Murder in Hell's Kitchen

Murder in Hell's Kitchen

by Lee Harris

Detective Jane Bauer is two months away from retirement. The NYPD brass takes her off the City Hall Park murder and reassigns her to task force to look into unsolved murders. The first case that Jane and her two new partners get is a stabbing death in Hell's Kitchen. Arlen Quill is found sprawled in the entryway of his apartment building. The detectives who originally investigated the case believed that the killer stabbed Quill as he opened the door to his apartment building but was scared off before he could steal Quill's wallet. Jane stops at the apartment building to re-interview the other residents. She is surprised to learn that all five of the residents are gone from the rent-controlled building -- something that is unheard of in New York City. Jane and her partners start the painstaking task of tracking down these people. They find that four of the tenants are dead and one has disappeared. Elaine Best died of a stroke about six months after the murder. Henry Soderberg died when he fell down the stairs in the apartment building. Margaret Rawls moved to Oklahoma City and was killed by a hit-and-run driver. A mugger in Harlem killed Hollis Worthman and Jerry Hutchins has disappeared. Jane traces Hutchins to Omaha. What had started out as a simple murder/robbery becomes a more complicated. Jerry Hutchins won't talk about New York unless he gets police protection. The police officer is shot and Hutchins disappears the day after he talks to Jane. -- recommended by Donna G. - Eiseley and Walt Branch Libraries

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