“No secret there. He doesn’t much care for me either. Little Bonaparte is a tyrant with far too much power. In their Judicial District, state attorneys have tremendous control over life and liberty. The system is very efficient. Moran simply states what he wants and the judge gives it to him. No conflicts, and everyone but the defendant has a nice day.”
“Great, the guy who has a noose around my brother’s neck is a bully and a jerk. I hope you don’t mean he’s crooked?”
“The cold-blooded bastard would ignore evidence if he believed it would punch his ticket to Washington.” He appeared uncomfortable with the subject. He straightened and pushed away the empty mug. “Do you have anything else you’d like to share with me?”
She had a wonderful punch line for that question. She put a napkin to her mouth to hide her smile. She cleared her throat. “Yes, as a matter of fact I have. I went to the InnTowner. Loraine was definitely there. The maids said she was lounging around, wearing a thong, and flirting with Raymond. Personally, I find flirting while wearing a thong redundant.”
“She already admitted to me she was there with Reid.”
“Oh, good, but I’ll bet she didn’t tell you she wore a thong? What does that tell you? Does that fit in with her explanation for being there? Doesn't that indicate deviousness on her part?”
“No comment. Were you able to establish when she left the motel?”
“All I know is she left before the noon checkout time. Guess I’ve struck out again with useless information.”
“Keep trying”
“Okay, then tell me something about yourself,” she said. “Why does a nice person like you take a job frightening people and ordering them around?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“Geez, I’m not that bad.”
“Are all Philadelphia girls as cocky as you?”
“I usually get away with it.”
“Well, in my case it’s in the genes. Dad was a cop, the best, he made police chief.”
“You want to be just like him, right?”
“He’s not around now, killed eight years ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“I was home for mid-semester. He was off duty. It was half-time on TV. I started to go for ice cream, but he said relax he’d go get it. As he parked at the convenience store, he saw a robbery in progress. He radioed for backup but the perp came out too soon. Long story, traded shots, he died on the sidewalk.”
“My God!”
“When he didn’t come back home right away, I figured he got some emergency call, not unusual. I’m lounging around like an idiot cheering for the Dolphins while my father is lying in a parking lot gutter bleeding to death. Later two cops came to the house. I opened the door and they just stood there. Neither one was able to speak, couldn’t get one word out.”
“Ever find the bastard?”
Chip shook his head, “There was a big manhunt with posters all around, but we never found him. It shocked the town terribly, as if the citizens were insulted that it happened here. Park changed after that, it was a turning point. As though the place was innocent before, and then afterwards it was nothing special, just another American town where even the police chief wasn’t safe.”
“So, some piece of shit is walking around free.”
“Whenever I have to go to that store, I see blood on the sidewalk.” He pressed his lips together hard and paused for a moment. “It should have been me going for the ice cream.”
“Not your fault. Must have been difficult for your mother.”
“Don’t know if my mother ever knew. She took off years earlier. I didn’t know her. They were never married. She moved on. Dad raised me. Then I went in the Marines. Why am I’m telling you this?”
“Because somehow you figured out, I want to hear it.”
“It’s time to change the subject.”
“After all that you still wanted to be a cop?”
“I wanted to catch all the guys who think they can get away with it. Actually, at first I wanted to shoot them all on sight. Later I softened and decided it was best if I just arrested them.”
“You’ll get some of them.” Rough episode to live through, she thought. “Well, you’ve kept your head as far as I can tell. So, you want to follow his example. Are you worried about failing, I mean failing your father?”
“I’m not going to fail him.”
“I know this case is a big deal for you, and you’re risking something by being here with me.”
“It’s nothing if I don’t screw up. If I find all the evidence, and it’s sufficient and rock solid. If a witness doesn’t disappear. If no one else on our side screws up. If the jury convicts. Should I go on? If I do all that, then Moran will have his showy trial and be a United States Senator.”
“And if he screws up you’ll be blamed.” She waved off a refill on the coffee. “So, you stayed here in Park Beach. You made a life for yourself.”
“It’s nice here. Florida’s east coast is all about the same. Most of these little towns could all use the same postcard, just change the name. A bit prettier and quieter here, lots of trees, water and bridges.”
“How’s your social life? You’re easy-going with females. Where did you pick that up?”
“None of your business. What about you?”
“Yes, Chip, I have a social life.” A lousy one, but he didn’t need to know that.
“No, I meant what about your family?”
“Don’t have any. Mom and Dad are gone, died in an accident on the Schuylkill Expressway. So, no family.”
“But you’ve a brother here.”
“We live on different planets.”
“Doesn’t he count? Isn’t that why you’re here?”
“I was never really his sister.”
“I don’t get you.”
“When we were young. We talked some and I could ask him things and get homework help. And he taught me silly songs. But when I got to the age where I might help him, he was already off to college.
“Help him, how?”
“I don’t know, maybe with clothes or how girls think, stuff like that.”
She was silent for a moment, staring at her coffee. Then she leaned closer. “Want to hear something weird? There’s a drop of bad blood between us and we grew apart. We’ve never been close as adults. Even so, I’m down here risking my job to help him. I’m not even certain I like him. I get the confusing thought that I’m enjoying him being punished, even though I know he didn’t do it.”
“Schadenfreude.”
“Yeah, I’m guilty of sibling gloating.”
“You don’t know for a fact your brother is innocent.”
“He doesn’t fit the profile, Raymond’s much too soft. He’s carried a clean handkerchief in his pocket for twenty years just in case some woman should cry. What evidence do you have against him?”
“Forget it.”
She expected him to clam up to her direct questions. But they were mixing it up and she liked that. Exchanging some personal thoughts also was encouraging. They seemed to have connected instantly. She had opened up with candid feelings, and he had opened up in return. She could build on that. Yet she was aware the connection might not be genuine. It would pay off only if he was playing fair.
They stood and he tossed a couple of bills on the table. He touched her arm as she started to walk away. “Will you give me your number?”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”
Chapter 17
Sandy drove from the Coffee Spot back to the mainland and located the newspaper building on US 1. She was pleased with the meeting with Chip. She’d need to explain the arrangement to Raymond and Kagan, but she doubted they would understand.