“And even though killing Bascom probably wasn’t part of the original plan — my guess is that was Bella’s idea — Updike still worked as the fall guy because we would assume he and Bascom had been in it together and Updike double-crossed his partner. We would be chasing Updike and our own tails while White, Roscoe, and Bella Lawton were taking baths in ten-dollar bills.”
“But was not seeing the messenger on the security footage enough to convince you it was a scam?”
“I also put in a call to Roscoe’s ex. The story he told me about their divorce was a lie. She divorced him because of his drinking, not because of photos she received in the mail. But White and Roscoe had to play up the feud between them so it would look like Roscoe would have no reason to help White out. It couldn’t look like they were cozy or that Roscoe could somehow benefit. I should have seen it coming. Especially after someone took those shots at me in the woods.”
That refreshed Lundquist’s anger over Jesse not reporting the incident, but he asked why that should have alerted Jesse.
“Because when Roscoe would get really drunk, he would talk about his time in the Marines. ‘I wasn’t always a fat slug,’ he’d say. ‘I could move and I could shoot. They wanted to send me to sniper school, but I was a lover, not a killer.’”
Lundquist shrugged. “If they were all broke, how did they get the money to lease the Wickham place? I hear it costs twenty grand a month to rent.”
“Wickham’s a big Jester fan. He agreed to lower the fee and to let them pay after the party.”
“Was there really going to be a party?”
“No. They were using it as a way to get stories in the paper about Jester’s birthday and rekindle interest in—”
“The missing tape.”
“Exactly.”
“The thing is, Jesse, you’ve got Niles cold for Bascom’s murder and stealing the ransom money, but not much else. You’ve got Niles’s statement and a lot of speculation. You might be able to tie the others to the scam, but not to Bascom’s or Curnutt’s murders. Can you prove any of it?”
“I guess we’re going to find out.”
88
Lundquist dropped Jesse and Niles off at the station. One look at Molly and Jesse knew there was trouble, but first they had to deal with Roscoe Niles.
“Book him. Keep him isolated. No one knows he’s here,” he said. “When that’s done, come into my office. I’m getting some coffee.”
Fifteen minutes later, Molly came into Jesse’s office with a file folder in her hand. Jesse was seated behind his desk, sipping coffee.
“What’s wrong?”
Molly waved the file folder and placed it in front of Jesse.
“Forget it, Crane. I’m so tired I couldn’t make sense of anything.”
“We found a Walther P22 in Bascom’s apartment and an oil filter box in the garbage that will probably match the homemade sound suppressor. The ballistics match the slugs the ME dug out of Curnutt.”
“Anything else?”
Molly shook her head. “Nothing you want to hear. Peter also found a slip of paper with a Vermont phone number on it.”
“And when you called it?”
“No answer.”
“Why am I not surprised? How about Bascom’s cell phone?”
“No.”
“The Vermont cops didn’t find one on his body or in the van. We can subpoena those records.”
“There’s this,” Molly said, more upbeat. “I did a quick background check on Bascom.”
“And...”
“Guess who his employer was before he hired on to be the security contractor for Stiles Island.”
“Crane!”
“The Massachusetts Department of Corrections. His last assignment was on the same block as—”
“Curnutt and Bolton. I know, Molly, don’t say it. I should have been a detective.”
Lundquist’s words echoed in Jesse’s head. So far all he could likely prove was that Bascom had hired Curnutt and Bolton, that he’d killed Curnutt, and that Niles had killed Bascom. Niles’s statement was probably enough to implicate White but maybe not convict him. White could claim Niles was lying and point to Evan Updike. To save her own neck, Bella Lawton would back White up and probably walk away. Jesse had an idea about how he might change that, but he had something else to discuss with Molly.
“Take a seat.”
She eyed him suspiciously but sat. “What’s wrong, Jesse?”
“Listen, you know how I joke with you about you becoming chief, but—”
She cut him off. “Oh, no you don’t. You’re not quitting on me, Jesse Stone. I don’t want the job.”
“Depending on how this shakes out, you may not have a choice, but relax, I’m not quitting. I don’t quit. When this is over, I’m taking some time off. I’ve got more than a decade’s worth of vacation time and I’m going to use part of it.”
“Going to travel?”
He thought about being coy but realized that if he owed anybody the truth, he owed it to Molly. “Rehab. I’ve given it a lot of thought over the last few days. If I hadn’t been drinking so much since Diana’s murder, I might’ve been able to see what’s been going on here. I’ve fooled myself long enough that my drinking doesn’t matter. It matters. You and Doc are right, it’s selfish of me and my liver’s not getting any younger.”
“If you’re waiting for me to talk you out of it, forget it. Under those circumstances, I can handle the job of chief until you get back.”
“As far as anyone else knows, I’m going to Tucson to visit family.”
She asked, “You going via Austin?”
“Doc told you she’s leaving?”
“She’s kind of great. I’ll miss her.”
“Me too, Crane. Okay, get out of here.”
Jesse stood, stretching. He picked up his glove, turned to the window, and pounded the ball into the pocket. He had thinking to do.
89
“When you want the guy at the top, you start at the bottom of the totem pole and work your way up” is what Jesse’s first detective partner had said to him. It was advice he heeded every time he’d built a case against someone up the food chain. And that was just what he meant to do now.
“You got it, Molly,” he asked. “When you see me come to the glass and finger-comb my hair, you turn the speaker on in the breakroom. Make sure Roscoe Niles hears it loud and clear. And make sure he’s shackled to the table. If she catches wind of this, she’ll clam up.”
“I heard you the first time, Jesse. We’ll have Gabe and Peter in there with him. He’s going to hear it.”
“Her file?”
“On the table.”
“I’ll be in there,” Jesse said, pointing at the interview room.
Jesse was seated, facing the mirrored glass, when Bella Lawton came into the room. She was dressed in tight white jeans, sandals, and a low-cut black top that accentuated her shape. She was perfectly made up, but there were cracks in her armor. Nobody, not even the most experienced criminals, enjoy a visit to the interview room. Jesse smiled, stood, and pulled out a chair for her. She sat as Jesse went back around the table and also sat.
“Frankly, Jesse, I would have preferred being summoned to a motel or your bedroom, but if this is your style... Isn’t this where you interrogate people?”
“We prefer interview to interrogate.” Jesse opened the file in front of him on the table. “Bella Anne Ligari. You even photograph well in mugshots.” He turned her Boston PD mugshot to face her.