Trueman Bradley - Aspie Detective

  “Yes, I can do it,” I said. “I did do it.”

  “What did you say?” asked Nora.

  “Oh…” I said, “I was just thinking about the past. When I first arrived here, in New York City, I wasn’t sure if I could be a detective. I thought my Asperger’s and my inexperience would mean that I could only fail as a detective. I looked into this mirror and asked my reflection if I could do it. Now that I see myself in the mirror, I see the answer.”

  “How can you see the answer?” asked Nora, stepping closer and looking at my reflection.

  “Because the Trueman I see in the mirror has changed,” I said. “Now he has confidence. My granddad always said, confidence makes anything possible. So I know I can do it now.”

  Nora put her arm around my shoulders and embraced me.

  “Now, he also has friends,” said Nora. “Friends who will defend and help him. With good friends, anything is possible.”

  “I’m glad I have a friend like you,” I said.

  Nora’s eyes became moist and I could recognize that my words had touched her. She moved closer and embraced me again.

  “I’m glad too, Trueman,” said Nora.

  I could smell the lilac shampoo she used and her hair was soft on my face. Her embrace was warm and filled me with joy.

  “Does this mean you’re my girlfriend now?” I asked.

  Nora’s arms became rigid and she moved away from me quickly. She laughed in a way I couldn’t interpret. She seemed embarrassed, by her red cheeks, but she was also smiling widely.

  “Trueman!” said Nora. “Really. You say the most unexpected things sometimes!”

  “Oh, sorry,” I said. “I know you said you weren’t in love. But I just wanted to check if maybe you had changed your mind.”

  “It’s okay,” said Nora. “I’m just glad that reporter, Gwen Tone, wasn’t here to hear you say that. Or it just might’ve been on the front page of tomorrow’s newspapers.”

  “Yes,” I said. “Maybe it would.”

  Nora stood nearby, doing nothing. She stared at the moon through the window and I couldn’t guess what she was feeling. My confusion about the situation made me feel awkward, so I started opening boxes again. But before I could begin Nora interrupted me and started pulling me from the room.

  “Let’s do that later, Trueman,” said Nora. “Okay? Sal and Mrs. Levi invited us to play poker with them. Let’s go play.”

  Nora pulled me out of the room and I looked back at the boxes, not sure if I wanted to leave or finish my task.

  “What?” I asked. “Poker? Well, okay. I guess we can unpack later. But wait, Nora! Wait!”

  Nora let me go and I ran to my desk. I picked up my checklist of today’s activities.

  “Just let me write that down,” I said. “Because I hadn’t planned to play poker tonight. I’ll just add it to the plan.”

  I wrote “play poker” in my notebook and put it into my trench coat pocket.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  Nora took my hand and we walked into the big front office, where Sal and Mrs. Levi were sitting.

  Sal sat smoking his pipe near an open window and reading the evening newspaper by moonlight. Mrs. Levi sat at the table, arranging tea cups and cutting a freshly baked raspberry lemon cake. The sights and sounds of my good friends made me feel warm and cozy. I could smell the raspberry lemon cake, which always reminded me of Mrs. Levi. Even the smell of Sal’s pipe had become a pleasant aroma, because I associated it with him. Entering this familiar room, for another night-time poker game with my good friends, along with all these familiar sensations, made me feel safe and content. I felt a sudden desire to embrace my friends and tell them how much I loved them all.

  “Hello, friends!” I said, with affection in my voice.

  Mrs. Levi and Sal looked up at me and smiled.

  “Hello, dear!” said Mrs. Levi. “I just finished baking a raspberry lemon cake for you. I know it’s your favourite! Please, have a seat, dears. Would you like a cup of tea?”

  Nora and I sat down and took our tea cups.

  “I’d love a cup of tea, Mrs. Levi,” I said.

  Sal extinguished his pipe and moved to sit beside me. He embraced me and patted my shoulder with his hand.

  “Trueman!” said Sal. “My famous friend! How are you?”

  “I feel great, Sal,” I said.

  “Did you see tonight’s newspaper?” asked Sal. “A lot of big news! All of it about you! Have a look at this!”

  Sal passed me the newspaper and everyone gathered around me, reading over my shoulder. The front page had a picture of me, Buckley and Stokowski. Stokowski was in handcuffs.

  “Chief Stokowski arrested,” I read. “The celebrated private detective, Trueman Bradley, along with ex-NYPD detective Samuel Buckley, recently teamed up to bust NYPD Chief of Police, Paul Stokowski, on charges of conspiring with gangsters to conceal criminal activities. Evidence was presented to the police, implicating Stokowski in conspiring to conceal the activities of an illegal alcohol production enterprise. The evidence also implicated Stokowski in attempting to conceal the criminal acts of more than fifty local gangsters. If the evidence is proven valid by a court of law, Stokowski is likely to serve life in prison for his crimes.”

  Everyone was silent.

  “Wow!” I said. “So Stokowski is going to jail.”

  “Yeah,” said Nora. “If they can prove the evidence you found is valid.”

  “Oh, I think they will,” said Sal.

  “Really?” asked Nora. “Why do you think that?”

  “You remember that hearing officer, Tritch?” asked Sal. “The one that really hated Chief Stokowski?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Well, then keep reading!” said Sal.

  “Sidney Saul Tritch,” I read, “an officer of the State Department, has launched an independent government investigation into Stokowski’s activities. After thoroughly examining the evidence against Stokowski, Tritch was reported to say: ‘There is no doubt, based on this evidence, that Chief Stokowski will spend his retirement years in a New York State prison.’”

  “So, he thinks the evidence is valid?” asked Nora.

  “I would say so,” said Sal. “Definitely.”

  Sal took a deck of playing cards out of his pocket and we started playing poker. He dealt me my cards and I sat staring at them. I tried to think of my poker strategy, but I was distracted by thoughts of Chief Stokowski.

  I had always seen life’s villains as inherently evil, like the ugly caricatures in comic books. I had always seen people as good or evil. Life was full of good guys and bad guys, and people were from one group or the other. But for a few short minutes, I had pitied Chief Stokowski. This thought nagged at me, because it brought to my mind a realization I had never previously considered: that evil may not always be entirely evil and that even villains were human beings who could be pitied.

  “Poor Stokowski,” I said.

  “What?” asked Nora.

  “Well, I know he’s a criminal,” I said. “But, he did have a problem with alcohol. That is what caused him to become a criminal. If someone had helped him to defeat his addictions, maybe he wouldn’t have gotten drunk and made that mistake of associating with Benvolio. Then his life would be better now.”

  “Yes, dear,” said Mrs. Levi. “Alcoholism is a sad thing. It can really ruin lives. Stokowski’s an example of that.”

  “Sure, it’s sad,” said Sal. “Of course. But don’t forgot, he was a police chief! That’s an important responsibility! If he can’t quit alcohol maybe he should’ve resigned, if it affected his job. Police are there to protect the citizens, and if he couldn’t do that, he was putting people at risk! Who’s going to protect us from the gangsters?”

  “We will,” I said. “Dick Tracy will.”

  “Ha!” said Sal. “Sure! But what I’m saying is, don’t waste your pity on Stokowski! We should be happy he’s gone! Because now we have a police chief that c
an protect the people.”

  “Oh, really?” asked Nora. “Who?”

  Sal’s eyes opened wide and I could interpret his shock.

  “Are you kidding?” asked Sal. “Didn’t you hear?”

  “Hear what?” asked Nora.

  “Look at this story!” Sal gave the newspaper to Nora.

  Nora looked at the story that Sal indicated and her eyes widened.

  “Buckley’s the new chief of police!” she shouted. “Trueman! Buckley’s the chief! Did you know that?”

  “Yes,” I said. “He told me.”

  “He did?” asked Nora. “You saw him?”

  “Yes,” I said. “I had lunch with him today at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I showed him some of my favourite paintings by George Bellows.”

  “Oh my God!” said Nora. “I can’t believe it! It says here, ‘the citizens of New York City were so impressed by Buckley’s integrity and his ability to expose the corruption of Stokowski that they successfully lobbied the police commissioner to promote him to chief of police.’ That’s amazing! Buckley will be taking Stokowski’s old job!”

  “And he’ll do a better job too!” said Sal. “Now New York City will have a real police chief! Not a criminal and a liar.”

  “Yes,” I said.

  Nora’s excited face soon became calmer and she frowned. I could see signs to indicate that she was suddenly worried.

  “What’s wrong, Nora?” I asked.

  “Oh, nothing,” said Nora. “I was just thinking… this means Buckley’s not working for us anymore, right? We probably won’t see him here much anymore. He’s back with the NYPD.”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Well,” said Nora, “are you okay with that, Trueman? I know you two have become pretty close friends. I know I’ll miss him, so I can just imagine how sad you’d be about it.”

  “I’m not sad,” I said. “In the Dick Tracy comics, Sam Catchem also exposed criminal acts of the chief of police. And Sam Catchem also became chief of police! So, do you understand? It’s perfect! Buckley is exactly like Sam Catchem. This is how it should be. This helps me to feel even more like Dick Tracy.”

  “Oh,” said Nora.

  We played poker for a minute, in silence.

  “A pair of twos?” asked Sal. “Trueman has a pair of twos? That’s the worst hand in poker! You’re not fooling anyone, Mr. Bradley! You’re letting us win, aren’t you?”

  “Oh, sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t thinking of what I was doing. Last time I played with Buckley I was letting him win.”

  “Well, don’t do that with us!” said Sal. “I’m determined to beat you some day. Even just to win one game of poker against Trueman, the mathematical genius! If I could do that, then I could brag about it for the rest of my life!”

  Nora and Mrs. Levi laughed.

  “Ah, okay,” I said. “I’ll try to win again.”

  “Trueman?” asked Mrs. Levi.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “You explained this whole mystery to me,” said Mrs. Levi. “But there’s one thing I still don’t understand. If Eddie and Malcolm killed each other, then why did your crime-fighting equation identify that black-haired guy at the Marine Air Terminal as the murderer? Was your equation wrong?”

  “No, it wasn’t wrong,” I said. “That’s one of the reasons why I met Buckley today. We met to use my equation and find that black-haired man we were chasing at Marine Air Terminal.”

  “And did you find him?” asked Nora.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Wow!” said Nora. “Well, what happened?!”

  “Oh, well…” I said, “he’s an employee at a chemical factory. He’s the one who manufactured the thallium sulfate Malcolm used to kill Eddie.”

  “What?” asked Nora. “But he didn’t kill Eddie!”

  “Yes, I was also confused about that,” I said. “But now I realize my equation can’t identify a murderer if the murderer is already dead. When I used the equation, Malcolm was already dead. Malcolm was the one who was most responsible for Eddie’s death, but he was no longer available because he died. So my equation led me to someone who was less responsible, but still responsible. It led me to the person who made the poison.”

  “But the factory employee didn’t kill Eddie!” said Nora. “Why would your equation call him the murderer? He was just doing his job, making chemicals. He didn’t commit any crimes!”

  “I know that,” I said, “but my equation doesn’t know that. My equation is logical. And, logically, the person who made the poison is responsible for Eddie’s death. If he didn’t make it, Eddie would be alive. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Nora sighed.

  “Not really,” said Nora, “but never mind. Why did the factory employee run away from us if he wasn’t guilty?”

  “Oh,” I said. “He said he ran from us because I startled him. He was robbed in that airport last summer. He panicked, and when he saw your gun, he assumed we were trying to rob him.”

  “So he climbed down from the roof of a two-storey building to escape us?” asked Nora. “That seems a bit extreme to me!”

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “He told me he had over three thousand dollars in his coat. For three thousand dollars I’d climb down from the roof of a two-storey building too.”

  “Me too!” said Sal.

  “Why did he have so much money with him?” asked Mrs. Levi.

  “I asked him,” I said. “But then Buckley said it was not our business to ask him questions like that. He was an innocent man, not the murderer, so we should respect his privacy. That’s what Buckley said and I decided he was correct. I apologized to the factory employee for bothering him and we left him alone.”

  Nora sighed.

  “I’m glad for Buckley, of course,” said Nora. “He deserves to be chief. But I’m gonna miss having him around here.”

  “Miss him?” I asked. “I don’t understand why you think you won’t see him anymore. I just saw him today.”

  “And what did he say?” asked Mrs. Levi. “Is he still going to come visit us as often as before? Did he actually say that?”

  “Well, he didn’t say that,” I said.

  Mrs. Levi frowned and I could recognize her disappointment.

  “But,” I said, “I imagine he’ll need to come here often, considering we’re working on a case together.”

  “What?” asked Nora.

  “Yes,” I said. “That was the other reason why I met Buckley today. We met to discuss our new case. He said he’d give all his cases to our agency from now on. He thinks we’re a good team, so we’ll be doing all the available police cases. We’ll be really busy and Buckley will spend a lot of time here.”

  “Wow!” said Nora. “That’s such good news, I don’t even know what to say! I never thought we’d succeed like this when we first started this agency! I’m just speechless!”

  “I think you’re wrong,” I said.

  “What?” asked Nora.

  “You said you’re speechless,” I said. “But you just said something, so you have the power of speech. You were wrong when you thought you were speechless.”

  “No Trueman!” said Nora. “Sorry, that’s just an expression! It means I’m so excited I don’t know how to react!”

  “Oh,” I said. “I’m excited too.”

  “I’m so proud of you, dear!” said Mrs. Levi.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Sal put his arm around me and patted my shoulder.

  “Trueman!” said Sal. “The best detective I know! Let’s drink to our good friend Trueman, and his many successes!”

  Everyone raised their tea cups and knocked them against each other lightly, making a musical sound. I learned, from experience, this was called “making a toast” and was a way of celebrating a success. I lifted my tea cup and smiled.

  “Thank you, my friends,” I said.

  Everyone was smiling, and we played cards in silence.

  “Trueman?”
asked Nora.

  “Yes?” I said.

  “What case are you and Buckley working on?” she asked.

  “Oh, nothing too complicated,” I said. “A group of men robbed a house in the area of Riverdale.”

  “Robbed a house?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I said. “Well, also, it was the house of a military commander and they stole documents that could cost the United States hundreds of soldiers’ lives. Buckley thinks it was gangsters who stole them. I was going to do some math and figure out who stole the documents. But then Nora wanted me to play cards. So, I guess I’ll do it after we’re done.”

  My friends were silent and they became perfectly still. I couldn’t recognize what they were feeling. They vaguely resembled mannequins I had seen displayed in a shop window on Broadway, but that didn’t help me to interpret their emotions.

  Nora jumped out of her chair.

  “I don’t want to play anymore!” said Nora. “I’m so excited about this case, I want to work on it right now!”

  “Oh, me too, dear!” said Mrs. Levi. “I can drive to the station and get the military records of the commander! I know just how to do that, dear! Sal, can you drive me there? My car’s got engine troubles!”

  Sal jumped from his chair and slapped his thigh. He was smiling widely and I could recognize that he was very excited.

  “With pleasure, Mrs. Levi!” said Sal. “Now, this is what I’ve been hoping for! Another case! We’re back in action, my friends! We’ll nail those gangsters and get those documents!”

  “Yes!” said Nora. “I can’t wait! I’m going to go home and get my toothbrush and pack my things! I’m spending the night here with you guys! We’ll spend all night solving this case!”

  Everyone was so excited, that I could feel it. I couldn’t normally interpret emotion very well. But their enthusiasm was so intense that I could actually feel it in the room, as if it were an electrical force, moving through us all. I realized that I was excited too. I loved detective work and so did my friends. My dreams to be a detective were also their dreams and our dreams had come true. I became as excited as they were.