Thus, Quinones was the first to be eliminated from the surveillance suspect list.
* * *
Detective-Sergeant Teresa Dannelly and Detective Jose Garcia did not have murder to contend with during their surveillance. It was the second duty week, and they were observing Alec Polite, a Haitian male living on Northeast 65th Street in Miami's Little Haiti.
Sergeant Dannelly, one of the Robbery detectives assigned temporarily to Homicide, was a tall, thirty-fiveyear-old brunette with ten years of service and considered a resourceful supervisor. She was sometimes known as "Big Mamma" because of her large bosom, a sobriquet she herself used good-naturedly. Dannelly and Jose Garcia of Homicide, usually called "Pop," had known each other for eight years and had worked together before.
As for Alec Polite, his FIVO card described him as a fervent Bible-quoter who claimed to talk with God. He was considered aggressive and sometimes violent, though he had no criminal record. His home, a two-story concreteblock house, was shared with four families, including six or seven children.
This was the first time during the surveillance duty that Dannelly and Garcia had been assigned to cover Polite. Until now they had been watching Edelberto Montoya, who had made no suspicious moves.
Their vehicle was parked close to the Northeast 65th Street house, and to the frustration of both detectives, it had already attracted the attention of people on the street as well as curiosity from several children gathered alongside.
As their supposedly "undercover" transport, Dannelly and Garcia had drawn a fancy, bright blue GM Lumina Minivan. The interior was crammed with technical gear, including cameras, telephones, sound recorders, and state-of-the-art transmitters and receivers, their antennae hidden in the van's paneling. The windows were tinted black, so it was impossible for anyone outside to see if the vehicle was occupied. The minivan was experimental and intended for specialized missions, but no other vehicles were available.
"For Christ's sake!" Garcia had groaned when he first saw the sparkling new Lumina and its high-tech contents. "I love the toys, but in Little Haiti we'll stick out like shit on a wedding cake."
Teresa Dannelly had laughed. "More likely the other way around, Pop. When I saw what we'd drawn, I tried to get it changed, but today there's nothing else. We take this or walk."
Now, at the surveillance site, even more attention was being directed at the Lumina as several people emerged from the two-story house and approached the bright blue vehicle.
"We're gonna have to take off," Garcia said. "This damn thing's like a beacon."
"Let's try something first." On her portable police radio Dannelly selected a secure channel set up for the surveillance operation, and called, "Thirteen-twenty-one to station."
At police headquarters a special dispatcher took the call. "QSK."
"Send a zone car to 265 Northeast Sixty-fifth Street. Instruct unit to stay low-key, no lights or siren, but disperse the small crowd assembled near the building. Ignore blue Lumina van parked nearby."
"QSL." And a moment later, "I am dispatching unit three-two-four to your location."
Two men who had come from the brick house peered in the van windows but obviously could see nothing.
Inside, Garcia whispered, "This is crazy!"
Outside, a third man, gaunt and balding, had joined the others. Dannelly checked an identification photo and announced, "That bald guy is our suspect."
Garcia muttered, "Trouble is, he's surveying us."
The first man who had reached the van tried the door handle. When it wouldn't open he reached into a pocket and produced a heavy screwdriver. His voice, muffled but audible inside, said, "Ain't nobody in there." All three men outside were grouped around the door; the children had moved back.
"I don't believe this," Garcia said. "They're gonna break in."
"If they do, they're in for a surprise." Dannelly had a hand on her service revolver.
It could have become the ultimate paradox if the man with the screwdriver had not looked around to make sure there were no witnesses. What he saw was an approaching police car.
Dannelly said triumphantly, "There's my zone car."
Simultaneously, all three men jumped back and moved away. The newcomer whom Dannelly had identified as their suspect, Alec Polite, slipped while leaving, but managed to support himself briefly on the minivan's hood. Then he, too, disappeared.
The police car stopped and two officers got out and walked around. As usual in Little Haiti when police appeared, everyone scrambled in different directions. One officer glanced at the blue Lumina, then looked away. Moments later the police car left.
"Are we staying or going?" Garcia asked.
"Tell you in a minute." Dannelly used her radio to reach an emergency number for direct contact with the head of the special task force. When Sergeant Malcolm Ainslie answered, she told him, "It's Teresa Dannelly. I have a question."
"Okay, Terry. Shoot. '
"At the first serial scene the Royal Colonial didn't you have a partial palm print, unidentified?" Typically, Dannelly had taken the trouble to read reports of the serial cases ahead of her surveillance duty.
"Yeah, and it still isn't matched."
"Well, we've got a palm print of Alec Polite, I think.
It's on the outside of our van, and it may rain here soon. If we drive somewhere fast, can you arrange to have it checked?"
"Sure can," Ainslie answered. "Drive to the Impound Area and get your van under cover. I'll have someone from ID meet you."
"QSL. Thanks, Malcolm." Then, to Jose Garcia, who was now seated behind the Lumina's wheel, "Let's get out of here!"
"Hooray for that."
* * *
The Miami Police Impound Area, located under the I-95 Freeway near Police Headquarters and protected by a high steel fence, was where vehicles seized by police in raids especially drug raids were impounded as evidence. On the way, Garcia said, "That was smart of you to think of the palm print. I didn't see it happen. Was it a good one?"
"I'm pretty sure." Dannelly pointed forward. "It's right about there."
At the Impound Area the detectives were joined by Sylvia Walden. "I took the partial palm print at the Royal Colonial scene," she said. "I understand you may have a match."
"Either that or we'll eliminate a suspect." Dannelly led the way to the parked Lumina and indicated the area she had seen Alec Polite touch. Walden produced her brushes and powders and began work.
An hour later Malcolm Ainslie received a phone call at Homicide headquarters.
"It's Sylvia Walden. I've compared the print from Sergeant Dannelly's van a good full palm print, by the way with the partial palm we have from the Royal Colonial scene. There is no resemblance whatsoever. Sorry."
"Don't be," Ainslie said. "It means we have one less suspect, which helps."
He telephoned Dannelly and reported the result, adding, "Good observation. So we'll stop the surveillance of Alec Polite. He was never a strong candidate anyway. Take a rest, Terry; we'll advise you and Jose of your next target later today."
* * *
Proving the belief held by detectives that surveillance duty was invariably a gamble, capable of producing results ranging from high drama to slapstick comedy, across town Detectives Hector Fleites and Ogden Jolly had an experience like no other.
Both were on loan from Robbery. Fleites, young and energetic, had ambitions to start a private security business after a few years of learning police work firsthand. On hearing of the special surveillance detail, he had immediately volunteered. Jolly was competent, but more laid-back and with a better sense of humor than Fleites.
The pair's surveillance subject was James Calhoun, known as "Little Jesus" because of a tattooed cross on his chest and his claim to be the second coming Christ, who would soon be heading back to heaven.