Q AND A

Busy shoppers, office workers, drifters, fill the noontime sidewalks of NYC. Some idle, others hurry, some are obliviously engrossed in themselves. They are anonymous strangers. Just as the 4 walk sign appears, anxious feet get going and a burst of gun fire almost shatters the closest ear drums. Two men a few feet apart fall to the ground, blood spurting from their chests. Screams scatter running walkers who can’t get away fast enough. One brave, maybe stupid, man breaks thru the crowd, bends down over each man, feels for a pulse, shrugs, shakes his head and hastily walks back into the crowd, unaware he has blood on his jacket.

Sirens wail from every direction. Patrolmen and women appear from nowhere, try to control the frightened, curious crowd. There are so many lookeeloos they don’t know where to begin, who to question. Most of the original crowd has left but the crowd does not shrink. Yellow tapes are quickly strung from one end of 54th St.-on the west side-to the other, leaving a small path next to the shops open. Even that doesn’t help. There will not be ‘business as usual’ that day. Officers chalk the street where the men lie, take many pictures, luckily find 2 spent shells. With safety gloves they go thru pockets, get I.D.s. Traffic is detoured. It is bedlam, a too familiar bedlam.

The lady’s name is Smith, at least that is what she tell’s Officer Rudman. ‘Joy Smith. That’s right, Sir. I don’t recognize a Rolls from a Honda, but the shots came from a big, black car. It didn’t look real new to me but it was shiny clean. I saw the rear widow open and I think it was a man’s arm wearing something dark, maybe a sweater, that came out. I only got a glimpse of the driver, nobody else in the front seat. I don’t know why but I think the shooter was tall and had on some kind of hat. That’s all I saw, Officer.’

John Samson Clark saw the shots come from a dark blue Camry, definitely a 2004. ’I know it was a ‘04 because that’s what I have. The NY license plate ended in a 7. There were two men up front but the shots came from the rear. The driver had long gray hair. The open window blew it around. The shooter looked like a kid to me. Sorry, Officer, that’s all I saw. I hit the ground fast.’

Rory Baker, a black hep teen, saw the gunman’s hand, even saw the bullets fly. ‘I swear there was a tattoo on the killer’s left hand. He had a black scarf tied around his head so I don’t know what color his hair was. I saw the license. It was definitely NYC. The last two numbers were 06.That’s all I saw, Officer.’

‘Policeman, Policeman! I saw it all.’ A senior bag lady offered her help. She smelled like beer. ‘Nobody was in the back unless they were down on the floor. The driver had long gray hair and a little beard. The man with the gun had something on his head, like what doctors wear when the cut you open, except it was a dark color. He looked young to me, but everybody does. Oh, maybe this will help. The back door had a big scratch from the knob to the trunk. The NYC license had a dealer’s name, maybe Carlton Agency, or something like that. My eyes aren’t so good any more. I could have been killed. The young killer didn’t seem to be aiming at anybody. He just sat up, leaned out and shot.’ Hope I helped.’

Maybe a break in this impossible inquiry. Tourists, Bob and Doris Ledbecker have some pictures on their new cell phone. They were practicing and happened to be looking at the crowd as the street light changed. An officer asked for the phone, gave them a receipt and promised to return it to them in a few days. The Ledbeckers complained. They got the cell for this trip and want to have what they already did and want to keep practicing. The officer calls the Captain over. The Captain gives them $100 cash from his pocket to buy a new one and they will still get the original back when the department has studied it. He writes a memo of the expense and the attending officer initials it.

TV, newspapers asked for help. ‘Anyone witnessing the two murders on July 8 54th St. & River contact 917-555-5444. A reward of $10000 is offered for conviction of killers.’

The phone line didn’t stop ringing for 3 days. 1500 calls came in. 200 callers were interviewed, none gave any information not already in the record. The ‘Cold Case’ files grow and grow while the bag lady has disappeared and just may be the next case.