A Long Line of Dead Men

by Lawrence Block

Page 26

 

  At the meeting wed just attended, Id bought a meeting book during the secretarys break, and I went through it now with him, pointing out some meetings in his neighborhood. He asked me which ones I went to, and I told him I went mostly in my neighborhood. "Every meeting has its own style," I said. "If you try different ones youll find out which one suits you best. "

  "Like different bars. "

  I gave him my card, one of the minimalist ones with my name and phone number. "Thats my office," I said, "but when Im not there the calls get forwarded automatically to my home. If its an emergency you can call me any hour, day or night. Otherwise its not a good idea to call after midnight. If its after midnight and you get antsy, you can always call Intergroup. The numbers in the meeting book, and theyve got volunteers taking calls around the clock. "

  "You mean just call up and talk to a stranger?"

  "Its better than picking up a drink. "

  "Jesus," he said, "youve given me a lot to think about, you know that? I mean, I didnt see this coming. "

  "Neither did I. "

  "You called me, I figured what the hell, Id meet you, drink a glass of beer or two, gab a little, maybe Id get lucky and youd spring for the beers. I didnt figure theyd be the last beers Id ever have in my life. " He laughed. "Id known that, maybe Idve ordered something imported. "

  18

  It was well past midnight by the time I got home. Elaines Girls Night Out had evidently had an early ending; she was sleeping soundly, and didnt stir when I got in beside her. I was exhausted- it had been a long day- but the time Id spent with Jim Shorter had energized me, leaving me tired but wired. My mind was all over the place, and I thought I was going to have to get up and read or watch television to unwind. I was bracing myself to do just that when sleep came along and took me by surprise.

  Over breakfast I told her how Id spent the evening. "I dont know if hell ever get to another meeting," I said, "let alone get sober and stay sober. He says he didnt drink that much and it didnt screw him up that badly, and for all I know hes right. But Ill tell you, it did me good. They say theres nothing like working with a newcomer to reinvigorate your own commitment to the program. "

  "Did he have anything helpful on the murder in Forest Hills?"

  "Nothing," I said. "He had a lot of questions and a couple of theories, but he didnt suggest anything I hadnt thought of myself. As far as Forest Hills is concerned, I think Im going to have to go out there. Whats the forecast? Is it going to rain?"

  "Hot and humid. "

  "Thatll be a change, wont it?"

  "More of the same tomorrow. Possibility of rain on Monday. "

  "That wont do me any good," I said. "I was hoping it would rain today, or at least threaten to. "

  "Why?"

  "So I could get out of traipsing out to Forest Hills. I ought to see Alan Watsons widow and Im not looking forward to it. "

  "No, but youll do it," she said. "And if it was raining youd go out there in the rain, knowing you. Itd be the same trip, only youd get wet. So youre lucky its only hot and humid. "

  "Im glad you pointed that out to me. "

  "So enjoy yourself with the widow. Whats the matter? Did I say something wrong?"

  "No, of course not. Although I cant say I expect to enjoy it. "

  "Whatever, darling. Just so youre back here by eight this evening. Weve got a date, remember?"

  "You still want to go?"

  "Uh-huh. We should get there by ten, and well want to have dinner first. Should I cook something for us or do you want to eat someplace downtown?"

  I told her not to cook, that there was no end of nice restaurants within a five-minute walk of Marilyns Chamber. "Although for fifty bucks a couple," I said, "youd think the bastards could feed us. "

  "The body parts are just for show," she said. "Its considered bad form to eat them. "

  I went across the street to my hotel, collected my mail at the desk, went upstairs, and called the number I had for Alan Watson. It rang ten times, unanswered by human being or machine. I sorted my mail, threw out most of it, wrote checks for the rent and phone bill, checked the number with Queens Information to make sure I had it right, then dialed it again and listened to it ring another eight or ten times.

  I broke the connection and called Lewis Hildebrand. The woman who answered told me he was working and offered to give me his office number. I told her I already had it, and when I dialed Hildebrand answered it himself.

  "Youre as bad as I am," he said. "Working on a Saturday. Though I dont know if Im working or I just felt like getting out of the house. Theres something extremely relaxing about a suite of offices when youre the only person around. It feels as though the whole place belongs to me. "

  "Doesnt it?"

  "Well, yes, in a manner of speaking. But its different when Im the only one here. Late at night, or on a weekend. I had a call from Ray Gruliow. "

  "I was there. "

  "A second call. As of last night, there are still two members he hasnt been able to reach. Three of the others said they definitely cant make it on Tuesday, and a fourth has a conflict but will try to be there. "

  "Assuming he cant work it out, how many is Gruliow expecting?"

  "Eight. "

  "Thats including you and Gruliow?"

  "Yes, and youll be the ninth person present. I believe well be expecting you at three-thirty. "

  "I thought three oclock. "

  "Well be getting together at three," he said. "The members. The consensus was that wed have half an hour together to discuss the situation, and then youll join us. "

  "All right," I said. "That sounds good. I dont know exactly what role Ill play, but I suppose Ill be reporting on what Ive determined and making recommendations as to what I think you ought to do. "

  "I would assume so, yes. "

  "But youre the man who hired me, so I wanted to give you a preliminary report. " And I did, going over what Id learned and what Id come to suspect, summarizing, running it all down as much for my own benefit as for his.

  "It sounds," he told me, "as though youve done a great deal. "

  "I know it does," I said. "It sounds that way to me, too. God knows Ive been busy. I havent kept track of my hours, but it seems to me Ive put a lot of time in. "

  "If youve done more work than your retainer covers-"

  "I dont know if I have or not, and thats something I dont want to worry about now. No, the point is Ive done a lot and Ive even assembled a fair amount of data, but Im not sure what it amounts to. Am I any closer to wrapping it up than I was when we sat down to lunch at the Addison Club? I dont know that I am. "

  "What would constitute wrapping it up?"

  "Answering the major questions. "

  "Which are?"

  "Is someone killing off the members? If so, who is he? And where is he, and how can we nail him for it? Id say those are the main questions. Im inclined to answer the first question with a tentative yes, but as far as the other questions are concerned, Im still completely in the dark. "

  "Answering them would constitute bringing the entire case to a conclusion, wouldnt it?"

  "I guess it would. "

  "So its hardly surprising theyre as yet unanswered. Theres another question which I would certainly call a major one, although its less a matter for investigation than for decision. Is it time for us to go public? Have we gone as far as we can reasonably expect to go with a discreet, low-profile investigation?"

  "Thats a big question," I agreed. "But its not one for me to answer. Im glad therell be eight of you at Gruliows house Tuesday. Id rather there were more. I wish you could all be there. "

  "So do I. "

  "Because the question of where we go from here is one of the things youll have to decide," I said. "And I guess thats when youll have to decide it. "

  I spent the rest of the day in my room at the Northwestern. Every hour or so I tried the number in Forest Hills, and each time it went unanswered. I m
ade other phone calls throughout the day, and watched the Yankees on the MSG channel. (Elaine asked me once, in all apparent seriousness, why they had named a cable channel after a food additive. Madison Square Garden, I told her. Oh, she said. ) Wade Boggs tied it for New York with a rare home run in the top of the ninth. Two innings later, Travis Fryman hit a hard grounder down the third-base line. Boggs bobbled it, then threw it over Mattinglys head. Fryman wound up on second and scored on a shot to left by Cecil Fielder, all of which made them very happy in Detroit.

  I turned off the set and the phone rang. It was Jim Shorter.

  "I hope Im not, you know, interrupting anything," he said. "But you gave me your card and said to call anytime. "

  "Im glad you did," I said. "Hows it going?"

  "Not so bad. I havent had a drink yet today. "

  "Thats great, Jim. "

  "Well, its early. The days not over yet. Anyway, theres days when I dont drink at all. " And, after a pause, "I went to a meeting. "

  "Good for you. "

  "I guess it was good for me. I dont know. I cant see how it could have been bad for me, right?"

  "Right. Whered you go?"

  "The same place we went last night. I put a buck in the basket and I had two cups of coffee and a handful of cookies. You cant lose on a deal like that, can you?"

  "The price is right. "

  He told me about the meeting. The crowd was lighter than last night, he said, but he recognized a couple of the same people. He gave me some highlights from the speakers story.

  "I wanted to raise my hand," he said.

  "You could have. "

  "People whod been sober for less than ninety days were raising their hands and giving their day count and getting a round of applause. I was going to raise my hand and say it was my first day, but I thought, shit, let me wait a few days. "

  "Whatever youre comfortable with. "

  "Maybe Ill go again tonight," he said. "Is it okay to go to more than one in a day?"

  "You can go all day long," I said. "Theres no limit. "

  "Are you going? Maybe I could check out a West Side meeting, see if theres a difference. "

  "Id like that," I said honestly, "but Ive got plans tonight. "

  "Another time, then. Hows the case coming?"

  "Lets say its a slow day. "

  "Well, I wont keep you," he said. "Maybe Ill, uh, give you a call tomorrow. "

  "Anytime," I said. "I mean it. "

  * * *

  I was crossing the lobby on my way home when I remembered I hadnt put Call Forwarding back on. I went upstairs, punched in the code, dialed the apartment across the street, and told Elaine Id be home in two minutes. "So why call?" she said. "Oh, right. Call Forwarding. "

  She was already dressed when I got there, wearing the leather outfit shed modeled for me earlier, along with more perfume and makeup than was her custom. "What I decided," she explained, "is that a dungeon is no place for understatement. "