Chapter 9
The flight to Chicago that Sunday was an uneventful one as the skies are clear and the sun shined through the plane windows clearly The plane was flying above the clouds and every-so-often, a patch of farm land would reveal itself, like a well-sewn quilt. Steve was staring out of the window, searching the ground below for some mysterious feature. His eyes were open but his mind was thinking of something besides what was surrounding him.
“Steve, do you want a drink?” Linda remarked over the noise of the engines. When Steve didn't react to her offer, she poked him and he turned as if surprised by an intruder. “Do you want something to drink, a beer, Pepsi, or coffee?” she stated.
“Excuse me, partner,” he replied in an awakening tone, “I must have been day dreaming for a while. I didn't sleep well last night.”
“Well, do you want something to drink?” persisted Linda. He suddenly realized what she was trying to do and asked for a cup of coffee. It helped keep him awake for the rest of the flight. Before they knew it, the plane was setting its wheels down on the tarmac at O'Hare Airport. They picked up their luggage and hailed a cab and headed for their hotel in downtown Chicago. Steve was surprised by the tall structures that made Chicago streets look like canyons of stone and brick. To Linda, she was looking up and was excited by the size of the city and its skyscrapers. Their hotel rooms at the downtown Holiday Inn were very comfortable, and Steve joked how they put him on one floor and Linda on another. “I thought we would have adjoining rooms, so that we could communicate easier.”
“Dream on, lover boy,” she laughed as he left the elevator to journey to his room. The view of the city from his window was a pleasant sight. His room being on the fifteenth floor, the view from his window of the traffic on the street below looked like ants moving here and there. Strange, Steve thought, how little they looked and how small their world seemed to be. He unpacked his bags and decided to relax and watch local TV for awhile. The bed felt comfortable and sleep gradually claimed Steve and he enjoyed an afternoon nap.
The ringing of the phone woke Steve up and upon answering it, he was conversing with his partner who had a room on the eleventh floor. “Are you ready for some dinner, big guy? We can eat here at the Inn or we could see what Chicago has to offer?”
“I hear Holiday Inn has a great menu for their dinner trade, and we don't have to fancy up for it either, but, if you prefer some fancy place, I'll take the time to put a tie on for you, my dear,” Steve playfully replied as he was still laying on his bed. “I have already checked out the dining room and the menu looked great and the lounge here has live music after eight. I'll meet you in the lobby in thirty minutes. OK?”
“Great, I'll see you downstairs,” answered Steve. He then hung up the phone and freshened up. As he was changing his clothes, he wondered what a time he would have if Maureen was with him. They would be ordering food to be delivered to their room, and they would enjoy each other along with satisfying their hunger. The ride down on the elevator was quick and when Steve walked across the lobby, he spotted Linda and she was radiant and looked very attractive. Her perfume was very sexy to his senses and he liked it.
“You look great partner. Mind if I take you out to dinner tonight?” greeted Steve as he grabbed her arm and escorted her to the hotel dining room. They had to wait about ten minutes for a table, but the smell of the food made the wait worthwhile. They both ordered prime rib dinners and their meals were just delicious. Steve ate everything on his plate and ordered another basket of fresh rolls to munch on. Linda's smiling face showed her delight in her meal. They smiled at each other and made silly chatter and joked as they enjoyed their meals as well as their company. After dinner, they walked out into the lobby and the sounds of music from the lounge attracted them like a magnet. They walked into the lounge and sat at a little table in one corner, and Steve ordered two drinks.
“You are just wonderful to be with, partner. I never realized what a great gal you are,” Steve remarked with some warm feeling.
“Don't try to smooth-talk me, Ciminelli. I have been working with you for nearly two years, so don't get mushy on me now,” Linda stated with a smile. She then sipped on her drink and smiled some more. The small musical group on the stage played some soft, dancing music and Steve started humming to it.
“How about sharing a dance with your partner?” he pleaded with a hand extended across the table.
“Sure, as long as I lead,” Linda joked as she rose from her chair and the two started to dance across the floor. Steve held her in his arms and Linda placed her cheek on his shoulder. Her perfume and the smell of her hair were moving Steve's senses and he proceeded to hold her tighter to him. He could feel her breasts pressing against his chest and could feel the beat of her heart. She looked up and stared into his eyes, and the glance lasted for several minutes, so it seemed. Linda enjoyed being held in Steve's arms and for one fleeting moment, she wanted Steve to kiss her wanting lips. Instead she pushed back suddenly and placed her head on his shoulder again.
“Be careful there, girl,” she softly said to herself. “You can sure charm a gal, partner.” Steve smiled and realized that Linda was a very attractive woman, with a slim body and good looks. She wasn't as well-built as Maureen, but a good looking woman in her own right. They returned to their table and the two enjoyed talking about anything but the murder case. It was like as if they had met on a blind date and were enjoying each other. At the end of the night, on the ride on the elevator, they looked into each other's eyes. Steve wanted to grab her and kiss her moist mouth, but he could only touch her hand as she departed on the eleventh floor. “See you in the morning, Steve. Breakfast at 7:30 in the dining room.” As the elevator door closed, Steve wondered how it would have felt to make love to her, instead when he reached his room, he called Maureen who he missed greatly.
• • •
At breakfast, Linda was dressed in a suit and wasn't as soft and sensuous as she was the night before. She looked like a business woman with her mind on her job and Steve realized that she was his partners a fellow cop. The cab ride over to Midway Airport seemed to take forever, and if they thought traffic in Washington was bad, Chicago's busy traffic made them adjust their thinking. Also, the cab fares in Chicago were ridiculous and Steve was tempted to arrest the bastard for charging so much. “Relax, Steve. What do you expect from Chicago cabbies? Honest fares?” chuckled Linda as she pulled Steve away from the cab and they proceeded to the office of the Northern Illinois Aviation Company, Inc., the affiliate of the Maryland Aviation Company at Midway Airport. The man in charge had the clerks who worked that Tuesday morning waiting in a small room, that was used by the staff as a lunch room.
“Good morning, gentlemen. I'm detective Ciminelli and this is my partner, detective Hannigan,” greeted Steve to the two clerks. “We're here in Chicago to check on the arrival of a Cessna, flight 1050 from Baltimore last Tuesday morning… excuse me,” Steve exclaimed, “two Tuesdays ago.”
“Can you tell us anything about this Mr. Petersen who flew that plane? What did he wear and how did he look?” questioned Linda. They described this Mr. Petersen as wearing a sweat suit and sneakers and he had a baseball cap with dark eyeglasses on.
When shown a photo of Jonathan Smith-Hughes, they couldn't make a clear cut I.D. on him. Steve even tried to draw dark glasses and a baseball cap on him, and the two clerks couldn't remember too clearly to make a definite identification at that time. “He looks like him, but I can't be really sure. I didn't really pay that much attention to him, as the flight was normal like so many others,” one clerk stated. “Have you ever seen this man in the photo here before?” questioned Steve as he placed Jonathan's photo in front of them again. “Well, he looks familiar but in this business, you meet so many people and you only remember the odd-balls that show up,” the other clerk related. “Did Mr. Petersen sign any documents when he landed?” added Linda. “Surely, he had to release the pane to our care and he signed a release form,” the clerk replied as he handed the form over to detective Hannigan. “What was Mr. Petersen wearing that morning? I mean describe the outfit, to the best of your ability,” returned Steve as he wanted a more definite description of our Mr. Petersen. “He was wearing an Oriole baseball cap. That I'm sure of,” one clerk replied. “I think the sweat jacket was a Philadelphia Eagle outfit, with those large white eagles on the pants.”
“Was he carrying any bag or luggage with him?” questioned Linda.
“No. He had only his flight pad,” one clerk stated and as he looked at his fellow worker. “Yes, we're sure, he had nothing with him. That's strange and I believe we noticed that when he arrived.”
“Did he have someone pick him up or did he take a cab from here to get into the city?” replied Steve.
“No one picked him up and he didn't have a car, so I think he walked over to the cab stand and hailed one. I really couldn't swear to it,” the clerk mentioned. He pointed out the window and down the road to the main building at Midway Airport where he cab stand was located.
Steve looked at Linda and wondered if there was anything they had not covered. She nodded her head and they both thanked the people from the plane rental company and proceeded to walk to the cab stand in the main building. When they arrived there, they discovered that only one cab company operated out of that facility. They immediately notified the chief official in charge and started to ask questions. All they could find was that a cab was used by a passenger that morning and the destination was a hotel four blocks from the Chicago Hilton Hotel. “Very interesting,” mumbled Steve as he jotted this information down. He thanked the cab company official and he then ordered a cab to drive the two back to their hotel.
On the ride back to their hotel, Steve mentioned to Linda how a definite I.D. of the mysterious Mr. Petersen was a stumbling block to his projected theory.
“Also, Steve, the Mr. Petersen who flew to Washington on the corporate jet wore Redskin sweats with an Oriole cap, and our Mr. Petersen who arrived at Midway wore an Eagle outfit, but the same cap,” remarked Linda.
“Maybe the Redskin outfit was splattered with blood, so he changed,” replied Steve. “What outfit did the people at Maryland Aviation say he wore? Let me check my notes. Here it is. They say he wore an Eagle outfit. He did change his clothes.”
“Steve, are you thinking the same thing I'm thinking?” returned Linda sharply. “Do you think we can find traces of blood in that rented car?”
“As soon as we get to the hotel, let's inform the Captain to have that car impounded and checked.”
“While you're doing that Linda, I'll check the hotel for the phone records of those calls Jonathan Smith-Hughes swears he made from his room,” Steve replied as their cab approached their hotel. Linda climbed out and Steve ordered the cabbie to take him to the Chicago Hilton. When Steve arrived, he discovered the elegance of the Chicago Hilton to be far superior to the Holiday Inn, but he probably thought the food was over priced like the room. He quickly was escorted to the Hotel Manager's office and after showing his credentials to the man, the phone records for that Monday evening were secured and brought to his office.
The records revealed that Jonathan Smith-Hughes made six long distance calls from his room, from 8:00PM to 11:00PM. The records indicated the times and numbers called. The Manager had a copy of these calls made for Steve. Steve looked at them and wondered how Jonathan could be our mysterious Mr. Petersen and still be in his room making long distance calls. As he and the Manager walked into the lobby, Steve was informed by him that the hotel had over eight entrances from the street and four sets of elevators. He stated that someone could sneak into the building at six in the morning and not be noticed. This raised Steve's spirits up a bit. He thanked the Manager and his staff and quickly walked out the main entrance and had the doorman ail a cab for him. On the ride back to the Holiday Inn, Steve kept thinking that his projected theory may now be the method in how Laura Smith-Hughes was killed, but, and this was a big but, how does he link Jonathan Smith-Hughes to being our Mr. Petersen. “Did the bastard pull off the perfect murder?” he mumbled as the cab sped through the streets of Chicago.
When Steve arrived back in his room, he plopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He was thinking of his lovely Maureen and he tried to visualize her sensuous body being there in the room beside him. He missed her badly and he realized that her happiness was the only thing he had in his life. While he was relaxing thinking about her charms, the phone rang and Linda was on the other end. She informed him that the Captain wanted them back in Washington as soon as possible.
“Well, we can leave tomorrow. I don't believe we need to be here any longer. That plane Petersen flew is back in Baltimore and I know we may be wishing for miracles but I'm going to have that craft checked out by our I.D. boys for fingerprints. Maybe, just maybe, Jonathan left a print on that plane. It's our only hope to link him to our Mr. Petersen,” calculated Steve as he tried to think of ways to solve this case.
“The Captain revealed some startling news to me when I called him, Steve. He stated that something important came down after we left town,” revealed Linda to her partner.
“Like what? Another murder?” remarked Steve.
“You read my mind partner. Sunday afternoon, the body of Vanessa MacGyver was discovered on board her yacht. she was murdered and just this morning, Senator Otto Klausburger committed suicide and indicated that he killed her,” replied Linda to Steve over the phone.
“So, that stuck up bastard drowned her and then couldn't handle the heat. How did the coward go out?” remarked Steve in a sarcastic tone.
“He blew his brains out with a .22 in his office in the Longstreet Building, sometime between ten or twelve, Sunday morning. He left a hand written note that related that Vanessa was having an affair with him and she was ready to blow the whistle on him.”
“I'll bet D.C. is hopping with this scandal and I'll call my little darling and get the latest from her. Where are we going for dinner tonight? I feel like a big steak dinner with all the trimmings. My treat, partner,” Steve remarked with some joy in his voice. His spirits had been lifted and he was showing it.
“Fine with me. I'll be ready by six-thirty, and this is suit and tie time. I do hope you packed one, Steve?” she questioned.
“I'll even bathe for you and will look my best. I'll meet you downstairs at 6:30.” Steve was in a good mood as he strolled through the lobby wearing his grey silk suit and he looked around and couldn't find Linda anywhere. After a few minutes, Linda, dressed in a black cocktail dress, with her hair pinned up and wearing short heels, had Steve burning his eyes into her as she strolled up to him. “Hey, lady, you are one gorgeous woman.”
“Handle the merchandise with care and don't touch, big boy” Linda remarked back in her best initiation of “Mae West". They both had a good laugh and arm in arm they walked out of the hotel to hail a cab. They were going to a premier steak house over on the Southside of Chicago. Diamond's Steakhouse had a national reputation for having the best steaks in North America, or so they say. Steve and-Linda were going to enjoy the best this metropolis could offer, and they weren't disappointed. The food was just fabulous.
As they ate their meals, Steve just couldn't keep his eyes off of Linda. With her hair up and styled a certain way and that sexy dress she wore, he wondered why he hadn't thought of her in a romantic way. Maybe he missed Maureen after two or three days, and any attractive woman would excite his eyes and his sexual appetite. For now, he was enjoying his meal and he gazed on Linda as dessert, but he knew that friends they would always be, lovers never. So it was dinner, drinks, and conversation, followed by an empty bed and sleep. Tomorrow, he will in his sweetheart's arms.