The Stolen - Jason Pinter [103]
where I come from. Sometimes you make your own
choices, sometimes where you come from makes 'em for
you. Me, my fate was set long before I had any say in it."
All of this seemed to jibe with what I remembered of
Benjamin. He'd brought up Attica that night I was held in
the basement on Huntley. And I distinctly remembered that
long, thin scar running down his cheek.
I went through every article I could find pertaining to
Raymond Benjamin and the riots. Then, in a small item in
the Journal News, a paper that served Westchester, Putnam
and Rockland counties in New York, I found a short item
in which Raymond Benjamin was named. It was accom-292
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panied by a photograph, as well. I recognized Benjamin
immediately.
The photo was taken at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at
the opening of a new shopping mall in Chappaqua, New
York. Chappaqua was a pretty tony suburb, and I wondered
what Ray was doing there. In the photo he was wearing a
hard hat. And he was clapping. The caption read, "Workers
from Powers Construction celebrate. Raymond Benjamin
of Hobbs County among those proud of this state-of-theart development."
Right there, two things leaped out at me. Raymond
Benjamin was from Hobbs County. Just like Daniel
Linwood and the Reed family. Not to mention Dmitri
Petrovsky. No doubt that's how Ray met the good doctor.
And second, according to the article, Benjamin was
employed by a company called Powers Construction. I
couldn't picture the man who pressed a lit cigarette to my
skin working on a job site, holding a jackhammer under
his gut. It didn't seem right. This was a guy whose job was
to hurt, to kill, not to build.
Unless it was a sham.
I logged off the machine and went straight to Wallace's
office. He was on the phone, but when he saw me enter he
said, "I'll call you back," and hung up. He turned to me,
pressed his palms on the desk.
"Henry," he said. "How's your friend Sheffield?"
"He'll pull through," I said. "A centimeter in another
direction and it would have been a different story. He'll
have a tough recovery, but he's a tough guy."
"I'm glad to hear that. And you saw Jack out there--
the place wasn't the same without him."
"No, sure wasn't."
"And how are you holding up?"
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"Can I use up my daily allotment of 'I've been better'?"
"Consider it done."
"Great," I said. "What do you know about an outfit
called Powers Construction?"
Wallace shook his head. "Doesn't ring a bell. Why do
you ask?"
"I've been doing some research on the man I think is
behind these kidnappings, and he's named in a New York
paper as working with this Powers Construction company.
It just doesn't seem to make sense. The guy I saw seems
to be more handy with a gun than a screwdriver."
"I'm sorry, off the top of my head I don't know."
"You think it could be a front? He's employed there for
legal purposes, maybe does his wet work on the side? You
know, waste-management consulting?"
Wallace chuckled. "It's possible," he said. "But then
why would Powers Construction employ the man if he's
got a record--which he would have to disclose--and to
top that off, he's hardly a model employee?"
"Until now, he hasn't been in any trouble since the seventies. Something just feels off here."
"Do some looking into this Powers Construction,"
Wallace said. "Are they a legit outfit? And where are they
based out of?"
"Putnam County," I said. "They've done work all over
the surrounding towns. Including Hobbs County, which
as it turns out is the birthplace of our very own psychopath Benjamin."
"You know, now that I think about it," Wallace said, "I
remember reading somewhere that Powers Construction was
responsible for some pretty major jobs. Not just commercial,
but residential, too. If I remember correctly, a congressman
who recently retired had a mansion built by Powers."
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"I'll check it out," I said. "But if you're right, it definitely seems like these might be some big-time players in
real estate development."
"Strange times for that market," Wallace