The door to his office opened, and William J. Goodwin appeared.
“Chief Stone,” he said. “An unexpected pleasure. Do come in. Can we get you anything?”
“Thank you, no,” Jesse said.
The two men shook hands, and Goodwin gestured for Jesse to enter ahead of him.
Goodwin’s office looked like the set of a London men’s club in a forties movie. Lots of leather and mahogany.
He ushered Jesse to a pair of glossy brown leather armchairs. They sat. Goodwin’s feet barely touched the floor.
“I’m sorry to be a bother, Mr. Goodwin,” Jesse said, “but I’ve recently had some inquiries regarding your department, and I thought it better to direct them to the source.”
“Me being the source?”
“Exactly.”
“To what inquiries are you referring?”
“Do you know of any recent rate increases regarding water usage?”
“None. We purchase our water directly from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the rates have been constant for quite some time. I can’t say I agree with the state’s decision to maintain these rate levels, but clearly my opinions count for very little.”
“What are your opinions,” Jesse said.
“It’s my belief that our society has little respect for this most precious of our natural resources. We use it capriciously and wastefully. When you consider the shortage of potable water on our planet and the manner in which we squander our share of it, I find it shameful that it costs so little, the result of which allows us to deplete our supplies as recklessly as we wish.”
Jesse didn’t say anything.
“My beliefs, however, go largely ignored at state,” Goodwin said. “Try as I may to voice them.”
“What would you have them do?”
“I’d have them charge a usage rate that would force restraint. One out of every seven people on the planet doesn’t have access to clean water. Unless things change, we’ll soon be facing a global disaster.”
“Sounds like a problem for the environmentalists.”
“The environmentalists have become so politicized that it’s impossible for them to argue such an issue without the concurrence of lobbyists and power brokers. Electability is all that these morons care about.”
“This is all above my pay grade,” Jesse said. “For what it’s worth, I agree with you. I’m afraid, however, that I’m only here to determine whether or not any rate hikes have occurred in Paradise.”
“Would that that were the case. But, alas, it’s not.”
Jesse stood.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Goodwin. And for sharing your insights.”
“My irrelevant insights,” Goodwin said.
16
Ryan drove directly from the mansion to Marisol’s bank. He handed the check to the teller and asked her to cash it. She examined it and said, “I can’t authorize this much cash on my own. I need to speak to my manager.”
He nodded.
She locked the cash drawer and left her station.
Ryan stood waiting at the window for an inordinately long time.
Then the teller returned, accompanied by a severe-looking older man. The man stepped to the window.
“You’re Ryan Rooney,” he said.
“Yes.”
“A stop-payment order has been placed on this check.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the check is no good.”
“What do you mean it’s no good. I just received it.”
“Be that as it may, I’m unable to cash it.”
Ryan raised his voice. “It is good,” he said. “I just got it. Give me my money.”
Ryan was attracting the attention of other bank customers.
“Please lower your voice,” the man said.
“I want my money,” Ryan said loudly.
The man looked at him. Then he signaled to the bank guard, who was already headed in their direction.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave,” the man said.
“Not until you give me my money,” Ryan said.
“Harold,” the manager said to the guard, “would you please escort Mr. Rooney from the premises.”
Ryan was enraged.
“I’m not leaving until I get my money,” he said.
The guard grabbed Ryan’s arm and twisted it up behind his back, which caused Ryan to cry out in pain. He clamped his other hand on Ryan’s neck and hustled him out of the building. Once outside, he shoved Ryan away.
As he struggled to gain traction, Ryan lost his footing and stumbled. He fell to the pavement, ripping his pants leg as he landed. He leapt back up and made a move toward the guard.
Then he heard the sound of sirens in the distance. He stopped and listened as they drew closer.
He wheeled around and walked quickly to his Prius. He jumped in and swung it out of the parking lot, moments before a police cruiser pulled in.
This isn’t over, he thought.
17
Molly wandered into Jesse’s office. He was seated behind his desk, staring out the window. He turned around when he heard her come in.
“There’s good news and bad news,” she said.
“Okay,” Jesse said.
“Do you want to know which is which?”
“Have I a choice?”
“The bad news is Carter Hansen wants to see you.”
“And the good news?”
“I’m having an excellent hair day.”
—
I’ve already had two calls from Portia Cassidy,” Carter Hansen said. “She appears to be out for blood.”
“How so,” Jesse said.
“She thinks you’re terrorizing her daughter.”
They were sitting in Hansen’s office. He had reluctantly provided Jesse with some coffee.
“Courtney Cassidy is an unrepentant, obnoxious adolescent who seems to take a perverse pleasure in breaking the law.”
“What were you doing in front of her house this morning?”
“Sightseeing,” Jesse said.
“I wish I found your attempts at humor amusing. Were you stalking the girl?”
“I was surveilling.”
“Stop being obtuse. What were you doing in front of her house?”
“I suspected that Ms. Cassidy was a chronic abuser of the law, and I was right. She was talking on a cell phone when she drove past me.”
“So what? People drive and talk on cell phones all the time.”
“It’s against the law.”
“Everyone knows it’s a dumb law.”
“But it’s state law nonetheless. You could look it up.”
“So you ticketed her?”
“I did. Her driver’s license can now be revoked for a period of six months. She’s a two-time offender.”
“And you believe that a judge will actually revoke her license?”
“An honest one will.”
“Oh, please,” Hansen said. “I want you to stop harassing her. It’s bad for business.”
“‘Harassing her’?”
“Yes.”
“Are you instructing me to look the other way when a crime is being committed?”
Hansen didn’t say anything.
“This girl has already been the cause of an accident that seriously injured someone, to which she responded in an arrogant and willful manner. I will continue to challenge her until the authorities can no longer afford to ignore her.”
“Don’t,” Hansen said.
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t keep challenging her.”
Jesse stood.
“We’re done here,” Jesse said. “As we have previously discussed, your position enables you to fire me but not to tell me what to do.”
Hansen looked away.
“Unless you’re firing me, I’m going back to work.”
Hansen didn’t say anything.
“Stay out of it, Carter,” Jesse said. “You don’t need any part of this fur ball.”