before he disappeared. He cross referenced the times with any bank activity. Based on what little he knew about Patrick, everything he did, was for a reason. The only thing that kept him from dismissing this case as a boyfriend ghosting a girlfriend was his last day.

Sara told Jacob that the last time she talked to Patrick was on Thursday evening after 6PM and, he was in Long Island meeting potential clients. His cell phone records back up his location. He was in Long Island and the geo data in the phone records, placed him in a known Mafia restaurant in Ricca territory, the Star Social Club. The last pings on Patrick's phone ended at 9PM, still in the area of the club.

Jacob sat and wondered about the possibilities for Patrick's phone to quit pinging. Either the battery was either completely dead or it had been removed from the phone. He sat lost in thought while absently tapping a pencil on his desk.

If something fatal to Patrick happened in the Star Social club, then the Mafia would have taken the battery out of the phone. But that didn't explain the emptying of Patrick's Tribeca residence. Jacob could think of no case where the Mafia cleared out a victims residence. However, he wondered if Patrick's art work have been incentive enough for the mob to clear it out. But that didn't explain everything, down to the light fixtures being removed.

Pawn shops had been informed about some possible stolen art, but nothing had been reported. Jacob and Angie had run down all the moving companies in the five boroughs plus northern New Jersey. Not one admitted they had a job at Patrick's address. They found a neighbor with a security camera that captured the moving truck. No logo's on the trailer or the truck and the license plate couldn't be seen, so, another brick wall.

Jacob took a deep breath and ran his hands over his face and through his brown hair. No, he thought to himself. He stood up and walked over to the windows, watching New York come to life. Patrick O'Connell was out there. And as Sasha said, whatever he was doing, he was doing it because he wanted to. All Jacob wanted was a proof of life, just something concrete he could show Sara and let him close this case.

Looking down at the street below, he saw his partner Angela round a corner, heading at a fast walk to the Precinct, a coffee in one hand and a bag in the other.

"Either bagels or doughnuts" he thought to himself.

Jacob was sitting back at his desk when Angela came through the squad room door a few minutes later. He saw a look of cheery determination on her face as she dropped a bag from DeMarcos Deli on his desk.

Bagels, he thought as he quickly opened up the bag and thrust his hand in.

"You're in a good mood. Something new?" Jacob licked cream cheese off of a finger, then spread some more on and Asiago cheese bagel.

Angela sat down, put her purse into her bottom desk drawer. Jacob could tell she was stalling, but whatever news she had must be good, she was still smiling slyly.

"Spill it Ange"

Angela turned her chair toward Jacob and leaned in conspiratorially, "An OC friend of mine let some things slip last night while we were...pillow talking."

Jacob made the sign of the cross and turned his head away in feigned terror, "TMI!! TMI!! Yuck!!"

Angela laughed and swatted at Jacob's shoulder, "Shud up asshole and listen! Listen!"

Jacob muttered "OK, OK" as he took a bite of his bagel.

"You know Andy Collins?"

Jacob nodded his head as he finished chewing, "Was in Homicide over in Queens?"

"Yeah, that's him. Anyway, we were talking last night and I mentioned our case. When he heard Patrick's name, he froze. I mean froze."

Angela had Jacob's undivided attention now, his unfinished bagel forgotten.

"He said Patrick's name has come up several times in Ricca conversations over the last six months." Angela drew her chair closer to Jacob and she lowered her voice, "Last December, way before Christmas, one of Big Mike Detaglio's soliders, Little Tony something, was running his mouth at a restaurant in Manhattan and got into it with someone. This someone embarrassed the shit out of Little Tony, broke his nose, what have you."

She took a drink of her coffee and continued, "That someone was Patrick. A couple of weeks later, he tried to smooth things over with Big Mike, but Big Mike wasn't in a good mood. He was gonna make an example of Mr. O'Connell. Now, from what Andy said, the Fed's had the room wired for sound. The story is, someone must have made a move on Patrick and all hell broke loose."

She could see the shock on her partner's face. Angela smiled and shook her head, "Yeah, Patrick dusted three of Big Mike's soldiers with his bare hands, including Little Tony. Before the Fed's heard Big Mikes arms break, they heard him whisper something, but they couldn't make out what he said."

Angela leaned in closer, "It gets better, Patrick calls the Ricca family underboss, Tony Rossi and says that he wants to meet and discuss some lucrative business he can send their way, as a way of smoothing things over."

Jacob started to enter dates and notations into the case timeline, "When was this?"

"The Rossi call was in January" Angela said looking over Jacob's shoulder.

"Kinda strange to go from breaking a capo's arm to offering to do business with them in a month. Did they meet?" Jacob mused.

"He didn't say." Angela pointed at the timeline on the screen, "But our girl has been in Albany during all of this."

"This case is getting crazy Angela, fucking crazy. I don't know which way is up anymore." Jacob sat back and closed his eyes and templed his hands over his mouth. "This morning I was sure the whole Star Social Club was a red herring. Something Patrick cooked up to cover his tracks. Why? Beats the fuck outa me. But now? Now I'm not sure anymore. What if the Ricca's double crossed him or just plain set him up. Revenge for Big Mike?"

"I don't know JJ, but, I haven't told you the best part" she said with a huge smile.

Jacob gave her a very puzzled look.

"I got the name of a waitress who works at the club. She'll blabber for a cup of coffee and a hundred bucks." Angela leaned back with a look of victory on her face.

Late that afternoon, Detectives Jakubowski and Capriani sat side by side in a booth at the back of bagel shop, a block north of the Lexington Avenue and 57th Street subway station. Sharon Conti, a bubbly bundle of energy in a porn stars body sat across from them. She was happily munching on a bagel and knocking back her second monster sized energy drink.

"Ya know, those things will rot your teeth" Jacob said with a chuckle.

"I gotta good dentist" Sharon replied with a wink and smile.

Jacob glanced at his note book, "Were you working at the Star on...Thursday, the 17th of April?"

Sharon picked her phone off the table and began to tap and swipe, "Yeah, I did. I worked from 4 to 11 Our busiest times are from 5 to 7, after that, it's drunk, loud, obnoxious, handsy goomba's."

Jacob brought up Patrick's photo on his phone and turned it toward Sharon, "Have you ever seen this guy before?"

She leaned back in the booth tapping her long fake nails on the Formica table top, her bubbly demeanor suddenly all business, "It's expensive getting over here from Queens."

"That's a pretty ring! Can I take a look?" Angela asked.

Sharon's bubbly smile reappeared, "Sure, my boyfriend got for my birthday. It's my birthstone, a peridot."

Angela took her hand and looked at it closely, palming her a hundred dollar bill, "The color is really pretty. Your boyfriend has good taste."

"Thanks! He does. He's with the Coast Guard on Staten Island."

Sharon put the palmed bill in her pocket and serious Sharon was back, "Yeah, I've seen him before. But not in a couple of weeks. He usually meets with Tony, but sometimes Danny Ramano."

"Tony who?" Angela asked.

"Tony Rossi."

Jacob and Angela looked at each other with shock.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Jacob asked.

Sharon looked lost in thought as she tapped her nails on the table top, "Um, two weeks ago? Yeah, two Friday's ago. It was late, almost quitting time when he came in. He went to Tony's table."

"Was it friendly?" Angela asked, trying to keep her tone neutral.

"Yeah, from what I could see, but Cathy is the only one that works Tony's table. Period."

"Look, if you see him again, could you just text this number. Just something like 'here'. He's supposed to be missing, but apparently he's quite OK" Jacob said as flatly as he could.

Sharon smiled, "Sure, not a problem."

After Sharon left, both Jacob and Angela sat in the booth, lost in their own thoughts.

"Ange, what does an import export guy, the mob and a girl fucking her boss in Albany have in common?"

Angela drummed her fingers on the table, looking across the bagel shop and out the window. Her eyes watched the people outside passing by, each one having their own stories, millions of different stories in the city alone. "Revenge JJ, he's going to get revenge for being cucked by Sara's boss."

"We need to physically meet with O'Connell to close the case. Revenge, as long as it's legal, ain't a crime." Jacob sat back, "It's time to quit being nice and bring out the gloves. Let's go see Sasha, tell her to have Patrick meet us. I'm certain she's knows exactly where he is."

"Agreed JJ, I'm tired of being played a fool."

They headed over to Sasha's office. They were more than ready to close the case.

That evening, Jacob lounged on his couch somewhat listening to whatever was on TV before the news started at 11. His wife Leah snoozed with her head on his lap. Home, Leah and the kids were the only things helping him re-center each day. Jacob ran his fingers through Leah's long brown hair, trying to release the frustrations of the O'Connell case.

Jacob and Angela found that Sasha Davis wasn't in her office, she wasn't even in the country. Sasha and her husband had taken a European vacation for a couple of months. They conveniently departed a couple of days after the detectives visit.

Sharon placing O'Connell with the Ricca's in the last couple of weeks shocked Jacob. If Angela was right and revenge was O'Connell's goal, what was he seeking revenge for? On whom? He decided that a trip to Albany was necessary. He would talk to Angela in the morning and figure out the soonest they could go up there.

Jacob almost missed the lead for the 11PM news.

"First in the news tonight. The state Attorney General's office and the FBI announced the opening of a corruption investigation of Senator Jackson Davis, the billionaire real estate developer, who was Senate Leader until the last election. The Attorney General's statement says they are investigating ties between Davis and the Ricca organized crime family over concrete used in several skyscrapers in Manhattan that Davis developed. More now from Missy Daniels."

Jacobs eyes narrowed. He wondered if there was a connection with his case. He mulled the possibilities over in his mind, wondering how Davis could connect with O'Connell. Their business would not have overlapped and while O'Connell was wealthy, he was not even in Davis money club. The Ricca's were the only thing of interest.

As he mulled things over in his mind, he heard the newscaster say another state Senator was retiring and how the retirement was putting pressure on Senate Leader Stevenson to maintain a majority. At least the weekends weather would be good. Jacob and Angela had decided to take a long weekend to rest and recharge. Angela was going to her mom's in New Jersey and Jacob decided to take Leah and the kids to the beach.

Jacob and Angela flashed their badges as they made their through security at the state legislative office building. Sara said she would wait for them in her office was on the 5th floor. Jacob's call to her from the train as they pulled into Albany, let her know that they they had important information.

"Have you found him?" Sara asked expectantly as she closed the door to her office.

"We believe," Jacob began as he took a seat, "Mr. O'Connell to be alive. At least, as of two weeks ago. He was seen in Queens by a source. We're still checking the reliability of the source. But at the moment, we believe it to be solid."

Tears started to fall from Sara's eyes. "He's alive?" she whispered.

Angela looked at Sara and said gently, "Sara, we need to ask you some delicate questions. We really need honest answers so our investigation quits running into brick walls."

Sara gave Angela a quizzical look, "Sure, absolutely. Ask any question you want."

"Are you sleeping with your boss?" Jacob directed at Sara.

She was immediately indignant, "Absolutely not! Not now, not ever! The senator is one of the best people I have ever met!"

Angela held her palms up to Sara, "We had to ask. We had to understand why Patrick would just vanish."

Jacob interjected, "Every solid lead we came across, leads back to you. That is what we are trying to understand."

"Me?" There was fear in Sara's voice now.

Jacob fixed Sara's eyes, "We know that Patrick met with some very high ups in the Mob, as recently as two weeks ago. We also know he spoke to the state Attorney Generals office and was in contact with a private investigations company in Maryland. For some reason, he wanted you to know he was gone. The why is what we are trying understand. Sasha Davis said that when Mr. O'Connell does something, he does it for a reason."

Jacob paused, watching Sara's reaction. "Whoever cleaned out his residence, did it with clean trucks. No logos, no way to track the vehicles. That is not an everyday occurrence and definitely not something available to an average person."

"We think the emptying of the house was directed at you" Angela said. "Sara," she said gently, "Something happened, probably in January. We think Patrick's actions are leading to revenge. We need to know if he's going after the right person."

Sara stood and walked to the window with a look of great sadness in her eyes. Her tears had stopped, but there was a resignation about her. Jacob watched her look out over Albany, puffy clouds racing across the sky and casting fast moving shadows on the ground below.

"I've never loved anyone the way I love Patrick. That's the honest to God's truth." She paused, still looking out the window, "You know we rarely fought. I know couples that fight all the time, but Patrick and I? We rarely did. The one thing we did have disagreements on...and it's stupid now. Pictures. Fucking pictures."

She turned from the window and stared at the detectives, "I first met Stevenson a year or so ago. The company I was working for was doing PR work for his last campaign. I got involved with the work and started going to rallies, events, dinners. I got my picture taken with a lot of people. Politicians, celebrities, it was awesome. I plastered my social media with it."

"The pictures I gave you of Patrick? You won't find those on my social media. He wouldn't allow it. The only ones you'll find are ones where is face is obscured by something or he's wearing sunglasses." Sara took a long drink from a water bottle, "I started to get off on the recognition, the comments on my feeds, it was like a drug. I started to resent Patrick. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't want to be recognized...famous?"

"What happened Sara?" Angela asked gently.

"When Stevenson offered me the position here, I jumped at it. Patrick encouraged me, but I would have taken it anyway. Looking back, I was becoming a narcissistic bitch really. Maybe he encouraged me to take this job so we could break up easier. I don't know."

Sara looked at Angela, "You're right Detective, but it wasn't a something that happened, it was a someone. Jackson Davis." Sara straightened up and shifted her gaze to Jacob, "I'd met Davis a few times before, he's charismatic, charming and I had blinded myself to everything."

Sara looked at her watch and went over to her desk and touched the intercom, "Michelle? Cancel my 3 and 4 O'clock appointments please. I'm with the detectives. Thanks."

Sara sat back down, she was wringing her hands, "Stevenson, myself and a few others were at at big reception in January. Jackson was there. During the night, he was turning on the charm and of course, I was eating it up. Stevenson left at some point, but I was drinking, networking. The next thing I know, I wake up the next morning feeling like shit." She paused, staring off into space, the tears started to trace their way down her cheeks again, "My pussy was sore, my ass was sore and I knew I'd gotten fucked. I had no idea by who. I woke up alone in a hotel room I didn't reserve."

Jacob and Angela were busy taking notes and letting Sara get it all out.

"A few days later, Jackson cornered me leaving the building. He asked me if I enjoyed the other night. I tried to play it off, but he said he had the video. He told me that if I wanted it to remain private, I had to meet him. He gave me a place and time."

Sara leveled her gaze at the detectives, "And that's when I became a rich man's whore." With venom, Sara continued, "All these pricks around here will fuck anything that moves. The better looking you are, the more studly they feel. Jackson said that if I want the tape back, I had to fuck five guys, names to be determined. Once I did what he wanted, I'd get the tape and my life back."

Jacob asked, "Did you go to the cops? Tell anyone?"

Sara looked at Jacob like he was stupid, "Seriously? He said, she said? Do you know how many women have sued fucking Jackson for shit he's done? I do, twenty-three. Do you know how many women won their cases? Zero detective, not fucking one."

Sara got strangely quiet, "I hate myself detective. I hate what I have done and loosing Patrick on top of all this? The only thing that keeps me going, waking up every day, is to get a chance to apologize to him, for being a whore, for being a bitch to him and worse, for making him think I don't love him."

Sara broke down sobbing. Angela wrapped an arm around her, trying to console her. Jacob's fury raged. He wanted nothing more than to beat the shit out of Jackson Davis, because he knew Sara was right. It would be a case of he said, she said, and Sara would never win against someone with Davis resources. Jacob wondered what O'Connell knew? Who was he targeting? Stevenson or Davis?

Just then, Sara's intercom rang.

"Sara, a Mr. Piccolo is calling for you, he says it's urgent."

Sara froze in fear, "It's Jackson."

Sara reached over and tapped the intercom, "Bee, please tell him that I can't talk right now. If he leaves a message, we'll try and get back in touch with him."

"OK" came the reply.

Jacob pulled out a recorder, "If you take the call, I'll record it."

Sara nodded her head.

The intercom buzzed again, "Sara, he's not taking no for an answer, he says it's very urgent."

"OK Bee, I'll get it."

Jacob nodded at Sara and started the recorder.