Vindication- Ties That Bind Read online

  Vindication

  Ties That Bind

  Patricia Kasdan

  I would like to thank my family for putting up with me and all the take-out dinners. Especially my husband Gary for his patience and understanding through this process. For listening to me as I bounced ides off him before he was through the door from work, standing there with his keys and briefcase still in hand. Demetrius for answering my questions and giving me insight into our federal penitentiary system. To Weston for cheering me on, but also telling me the criminals do swear and most people when they are angry. To Ernie for his critiques, final edit and definite laughs along the way.

  Thank you all.

  Contents

  1. Long Island 2015

  2. Manhattan, NY 2014

  3. Camden, NJ

  4. Partners?

  5. Surreal

  6. The Wait

  7. Long Island 1978

  8. Manhattan

  9. Investigation One

  10. Long Island 1978

  11. DEA Office

  12. Undoing

  13. Assumptions

  14. Long Island 1998

  15. Camden, NJ

  16. Back at the Lab

  17. Brooklyn, NY 1978

  18. Fix This

  19. The Arraignment

  20. The Wrong Connection

  21. Long Island 1979

  22. Let it Go

  23. Back Home

  24. Long Island 1978

  25. Brooklyn 1978

  26. Snoop

  27. Rosa

  28. Brooklyn 1978

  29. The Search

  30. Back to Camden

  31. Brooklyn 1978

  32. Eyewitness

  33. The CI

  34. The Sketch

  35. Tweak

  36. Recognition

  37. The Leak

  38. Drug Connection

  39. Evan’s Release

  40. Proof

  41. The Plan

  42. The Hunt

  43. Manhattan 2012

  44. The Cloud

  45. Travis and The Tramp

  46. The Truth

  47. The Beginning

  1

  Long Island 2015

  The crunch of metal was deafening as he watched the van slam into the driver’s side of the car. The impact, crushing the driver and smashing his head into the steering wheel. The force of the hit sent the vehicle veering off the road and skidding into a giant oak. The last memory he had was watching the passenger’s body shifting from the violent movement and sending her head through the window. He was horrified when blood spurt from her neck and she took her last breath.

  Trying to open his eyes, he could only see flashes of red lights all around him. Someone was telling him to stay still, that they would get him out. When he tried to sit up his entire body screamed, he thought a shard of glass had sliced through his shoulder to the bone. The pain that ran through him was excruciating. Then it hit him, driving, talking, laughing, that sound, that horrid sound, an accident, he had been in an accident.

  “Mom, Dad. My phone, I need to find my phone.”

  “You need to stay still. What is your name?”

  “Evan, Evan Levell.”

  “Okay Evan, my name is Jefferies, we’re going to get you out of here. Take a deep breath and blow it out slowly.”

  “No, I have to call my sisters.”

  “We need to get you out of here first, and then you can call them. Can you cover your body with this tarp? Can you do that for us? Just pull it around your body, and make sure to cover your face.”

  The emergency worker slid the tarp in through the broken window. Evan took the tarp, and slowly pulled it over his head. His body shook violently; he didn’t know if it was from the cold that had eradicated any warmth he had, the pain or if this is what they called being in shock.

  The high pitched noise of the saw cutting through the metal sent his body into uncontrollable spasms. The tarp shifted, and he could see sparks flying around his head like fireworks. When he reached up to pull the tarp back up over his head the pain that shot through him, made him nauseous.

  The sound of the saw ripping through the metal abruptly stopped. He felt a hand on his leg, slowly lowering the tarp he saw the rescue worker, Jefferies if he remembered correctly. As he went to move towards the opening, pain shot through him again, inhaling sharply he let out a deep low groan.

  They gingerly pulled him out of the car and onto a stretcher. He looked over at his parents when he passed the front of the wreck. The pain that ran through his body had nothing on the sadness that settled in his heart.

  When they slid him into the ambulance he didn’t move; he lay there, staring off into space. His parents were gone. This can’t be real. He didn’t think he would ever forget the look that had settled into their opened eyes.

  Evan heard someone say something about tented skin on his shoulder and possible broken nose and a contusion, then stopped paying attention as he danced with the euphoric swaying of the medication dripping into his veins.

  2

  Manhattan, NY 2014

  The crunch of metal was deafening as the van slammed into the driver’s side of the car. The impact, crushing the driver. . .

  The sound of her phone ringing jolted her from her sleep. Trying to compose herself before answering the call, Krista stood up from her chair; she hadn’t realized she dozed off. Answering she said, “Levell.”

  “This is dispatch, meet your team at the corner of Broadway and 36th Street.”

  “On my way.”

  She unlocked her gun safe, holstered her weapon, threw on her coat and was out the door in minutes.

  All work had ceased at the construction site when she arrived on scene, a Sergeant from the Midtown South Precinct was shouting out orders. He turned towards her as she made her way through the debris.

  Moving her jacket over to reveal her badge she nodded saying, “Special Agent Levell.”

  “Sergeant Dooley. I didn’t realize a call went out to the FBI for this.”

  “The FBI gets a call when a mass grave gets uncovered on Broadway, in Manhattan.”

  She watched as Dooley glanced across the lot and back to her, noticing a flush that had spread across his face. Giving him a moment to compose himself, she said, “From my understanding, the demolition team was in the middle of removing the concrete basement when they saw the bodies. Is that correct?”

  “Well, yes and no. They are the remains of bodies, more like a bunch of bones. Some bones are loose; others fused into the concrete. From what the foreman stated, his crew was removing the debris after the building imploded. When they reached the basement level, the concrete remained in larger chunks. One of the workers by the dumpster spotted what looked to be skull as the crane swung into the dumpster. The foreman told everyone to stop what they were doing. After he confirmed it was a skull he called the station. We have the crane operator, the worker, as well as the foreman waiting for questioning in the construction trailer.”

  “Thanks, we’ll take it from here.” Krista looked over her shoulder and waved her team in, pointing towards the trailer.

  “Simons, you take the crane operator, Griffin, the foreman and the other worker they have on ice. I’m going down to the bodies. Find me when you’re done.”

  Walking towards the gaping hole in the ground, she was appreciative of her black tactical boots. She knew she wouldn’t break her neck climbing down into the pit of death.

  Dooley had followed her over and was standing at the top of the grave when she looked up. “There must be at least thirty bodies down here.”

  “That was my estimate also.”

  “From the lo
ok of it, a lot of them have missing parts. Not all of them are in concrete, looks like they were in layers and only the top got fused to the concrete.”

  Just then Griffin walked up, “You need help down there?”

  “I need you to call the morgue get more wagons out here; it’s a mess,” Krista said.

  Griffin only got one step away before Krista yelled up, “And grab me a cup of coffee too, if you don’t mind. It’s so cold; I feel like my face is going to crack off.”

  “Not a problem.”

  The forensic team was on scene setting up floodlights, tents, and tables. Krista knew the only way to identify the bodies were to sift through the debris and retrieve all of the bones that went flying in the blast. They would have their hands full. As she looked around the crater, she ascertained that most of the bodies were still intact under and within the subfloor of the imploded building.

  With a gloved hand, she ran her fingers along a piece of cement and watched as it crumbled under her touch. She wondered how this building remained standing, with the concrete crumbling like wet sand. Taking a chunk of it up to her nose, she inhaled. She pulled her hand away from her face, exhaling in short spurts through her nose. The odor was pungent, and she didn’t think it was from the blast. She took an evidence bag from her coat pocket and placed what she had in her hand into the bag and sealed it.

  She climbed up the ladder as Griffin returned with two cups of coffee.

  “That was fast.”

  “I called the morgue, and they’re sending three vans and another crew. They should be here shortly.” Griffin handed Krista a cup of coffee saying, “I didn’t have to go far for the coffee. When I was up in the construction trailer I noticed a coffee urn. The site foreman said we could help ourselves.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem. I didn’t get much from the worker that spotted the skull. He said he was cleaning up around the lot, heaving the trash into the dumpster, he looked up and saw a skull falling from the crane’s claw’s as it swung towards the dumpster. He reported it to the foreman, and the foreman halted all work and called 911. I ran all their names, and they came back clean, no priors. The foreman confirmed the statement he gave to Dooley. Looks like there’s not much more they can tell us.” Griffin waved his arm out in front of him as he said. “What do you make of all this?”

  “I’m not sure, but I have to wonder if this is connected with all of the commotion being raised about the Lenape Indians burial sites. ”

  “I thought that Indian skeletons found at Burial Ridge in Staten Island shutdown that debate.”

  “Do you honestly believe they buried everyone in one place? The Lenape were all over Manhattan as well. They used a trail that ran from Battery Park all the way to Boston. They called themselves, Manhatta’s. I would guess they lived scattered along the same trail. It’s just a thought I had while I was down there looking through the remains. I’ll let the forensics team sort it out. Once we have solid confirmation and a timeline to follow, then we follow it. Until then, I think our job is done here for the night.”

  Krista stuffed her one hand into her pocket and held on to her coffee with the other as the wind sent a bitter chill flying across the site. “Write up what you got here tonight, leave it on my desk for the morning and we’ll go from there. I’ll find Simons and see what he learned. I have a feeling it won’t be much.”

  After Simons had reported his findings to Krista, she headed to her car. Checking her watch, she realized she could get home and change before heading to the restaurant for her sister Dana’s birthday dinner.

  The wind wouldn’t let up, and the promised snow was laying another blanket over the mounds already pushed to the sides of the roads. Even given the weather, Krista noticed traffic was moving along. She made her way across town quickly and not in the usual gridlock.

  Krista never thought she would end up living in Manhattan; she was a Long Island girl. She loved what the Island had to offer. The pull of the ocean was always a part of who she was. Since taking the job with the FBI, she knew she was lucky to be assigned so close to home. The fact that she could get her hands on her father’s case and try to unravel it made up for the culture shock of the living in the city compared to her Hamptons upbringing. Gridlock was not something she ever had to deal with before her move.

  In the time it took to get from Broadway to home, the snow had stopped. She parked her car and made her way to her building, once again thankful for a sturdy pair of boots. When she opened the door, she flipped on her lights and hung her keys on the hook by the door. Taking off her boots, she flew through the condo to shower and change. The last thing she wanted to do was to bring the smell of death to dinner with her.

  When Krista opened the restaurant door, the sound of music and laughter spilled out. The restaurant was cranking for midweek, much like everything else in Manhattan. The hostess greeted her with a smile.

  “Good evening, how many?”

  “I’m here for the Corbin party.”

  “Right this way, Misses Corbin left instructions to have everyone meet at the bar before being seated.”

  As she stepped up to the bar, she spotted Travis, a DEA agent, and friend.

  “Hey Krista, what are you doing here?”

  She laughed as she said, “Probably the same as everyone else, having dinner.”

  “Very funny.”

  “I’m having dinner with Dana for her birthday. What about you?”

  “I’m only here for the alcohol.” He raised his glass into the air and then took a sip.

  “Bad day?”

  “You have no idea. Where’s your other half?”

  Krista wrinkled her nose as a look of confusion spread across it, a second later she laughed. “Technically he is not my other half, we are fraternal twins, for obvious reasons.”

  “Semantics, a twin is a twin, is a twin. So, where’s Evan tonight?”

  As she shook her head, a look of sadness passed over her face. “I’m not sure I haven’t heard from him in weeks, too many to count.”

  “I thought he was in rehab.”

  “He wanted to do out-patient, he said he’d follow the program. So much for that, he made it to one meeting and stopped going. He falls off the grid all the time, but never for this long.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  Dana walked up to Krista and wrapped her arm around her waist. “Hey, sis.”

  Krista turned and hugged Dana. “Happy Birthday.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You remember Travis, don’t you?”

  “Hi Travis, it’s been a long time.”

  “Yes, it has, Happy Birthday.”

  Krista turned to Dana, “Who else are we waiting for?”

  “Just Dyadya, my friend Jenna and her husband are across the bar.”

  “Dyadya? That’s an odd name.”

  Krista and Dana laughed, Krista answered, “That’s Uncle in Russian. That’s what we call my dad’s friend, Jeff. They met when they were in high school. He’s like an Uncle. That’s what he said to call him when we were little, and it just stuck.”

  “Okay then, I think one language lesson is enough for the night. Have a nice dinner.” After raising his glass and emptying it, he said, “I’m heading out.”

  Jeff showed up shortly after Travis left. The tension in Krista’s shoulders eased at the sight of him, she was relieved to see him. She wasn’t sure if he’d show. He elbowed his way up to the bar and ordered a drink. Sliding up alongside of him she touched his arm to get his attention. She wanted to talk to him before they sat for dinner. “Dyadya, I need your help.”

  “What is it?

  “I haven’t heard from Evan in three weeks. I can’t find him anywhere. I’ve been to all the places I can think of, and even called his friends. No one has seen him. I’m starting to worry.”

  “I will see what I can do. You take care of work, and I’ll put some feelers out. In he meantime, stop stressing and sit tight.”


  “Thank you, this is the last thing I need at the moment. I just cleared my open cases, thinking I had time to look for him, and I caught another one. I haven’t had any time to work on my parent’s case.”

  “Krista, you have to let it go.”

  “No, I don’t and I won’t. Evan wouldn’t be missing if my parents hadn’t died. If he hadn’t been there to see them take their last breath, he wouldn’t have gotten hooked on drugs. If the accident didn’t happen, and his collarbone didn't shatter, or his nose break. If the doctors hadn’t kept prescribing extremely addicting drugs. It wasn’t an accident and I intend to prove it. So don’t tell me to let it go. Either way, will you help find Evan?”

  “Relax, as I said, I’ll see what I can do.”

  Krista woke, drenched in sweat, her heart racing and tears running down her face. The same dream haunted her sleep night after night. She could see it as if she was there. She could hear the tires screeching and the metal crunching. Even as she tried to wake her brain from the fog that settled around it, she could see her mother’s head go through the window, and her father slam into the steering wheel. Knowing that Evan was there in the car with them and had seen what happened first hand, she could almost understand how Evan chose to deal with it. The pain both physically and mentally had taken a toll on him. She wanted to believe that if it were her, she might have coped differently, but doubted it.