Killing the Blues (19 page)

“She's missing?”

“I haven't found her.”

Healy considered this for a while.

“Have you looked under the furniture,” he said.

“Under what furniture? It's all ruined.”

Healy went onto the porch. Although the love seat had been decimated, it still stood upright. He knelt down and looked beneath it.

“Come here, Jesse,” he said.

Jesse stepped outside.

“Look under the love seat,” Healy said.

Jesse knelt down and looked.

The first thing he saw were the eyes. They squarely met his gaze. When he reached for her, the cat began to inch its way from her cramped hiding place. When she emerged, Jesse picked her up and held her.

“How did you know,” Jesse said.

“Cat Whisperer,” Healy said.

J
esse left Molly to look after the house and drove to the station. Suitcase was waiting for him when he pulled his cruiser into his parking spot.

“I'm sorry about your house, Jesse,” Suitcase said.

“At least it's still standing,” Jesse said.

“There's that,” Suitcase said.

When they went inside, Jesse found three visitors waiting to see him. One was Eleanor Nelson, the junior high school principal. There was an older woman whom he didn't recognize. The third was Robert Lopresti.

He acknowledged them all, then went to his office. Suit brought him some fresh coffee.

“I'll see them one by one,” Jesse said. “Ask Mrs. Nelson to step in, and let the other two know I'll be with them shortly. Thanks for the coffee.”

“Are you as tired as me,” Suit said.

“At the very least,” Jesse said.

“I made the coffee strong.”

“Maybe there's a God after all,” Jesse said.

Suitcase smiled.

“How'd things go with Debby,” Jesse said.

“Why do you think I'm so tired?”

“I'm sorry I asked.”

“What do you think Lopresti wants,” Suitcase said.

“Beats me,” Jesse said. “Took balls for him to show up, though. Tell him I'll see him as soon as I can. Who's the old lady?”

“Don't know. She said she needed to speak directly to you.”

Jesse sighed.

Suitcase left, and Mrs. Nelson came in.

“Thank you for seeing me, Chief Stone.”

“Sit down, please,” Jesse said.

She did.

“I wanted you to know that I've decided to resign my position.”

Jesse didn't say anything.

“At the end of the day,” Mrs. Nelson said, “I believe you were right. I've been negligent in the performance of my duties.”

Jesse remained silent.

“I became aware of that fact when you arrested Mr. Tauber. I should have known about him, but somehow . . .” Mrs. Nelson said.

Jesse still didn't say anything.

“I'm not trying to make excuses for myself. Upon reflection, I came to realize that over time my job had become different. With the economy faltering, my attentions were more focused on administrative concerns. Layoffs. Reductions in services. Making do with less. The demands of the job increased. Conditions changed. I changed. As a result, I lost sight of the very thing that should have been paramount, as you so aptly put it. I'm horrified that I wasn't aware of what Tauber had been doing. I'm embarrassed by how badly I mishandled Lisa Barry.”

Jesse remained silent.

“The rules regarding bullying are so vague,” she said. “Did the incident occur on campus or off? Was it in-person bullying, or was it the cyberspace kind? Was it physical or psychological? I guess I'm guilty of having buried my head in the sand.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you helped open my eyes.”

“Have you discussed this with the members of the school board?”

“No.”

“Have you submitted your resignation,” Jesse said.

“I sent them a letter.”

“To which they replied?”

“They haven't yet.”

“Perhaps you should request a meeting. To at least inform them of what you've told me. To make them aware of the changes which affected your job performance so dramatically.”

“What difference would that make,” Mrs. Nelson said.

“A big one. You could explain to them how things evolved and discuss ways in which they might be bettered,” Jesse said.

“Knowing what you think of me, why would you make such a suggestion?”

“Because of what you just told me.”

“Meaning?”

“I understand your situation more clearly.”

“What about separating me from my job, as you so eloquently put it?”

“People are allowed to change their minds.”

“Are you suggesting that you changed your mind, Chief Stone?”

“Jesse,” Jesse said.

“Jesse,” Mrs. Nelson said.

“I am, Mrs. Nelson.”

“Eleanor,” she said.

“Eleanor.”

Mrs. Nelson had to look away for a moment.

“Thank you, Jesse,” Mrs. Nelson said. “I believe I can convince the board to allow me to rescind my resignation and discuss these issues with me. I think I can help effectuate change.”

“Change would be good,” Jesse said.

She stood.

He stood.

She reached out her hand. He took it.

“Let me know if there's anything I can do to help,” he said.

“I will,” she said.

After Mrs. Nelson left, Jesse asked Suitcase to bring in Robert Lopresti.

“This is a surprise,” said Jesse, when Lopresti entered his office.

“I hope you're not gonna kill me,” Robert said.

“Not just yet,” Jesse said. “Why are you here?”

“You're the only one I can talk to,” Lopresti said.

“About what,” Jesse said.

“You were honorable with me,” Lopresti said. “You lived up to your word.”

Jesse didn't say anything.

“I guess you heard that Mr. Lombardo got aced,” Lopresti said.

“Eloquently stated.”

“When I was in that room, I had the chance to do some thinking. You told me that I was one of the bad guys. I never thought of myself like that before. I got kids, you know. They missed me. My wife was never so scared as when I was being held. I got to thinking that I'd like to stop being a bad guy.”

“And you're telling me this because . . . ?”

“Because I want you to help me.”

“You want me to help you,” Jesse said.

“Yeah.”

“Help you how?”

“I want to get a job in Paradise.”

“A job?”

“Yeah.”

“What kind of job?”

“I'm a great mechanic,” Robert said. “Always have been. I just never did it legitimately.”

“Define ‘great mechanic.' ”

“There's nothing I don't know about cars. I can take 'em apart and rebuild 'em. I know every part of every car. Cars are in my blood.”

“And you want me to find you a job as a mechanic,” Jesse said.

“Yeah.”

“So that you can think of yourself as a good guy?”

“So my family can be proud of me.”

Jesse didn't say anything.

“My wife and my kids,” Robert said.

Jesse thought for a while.

“Let Officer Simpson know how I can reach you.”

“You think you can help?”

“Maybe.”

“I was hopin' you would. That would be so great. Thanks, Chief Stone.”

“Jesse.”

“Yeah.”

When Lopresti left, Jesse asked Suitcase for more coffee. Then he told him to bring in the old lady.

“My name is Agatha Miller,” she said, as she sat down.

“Mrs. Miller,” Jesse said.

“Miss Miller,” she said.

“Okay,” Jesse said. “What can I do for you, Miss Miller?”

“It's about my boarder.”

“Your boarder?”

“Yes,” she said. “Donald Johnson.”

“What about Donald Johnson,” Jesse said.

“He's strange,” she said.

“In what way?”

“He never goes out during the day. He only goes at night.”

“At night?”

“Yes. When he thinks I'm asleep, he goes out the back door.”

Jesse leaned toward Miss Miller.

“How long has he been boarding with you, Miss Miller?”

“Nearly a month,” she said. “He told me he was here for vacation. He's from Kansas.”

“Would you be able to identify him from a photograph,” Jesse said.

“Perhaps,” she said. “My eyes aren't what they used to be, though.”

Jesse asked Suitcase to bring in the photo of Rollo Nurse. He handed it to Miss Miller, who looked at it closely. First she looked at it with her heavy-duty glasses on, then with them off.

“Is this man Donald Johnson,” Jesse said.

“I think so,” she said. “Yes. I think so.”

A
s soon as Agatha Miller left the house, Rollo sensed that something was wrong. The voices were raised. They had become insistent.

He packed his belongings and slipped out of the house.

He left the neighborhood and quickly walked to the nearby park. Certain no one had noticed him, he disappeared into the brush and settled down to wait for dark.

Some weeks earlier he had made a safe place for himself in the deep woods on the outskirts of town. He had dug out a small area in a bushy glen. He purchased some used camping gear, gathered a few supplies, and stowed them all in the clearing. Once darkness descended, he would leave the park and head there. He would hide out and wait for the appropriate time to make his final move on Jesse Stone.

He throbbed with excitement. It had all gone so smoothly. The voices hadn't led him astray. Soon he would swoop down and destroy Jesse Stone, just as Jesse Stone had destroyed him. In the end, he would still be alive. And Jesse Stone wouldn't.

 

 

 

J
esse followed Agatha Miller to her home. He was accompanied by Suitcase and Perkins.

She ushered Jesse and Suitcase inside. Then she pointed Perkins to the back of the house. All three officers had their weapons drawn.

Miss Miller showed Jesse and Suitcase to Rollo's room, then she left the house at Jesse's instruction.

Jesse took up a position alongside the door to Rollo's room. Suitcase was behind him in the kitchen.

“Rollo, this is Jesse Stone,” he said. “Open the door and come out with your hands above your head.”

There was no response.

Jesse repeated the instruction.

Still no response.

He tried the handle of the door. It was unlocked. He pushed the door open and dove inside. He hit the floor and rolled to a sitting position, his pistol in his hand.

The room was empty.

Jesse checked the bathroom. It, too, was empty. He called to both Suitcase and Perkins.

They carefully searched the room, but Rollo had stripped it of his personal effects. All he left behind was the photo of himself that had been circulated around town, a copy of which he had placed on the night table.

The three officers looked at one another.

“What's next,” Suitcase said.

“Beats me,” Jesse said.

 

 

 

J
esse called Gino from his cell phone.

“Jesse Stone,” Gino said, when he picked up the call. “As we say in gangland, how may I help you?”

“Gangland?”

“A euphemism.”

“Do you offer a retirement policy,” Jesse said.

“Excuse me?”

“You know, a policy that allows gangland members to hang them up, so to speak.”

“I'm not certain I'm following you, Jesse Stone,” Gino said.

“Let's say there was someone who worked on the technical side of things, who wanted to take the opportunity of his benefactor's recent demise to quit the business. Get out of the game.”

“I'm listening,” Gino said.

“Might there be unfortunate consequences as a result of such an action?”

“How about we get to the point,” Gino said. “What exactly do you want to know?”

“Would you or any of your associates come after such a person, were he to voluntarily retire,” Jesse said.

“Would he involve himself with a competing organization?”

“No. He would be going legit.”

“What's your interest in the matter,” Gino said.

“I was approached by this young man, who claims to have developed concerns both for his own safety and for the safety of his family.”

“And you're inquiring on his behalf?”

“I am.”

Gino was quiet.

“I can't foresee any potential health problems for your friend. So long as he doesn't cross paths with any of the company's interests.”

“He won't.”

“How do you know he won't?”

“Trust me, I know.”

“Trust you?”

“A euphemism.”

“Do I get to know your friend's name?”

“Robert Lopresti.”

“I kind of figured,” Gino said.

“I kind of figured you'd kind of figure,” Jesse said.

“Please send my good wishes to Mr. Lopresti.”