Page 110 of NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority

“It was a big job. The payout was a million dollars. But he knew he couldn’t handle it. A month earlier, he’d been diagnosed with Meniere’s disease. It’s a disorder of the inner ear that can lead to vertigo and hearing loss. The symptoms can come and go, but he couldn’t take a chance on lining up a shot from that rooftop and getting dizzy before he could pull the trigger. So he went to Sonia and told her I could make the shot. She knew me, of course, but she never knew that Ipinch-hitfor him thirteen years ago in Montana. He promised her I could get it done. And I did.”

“Did your father ask you to shoot Winstanley?”

“No. That was Sonia. Barbara called her and told her you’d arrested Emily at the funeral home. It was one thing for Sonia to get Winstanley out of adrunk-drivingcharge, but we knew you had him for killing Sheffield. Sonia called me. She said Emily’s time at the Sorority was over. The only thing we could do was give him an honorable death. And once again, I did.

“Three murders,” she said. “I know that sounds heinous, but think about it. One was a pedophile, another was a cop killer, and... well, I like to think of Eldon Winstanley as an assisted suicide.”

“What about Theo Wilkins?” Kylie said.

“Damage control. We would have turned him loose once we got to Colombia,” she said.

Kylie and I made eye contact. That’s not the way Sonia Blakely told it.

“Look, it’s been a long day and I’m exhausted,” Megan said. “Do you mind getting me processed so I can get some sleep.”

“Sure,” I said. “One last question. Actually, it’s atwo-parter. Who put up the million to kill Warren Hellman? And who put up the money to kill his brother Curtis?”

She told us. And asmind-bogglingas her stories about her father had been, this was an even bigger shocker.

Megan Rollins would get some sleep after we processed her, but we wouldn’t. Kylie and I were going to have to pay alate-nightvisit to Curtis’s grieving widow, Brooke Hellman.

CHAPTER 73

The last timewe arrived at Brooke Hellman’s penthouse on Riverside Drive, she opened the door, took one look, and said, “Oh, Christ. You two again?” This time we were greeted like conquering heroes.

“Kylie! Zach!” she gushed, using our given names for the first time. “Come in, come in. Would you like something to drink?”

We politely declined, but clearly, bygones were now bygones. We’d gone from the doghouse to “Are you sure? I just opened a lovely Chardonnay.”

We followed her to the living room, and the three of us got comfortable.

“I told the mayor how grateful I was that you caught the man who killed Curtis,” she said, “but this latest arrest has me in shock. Megan Rollins? How is that possible?She was such a role model for women.”

“There was a lot more to Megan than meets the eye,” Kyliesaid.

“And you’re sure she shot Warren?”

“She admitted it,” I said. “And now that we have her confession, our forensics team will reexamine the UPS truck that the killer used. We’re confident they’ll find herDNA.”

“Shocking,” Brooke said. “But why did you arrest Sonia Blakely? There’s nothing on the news that explains it. I hope it’s all a misunderstanding, because I’m counting on Sonia to run the business.”

“Sonia was already running a business of her own,” Isaid.

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“I believe you’re familiar with the organization known as the Sorority,” Isaid.

“Yes, of course. I first heard about it from Sean Driscoll. It was a proposal his daughter’s boyfriend came up with. A gang of hit men who were still going strong well into their seventies. I encouraged Curtis to look into it. He and Warren met with the writer, and they were seriously considering optioning the idea. I thought it was a delightful concept.”

“It was more than a concept,” Kylie said. “It was a reality.”

I watched as a wave of clarity washed over her. “The man who killed Curtis,” she said. “His picture was all over the news. I was surprised at how old he was, but I never made the connection.”

“He was one of five. All in and around seventy years old. Sonia knew them since their military days.”

“And you arrested her because she was their attorney?”

“No, ma’am,” I said. “She ran their operation.”

---