“The harder they fall,” Healy said.
“Exactly.”
“You knew him?”
“Some. He was a strange little guy. But he made his arguments with passion and conviction. He sure got himself into my head. I can’t rid myself of the image of the one and a half gallons of clean water it takes to flush away less than an ounce of piss. That’s ultimately why I reached out to Rita. I thought that even if the messenger was corrupt, the message would speak loudly enough to be heard.”
Healy didn’t say anything.
“The only message people will hear now is the one in which still yet another public official went rogue and managed to enrich himself at the expense of the taxpayers.”
“You okay,” Healy said.
“Disheartened.”
“Life’s a bitch.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Jesse said.
—
Jesse called Rita Fiore.
“I heard,” she said, when she picked up the call. “Sounded awful.”
“Sad.”
“You want to tell me about it?”
Jesse swiveled his chair around so that he was facing the window.
“Goodwin rode the moral high ground to the end, which infuriated LaBrea, who assumed that because Goodwin didn’t use the money for his personal enrichment and he did, he was going to be the fall guy.”
“Meaning?”
“Goodwin would somehow be absolved and LaBrea would go to jail.”
“Why did he do it?”
“Do what?”
“Shoot Goodwin.”
“Goodwin had disavowed him. Left him dangling. They argued, but neither of them gave in. Finally he just went berserk.”
“Goodwin was such a sorry man.”
“But guilty as charged. Although strangely innocent at the same time.”
“You can’t beat yourself up over this, Jesse.”
“Did you speak with Aaron,” Jesse said.
“He’s petitioning the court. Wants to place a lien on all of their assets.”
Neither of them spoke.
“What about Ida,” Jesse said at last.
“I’ll still represent her.”
“Because?”
“I’m not completely certain, to tell you the truth. Maybe it’s a woman thing. She’s definitely going to lose her job, but I sympathize with her. She barely knew what was going on. She was totally devoted to the guy and paid a steep price for it.”
Jesse didn’t say anything.
“I’ll argue for no jail time and for her to retain her pension.”
“What are the chances?”
“You have to ask that question?”
“I forgot myself.”
“You did the right thing, Jesse.”
“It always comes as a shock,” he said.
“What does?”
“The aberrational behavior of the human race.”
“Tends to get you down, doesn’t it?”
“Makes you wonder why you even try.”
“But somehow you manage to dust yourself off and get back into it.”
“Somehow you do.”
“Which is what separates you from them,” Rita said.
“That doesn’t make it any easier.”
“No,” she said. “That doesn’t make it any easier.”
60
Courtney was already at work when Jesse arrived.
“She showed up early,” Molly said. “You’re sure this is the right thing to do?”
“Can’t hurt.”
“She’s still unrepentant.”
“But a work in progress nonetheless.”
Jesse found her dusting the squad room.
“You ready,” he said.
“Yes.”
She put the cleaning equipment away, and together they walked to the parking lot and got into Jesse’s cruiser.
They headed for the downtown recreational center.
“Why are we doing this again,” she said.
“Part of your community service.”
“I know that. But why this?”
“I thought it might be interesting.”
She didn’t say anything.
They arrived at the center, parked, and went inside.
It was Family Day, and the place was packed.
Jesse was on the lookout for Pastor Charles Tompkins, who turned out to be a burly man in his late thirties, pink-skinned and balding, wearing oversized blue jeans and a heather-gray sweatshirt that read, “If You’re Not the Solution to the Problem, Step Aside.”
“Jesse,” he said, a big grin lighting up his face.
“Pastor,” Jesse said. “I want you to meet Courtney Cassidy.”
“Pastor Chuck,” he said as he grasped Courtney’s hand. “Jesse’s told me a lot about you.”
Courtney looked at Jesse.
“All good,” Pastor Chuck said. “All good.”
He smiled.
“I’m glad you could make it on Family Day. We hold one every month. The neighborhood turns out in droves for it.”
As the pastor spoke, he led them on a tour of the center.
“We offer all kinds of organized activities. Arts and crafts, computer study, exercise classes. We have a small library facility and a story time. We provide them a wholesome lunch. We keep a special eye on the children. We monitor how they interact with the other members of their family, and in this way, we come to understand the family’s dynamic. If the children act out, we see it, and can try to figure out why. We’re always on the lookout for families that seem troubled. When we feel it’s necessary, we intervene. We’ve been able to provide anticipatory aid to a lot of people.”
Courtney and Jesse followed Pastor Chuck as he made the rounds. People greeted him warmly as he passed. Children raced to hug him. He seemed to know everyone’s name.
Pastor Chuck noticed that Courtney seemed attuned to the tension that existed in some of the families. Different from the ease and joyousness of others. These differences were palpable. He invited her to join the activities. When she agreed, he gave her an apron, introduced her to the director of food services, and asked her to assist in serving the lunch.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” she said to the pastor. “It makes me nervous.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll do fine.”
The families began to move through the service line. Courtney was put in charge of the desserts. There were three of them. Chocolate pudding, brownies, and fruit salad. She soon got caught up in the rhythm of serving, and she performed earnestly and well.
Afterward, Pastor Chuck invited her to sit with two families that turned out to be related. Each of them had three children. Only one had a male parent present.
She watched how the children all clamored for the attention of their parents.
In the family with both parents present, they each tried to give equal attention to their children.
The single-parent family didn’t, and as a result, the two older children were dominant. They jousted with each other over the attentions of their lone parent, each child more demanding than the other.
The youngest child couldn’t compete. She was withdrawn. She sat alone. She didn’t seek attention.
Jesse noticed Courtney watching the little girl.
After a while, Courtney slid over to her and whispered in her ear.
“I’m Courtney,” she said.
She offered the little girl her hand.
The little girl looked up at her. Then she took Courtney’s hand and shook it emphatically. She didn’t say anything.
“What’s your name,” Courtney said.
“Ariel,” the girl whispered.
“That’s a nice name.”
The girl was silent.
“Who’s this,” Courtney said, pointing to the stuffed animal that the girl was holding tightly to her chest.
The girl relaxed a bit and showed the animal to Courtney.