Robert B. Parker's Damned if You Do

by Michael Brandman

Jesse didn’t say anything.

  “Besides, if you wait long enough, these two jadrools will find a way to eliminate each other. Sit still, Jesse. Take up needlepoint if you have to. Spinning, even. This isn’t worth dying for.”

  Molly pulled the cruiser into a parking space in front of the Town Hall. She turned off the motor and sat back in her seat.

  “Surely you see that I’m right about this,” she said.

  “I said I’d take it under advisement.”

  “But you don’t mean it.”

  “I do mean it.”

  “You never mean it when you say you’ll take something under advisement.”

  “How can you say such a thing?”

  “Because I know you, Jesse. You’re a hard case, and you only do what you want to do.”

  “Not always.”

  “Always.”

  Jesse didn’t say anything.

  “I’m right,” Molly said.

  “Not in this case.”

  “You promise?”

  “I do.”

  “No fingers crossed?”

  “No.”

  “No caveats?”

  “None.”

  “Okay. I’m counting on you. I’m skeptical, but I’m counting on you. Now please get the hell out of my car.”

  Jesse arrived late for his meeting with the selectmen at Town Hall. He excused himself and made mention of his having been detained, although by what he never divulged.

  He took a seat beside Marty Reagan. The board of selectmen were all on hand. The five of them were sitting at a table, on a riser, at the front of the room. Carter Hansen sat smugly in the center.

  Fire Captain Mickey Kurtz, Buildings Supervisor Alan Hollett, and Chief Health Inspector Harold Brown sat in the front row. District Attorney Aaron Silver stood behind a lectern, facing them.

  “Have the reinspections taken place,” Silver said.

  “Yes,” each of the three men said in turn.

  “And the findings?”

  Alan Hollett spoke first. He was a no-nonsense, sour-faced man, close to retirement age, overweight, arthritic, and hard of hearing.

  “Nothing of consequence has been done to correct the structural deficiencies of the buildings,” he said.

  “Captain Kurtz?”

  “Does the term ‘firetrap’ mean anything to you?”

  Silver looked at the health inspector.

  “Harold,” he said.

  “It’s a vermin-infested pigsty,” Brown said.

  “So it’s safe to say that nothing much was done by way of correcting the violations?”

  “What,” Hollett said.

  “The violations haven’t been rectified,” Silver said louder.

  “You’re damned right they haven’t been rectified,” Hollett said.

  “So what do we do now,” Hansen said.

  The district attorney had taken note of Jesse’s arrival.

  “Chief Stone,” he said.

  “I’m guessing that everyone here knows that I was offered a significant amount of money in an effort to convince me to have the inspection rulings overturned.”

  “Everyone knows,” Silver said.

  “Well, in that case,” Jesse said, “I propose that we all agree to look the other way. I’d very much like to see those three hundred large singing and dancing in my checking account.”

  Several of the attendees laughed.

  “Can we stick to the matter at hand, Chief Stone,” Hansen said. “Without the funny business.”

  Jesse shrugged.

  “What do we do,” Hansen said.

  “We shut the bastards down,” Hollett said.

  “Can we do that,” Hansen said to Aaron Silver.

  “The owners failed to maintain their buildings according to code requirements,” Silver said. “They were informed of this fact and given a specified period of time in which to rectify the situation. They didn’t. We have every right to shut them down until such time as they address the problems and correct them.”

  Marty Reagan stood.

  “Can I ask a stupid question,” he said.

  Carter stared at him and nodded.

  “Why didn’t they rectify the violations? Or at least show good faith that they were prepared to do so?”

  “Excuse me,” Hansen said.

  “Why didn’t they do anything? Seems like all they did was try to bribe Jesse.”

  Alan Hollett raised his hand.

  “Be damned expensive to correct those violations,” he said.

  “How expensive,” Reagan said.

  “I really don’t know,” Hollett said. “Mick, what do you think?”

  “A lot of work needs to be done to the bones of the place,” Kurtz said. “A good deal of the infrastructure needs to be either repaired or, better still, replaced. The buildings were poorly constructed in the first place. Over time, the cheap materials that were used have deteriorated. The wiring has gone to shit, and the plumbing is even worse.”

  “And that’s just for starters,” Hollett said. “When those buildings were put up, corners were cut wherever possible. Those in charge purposely cheaped out so that they could enrich themselves. And although they weren’t originally involved, your friends at Amherst are now paying the price.”

  “How much,” Reagan asked.

  “Say what,” Hollett said.

  “How much?”

  “I’m not a contractor,” Hollett said. “But I’d guess at least a million.”

  “That’s probably in the right ballpark,” Kurtz said. “Maybe a bit low.”

  “You think Amherst Properties didn’t know how bad things were when they bought the place,” Silver said.

  “That’s anyone’s guess,” Hollett said. “The place has changed hands a number of times. They might have known and hoped they could get by with the status quo. Or they might not have known, in which case they were screwed.”

  “Just like their residents,” Jesse said.

  “So buying Jesse off, so to speak, was their cheapest option,” Silver said.

  “I’d say so,” Hollett said. “If they’d succeeded with Jesse, and the inspection violations were reversed, they would have won big-time.”

  “And now,” Silver said.

  “Now they’re fucked,” Hollett said. “That is, if they want to remain in business here in Paradise. If they do, they’re going to have to cough up some considerable dough. And they’ll still have to shut the place down while they make the repairs. A shutdown means they lose their resident clientele. All of their rental agreements would be canceled. Their income would vanish. And with no assurance that any of those residents would return, should Golden Horizons ever reopen.”

  “Why wouldn’t they just take the gamble,” Kurtz said. “It’s not like they can’t afford the money.”

  “We don’t know that,” Jesse said. “With all the negative press they received at the Marlborough facility, maybe their resources took a hit. The media turned that case into a national circus. It’s possible that people regarded it as a sign that the whole enterprise was stinko.”

  “Whatever the reason,” Silver said, “they appear to be poised to let Paradise go dark.”

  “So who does the dirty work,” Reagan said.

  “You mean who enforces the closure,” Hansen said.

  “Yes,” Reagan said.

  “The police department,” Hansen said.

  They all looked at Jesse.

  “Chief Stone,” Hansen said.

  “You talkin’ to me,” Jesse said.

  You lied to me,” Jesse said.

  “I didn’t,” Jimmy Sloan said.

  They were standing in bungalow twelve, the unit in which Janet Becquer had been killed. Although efforts had been made to clean and sanitize it, the stench of death still hovered in the fetid air.

  “She moved in on March twenty-ninth,” Jesse said.

  Sloan didn’t say anything.

  “She was here for more than a month before sh
e was murdered. You lied.”

  “I was boffing her,” Sloan said.

  “She was living here for free and you were having sex with her?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you say so?”

  “I didn’t murder her, Jesse.”

  “I don’t believe you did,” Jesse said. “But you lied. Why?”

  “I promised her.”

  “You promised her what?”

  “That I wouldn’t tell.”

  “That you wouldn’t tell anyone she was living here?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?”

  “She was doing some business here and didn’t want anyone to think she was living here, too.”

  “Which anyone?”

  “What?”

  “Who didn’t she want knowing she was living here?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Jesse stepped up to Sloan and grabbed him by the throat.

  “Quit lying to me, Jimmy,” he said.

  Sloan didn’t say anything.

  Jesse tightened his two-handed grip. Sloan’s face turned a bright red. He gasped. Jesse let him go. Sloan massaged his neck and started to cough.

  “You didn’t need to do that, Jesse,” he said.

  “Who,” Jesse said.

  Sloan hesitated. Jesse reached for him again. Sloan threw his hands up and backed away.

  “It was Walker,” he said.

  “Thomas Walker?”

  “Yes.”

  “Walker visited her here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Often?”

  “A number of times.”

  Jesse didn’t say anything.

  “I loved her, Jesse.”

  “Come off it, Jimmy. She was screwing you in exchange for free rent.”

  “Don’t demean her, Jesse. She was a wonderful woman.”

  “What did Walker want with her?”

  “I don’t know,” Sloan said. “But she was afraid of him. Whenever he was due here, she signed the register. So he could see it.”

  “You mean she made it appear as if she had just checked in on the days when Walker came around?”

  “She didn’t want him thinking she was living here.”

  “And you made it possible for her to do that? You doctored the register.”

  “Yes.”

  “And added the phony names.”

  “Yes.”

  “And put her in different rooms each time.”

  “Yes.”

  “And he came here three times before she was killed,” Jesse said.

  Sloan nodded.

  “She registered as Jane Beck three times. And as Janice Becker once. Who came to see Janice Becker?”

  “Another black guy. Fat guy.”

  “Fat Boy Nelly?”

  “Yeah. Nelly,” Sloan said. “She called him Nelly.”

  “He was here only once?”

  “I think so.”

  “Do you have any idea of the business these men had with her?”

  “No,” Sloan said.

  Jesse took a step toward him.

  “Don’t lie to me, Jimmy.”

  “They wanted to pimp for her.”

  “And she didn’t want them to?”

  “She didn’t want Walker to. She was afraid of Walker.”

  “Why?”

  “He threatened her.”

  “Threatened her how?”

  “She didn’t tell me everything, Jesse.”

  “Threatened her how?”

  “She wouldn’t say.”

  “Did he threaten her life?”

  “She was afraid of him.”

  “Was it Walker who showed up on the day she died?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “How could you not know?”

  “She wouldn’t tell me. I was in the bar. It was crowded. I was busy. The guy came and went. I never saw him.”

  “This is hard for me to believe, Jimmy.”

  “I’m not lying this time, Jesse.”

  “And then you found her dead?”

  “Later. When she didn’t come to the bar. I got worried.”

  “What about Nelly?”

  “What about him?”

  “What did she say about him?”

  “She said he was a queer. That he was different from Walker. Guys like Walker not only wanted to pimp her out, they wanted to fuck her, too. Not Nelly, though.”

  “Did she want Nelly to pimp for her?”

  “More than she wanted Walker.”

  “Did she make a deal with him?”

  “No.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I know.”

  Jesse didn’t say anything.

  “She said she wanted to work alone,” Sloan said. “Here. At the motel. She said I would protect her. That she felt safe here with me. She knew I loved her.”

  “She believed that you could protect her?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Boy, was she mistaken.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “She’s dead, isn’t she,” Jesse said.

  Suitcase’s cruiser came to a stop in front of Golden Horizons. He and Jesse got out and went looking for Benedict Morrow.

  Morrow’s assistant, Barry Weiss, was seated at his desk when the two officers entered. He looked at them.

  “What,” he said.

  “We’re here to see Binky,” Jesse said.

  “Dr. Morrow isn’t here just now.”

  “Where is he?”

  Weiss didn’t say anything.

  “Come on, Barry,” Jesse said.

  “I don’t have to tell you.”

  “You do have to tell me.”

  “Dr. Morrow said not to.”

  “Not to what?”

  “Not to tell anyone where he is.”

  “Surely that doesn’t apply to me.”

  “It applies to everyone.”

  “Are you forgetting that I’m the police chief, Barry?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Let’s look at this another way, okay?”

  Weiss didn’t say anything.

  Jesse walked over to Weiss’s chair and grabbed him by his shirt collar. He reached down and took hold of his belt. Then he lifted him out of his seat and stood him up. He faced Weiss toward the wall.

  “What are you doing,” Weiss said.

  “I’m going to count to three,” Jesse said. “If by the time I finish counting I haven’t yet learned Dr. Morrow’s whereabouts, I’m going to run you into the wall. One.”

  “Wait a minute,” Weiss said.

  “Two.”

  “He’s with Mr. Connell.”

  “What?”

  “Stop. He’s with Mr. Connell.”

  “Where?”

  “In the conference room.”

  Jesse released him.

  “See. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  Weiss stood immobilized.

  “Enjoy the rest of your day,” Jesse said.

  He and Suitcase went off in search of the conference room. In it they found a full-scale staff meeting taking place, chaired by Philip Connell. Benedict Morrow sat next to him.

  Connell looked up when Suitcase and Jesse entered.

  “What do you want,” he said.

  “What, no warm and fuzzy greeting for an almost consultant,” Jesse said.

  “What is it, Stone,” Connell said. “We’re busy here.”

  Jesse looked at Benedict Morrow.

  “Hi, Binky,” he said.

  “Don’t mouth wise with us, Stone,” Connell said. “State your business and then get the fuck out.”

  Jesse pulled the writ from his shirt pocket and handed it to Connell.

  “This building has been condemned,” Jesse said. “You’ll be given enough time to see to it that the residents are successfully resettled, then it will be closed down.”

  Connell handed the writ to Morrow without looking at it.

&nbs
p; “My lawyers will attend to this matter,” he said. “The violations are in the process of being corrected. Now please leave.”

  “I don’t believe it.”

  “What don’t you believe?”

  “That you’re rectifying the violations.”

  “Should I care what you believe?”

  “Show me the work that’s being done.”

  “According to my lawyers, I don’t have to show you anything. We’re in the process of righting the wrongs. That’s all you need to know.”

  Jesse turned to Suitcase.

  “Suit,” he said. “Let’s go have ourselves a look.”

  The two officers turned and started out of the conference room. After exchanging glances with Connell, Benedict Morrow raced after them, followed by two members of the Golden Horizons security staff. The three men confronted the two officers in the all-purpose recreation center located just outside of the conference room.

  “Stop right there,” Morrow said. “Show me your search warrant.”

  “My search warrant?”

  “That’s right.”

  “This is a condemned building. I don’t need a search warrant.”

  “You don’t have a warrant?”

  “No.”

  “Then leave.”

  By now, the commotion had attracted the attention of a number of the residents as well as the rest of the Golden Horizons security detail.

  “Please take note,” Morrow said as they gathered around him, “this policeman doesn’t have a warrant that grants him the right to invade our premises. We have every right to stop him.”

  “This isn’t a smart move on your part, Binky,” Jesse said.

  “Thank you so much for your opinion,” Morrow said.

  He pointed in the direction of the door.

  “The exit’s that way,” he said.

  After several moments, Jesse signaled to Suitcase, and together they left the building. Once in the cruiser, Suitcase turned to him.

  “What do they think they’ll gain by this,” he said.

  “Beats me.”

  “We could have drawn on them.”

  “Probably wouldn’t have been wise.”

  “Because?”

  “Never draw your weapon if you’re not prepared to use it.”

  “Why wouldn’t we have used it?”

  “Too risky. Too many people. There’s every likelihood we might have involved an innocent bystander.”

  “Yeah. I can see that. So what do we do instead?”

  “We pay a visit to Judge Weissberg.”

  “And get a warrant?”