4
ON MONDAY MORNING, Susan and I had some cheese and
fruit and hot biscuits made by me before she went downstairs to
shrink heads. I cleaned up the dishes, shaved, showered, and,
dressed to at least the sevens, went downtown to see Rita
Fiore.
I always enjoyed
seeing Rita. I'd known her since she was a prosecutor in Norfolk
County, and we had stayed in contact while she moved into the
private practice of criminal law, and rose to a partnership in
Cone, Oakes, and Baldwin. Plus, she was hot for me, and I like that
in a woman.
Cone, Oakes had
fifteen floors on top of a high-rise with a view of the harbor and
the ocean beyond. Rita was on the top floor.
"Wow," I said when I
sat down. "On a slow day you can sit and watch the planes fly in
and out of Logan."
"My days aren't
usually that slow," Rita said. "I understand you're working for
me."
"I prefer to think
of it as 'working with,'" I said.
"I'm sure you do,"
Rita said. "On the other hand, your pay comes through my
account."
I said, "Yes,
boss."
"Actually," Rita
said, "I'm very glad you're aboard."
"Because I am a
crackerjack detective," I said.
"That," Rita said,
"and it gives me time to pursue my seduction."
"How's that worked
out for you in the past?" I said.
"Not as well as I'd
hoped," Rita said.
"If it's any
consolation," I said, "I enjoy the attempt."
Rita shifted in her
chair and crossed her legs in case I wanted to admire them. Which I
did, in a sort of abstract way.
"If it's any
consolation to you, you're not the only one I'm attempting," she
said.
"I suspected that,"
I said.
"Susan's well?" Rita
said.
"Susan is perfect,"
I said.
"Probably not," Rita
said. "But I find it lovely that you think so."
"Tell me about Jumbo
Nelson," I said.
"It's going to be a
bitch," Rita said. "He's a perfect pig of a man, and everybody
hates him, including me."
"You think he's
guilty?"
"He's guilty of a
lot," Rita said. "And he is such a degenerate that it's tempting to
let him take the fall for this. . . . Plus, have you seen any of
his movies?"
"No. You think he
killed her with malice aforethought?"
"I don't know," Rita
said. "I do know that it's not clear that he did. And I do know
that he has the right to the best defense available. Which is
me."
"He's not been
charged," I said.
"No," Rita said. "He
remains a person of interest, but he's not been arrested. Some of
the ADAs probably know the case isn't a lock. The way Quirk
does."
"You think he will
be arrested?"
"Probably," Rita
said. "I think the pressure will be too much, and they'll
cave."
"So you have any
specific assignments for me?" I said.
"I suspect you know
what to do. We'll need all we can know about the
girl."
"Dawn Lopata," I
said.
"Yes."
"So you'll be able
to impugn her reputation if you need to."
"If we need to,"
Rita said. "Also, we need to know all we can about Jumbo
Nelson."
"So you can counter
the prosecution if they impugn Jumbo's reputation," I
said.
"It's how these
things sometimes work," Rita said. "But I'll bet you have found
that the more you know about the principals in the case, the better
able you are to work the case?"
"I have found that,"
I said.
"Beyond that," Rita
said. "I suggest you use your intelligence, guided by
experience."
"Lucky I have a lot
of experience," I said.
"You're too modest,"
Rita said.
"I know," I
said.