Star Witness

by Joe Giordano

About the Author: Joe Giordano's stories have appeared in more than one hundred magazines including Mystery Weekly, The Saturday Evening Post, and Shenandoah. His novels, Birds of Passage, An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story (2015), and Appointment with ISIL, an Anthony Provati Thriller (2017) were published by Harvard Square Editions. Rogue Phoenix Press published Drone Strike in 2019.

Excerpt

Madeline called. The much younger wife of my first precinct captain. She’s a redhead who dolls-up like a Vogue model. When I worked for her husband, she’d send me on errands. After I’d delivered dry cleaning or their white poodle Fifi from the groomer, she’d touch me enough to make me uncomfortable. Cancer took the captain, and I hadn’t heard from her in years. Her call requesting my help had the familiar tone I remembered of expecting me to comply. My loyalty to her late husband got me to respond. My name’s Bragg, and I’m a homicide gold-shield detective out of Brooklyn South.

She answered the door in a clinging purple sequined sheath dress and looked me up and down. “Blue eyes, you’ve kept yourself in shape.”

She never used my name. With a tinge of annoyance, I asked, “What’s up?”

She pointed to a brown cardboard package about the size of a shoebox lying face down on her porch. “I can’t see the label,” she said. “I’m afraid it’s a bomb.”

Not since the 1950s Mad Bomber scare had Brooklyn residents been as tense. In the prior fifteen days, five IEDs had exploded in various Brooklyn neighborhoods killing six people. The newspapers screamed for results, but we rope-a-doped their questions because there was no progress in the case to report. We cautioned the public against opening suspicious packages, which is why I received Madeline’s call.

“Did you order anything from Amazon?” I asked.

“I’m expecting shoes from Saks tomorrow.”

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