Shattered Ice

Chapter Four

Now was the time to pay a visit with the Toad. They probably figured that he might not be too co-operative with them, but they'd pay him a visit anyway.

The location of HIGH CLASS ESCORTS was near a corner where there was liquor stores and smoke shops.

“Why does this not surprise me at all?” Stoneward would say as they go inside the place.

A lovely receptionist was there. “How may I help you gentlemen?”

“We're police officers. I'm Lieutenant Stoneward, these are my partners, Inspector Tannehill and Detective Crane. We came here to speak with your boss.”

“Oh, you mean Alexander Toadamont?” she asked.

As Lieutenant Stoneward smiled, he replied, “Ah, yes. I believe he's referred to as the Toad.”

She got up from her chair and said, “My name is Janice. Follow me.”

As the detectives followed her, Stoneward said with a smirk on his face, “Anything you say.”

They passed by a large room full of women, most of them dancing to fast dance music, and some of them wearing loose clothing. Crane couldn't help but stare at them for a while, until Tannehill grabbed him by his arms and said, “Easy, boy, easy.”

Janice lead us to the office of Alexander Toadamont, aka the Toad. The guy was a stout fellow, wearing the white suit that Ben was talking about.

Janice smiled at him, saying, “Sir, these gentlemen are from the police, homicide division. They want to ask you a few questions.”

“Very well”, the Toad answered in a scratchy voice. Janice would leave the room.

“Gentlemen, I heard about two of my men were gunned down in some lady's residence, an Anna Fredricks, I believe.”

Stoneward would reply, “Well, I see you keep up with the news.”

“Nowadays”, the Toad would say, “There are stories of violence, groups arguing about politics,-- that stuff doesn't interest me at all.”

“What does interest you, Mr. Toadamont?” asked Tannehill.

After a smirk, the Toad would answer, “The only thing that interests me are diamonds, one in particular that belongs to me. That's what that dead man, Carducci, was trying to hide.

“What do you know about Carducci?” asked Crane.

“Young man, that diamond belonged to me. D'Amico stole that from me.”

“Really? Perhaps he hired Damon Carducci to somehow steal that from you.”, Stoneward asked.

“Huh!! That fool Carducci. I got a call from D'Amico. He said he wanted to return the diamond to me if I let him in on my escort service. I flatly refused. That's when Carducci called. He told me he has the diamond hidden in some pawn shop. He'll let me know which one in exchange for a cut in my escort service.”

“Really'”answered Stoneward. “Did he mention the name of the pawn shop?”

Toadamont shook his head negatively. “He never told me where. So I told him to go to Bennett's Jewelries and get his girlfriend, Anna Fredricks, a surprise gift as a token of my appreciation.”

“So your men didn't kill Carducci?” asked Crane. “And I suppose he didn't kill my partner!!!”

“Young man, I never ordered my men to kill Carducci. But I thought the Fredricks woman would know.” Toadamont was not very happy as he said that.

“What makes you think she would know?” asked Tannehill.

After clearing his throat, Toadamont answered, “Carducci told me he had a girlfriend, the Fredricks woman. I only told my men to ask her, not to rough her up.”

“Let me guess.” Crane would say.”They tore the place apart and then we spot them. We shouted, 'Police! Freeze! As they raised their arms showing they had no guns, they're suddenly were shot dead. Even my partner, Bill Jones”

Toadamont was visibly upset. “I want whoever is responsible for killing my men brought to justice!”

Stoneward, seeing that Toadamont was about to get angrier, grabbed him and replied, “Hey, Hey. Easy, Toad. Easy. If you are telling the truth, let us deal with it. Okay?”

Toadamont sat in his chair, being a bit calmer as he said, “I am telling the truth.”

“Okay, Mr. Toad. Thank you for your co-operation.” The three detectives left.

As they were going out, a familiar face was talking to one of the women. It was Captain Ryker.

Crane was puzzled as he asked, “What is he doing here.”

They watched as Ryker was touching one of the women and saying things the detectives couldn't hear. They did see another woman touch his shoulders and he would smile.

Stoneward finally said, “Come on, guys. We don't want him to see us.”

As they left that place and got into the car, they drove off.

Stoneward was shaking his head while Tannehill was driving. “Frankly, I don't understand how such gorgeous women would want to be with a guy like Ryker.”

Crane replied, “I guess you didn't know that Ryker fancies himself as a ladies man.”

Stoneward looked at Crane in disbelief. “Right, and Icabod Crane was a sex symbol.”

Tannehill, couldn't help but laugh as he was driving. “Oh, I'm sorry but I can't help it. I can't imagine Ryker thinking women would want to be around him.”

Crane was smiling as he said, “Well, I guess a man is entitled to live in his own fantasy world.” After a pause, he asked, “So what's our next move?”

Stoneward answered, “Maybe we ought to check on Ms. Fredricks. At least I want to know how she's doing.”

Crane agreed. “Yeah, that's a good idea.”

They would make it to Scranton Hospital.

Crane would ask, “Do you think she's well enough to answer our questions? I sure hate to push her.”

Tannehill replied, “I think she understands that we're doing our job. We do need answers.”

Stoneward agreed. “That's right. But we'll be gentle with her.”

They would be able to find Anna's room. As they walked in, they saw Anna was awake. She looked anxious to speak to the detectives. “Lieutenant, thank you for coming,”

Stoneward smiled as he said, “:Well, we thought we'd see if you are all right. We also hoped you're well enough to answer a few questions.”

“Yes, I want to”, she said to the detectives.

After a short pause, Tannehill asked, “Those two men that broke into your place were Toad's men. Did they tell you they were working for Mr. Toadamont?”

Anna started to shed a tear as she answered, “Yes. They told me they want what belongs to him. I told them I don't have it. They didn't believe me. They slapped me around and then they searched the place. I ran to my bedroom and I thought they were going to grab me, but they didn't.”

Crane would get a handkerchief so she could wipe the tears in her eyes, and then he said, “Go on.”

Once she wiped the tears off her face, she continued, “It was then I saw you come check on me and then I heard the shots. I got confused because neither of them had guns. I thought you shot them.”

“No, we didn't. They put their hands up when we pointed our guns at them, and suddenly they were shot.”

“Then who killed those men?” she asked.

“That's what we want to find out” answered Tannehill. “Tell me. Did Damon call you before he went to Bennett's Jewelries?”

She shook her head to the affirmative. “Yes, he did. The night before he was killed, he called me.”

Stoneward would ask, “What did he tell you?”

Anna paused for a moment, and then she answered, “Well, he told me that he had the Toad's diamond. He said that he hid the diamond in a Raggedy Ann doll, and then he went to... um... Spen....Spin... uh... oh! Spinetti's Pawn Shop.”

Tannehill put his right finger on his chin, and then he asked, “So he hid the diamond in a doll and then left it at Spinnetti's.”

“That's right”, she answered. “In fact, he said he had a friend who works there and will hold it for him. He also told me he's going to go to Bennett's Jewelries to surprise me with a gift.”

A thought came to Stoneward's face as he said, “Well, that confirms that the Toad was telling the truth about Carducci hiding that diamond.” He paused for a moment, and then he asked, “So did Damon admit to stealing the diamond from Toadamont?”

“Yes, he did, and I told him he's playing a dangerous game between D'Amico and Toadamont.”she answered.

“Anything else?” Crane asked.

Anna cleared her throat as he answered, “He said that somebody else is involved in this war between D'Amico and Toad. But he doesn't know who that is.”

“Hmmm”, Stoneward would say. “So now we've got a problem. An unknown person is putting D'Amico and Toad against each other, all for a diamond that belongs to the Toad. This case is getting more mysterious by the minute. We've got to find out who this mysterious third party is.”

After clearing his throat, he turned to Anna. “Ms. Fredricks, we appreciate your co-operation.”

Just then, the female doctor showed up. She turned to Anna and asked, “How are you feeling, Anna?”

Anna smiled and answered, “Just fine, Doctor Li. I hope to get out of here soon.”

Doctor Li would turn the the detectives. “Are you gentlemen through with your questions?”

Stoneward would answer the doctor. “Yes, Doctor Li. We got the answers we need. “ He turns to Anna and says, “Take care of yourself, Ms. Fredricks.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

The detectives would leave.