Masks XXVIII: Old School

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Eight

By the time Vic finished her part of the paperwork at the police station, Candace Ornoth's segment had aired. After the first few iterations, parts of an interview with Lady Green - made by another reporter - were woven into the segment. The editing of the combined segment increased with each iteration. Eventually, few of either interviewee's answers were for the questions the reporters asked in the videos. Vic knew nothing about any of this until she got back to the office. Where her boss intercepted her in the hallway on the way back to her desk, case with armor in one hand, helmet in the other. Drake didn't look happy.

"My office. Now."

Vic, confused, followed Drake.

"Close the door," he told her, as he seated himself. Vic did so, then took a seat in front of his desk, case beside the chair, helmet on top of case. "You're not supposed to give interviews without official approval."

"This is the first I've heard of that rule," said Vic, completely off balance socially. "Also, I haven't given any interviews lately."

"What about the one you gave Candace Ornoth earlier this afternoon?"

"I thought that was more me answering a few questions from a reporter on the scene of an action, instead of an interview," said Vic, now even more confused. "You said that was okay."

"Not with you and Lady Green interacting to make the Detroit police, the Michigan State police and the FAA look bad!"

"Lady Green wasn't even there. As I told Miss Ornoth, she - Lady Green - was busy helping with a traffic accident."

"Wait... You're sure she wasn't there?!"

"Well, yes," said Vic, now completely confused. "It would have been nice if she had been there; she might have been able to stop Nitrous without..."

Vic stumbled to a stop as her boss began swearing. She felt glad when she realized he wasn't swearing at her.

"Well, Ornoth did say that she wanted to talk to both of us about the Lightning Wire plane crash," said Vic, when Drake paused for breath. "Did she talk with Lady Green later and edit the two sessions together?"

"You could say that," said Drake, dryly, his normal state of self control now restored. "Though, now that I think about it, it sounded like a man asked Lady Green some of the questions. Yeah. I think you - everyone, actually - were a victim of bad reporting."

Vic's boss sighed, and shook his head.

"Sorry. I should have known better than to accept appearances where modern media are involved. They must have edited the two segments together in the studio. Badly."

"No problem," said Vic, glad she wasn't actually in trouble.

"Just... be careful not only with what you say to the press, but how you say it." He sat back. "So, how is the new helmet working out?"

"Very well, in spite of the increased bulk," said Vic, relieved at the change of subject. "I've only had it a few days, but so far it's doing quite well."

"Good. In the meantime, I have a request from the city about where we got your powered armor."

"I don't wear powered armor," said Vic, confused.

"That's what I told them. I don't think they believed me."

"We also get what I do have from the Bureau. Well, except for the few components still left from my original suit. Those are all commercial products, already available to civilians or police departments. So is much of what the Bureau provides. What makes them think I have powered armor? I mean, I wish..."

"We can barely afford regular armor for you," said Drake, outraged. Though whether at the city or Vic she couldn't tell. "Why do they think we have money to throw away like that?! Especially since they already know exactly what you have!"

Okay, at the city. Which was, again, a relief.

"Different branches, I guess," said Vic, with a careless shrug. "Of the city government, I mean."

"Yeah..." said Drake, tiredly. "It's not unusual for one hand to not know what the other knows. Government branches are infamous for not talking to each other. Okay, get back to work."

Vic didn't know why Drake seemed to be in such a distracted mood. She was just relieved to get out of there.

* * *

Two days later Vic was glad to note that Drake was far more collected. They were sitting together in the auditorium of the federal building. Since he'd said no more about the topic, Vic assumed Drake had clarified the armor matter with whatever branch of the city government had mistakenly thought she had powered armor. The combined interview had also been taken off the air, though only after Drake called the station and mentioned bringing the matter to the attention of the Bureau's attorneys. As well as hinting that Vic's helmet had recorded the ambush interview.

The event was a meeting of federal LEOs, called by the local FBI office's Special Agent in Charge Dianne Colby. She let them know ahead of time that she had news about Kostinos. Everyone there knew her; once started, she got directly to the point.

"They were dragging a part of the river after an anonymous tip that a body had been dumped just upstream. Instead, they hooked something heavy which wasn't supposed to be there."

"The missing ambulance," guessed Vic.

"Got it in one," said Colby. "The city doesn't appear to be interested beyond finding the ambulance; they weren't even planning to recover it, after divers checked it out; it was, after all, obviously beyond repair. However, the FBI recovered, impounded and investigated it. Now, we and the Marshals are trying to get warrants for all properties known to be owned or rented by or in any way associated with Conrad Kostinos."

"What's the connection?" said Drake, frowning.

"From clues in the ambulance and things in Harmody's files we believe the vehicle was stolen to transport Kostinos. He's known to be very elderly and is apparently quite frail, though still firmly in charge of his empire. Unfortunately, we know neither origin nor destination for the trip. Only that he likely needed medical attention and the trip was apparently planned in too much of a hurry to arrange a private ambulance. So they stole one."

That made sense. They had already verified that the 911 call which brought the ambulance had been for the elderly mother of a member of the Kubiac crime family. A woman with known health issues, though the EMTs couldn't find anything wrong with her on that call.

"I guess that makes sense," said an FBI guy near the front.

"We figure that even if we can't locate Conrad Kostinos at one of his properties, we can at least find some information on him and the Kubiac crime syndicate," said Colby.

* * *

The old mansion was dark; the utilities, including electricity, had been off for decades. The pipes had been drained and the place thoroughly mothballed in anticipation of future use. It was echoey, empty even of furniture, which had been moved elsewhere, and the least sound reflected from the plaster and lath walls and ceiling, and the tastefully decorative hardwood paneling. These sounds made the place rather spooky. However, the old slate roof was still keeping the rain out, so the interior was pristine, if a bit musty. The FBI men and women searching the structure made their way around by flashlights, accompanied by a drug dog and a cadaver dog and their handlers.

These professional people were there on serious business, but still had to admire the structure's architecture, especially the woodwork, the finish of which was well darkened by age. The drug dog got several hits, but all the secret compartments thus revealed were opened and found to be empty.

However, the cadaver dog got a strong hit at the door between the legs of the sweeping, double grand staircase facing the main doors in the entrance hall. This door - barely visible due to the afternoon light hitting the rear of the house - turned out to open into a large storage space which went under both parts of the huge staircase. This storage space was almost empty, containing only a few old trunks and pieces of furniture, as well as dust and cobwebs. However, the dog went straight to the rear of this space, directly opposite the entrance, and began pawing at the panelling which lined the oddly-shaped room. The FBI searchers quickly found a hidden door. Once that was opened, they discovered beyond an entire, concealed suite. This was sparsely furnished but outfitted with numerous pieces of art; however, what took and held their attention was a body in a hospital gown, just lying on the floor. It hadn't even been positioned respectfully, but appeared to have simply been dumped on the hardwood floor. Nobody advanced any further until the photographers got their shots.

"Wow..." said the dog handler, as he rewarded his charge and looked around.

"I'll say," said the photographer. "I don't know much about art, but even I can see that some of these paintings and statues are valuable."

"This whole set of rooms, though," said the handler, straightening and still looking around. "It's like a museum. Or a time capsule. Some of this stuff..."

"If you can't take it with you," said the leader of the small team, firmly and more loudly, "you should donate it to a museum."

"Well, from the way the body was just dumped in the middle of the floor," said the handler, "whoever put him here didn't have any respect for this old man or the art."

* * *

This time the meeting with Special Agent in Charge Colby was in the Bureau's small Detroit main office. Since there was a super connection - if a distant one - and with only a few people in the local Bureau branch this was the quickest and easiest way to update all of them. Drake, of course, was also present.

"DNA tests and baby footprints from his birth certificate confirmed that the deceased was, indeed, Emil Colditz," said Colby. "Aka Conrad Kostinos. Probably aka John Mark, nemesis of the Operators. Neither type of test was quick, or easy, though of course we put a priority on both. Autopsy says he's been dead for over three years. As well as that he was murdered, and the body recently moved. He was killed with a single bullet to the back of the head, then put somewhere dry and cool, so the body was well preserved. The projectile was too damaged to get rifling marks, but the bullet was probably a modern, jacketed hollowpoint of about 158 grains and .357 inches in diameter, fired at close range and moving at a low velocity. So a .38 Special and not a Magnum. Probably shot from a short-barreled revolver."

"A standard-pressure .38 Special cartridge fired from a snubby," said Vic, nodding slowly. "Using a modern commercial load designed for a short-barreled gun. Just like what was used on Judge Wapakoneta, and Harmody. Which reminds me, have you told the Police Commissioner about this?"

"No," said Colby, firmly, her tone strongly suggesting that she didn't plan to. "The mansion where we found the hidden rooms is well outside his jurisdiction. We haven't found the murder weapon, but Vic's analysis seems correct.

"We also found illegal items and records of illegal transactions at some of the other places where the Kubiacs lived or did business," continued Colby. "Enough that we're already making arrests and seizing property, largely under the RICO Act. We even found a cache of weapons at one warehouse, including the BAR from the electrical substation attack. The old Kubiac family mansion is located on a large estate well outside the city and has been empty for years. It was even placed on the national register of historic places due to age, elegance and style. It was originally built by an industrialist, and purchased by the Kubiacs in 1932, after the industrialist ran into financial trouble due to the Great Depression. By the way, the FBI Art Crime Team says some of what was found in the hidden rooms was taken by the Nazis before and during WWII. Most of the rest went missing up to five decades before that. None seems to have been acquired after about 1950, with the mansion being closed about a decade later. The items include some pieces our experts determined to be fakes, but good ones."

"So we can't say the Kubiacs - or at least one person working for them - didn't have good taste," said Cal, nodding.

"A different gun was used for each of the other shootings," said Drake, thoughtfully, "the shooter each time disposing of the one used after wiping it. That all could have been done by the same shooter, or by two or three different shooters. We'll probably never find the murder weapon for this crime, though. Too much time has passed since the deed was done, and we don't even know where it happened."

"That's our evaluation," said Colby, nodding. "We'll probably have to find the killer to know for sure. However, the FBI's lab should be able to give us a better date of death soon. That will help."

"That's why they wanted not just an ambulance," said Cal, suddenly, "but a disposable one. If they were stopped, they would have just opened the doors, shown the cop the corpse hooked to machines spoofed to give bogus noises and lights, and claimed they were transporting a sick, old man."

"Probably have gotten away with it, too," said Drake, nodding. "Most people - cop or not - won't risk interfering with the medical treatment of someone like that. At night, with artificial lighting and the body set up to look alive but comatose and likely mostly covered, including with an oxygen mask over the face..."

"The preliminary estimate for when he died was well before the ambulance was stolen," said Colby. "However, the vehicle was most likely disposed of the night it went missing. Which was likely the same night the corpse was moved. We're checking the odometer mileage, but it appears to have been disconnected right after the ambulance was stolen."

"So Kostinos has been dead since not long before the satchel with the old ransom money for young Emil Colditz was found," said Vic. Now she was frowning, in deep thought. "Why the sudden move of the corpse, though? If he hadn't been discovered in three or more years, what changed to make them want to move him like that?"

"If we can figure that out," said Colby, "we'll probably know who killed him."

"So, who took over from Kostinos?" said Cindy Larsen.

"Since he was supposedly still alive, no-one," said Drake, wryly. "Though his aides have apparently been giving orders in his name for years since he died."

"A ghost has been running one of the biggest local crime families," said Cal, quietly. "For the past several years. Like Alexander and his generals."

"We'll need to watch for who does what, once this gets out," said Drake, nodding slowly. "Especially once we get a good date for when he died."

"Yeah," said Vic, with dark enthusiasm. "Anyone who claims they spoke for Kostinos after that will not be looked on kindly by anyone in that crime family. We just might finally get a break in all this mess."

"This may be why Harmody decided to inform on the family," said Cal, suddenly. "He found out that he'd been lied to, and that Kostinos was dead."

"A lot of crimes are solved through simple, hard work," said Drake, sagely. "Sometimes, though, they are solved by simple, human greed or fear. Or feelings of betrayal."

* * *

"Well, that's another mystery solved," said Drake, a couple of days later, as he spoke to those in the shared office of the local branch of the Bureau of Special Resources. "The FBI, the Marshals and the BATFE are unanimous, and the Detroit PD is reluctantly coming around to their viewpoint. Most of what was missing from the FBI's property room turned out to be ballistic vests. The BAR and a few other firearms were actually from the Detroit Police property room. The old revolvers - and there were still several left in the cache the FBI found - may have been Kostinos' private property, since we haven't found any other source for them."

"Wait," said Vic, holding up a hand. "You mean that all that work recreating the inventory..."

"Well, it wasn't wasted," said Drake. "The FBI now has a complete inventory of what is actually there and a pretty good idea of what used to be there and is now missing. However, with only a few exceptions, all the old guns from that cache turned out to be items which the local police department was issued or which they confiscated decades ago. When the items were actually stolen remains unknown."

"So who took the items out of the Detroit PD's inventory?"

"It was almost certainly an inside job. Maybe by somebody disgruntled that the old Mayor was voted out. The former Police Commissioner and some of his cronies went with him and are being investigated in connection to all this. They took a lot of people with them, and a lot more were upset over the change."