Friday September 20th – 1:40 P.M. – Brighton Beach
400 Block – Brightwater Court – Club Tatiana
It was like a scene out of a war movie; gray and white smoke
billowed up from what remained of the club, injured were being placed on
stretchers and into the backs of ambulances, while emergency workers searched the
rubble for survivors.
Kelli flashed her badge as she and Greg ducked under the
yellow tape. She surveyed the scene, shook her head and turned to Greg. “It has
to be the Italians, payback for our bartender.”
“Yeah, big time payback,” he said, still scanning the
devastation. “Looks like they used C4 or something, not much left of this
place.”
“There’s the FDNY Captain, let’s go see if he can fill us in
on what happened here,” she said and started walking. “I just hope the women’s
bathroom is still there.”
“By the look of things, I wouldn’t bet on it.”
“Excuse me, Captain, Detective Storm, Thirty-third Precinct.
Can you tell us what happened here?”
The man looked at her, nodded at Greg and looked back at
Kelli. “I won’t know all of the details until we can get in there and do a full
investigation, but I can tell you that this was no accident. The focus of the
blast was located at an interior rear wall, and from the debris field, I’d have
to say that this was a professional job, set for maximum casualties.”
“Any idea what explosive was used?”
“Not yet. Like I told you, we’ll know more after we can get
in there and conduct a full investigation. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to
get back to this,” he said and turned.
“Just one more question. Is the women’s bathroom still
intact?”
He stopped, turned his head and gave her a puzzled look. “If
you have to go that bad, Detective, there’s a restaurant on the corner that I’m
sure would be more suitable.”
She shook her head and sighed. “Yes, I’m sure that it would
be, but that’s not why I’m asking. We’ve had this place under surveillance for
some time and there was something hidden in the women’s bathroom. I just need
to know if it’s still there or not.”
“Yes, it’s still there, but there was extensive damage. I’ll
tell you what, if this thing is that important, come back tomorrow morning,
around eight. The Fire Marshall will be out here and I’ll let him know that
you’re coming,” he said, then turned and walked away.
Kelli watched him leave and then turned to Greg. “We just
can’t catch a break on this case. If that book is gone, we’ve got nothing, and
these bastards get to keep doing what they’ve been doing. Shit.”
“Well, maybe not exactly what they’ve been doing,” he said,
looking back at the rubble, “but I know what you’re saying. Listen, let’s just
head back to the office and brief Porter, and figure out our next move.”
“Yeah, but I want to swing by Coney Island Hospital first,
see if Glinka is well enough to talk, maybe he can shed some light on this,” she
said and waved her hand at the building remains.
