Killing the Blues

by Michael Brandman

  “What,” Alexis said.

  “That’s what I named her. Mildred Memory.”

  “What kind of name is that?”

  “It was the name of my favorite high school teacher.”

  “Mildred Memory?”

  “Yes.”

  “So how exactly will you address the cat?”

  “As Mildred Memory.”

  “You mean you’ll say things like ‘Here, Mildred Memory.’ ”

  “Exactly.”

  “Doesn’t that seem a bit eccentric?”

  “Not to us,” said Jesse.

  “Us?”

  “Mildred Memory and me.”

  Alexis sipped her drink and didn’t say anything.

  Jesse didn’t say anything.

  Mildred Memory didn’t say anything.

  “I’ve booked my first festival,” Alexis said.

  “You have,” Jesse said.

  “Fourth of July weekend.”

  “And Uncle Carter has approved?”

  “He has.”

  “Congratulations. What’s the show?”

  “An all-day rock concert, of course. I booked a whole bunch of bands. July fourth. The high school stadium. The show will start at three o’clock and go for as long as it goes.”

  “Not past eleven o’clock,” Jesse said.

  “More likely until two or three.”

  “Not past eleven o’clock.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Curfew,” Jesse said.

  “Curfew ?”

  “Eleven p.m. Town law. You could look it up.”

  “Why didn’t you mention this before?”

  “You never asked.”

  “That’s awful,” she said.

  “Not for the people who live near the stadium,” Jesse said.

  “Do you think Uncle Carter could get an exception?”

  “Not while I’m around.”

  “Couldn’t you look the other way?”

  “I don’t think you should be asking me that question,” Jesse said.

  “But this changes everything.”

  “Why?”

  “Because concerts like this don’t generally end until well after midnight.”

  “This one will.”

  “People might not want to attend a concert that ends so early.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because that’s when things really start happening.”

  “You’ll have to stop the music at eleven,” Jesse said.

  “Do you realize how important this is to me, Jesse,” Alexis said.

  “I do.”

  “And you won’t bend the rules? Even for me?”

  “No,” Jesse said.

  “How can you be so intransigent?”

  Jesse didn’t say anything.

  “What if we don’t stop?”

  “I’ll have to stop it for you.”

  Alexis looked at Jesse. She put down her drink and stood up.

  “You don’t give an inch, do you?”

  “Not where the law is concerned,” Jesse said.

  “And where I’m concerned?”

  “I’ve told you where I stand.”

  “You stand alone,” she said, and left.

  45

  Rollo set the fire in a garbage can that he had taken from a neighboring house. He had lined the can with pieces of newspaper and had added a bundle of kindling wood that he had purchased at the market. He emptied nearly an entire can of lighter fluid over the paper and the wood. He lit it, then melted into the shadows to await the results.

  The fire burned for twenty or so minutes before there was any response. Then a silver Chevy sedan pulled up alongside the burning can. A man got out of the sedan and opened the trunk. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and began to spray it on the fire.

  Rollo came out of hiding and approached the man from behind. He knew that the man was part of the night patrol on the lookout for the dog killer. He assumed the man was a police officer.

  Before the man could react, Rollo grabbed his head in both of his hands and violently twisted it until he heard the man’s neck break.

  Then he let go, and the man fell to the ground. Rollo watched him die.

  Afterward he dragged the man back to his vehicle. He lifted him up and put him inside.

  Then he reached inside and popped the Chevy’s gas tank cover. He walked to the side of the car and unscrewed the cap.

  He placed a string of twisted toilet paper inside the gas tank and unrolled the paper until it stretched to a fair distance away from the car. He doused the paper with lighter fluid. He lit the end of the paper, and as it began to burn its way toward the gas tank, Rollo ran from the car.

  He had reached the street corner when he heard the explosion. He turned back in time to see a massive ball of flame erupting from the car. He could feel the heat.

  He hugged the shadows and got away as fast as he could.

  Jesse was watching the old-movie channel when the phone rang. The movie was The Graduate, and it was just getting to the part where Ben disrupted Elaine’s wedding.

  “Shit,” he said, and answered the phone.

  “Jesse, it’s Rich. We’ve got a situation.”

  By the time Jesse got to the scene, the fire had been extinguished. The charred remains of the car were still smoldering.

  Mickey Kurtz was watching the smoke rise. Rich Bauer stood with him. Jesse walked over to them.

  “We’ve got a body here, Jesse,” Kurtz said.

  “Who,” Jesse said.

  “Steve Lesnick was on patrol with me tonight,” Bauer said.

  “We can’t make any positive identification yet,” Kurtz said. “But in all likelihood it’s Steve.”

  Jesse stepped away and took a moment to collect himself. He walked to the fire-damaged automobile and looked inside. He gazed at Steve Lesnick’s remains. A fellow officer. A friend.

  The body was burned beyond recognition. Jesse thought it strange that it was lying on the seat. He looked more closely and saw that the head was tilted at an odd angle. He called to Captain Kurtz.

  “Mick,” he said. “Have a look at something, will you?”

  Kurtz joined him beside the car.

  “Look at the angle of the head,” Jesse said.

  “Odd,” Kurtz said. “Almost as if . . .”

  “. . . Yeah,” Jesse said.

  “I better have forensics take a closer look,” Kurtz said.

  “Good idea,” Jesse said.

  46

  The Lesnick funeral was attended by seemingly everyone in Paradise. The crowd overflowed the church. Many of the attendees listened to the service over a loudspeaker that had been placed on the sidewalk.

  It wasn’t the first time that a Paradise police officer had been killed in the line of duty. But it was the first time Jesse had worn his uniform.

  “Steve would have loved that you attended in uniform,” Molly said.

  “Especially my discomfort,” Jesse said.

  He and Molly were outside the church, looking around.

  Jesse spotted Alexis Richardson standing with Carter Hansen. He and Alexis hadn’t spoken since the night of Steve’s death. Which was also the night they’d fought.

  After the service, following a brief moment spent with the Lesnick family, Jesse joined the crowd as it made its way out of the church. He caught up with Alexis. She looked at him but said nothing.

  “Sad day,” he said.

  “He was your friend,” she said.

  “He was,” Jesse said.

  “Uncle Carter says he was a good cop.”

  “He was.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you.”

  They walked together for a ways.

  “Don’t think you can make up with me, Jesse,” she said.

  “You’re not still angry, are you,” Jesse said.

  “Of course I’m still angry.”

  “Surely you’re not going to hold me respon
sible for a matter which is essentially out of my hands,” Jesse said.

  “That’s not what my uncle thinks.”

  “Hansen told you it would be all right to play amplified music for as long as you like?”

  “Something like that, yes.”

  “Then he’s misstating the law.”

  “Or interpreting it differently than you,” Alexis said.

  “There’s no interpretation required. The town rules are eminently clear.”

  “Apparently not to Selectman Hansen.”

  “Does that mean you plan on defying the law?”

  “This country was built upon people defying the law,” Alexis said.

  “So you are planning to defy it.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to.”

  “Don’t get in my way, Jesse.”

  “I don’t particularly appreciate that remark.”

  “There’s no appreciation required,” she said.

  “That’s what you think,” Jesse said.

  He glared at her for a few minutes.

  Then he walked away.

  47

  You came to see me for information,” Dix said.

  “Yes,” Jesse said.

  “Not for treatment.”

  “Yes.”

  “What kind of information?”

  “I’m not certain.”

  “You came to me for information, but you’re not certain what information you came for?”

  “Yes.”

  “Again with the one-word answers.”

  “You used to be a cop, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Did you ever experience serial behavior,” Jesse said.

  “You mean like the behavior behind the killings and the fires?”

  “Yes.”

  “No.”

  “No you didn’t experience this kind of behavior,” Jesse said.

  “Yes,” Dix said.

  Jesse didn’t say anything.

  “Serial behavior comes in all sizes,” Dix said. “What you’re dealing with seems to be coming in all sizes at once.”

  “Which means?”

  “It takes many shapes, but it seems to have one objective.”

  “Which is?”

  “My guess is that it’s aimed at you personally,” Dix said.

  “At me?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Because?”

  “You tell me.”

  Jesse didn’t say anything.

  Dix didn’t say anything.

  Jesse suddenly blurted the name: “Rollo Nurse.”

  “Bingo,” Dix said.

  “You knew it was Rollo Nurse?”

  “I wasn’t certain.”

  “I kept circling, but I couldn’t pin it down,” Jesse said.

  “It became clear the instant you blurted it out,” Dix said.

  Jesse didn’t say anything.

  “It makes sense,” Dix said.

  “It does,” Jesse said. “I couldn’t make the connection.”

  “Now you have.”

  “He killed Steve Lesnick.”

  “Killed?”

  “Broke his neck before he set fire to the car,” Jesse said.

  “What are you gonna do?”

  “I’m gonna take him down.”

  “Which means?”

  “I’m going to find him and apprehend him.”

  “And if you can’t successfully do that,” Dix said.

  “Then I’ll kill him.”

  “Just as you feared.”

  48

  When Julie Knoller meandered onto Sixth Street in Lincoln Village, she thought it odd that a Paradise police cruiser was parked in front of her house, and Jesse Stone leaning against it.

  “What are you doing here,” she said.

  “Waiting for you,” he said.

  “Waiting for me why?”

  “I wanted to talk with you.”

  “What about?”

  “Mr. Tauber.”

  “Mr. Tauber my homeroom teacher?”

  “None other.”

  “What about Mr. Tauber?”

  “Do you like him?”

  “Not much.”

  “Is he a good teacher?”

  “I only have him for homeroom.”

  “Is he a good homeroom teacher?”

  “He doesn’t really teach in homeroom,” Julie said.

  “What does he do there?”

  “During school he mostly checks attendance and makes announcements. Stuff like that.”

  “And after school?”

  “He supervises detention.”

  “Detention as in staying after school?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you ever had detention?”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Have you ever had it?”

  “Of course I’ve had it.”

  “Because?”

  “They say I have attitude issues,” Julie said.

  “I can’t imagine why.”

  “Was that meant as a put-down, Chief Stone?”

  “Jesse.”

  “You want me to call you Jesse?”

  “It’s my name.”

  “Okay, Jesse,” Julie said, after a moment. “Was that a put-down?”

  “An observation.”

  Julie didn’t say anything.

  “What does one do in detention,” Jesse said.

  “Mostly homework. Except if you’re willing to please Mr. Tauber. Then you get to go home early.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “You don’t want to talk about what it means to please Mr. Tauber.”

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  Julie didn’t say anything.

  “Does this embarrass you for some reason,” Jesse said.

  “It might.”

  “And you don’t want to tell me why?”

  “No.”

  “Have you ever told anyone?”

  “No.”

  “Would it help if you told someone,” Jesse said.

  “It would make things worse.”

  “Because?”

  “Because he told us it would.”

  “Mr. Tauber said that if you told anyone about pleasing him, it would make things worse for you?”

  “Yes.”

  “In what way?”

  “Our grades would be lowered. We would get into trouble with the other teachers.”

  “So Mr. Tauber threatened you?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did he do to you, Julie?”

  Julie didn’t say anything.

  “He obviously did something which he knew would reflect badly on him. What did he do, Julie?”

  After several moments she said, “He made us sit on his lap.”

  “And what did he do when you sat on his lap,” Jesse said.

  “You know, stuff.”

  “What kind of stuff?”

  “He would touch me.”

  “Touch you.”

  “He liked to touch my boobies.”

  “Mr. Tauber touched your breasts?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did he do the same with any of the other girls,” Jesse said.

  “I think so.”

  “Who else?”

  “Maybe Lesly and Bonnie.”

  “Did they tell anyone?”

  “No.”

  “Because he instructed them not to?”

  “I guess.”

  “There are consequences for that kind of behavior,” Jesse said.

  “Which means?”

  “Let’s just say that I don’t think he’ll be doing it again.”

  “Who’s gonna stop him?”

  “I am.”

  They were quiet.

  “Was that all you wanted,” Julie said.

  “Lisa Barry,” Jesse said.

  “What about her?”

  “Will you speak
to a therapist?”

  “The shrink?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe. If you make me.”

  “You’re a smart girl, Julie. One day you’ll be a smart woman. This could be a defining moment for you,” Jesse said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “What you did to Lisa Barry was cruel and hurtful. As you grow up and you reflect on your actions, which you will, you’ll be ashamed of them. It will gnaw at you.”

  Julie didn’t say anything.

  “Talk to a therapist. He or she can help you understand the real cause of what you did.”

  “I don’t know about seeing a shrink.”

  After a moment, Jesse said, “I see a shrink.”

  “You?”

  “Me.”

  “Wow.”

  “I like to think of it as a learning experience. Just like a class. Only this class is one where you learn about yourself.”

  “So it’s a good thing?”

  “If you meet it head-on, it could be one of the best things you’ll ever do.”

  “You’re a strange guy.”

  “Me?”

  “Talking to me like this.”

  “Like how?”

  “Like I’m a grown-up.”

  “In many cultures you would not only be regarded a grown-up, but you’d probably already be married.”

  “Really?”

  “You could look it up.”

  “I like you, Chief Stone.”

  “Jesse,” he said.

  “Jesse,” she said.

  “I like you, too, Julie.”

  49

  So forensics confirmed he was dead before the explosion,”

  Healy said.

  “Yes,” Jesse said.

  Jesse was in his office, drinking coffee, speaking with Healy on the phone.

  “What did you make of that,” Healy said.

  “I had an epiphany,” Jesse said.

  “Meaning?”

  “A sudden realization.”

  “I wasn’t asking for the definition of the word,” Healy said.

  “With you, one never knows.”

  “What was your epiphany?”

  “Rollo Nurse,” Jesse said.

  “Who’s Rollo Nurse?”

  “The ex-con who Captain Cronjager thought might be coming for me.”

  Healy didn’t say anything.

  “I believe he’s here.”

  “In Paradise?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I’m gonna find him. I’m gonna step up the night patrols. Check all the motels and residential hotels. Ask around town about him.”