Robert B Parker - Spenser 26 - Hush Money Read online

  f "I guess it would," I said.

  "Did you ask him?"

  "I understand why you would not, but isn't it something that needs to be established?"

  "Can it be established.9'' I said. "In my experience it's.not always so clear-cut:'

  Susan leaned her elbows on the top step and pressed her head back against Pearl's rib cage. She thought about my question for a moment while I observed the way in which her posture nade her chest press sort of tight against her jacket.

  "Are you looking at my boobsT' Susan said. "I'm a trained investigator;' I said. "I notiee everything." "Do you make judgments on what you observeT' "I try not to, but am sometimes forced to." "And the boobsT' '`Top drawer;' I said. "What about the question? "It's a good one;' Susan said, "and much more complicated than is generally thought:' '`Then I've come to the right place:' "Yes." Susan smiled at me. It was a smile that could easily have launched a thousand ships. "Complications R Us." She rubbed the back of her head on Pearl for a moment. "Sexuality is not as fixed as is commonly thought, and the discussion of it has become so political that if you quoted in public what T'm about to say I'd probably deny I said it:' "Before or after the cock crowed? I said. "I didn't know it crowed;' Susan said. "Never mind;' I said. "Talk to me about sexuality." Susan smiled but didn't go for the obvious remark. Instead, she said, "I have treated people who experienced themselves as homosexual at the' beginning of-therapy and experienced themselves as heterosexual at the end." Susan was picking her words carefully, even with me. "I have treated people wh6 experienced themselves as heterosexual at the start of therapy and experienced themselves as homosexual at the end." "And if you said that in print? "A firestorm of outrage." "Because you seem to be saying that sexuality can be altered by therapy?" "I am recounting my experience;' Susan said. "Obviously I have experienced a self-selecting sample: people whose presence in therapy is probably related to either uncertainty

  or dissatisfaction with, their sexuality. It is not always presenting syndrome, and it is not always what people they wanted. Some people come to be 'cured' of homosexuality, only to embrace it by the end of the

  I nodded. As she concentrated on what she was saying,

  had stopped rubbing Pearl's rib cage with her head,

  Pearl leaned over and nudged Susan with her nose.

  up and patted her.

  "And in the therapeutic community that would be unac-

  incorrect?" I said.

  "I don't know anywhere, but here, that what I've said

  stir upa ruckus."

  "You've never minded a ruckus."

  "No," Susan said. "Actually, I sometimes like. ruckuses,

  }lbut this ruckus would get {n the wa,y of my work, and I like

  iil;41aY work better eve,n, than a 2ckus.'

  "How about me,' I said. Do you like me beuer than a

  "You are a ruckus," Susan said.

  new police headquarters on Tremont Sweet in Rox-

  "Golly," I said when I sat down. "Yeah," Belson said. ' "this will knock crime on its ear, won't it?" I said. "Right on its ear," Belson said. He was built like a rake handle, but harder. And, though I i'ilJmew for a fact that he shaved twice a day, he always had a iue sheen of beard. "They issue you a nice new gun when you moved here?" "I

  could call informational services," Belson said. 'One "if the ladies there be happy to tour you around the new /aeility." Maybe later, I said. "What do you know about a suicide llmed Prentice Lamont?" "Kid from the university?".... Yeah." "Did a Brody out the window of his apartment. Ten stories:'

  "A Brody?" "Yeah. I heard George Raft say that in an old movie last ik;' Belson said. "I liked it. I been saving it Up.,,

  20 -dtrr e. "Why?" "Why'd he do a Brody?" Belson grinned. "Left a note on his computer. It said, I believe, 'I can't go on. There's someone who will understand why.'" "what kind of suicide note is that?" I said. "what, is there some kind of form note?" Belson said. "Pick it up at the stationery store? Fill in the blanks?" "Did he sign itT' "On the computer?" "Well, did he type his name at the end?" "Yeah." "Any thought that maybe he got Brodied?' "Sure;' Belson said. "You know you always think about that, but there's nothing to suggestit. And when there isn't, we like to close the case." "Any more on the causeT' "We were told that he was despondent over the end of a love affair." "With whom ''hat's confidential information," Belson said. "who told you?" "Also confidential," Belson said. He reached into the left-hand file drawer of his desk and ruffled some folders and took one out and put it on his desk. "That's why we keep all that information right here in this folder marked confidential. See right there on the front: Con-fidfuckingdential." He put the blue file folder on his desk, and squared it neatly in the center of the green blotter. "I'm going down the hall to the can," Belson said. "Be about ten minutes. I don't want you poking around in this confidential folder on the Lamont case while I'm gone. I

  don't want you using that photocopier beside water cooler." "You can count on me, Sergeant." Belson got up and walked out of the squad room down the I leaned over the desk and turned the file toward me and it. The report was ten pages long. I picked up the file walked down to the copy machine and made copies. I went back to Belson's cubicle. '' When Belson came back the copies were folded the

  long it, Way and stashed in inside coat pocket, and the file folder my !'iias neatly centered on Belson's blotter. Belson picked the.,.'f°lder up without comment and put it back in his file drawer. I. "Unofficially," I said, "you got any thoughts

  about this !lhing?" "I'm never unofficial," Belson said. "When I'm getting !'laid, I'm getting laid officially." '

  "How nice for Lisa," I said.

  Belson grinned. "I don't see anything soft in the case," he said. "The kid. apparently had a love affair with an older man th and he did the, ah, Brody." "You interview the older man?" "Yep." "He admit the affair?" -/': ' "Nope. He is a faculty member at the university. I heard was up

  for

  tenure." ,i"So he'd have some reason to deny it." · "I don't know how they feel on the tenure committee /. about professors fucking students," Belson said. "You?" "I'm guessing it's considered improper," I said. "Maybe," Belson said. ' "You ask.9'' I said.

  - Belson dropped his voice.

  x22 P-OW. Pr

  "The deliberations of the tenure committee are confidential/' he said. "So they wouldn't tell you if sex with a student counted for or against tenure?" "Some of the people I talked to, sex with anything would count," Belson said. "But you got no information from the tenure folks." "No." "And if you yanked their ivy-covered tuchases down here for a talk?" I said. "TuchasesT' "You can always tell when a guy's scoring a Jewess;' I said. "I thought the plural was tuch-i;' Belson said. "Shows you're not scong a Jewess," I said. "You didn't want to shake them up a little?" "We had no reason to think that the case was anything but an open-and-shut suicide;' Belson said. He smiled. "Quirk wanted to run them down here just because they annoyed him;' he said. "But they had the university legal counsel there, and like I say, we hl no reason." "But it would have been kind of fun," I said. Belson smiled but he didn't comment. Instead he 'said, "So what's your interest. You think the suicide's bogus?" "Got no opinion;' I said. "I been hired to find out why Robinson Nevins didn't get tenure." "Really?" Belson said. "He says a malicious smear campaign prevented it, including the allegation that he was the faculty member for whom Lamont did the Brody.' "See?" Belson said. "I knew you'd like that word. Does he admit it.'?" "He denies it:'

  v/ t/ 23

  Belson shrugged.

  "Should be easy enough to prove he had a relationship;'

  "Harder to prove that he didn't."

  I stood up.

  "Well, I think your new digs are fabulous."

  'Yeah, me too," Belson said.

  "But it's a long way from Berkeley Street. What are you

  to do when you need help?'

  as close as my nearest phone;' Belson said.

  "Well, that must be consoling to you;' I said.

&
nbsp; "Consoling;' Belson said.

  the sun was bright, and there was only a very soft

  A perfect midsummer day except that it was March was reading the paper with my feet.up and the window

  Susan came into my office wearing white shorts and a

  blue sleeveless top. She had Pearl on a leash.

  summer," she said. "I want us to go outside and play:'

  said.

  his afternoon. It's the afternoon I teach my seminar."

  my seminar because of the weather." have clients," I said.

  glanced around my office.

  might be studying evidence," I said.

  b-'he came around the desk and looked over my shoulder.

  ' she said.

  . could be a clue there," I said. "You don't know." gave me a look that, had it not been diluted by

  would have been withering. I folded the paper

  my desk.

  26 P--'OW

  "So," I said, "what would you like to do?" "You don't know Where there's a field of daffodils in bloom, do you?" "Susan," I said, "it's March 29?' "Okay, then let's walk along the river." "Flexible," I said. "You bet?' "I like flexible;' I said. "I know." We were crossing the footbridge near the Shell when Susan said to me, "Do you have time between the Robinson Nevins case and Tank McNamara to do a little something for a friend of mine.*" I said I did. "KC Roth," Susan said. "ActUally that's a nickname. Short for Katherine Carole. She is recently divorced, and being stalked:' "Ex-husband?" I said. 'q'hat's what she thinks, bat she's not actually seen him." "So how does she know she's being stalked?" I said. We were down on the Esplanade, and Pearl was leading out up the river. "Phone calls, she answers, silence at the other end;' Susan said. "A flat tire, there's a nail in it; eerie music on her answering machine; a guy she dated got a threatening letter." "Anonymously;' I said. "Of course." "He keep it?" "I don't know. She said she hasn't seen him since." "Course of tree love," I said, "never did run smooth." Pearl saw a cocker spaniel coming along the Esplanade from the other direction. She growled. The hair on her back

  rose.

  "Not a friendly dog," I said to Susan.

  "Friendly to you and me," Susan said.

  "All you can ask," I said. "What you've described may

  gally be stalking, but it falls more into the realm of dirty

  cks:'

  "I know."

  "Husband abuse her when he was with her?"

  "I asked that;' Susan said. "She says he did no.

  "Why'd they divorce?"

  "She left him for another man," Susan said. "And the other man?" I said. "Didn't work out:'

  : "How come she doesn't think it's the other man doing the

  "He dumped her;' Susan said.

  i' "As soon as she became available·

  I, "Yes."

  i'."You know his name?"

  "No. She won't tell me, says he's a married man."

  "Who was happy to sleep with her on the side and said

  'll honey if only we were single' and she believO him and

  :single."

  i'"I don't know what happened;' Susan said, "but your see-

  o is not unheard of."

  e spaniel passed by and kept going with its owner. 1 looked longingly after it and then stopped growling [ d let her hair back down and forged ahead again, keeping leash taut. li"What's her ex's name?" I said·

  i.,Burt--Burton. Burton Roth."

  B;"You know him?"

  i

  '.i"He seemed a pleasant man."

  !'Any kids?"

  2s -a-c s'. t,r

  "One, she's with her father."

  "Hmph," I said. "Hmph.W' "Hmph."

  "What's hmph mean?"

  "Means now I've got two cases and no fee," I said.

  "Well, in this case there might not exactly be no fee," Susan said.

  "I'll get right on it," I said.

  the Public Garden on the first good day of spring. The temperature was 77. The sun was out. And the swan boats were cranking. We were looking at the notes I made from Bel- son's confidential files. "So;' Hawk said when we were through. "Nobody actually claims to have seen Robinson and the Lamont kid together in any romantic fashion except these two professors." I looked at my photocopy of Belson's report. "Lillian Temple," I said, "and Amir Abdullah." "Amir," Hawk said. He was looking at a squirrel who kept skittering closer to us, and rearing up and not getting anything to eat and !ooking as outraged as squirrels get to look. "You know Amir?" I said. "Yeah, I do;' Hawk said. "Tell me about him;' I said. A man in an oversized double-breasted suit walked by eating peanuts from a bag. "Gimme one of yourpeanuts, please;' Hawk said. The man in the big suit looked flustered and said, "Sure," and held the bag out to Hawk. Hawk took a peanut out and said, "Thank you." Big Suit smiled uncomfortably and

  walked on. Hawk gave the peanut to the squirrel and then said again, "Amir." I waited. "Amir embarrassed as hell he didn't grow up poor. And he embarrassed as hell he lived where there was white folks and he been working for the Yankee dollar all his life." "Most of us do," I said. "But Amir, he never had no ghetto to drag himself out of, and been treated decent by all the white folks he met along the way, and he got a scholarship and then he got another one and he got a nice middle-class income and now he got a Ph.D. and he can't stand it." "Poor devil," I said. "So to make up," Hawk said, "Amir so down even I don't understand him when he talk?' ' "So he'll be really pleased to help me with this investigation;' I said. "Can't hide the fact that you a blue-eyed d-?il, but I maybe talk to him with you;' Hawk said. "Give you some, ah, authenticity." The aggressive squirrel returned and looked at Hawk, sitting up on its hind legs, balancing on its disproportionate tail. "Give a squirrel a peanut and you feed him for a moment," I said. "But teach him to grow peanuts..." "You and Amir going to get along so good;' Hawk said. "Can't wait to watch?' "How about Ms. Temple," I said, "I don't suppose you know her?' "How I going to know her?" Hawk said. "Well, for a while you were running a subspecialization in female professors," I said. "She coulda been one of them." "Good-looking female professors;' Hawk said.

  "How do you know Prof. Temple isn't goodqooking?" "Don't," Hawk said. "But the odds are with me." "just because she's an academic? I said. ,"Whre she live?" Hawk said. I checked my notes. "Cambridge;' I said. Hawk smiled. "Well, it doesn't actually prove she's not a looker;' I said. Hawk continued to smile. 'fhis is bigotry," I said. "You're generalizing based on and residence." "Yowzah;' Hawk said. "She might be a beauty;' I said. "What you figure the chances of that are?" Hawk said. I shrugged. "Slim and none;' I said. Hawk smiled more widely.

  a brick complex of what used to be called garden apartments, on Route 28 in Reading. Across the street was a liquor store and a fish place called The Friendly Flounder. Up the street was what may have been [he last drive-in movie theater in Massachusetts. Next to the garden apartments was an Exxon gas station and convenience store.

  KC's apartment was neat enough, but it had been built for the builder's profit. The doors were hollow core. The finish work was minimal, mostly quarter round molding. The floors were plywood, covered wall to wall with inexpensive tan carpeting which didn't wear well, but showed the dirt easily. The furniture was fresh from the warehouse at Chuck's Rent-All, Everything for the Home.

  "Well," KC said when I introduced myself, "so that's what you look like."

  "This is it," I said.

  "Susan spoke of you a lot, but I never knew what you looked like."

  "But from the way she talked, you were picturing Adonis," I said.

  "I guess," she said. "Come on in." -

  KC was wearing a man-tailored white shirt and blue jeans. She was amazingly good-looking. Thick black hair worn a little too long, large green eyes, wide mouth, flawless skin.

  "You are so nice to come by;' she said when we were sitting in her ugly living room. "How about a nice cup of coffee, or a drink? Do private eyes drink before lunch? I have some vodka."

  "I don't need anything," I said. "Tell me ab
out your problem."

  "Oh boy, all business;' she said.

  She was sitting on the couch with her feet tucked up under her. I sat across in an uncomfortable barrel-shaped gray plush armchair.

  "Well;' I said, "not all business."

  She smiled brilliantly. There was something about her that seemed to require flirtation. And when the requirement was filled, it pleased her.

  "I'll keep it in mind," she said.