Small Crimes (37 page)

'He
was hiding in the bushes,' I continued, my voice now a hoarse whisper. 'He
must've been lying in wait for Junior. I could tell from the way he smelled
that he'd been drinking, but I guess he was sober enough to blow Jamie's head
off and cut Duane in half. He tried shooting me a few days ago through my
parents' bedroom window.'

'Who
shot Ferguson?'                                                    

'Duane
did.'

'And
you worked Junior over?'

I
nodded. 'How badly did I hurt him?'

'Not
bad enough. He checked into Bradley Memorial, but he'll probably be released by
morning. I'll tell you, Joe, that's a nasty cut you got on your cheek.'

 
'
I
'll
live.'

'Maybe.
We'll see.'

He
was laughing to himself over that. As he turned to leave, I asked whether he
could at least cuff my hands in front of me.

'Sorry,
Joe, I can't do that.'

'How
about giving me some more water?'

'Not
now. We'll see in the morning. Joe, some advice. We're fifty miles away from
anyone. Don't bother yelling for help.'

Both
of them got a chuckle over that and then they left.

I
had a long night after that. The physical pain was bad enough, but then I start
thinking about everything I had done to end up where I was and it made me sick
inside. I kept playing it over and over in my mind and feeling sicker as I did.
Then I started thinking of my daughters. I kept seeing them the way they were
in those pictures, and I kept hearing Courtney's voice as it sounded over the
phone the other day. I was overcome with such a sense of loss that I started
crying. I didn't want to - Jesus, the last thing I wanted was for Dan or any of
his boys to walk in on me like that - but I couldn't help myself. It seemed a
long time before I was able to stop. Then I started praying. Praying that I
could somehow have another chance with my girls. I kept it up until daylight.
At some point I went numb, unable to think or feel anything.

It
must've been daylight for hours before Dan came back. He was alone and was
carrying a small paper bag. He showed me a little smile as he stared at me.

'You
haven't been crying, now, have you, Joe?'

'Why
don't you just get it over with.'

'Get
what over with?' He was smiling his pleasant smile. 'I've got good news. Manny
died this morning of respiratory failure. You're going to be walking out of
here alive.'

I
almost burst out crying then. I had to bite my lip to hold it back.

'Don't
you have anything to say, Joe?’

‘Get
these cuffs off me,' I said.

'I
can't do that. It's not over yet. But I'll cuff you in front. Just don't try
anything stupid.'

He
placed the paper bag next to me, and then got on his knees so he could uncuff
me. I couldn't have tried anything even if I wanted to, my arms were too stiff.
It took some effort but I moved my hands in front of me so he could cuff me.

'Goddam
it, you smell ripe, Joe. There's a sandwich in that bag. Also a bottle of
water. It's all you're going to get today so you might want to save some for
later.'

'Awfully
considerate of you.'

He
chuckled and gave me a thoughtful look. 'Not really. After everything I've been
through, I don't want you dying on me now.'

'Why
isn't it over yet?’

‘Be
patient.'

I
reached into the bag and got out the water. I fumbled a bit before I was able
to get the top off. After taking a long drink, I put the water down. Dan
watched with amusement sparkling in his eyes.

'Anyone
looking for me over what happened at Junior's?'

He
shook his head. 'Junior didn't mention you.'

'How
about Earl? Did he file a complaint against me?'

He
shook his head again. 'No. I wouldn't worry about that either. From what I
understand he'd be sending himself to prison if he did.'

I
picked up the water again and drank almost half of it. When I put the bottle
down, I forced myself to meet Dan's eyes. 'You forced Charlotte to kill Manny,'
I said. He just smiled at me.

'Damn it, why isn't it over?’

‘Bye, Joe.' He left then.

The
day dragged on. My mind kept racing over what must've happened. Dan must've
approached Charlotte, showed her the picture he took, and gave her a choice -
have me die and her exposed, or get rid of Manny. It must've been something
like that. But why wasn't it over? I racked my brains trying to think of why,
but I couldn't come up with anything.

It
had been dark for hours when I heard a car drive up. It seemed to take forever
for the footsteps to approach the door and for Dan to walk in. He was carrying
some clothes and he gave me a grim look as he nodded towards me.

'It's over now, Joe.'

I
didn't say anything. I just sat still as he took the cuffs off me. I sat for a
while trying to rub the aching out of my joints.

'Why don't you put those clothes on, Joe,' he
said.

'I
need some help standing up.' He gave me his hand. It took some effort but I got
to my feet. I had to move like an old cripple as I got out of my shirt and
pants and put on the clothes Dan had brought me.

'How is it over now?' I asked.

'You're
going to hear about it anyway,' Dan said, shrugging. 'Somehow Junior figured
out that your nurse friend was responsible for Manny's death. Early this
afternoon he abducted her. My office got a tip on it. I got a search warrant
and me and my boys raided his playroom. He was there with a couple of his boys.
We ended up shooting it out. It was really something, Joe. Bottom line,
Junior's dead.'

'What about Charlotte?'

He
shrugged uneasily. 'She was half chopped up when we got there. There was no way
of saving her.’

‘You
killed her.'

'Be
careful, Joe. This is over now.'

'You
tipped Junior off to her,' I said, my words sounding distant and hollow. 'You
followed her and watched Junior take her. You waited until you knew she'd be
dead before you raided that room.'

'Look,
it's over, okay? And don't start playing all high and mighty with me!' A hot
anger flushed his face. He clenched his fist and took a step towards me. With
his other hand he grabbed my shirt collar and pulled me forward so my face was
inches from his. 'You could have done what you kept promising, but shit, no,
you left it up to me.'

He
let go of me and took a step away. The anger had drained from him, leaving his
face sickly pale. 'What was I going to do? That woman was a loon. You could see
it in her eyes. I wasn't going to let her hang around and hope she'd keep her
mouth shut. And I needed Junior dead. But Christ, Joe, you've got no one to
blame but yourself for any of this.'

'You
killed her.'

'Shut
up, Joe. It's over now. Just shut up. Anyway, what's the big deal? You told me
she murdered four people. It was only justice catching up to her.'

It
wasn't justice. Not to die like that. I tried to think what it must've been
like for Charlotte, but I was too numb to think. Too numb to really feel
anything.

'I
talked to Simpson this afternoon,' Dan said. 'Your relocation to Albany is all
set. Call him next week and he'll give you a name and number of a parole
officer there to contact. I had your car towed to Bradley. I'll drive you over
and that will be it. You'll get in your car, drive to Albany, be with your
daughters, and I'll never see or hear from you again, right?'

I
nodded. I followed him to his car. During the ride back he tried some small
talk, but after a while it was like listening to the wind.

Chapter 22

After
Dan dropped me off at my car, I got out the bottle of aspirin that I kept in my
glove compartment and chewed on a handful of them. I then found a twenty-four-hour
convenience store, bought some food, a six-pack of beer, bandages, and
antiseptic ointment. I headed off to Eastfield after that and stopped off at
the first motel I came across. The desk clerk didn't look like he wanted to
give me a room. I couldn't blame him, but I paid him cash and he handed me a
key.

I
spent some time trying to clean out the gash under my cheek and my other cuts
and scrapes. It stung like hell when I put the antiseptic ointment on. After
bandaging up my wounds up as best I could, I filled up the tub with hot water.
When I took off my shirt and looked at myself in the mirror, I saw my side was
one big purple bruise. I had no doubt that I had some cracked ribs. It didn't
matter, though. Over time they'd heal.

I
ate the food and then gingerly lowered myself into the tub. As I lay in it, I
had two of the beers. For the most part they were tasteless, or at least they
seemed that way. After I got out, I dried myself off, and lowered myself onto
the bed. I tried to picture Charlotte, tried to imagine how she looked when her
eyes were calm and not jumping around like ping-pong balls. I tried to
concentrate, but I couldn't picture her. She was gone. As much as

I
wanted to mourn her there was nothing left for me to mourn. My memory of her
had faded away. After a while I gave up trying. Then I closed my eyes.

Next
thing I knew it was two thirty in the afternoon. I had been asleep over
fourteen hours. I felt groggy, disoriented. It was as if the world had shifted
somehow. I lay there for another half-hour. I felt this sense of disquiet that
I couldn't shake. I just felt so damn alone.

I
got up and found Tina's business card in my wallet. I was able to get her at her
desk.

'Hi,'
I said, 'I think I've waited long enough.’

‘Really?'

'Can
I stop by later, maybe at seven, and we could have dinner?'

'I'd
like that, Joe. I can't wait to see you.'

I
felt better then. Her voice had sounded so sweet. I just hoped I'd be able to
talk her into moving to Albany with me.

I
checked the clock and saw that it was a quarter past two. With a
forty-five-minute drive to Burlington that left me four hours to do what I
needed to do. I took a shower, dressed, grabbed my duffel bag and got out of
there.

I
still had the paperwork for the police pension on me. I hadn't thrown it away
yet. I looked it over, signed it, and took it over to the post office. I
figured I'd collect the thirty-four sixty a month while training for a job, but
once I got settled I'd drop it.

My
stomach was feeling empty. I didn't think I could wait until seven - also, I
had that blueberry wheat ale on my mind, so I stopped off at the Bradley
Brewery and ordered a cheeseburger and an ale. As I was eating my food I saw
Phil Coakley walk in. He noticed me, hesitated, and then walked over and sat on
the stool next to me. I could see his arm was still in a sling.

'You've
been busy the last few days,' he said.

'Yeah.
You caught the news broadcast Wednesday night?'

"That's
not what I'm talking about.’

‘What're
you talking about, then?'

'All
the deaths and shootings we've had. Let's see, Scott Ferguson, Jamie Hubbard,
Duane Wilcox, Manny Vassey Jr. - oh yeah, and a young nurse, Charlotte Boyd,
who was hacked to death. And of course Susie Baker, and my own self being
shot.'

'I
had nothing to do with any of that, Phil.'

I
could feel him staring at me.

'From
what I understand,' I said, 'Sheriff Dan Pleasant and his boys shot Junior
after he had murdered—’

‘Hacked
to pieces.’

‘Okay,
hacked to pieces that nurse.'

'Charlotte
Boyd. You should at least call her by her name, Joe. I know you dated her.’