CHAPTER SIXTY
CHICAGO
ALBANY PARK NEIGHBORHOOD
FEBRUARY 1966
“Welcome back, Mimi,” Ryan said, without getting up from his seat. On the table lay a deli tray from Kaufman’s Bagel Bakery. A pot of coffee sat to the side. “Help yourself,” he said.
“Thank you. I’m ready to help in any way I can.”
“Are you prepared to have your memory poked and prodded?” Eli asked.
She nodded. “I’m here. No second thoughts. Where do you want me to start?”
“Why don’t you begin by giving us a history of your relationship with Christine and the Zielinski family? From the beginning.”
“We met at Hibbard Elementary School. We were in the third grade. We became best friends.”
“Did you know her father was a U.S. congressman?”
“Everybody knew that, but it didn’t matter to a third grader. What I knew was that Chrissie’s father was in Washington a lot. He wasn’t home all the time like other kids’ dads.” She paused. “Except my dad.”
Ryan leaned forward. “If it isn’t too personal, Mimi, can I ask you about your dad? I know you live with your mother and grandmother, but not with your dad.”
“My dad died when I was five. He was a soldier, and he was killed in the war.”
“I’m sorry,” said Colonel Mooney. “What unit, if you know?”
“My dad was with the Sixth Armored Division, the Super Sixth. He landed on Utah Beach on June eighteenth, 1944, and joined up with General Patton’s Third Army. He was killed at the Battle of the Bulge.”
Eli looked as though he had seen a ghost.
Colonel Mooney walked over and warmly hugged Mimi. “Thank you for sharing. Your father was in one of the finest units the army ever produced. You can be very proud of your dad.”
“I’ve always been proud of my dad. Upstairs in our apartment, we have my dad’s medals and the flag that was given to my mom. We have a chair at the head of our dining table that remains empty, like the space in my mother’s heart, she would say. We also have my dad’s dog tag, which was carried through the rest of the war by his best buddy, Corporal Dennis Reilly.”
Eli stared straight ahead. “This is unbelievable,” he muttered to himself. “This can’t just be a coincidence. This is fated.” Tears filled his eyes, and he flicked them away with his fingers. The others looked at him with concern.
“Are you okay?” Colonel Mooney asked.
He nodded and softly said, “There is an extraordinary connection here. I was rescued by the Super Sixth. Corporal Dennis Reilly personally saved me and my son Izaak. He lifted me down out of my bed, carried me across the square and helped me find my son. When I was placed onto a medic’s stretcher, Corporal Reilly made sure Izaak stayed with me. So many children were separated from their parents at the end of the war, but it was Corporal Reilly who kept us together.” Eli stood, cleared his throat and left the room.
“Maybe we should take a short break,” Ryan said.
* * *
When the group had reconvened, Ryan asked, “Why don’t you tell us what you know about Nicholas Bryant and Bryant Shipping Incorporated?”
“I’ve only met him on a half dozen occasions, generally at social affairs at Congressman Zielinski’s home. From what I know, he’s a first-class jerk. He thinks he’s God’s gift to women, always flirting, always making snide, inappropriate remarks. At a political function, he’d come up to a woman he didn’t even know and tell her how sexy she looked in her dress and how it turned him on. He made a pass at me two years ago at a dinner party—totally inappropriate—and he put his hand on my knee. I slapped him.”
“Did all this inappropriate conduct take place after he and his wife separated?”
“Marital fidelity has never been a serious concern for Nicky. He’s been an unabashed philanderer for as long as I can remember. He continually made advances to Chrissie, and it was a constant problem for her, but she wanted to keep her job and she thought she could deflect them. In the end, she couldn’t; she quit, and it’s probably what got her killed. That and the threats Preston made to her dad and Nicky.”
“Is it your opinion that Bryant killed Christine?”
“I don’t have enough information to form that opinion, but he’d be my number one suspect.”
“Who’d be number two?”
“It could have been any of Vittie’s cabal, I guess. They all had motivation to silence Preston and Chrissie. Chrissie’s resignation caused quite a disruption, not only for Nicky and his business, but for her dad and the military contractors. There was no one left to keep an eye on Nicky and the cash that was coming in. She knew too much. They didn’t want her to quit.”
“What about Preston?” Ryan said. “Did he know too much?”
“Maybe. Preston worked in Vittie’s congressional office. He saw people come and go, though Vittie never allowed him into the meetings. Right after Christine quit, Preston had a screaming argument with Nicky and Vittie. He threatened to blow the whistle if they wouldn’t leave Christine alone. Was it Nicky that killed them both?” She shrugged. “He’s a violent man, especially when drunk, and that was every day. He socked Chrissie in the face when she threatened to leave him, even though he professed to love her.” Mimi shook her head. “Such a damn shame. She was such a beautiful girl.” Mimi stared at Ryan. “What do you think? What do the professionals think? Was it Nicky?”
Ryan spread his hands. “Maybe. There are several possible suspects. Bryant is one, but others had reasons to silence Christine and Preston. For the moment, let’s focus on Bryant. I’d like you to tell us as much as you can remember about Nicholas Bryant and his shipping company.”
Mimi spent the next three hours recounting all of her conversations with Christine that had anything to do with Nicky, Bryant Shipping and the hidden cash. She recalled the day Nicky gave Christine the job. “Actually, Vittie gave her the job. All of Nicky’s shipping contracts came from Vittie. Nicky wouldn’t have a business at all if it wasn’t for Vittie and the military contractors. Military supplies were all he shipped. Chrissie would tell me about the meetings. Businessmen would come in with their briefcases. The meetings were short, and many times the men would leave without their briefcases.”
“Did Chrissie’s duties involve periodic reports to her father about the cash?”
“Daily, that’s what I understand. One evening, when I was visiting the Zielinskis’ home, I overheard Vittie telling Chrissie that he suspected Nicky wasn’t properly accounting for all the cash. He also wanted accurate details of who came in and who went out. Chrissie also knew that Nicky was keeping money for himself.”
Ryan, Mooney and Eli busily took notes and intermittently interrupted Mimi’s narrative with follow-up questions. By the end of the afternoon, the men had written several pages in their yellow pads.
As they were putting their notes away for the day, Mimi said, “Why have all these men come to Chicago for a meeting? Why not meet in Washington?”