“I told you he was off at college. He wasn’t even here,” Trasatti said.
“He came back for his mother’s funeral and again for spring break. That was March, wasn’t it?”
“I really don’t remember.”
“As I understand it, Guy had hit the road by then. Jack felt betrayed. He was crushed that Guy’d left without him so maybe he turned to Patty for consolation. At that point, she must have needed comfort as much as he did.”
Trasatti kept his face expressionless, his laced together on the desk. “You’re never going to get me to say anything about this.”
“Jack could have forged the letters. You two were buddies. Your father was an appraiser. You could have cooked up the scheme yourself and showed Jack how to do it.”
“I’m finding this offensive. It’s pure speculation. It doesn’t mean a thing.”
I let that one slide, though what he said was true. “Everything was cool until Guy came home again.”
“What difference would that make?”
“In the old days, Guy took the blame for everybody’s sins, so it just stands to reason everyone felt safe until he showed up again.”
“I’m not following.”
“Maybe the motive for Guy’s murder was never money,” I said. “Maybe Jack was just trying to protect himself.”
“From what? I don’t get it. There’s really nothing at stake. The theft was eighteen years ago. The statute of limitations has run out. There’s no crime on the books. Even if your guess is correct, Jack’s the one, who ends up with his ass in a sling. You said you were here to help, but it’s blowing right back on him.”
“You know what? Here’s the truth. I don’t really give a shit what blows back on him. If he’s guilty, so be it. That isn’t my concern.”
“Well, that’s nice. You want me to pick up the phone and call Lonnie Kingman? He’s going to love your attitude and so will Jack. As far as I know, he’s the one paying your bills.”
“You go right ahead. Lonnie can always fire me if he doesn’t like what I’m doing.”
TWENTY
I stopped at a pay phone and put a call through to Lonnie, who had the good grace to laugh when he heard my account of the conversation with Paul Trasatti. “Forget it. The guy’s a prick. He was just on the phone to me, whining and complaining about harassment. What a jerk.”
“Why’s he so worried about Jack?”
“Forget Jack for now. I’ll take care of him. You better go talk to Bennet; I couldn’t get to him. According to the grapevine, he’s talking to an attorney in case the hairy eyeball of the law falls on him next. He’s still got no alibi, as far as I’ve heard.”
“Well, that’s interesting.”
“Yeah, people are getting nervous. That’s a good sign,” he said. He gave me the address of Bennet’s restaurant, which was located downtown on a side street off State. The neighborhood itself was marked by a tire store, a minimart, a video rental shop, and a billiard parlor where fights erupted without much provocation beyond excess beer. Parking didn’t seem to be readily available and it was hard to picture where the restaurant trade would be coming from.
Apparently, the place had once been a retail store, part of a chain that had filed for bankruptcy. The old sign was still out, but the interior had been gutted. The space was cavernous and shadowy, the floor bare concrete, the ceiling high. Heating ducts and steel girders were exposed to view, along with all of the electrical conduit. Toward the rear, an office had been roughed in: a desk, file cabinets, and office equipment arranged in a bare-framed cubicle. The back wall was solid and through a narrow doorway, I could see a toilet and a small sink with a medicine cabinet above it. It was going to take a lot of money to complete construction and get the business on its feet. No wonder Bennet had been so eager to get his hands on the second will. If Guy’s share was divided among his brothers, each would be richer by more than a million, which he could clearly use.
To the right, a huge rolling metal door had been opened onto a weedy vacant lot. Outside, the sun was harsh, sparkling on the broken bottles while its heat baked a variety of doggy turds. There was not a soul in sight, but the building was wide open and I kept thinking Bennet, or a construction worker, would show up before long. While I waited, I wandered into the office area and took a seat at Bennet’s desk. The secretarial chair was rickety and I imagined he made his phone calls upright with his hip resting on the desk, which seemed sturdier. Everything in the office had an air of having been borrowed or picked up on the cheap. The calculator tape showed a long series of numbers that didn’t add up to anything. I could have checked in the drawers, but I was too polite. Besides, my recent clash with Paul Trasatti had chastened me some. I didn’t want Lonnie getting two complaints in a single day.
There was a manual typewriter sitting on a rolling cart. My gaze slid across it idly and then came back. It was an ancient black Underwood with round yellowed keys that looked like they’d be hard to press. The ribbon was so worn it was thin in the middle. I looked over at the rolling door and then surveyed the whole of the empty restaurant space. Still no one. My bad angel was hovering to my left. It was she who pointed out the open packet of typing paper sitting right there in plain sight.
I pulled out a sheet and rolled it into the machine, settling myself on the wobbly typing chair. I typed my name. I typed that old standby: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. I typed the name Max Outhwaite. I typed Dear Miss Millhone. I peered closely. The vowels didn’t appear to be clogged, which (as Dietz had pointed out) didn’t mean that much. This could still be the typewriter used for the notes. Maybe Bennet had simply made a point of cleaning his keys. I pulled the paper out and folded it, then stood up and slipped it in the pocket of my jeans. When I got back to the office, I’d see if the defective a and i were visible under magnification. I still hadn’t seen the anonymous letter Guy had received the Monday before he died, but maybe Betsy Bower would relent and let me pirate a copy.
The telephone rang.
I stared at it briefly and then lifted my head, listening for footsteps heading in my direction. Nothing. The phone rang again. I was tempted to answer, but I really didn’t need to because the answering machine kicked in. Bennet’s voice message was brief and very businesslike. So was the caller.
“Bennet. Paul here. Give me a call as soon as possible.”
The machine clicked off. The message light blinked off and on. My bad angel tapped me on the shoulder and pointed. I reached out and pressed DELETE. A disembodied male voice told me the message had been erased. I headed for the front door, breaking into a trot when I reached the street. Trasatti was a busy boy, calling everyone.
A Harley-Davidson rumbled into view. Shit. Bennet was back just when I thought I’d escaped. I slowed my pace, as if I had all the time in the world. Bennet rolled Jack’s motorcycle up to the curb less than ten feet away. He killed the engine and popped the kickstand into place. He peeled off his helmet and cradled it under his arm. I noticed his hair was tightly frizzed and matted with sweat. Despite the heat, he was wearing a black leather jacket, probably protection in case he flipped the bike and skidded. “Working again?”
“I’m always working,” I said.
“Did you want to talk to me?” His jacket creaked when he walked. He headed into the restaurant.
I followed. “How goes construction? It’s looking pretty good,” I said. It looked like a bomb crater, but I was kissing butt. Our footsteps echoed as we crossed the raw concrete floor.
“Construction’s slow.”
I said, “Ah. What’s your target for opening?”
“April, if we’re lucky. We have a lot of work to do.”
“What kind of restaurant?”
“Cajun and Caribbean. We’ll have salads and burgers, too, very reasonably priced. Maybe jazz two nights a week. We’re really aiming for the singles’ market.”
“Like a pickup bar?”
“With class,” he said. “This town doesn’t have a lot going on at night. Get some dance music in here weekends, I think we’re filing a niche. A chef from New Orleans and all the hot local bands. We should pull crowds from as far away as San Luis Obispo.”