Wolcott introduced her to me. Shaking her hand was like holding a cold piece of bone. She took a seat across from me and Wolcott pulled up a chair next to her.
‘Steven filled me in on your proposal,’ she said. ‘I have one question, Mr Denton – why?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Why do you want to do this?’
‘Because I was a lousy cop,’ I said. ‘I want to make amends for all the years I let people down.’
‘That’s bullshit.’
‘Not completely,’ I said. ‘Maybe that’s not the whole reason, but it’s a good part of it.’
Her lips almost disappeared as they pulled into a thin smile. She asked, ‘What are you really after – hurting Vassey or some of your fellow cops?’
‘Neither. And I don’t have any fellow cops anymore. I haven’t had any for almost eight years.’
‘Does this have anything to with the fact that you’ve obviously been beaten up recently?’
I shook my head. ‘Absolutely nothing at all to do with that. And I wasn’t beaten up. All that happened was I walked into a tree. At least, that’s my story.’
That made her lips pull up a little higher. As she smiled, I couldn’t help noticing how pointy her canines were.
‘Can I call you Joe?’ she asked.
‘Sure.’
‘What’s the urgency, Joe? Why does this have to be broadcast tonight?’
‘Does it matter? I’m handing you the story of the year for your station. And you’ll end up having dozens more breaking from this one.’
‘It matters. I don’t like being used,’ she said.
‘Everything I’ve said about Vassey and his son is true. So do you want this or not?’
For a moment I thought she was going to tell me to go screw myself, and I think she surprised herself even more that she didn’t. Instead, her smile faded from her face, and she nodded slowly. I guess she wanted the story more than the satisfaction of telling me what I could do with myself.
‘If you’re lying about any of this, I’m going to make your life a living hell,’ she said.
All I could think was, you and everyone else. Instead I simply shrugged. ‘I’m not lying about any of this.’
She turned to Wolcott. ‘Steven,’ she told him, ‘go tell Tina and Eric we have an assignment for them.’
Wolcott nodded, got up and left the room. As she turned back to me, she showed me her thin smile again. The skin across her cheeks stretched tight against her face.
‘The DA in your county, Phil Coakley, the person you maimed. Tell me about that shooting two days ago.’
‘I had nothing to do with that.’
Her smile stretched tighter. ‘That’s not what I asked.’
‘I also have nothing to say about that,’ I said.
She sat silently, her thin smile pulling tighter as her pale blue eyes stared at me. I couldn’t imagine her skin stretched any tighter without it ripping. I met her stare for a while and then got tired of the whole thing.
‘Look,’ I said. ‘I’m going to need some paperwork guaranteeing that if what I tell you pans out you’re going to air the story tonight.’
‘You’ll get the paperwork before you leave.’
The door opened and Wolcott walked in, bringing with him a pretty blonde and a tall skinny kid with a scraggly goatee and a matching ponytail. I recognized the blonde from their newscasts. She looked younger in person, probably no older than early twenties. Eileen Bracket addressed the two of them, telling them who I was and what they’d be doing with me. The blonde was named Tina Hodges and she forced a smile as she held out a hand to me. The skinny kid with the ponytail, Eric, was going to be our cameraman. He kept his distance from me.
It took an hour before I was able to get the paperwork that I wanted, and another forty minutes after that before we got underway. We drove in one of the news vans with Eric behind the wheel and me next to him giving directions. Other than my pointing out where to drive nobody said a word during most of the trip. At one point near the end, Eric asked how I broke my nose. When I didn’t answer him he shut up for good. Tina Hodges didn’t make a peep from the back seat during the ride.
We arrived at the old tannery a little after ten thirty. This time there were five cars parked alongside it. I directed Eric towards the two dumpsters on the other side of the building. When we got there, we pulled up next to them and parked. I opened both dumpsters and read off the labels of some of the containers.
‘All the ingredients for crystal meth,’ I said.
Eric took his camera out and started shooting video of what was inside the dumpsters.
‘This is so unbelievably brazen,’ he muttered. ‘Just throwing the stuff out where anyone can get to it.’
I said, ‘After fifteen years of doing whatever you want without any fear of the police, you get sloppy. Ready for what’s next?’
‘We’re just going to walk right in there?’
‘That’s right.’
‘And you don’t think this is dangerous?’ Tina asked, speaking for the first time. Her face paler than before and not quite as pretty as when I had first seen her.
‘I don’t think so, but we’ll see.’
I was pretty sure Junior wasn’t going to have any muscle around. Why would he? After over fifteen years of being left alone, why bother? Of course, anything was possible, but I didn’t expect to see any of his goons. We got back in the van and drove to the front. I got out first and checked the main door and almost broke out laughing when I found it unlocked. I signaled for the other two to join me.
I opened the door and led the way. I’d been in there before and knew where the gambling operations were. I turned and could see Eric sweating as he carried his camera. Tina looked more distant and scared with each step.
The hallway we were in was lit by a single bulb. I took us down it to the outside of the room where the operations used to be run from. I put my ear against the door and listened. After less than a minute I heard a phone ringing, and then someone talking. I checked the door. It was unlocked. I nodded to Tina and Eric and then opened the door and walked in.
I knew with football season underway things would be in full swing. In the middle of the room were several chalkboards with spreads written on them. To the right, sitting behind a long table, were three guys. They all had computers and phones in front of them. Each of them was staring at us with total bewilderment. One of them was on the phone and I could see his mouth drop as he gawked at us.
‘What the hell’s this!’ one of them yelled. I recognized him from years ago. I couldn’t place his name but I knew he’d worked for Manny from almost the beginning. He had always been this fat greasy slob with badly pockmarked skin. Now he was fatter, greasier, and with worse skin. He got up and started towards us. The other two were trying to hide from the camera.
‘What the hell all of you doing here?’ he demanded. He was moving quickly, heading towards Tina with a clenched fist. I intercepted him, spinning him around and pushing him to the floor. He made kind of an oomph sound as he hit the deck.
‘You assholes are in trouble,’ he hissed as he lay on the floor. ‘Big trouble! Just wait ’til I tell—’
I stepped down on the back of his neck. He let out a highpitched yelp and then shut up.
Eric took video of the chalkboards and moved to the two guys who were now trying to hide behind their chairs. Tina stood frozen as she stared at me while I pressed my foot down on the slob’s neck. He squirmed red-faced on the floor as I put more pressure on him.
‘Are you going to just stand there,’ I asked, ‘or are you going to do your job?’
‘What are you doing to that man?’ she asked, horrified.
‘Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Come on, we don’t have all day.’
She shook herself out of whatever stupor she had fallen into and moved so she was standing next to the chalkboards. She was still shaking, but Eric took video of her as she pointed out the footbal
l spreads and the computers and phones on the long table. He followed her as she moved over to the two jokers who were still trying to hide themselves.
‘Are you under the employ of Manny Vassey Jr?’ she asked both of them.
Neither of them said a word. They just looked like idiots as they tried to squeeze themselves behind their chairs and out of sight of the camera.
‘Are you taking gambling bets?’ she asked.
‘Get the hell out of here and leave us alone,’ one of them moaned.
We had taken enough time. I wanted to get to the crystal meth lab while we still could. From where the dumpsters were located I had a pretty good idea where it was. I went across the room and checked a door there and found it unlocked also. It was so damn careless of them. I swung the door open, and sure enough the lab was right there in plain sight. Two kids were working in it. My guess was they were both probably chemistry majors in college. They looked annoyed when I walked in, and then both went wide-eyed when Eric trailed behind with his camera. Tina squeezed past Eric. She had more color in her face now.
‘Who are you guys?’ one of the kids muttered.
‘We’re with WVRT news,’ Tina announced as she held out her microphone in their direction. She moved towards them so Eric could take video of her sticking her microphone inches from their faces. ‘Are you manufacturing crystal meth here?’
‘Yeah,’ one of the kids answered. He looked shell-shocked. I guess it hadn’t quite dawned on him what was happening until it was too late. When it did hit him, I could see the color bleed out of his face. He turned his back to the camera, trying to shield himself from view. His friend was already covering his face with his shirt.
‘Are you working for Manny Vassey Jr?’ Tina asked.
‘Leave me alone,’ he begged.
‘Can you please answer my question?’
He didn’t move or say a word.
I looked out the door and could see one of the guys talking frantically on the phone. I grabbed Tina by the arm.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ I said.
‘I’d like to ask them more questions.’
‘We better get out now.’
She was going to argue with me, but I swung her towards the door and something about the look on my face told her she’d better listen. Eric followed, muttering to himself how unbelievable the whole thing was.
The slob had picked himself off the floor and was standing off to the side, glowering at us as we passed by. I should’ve paid him more attention. All of a sudden I heard Eric yell out. I turned and saw the slob trying to wrestle the camera away from him. I moved fast, got behind the slob, and pushed my foot hard into the back of his knee, and at the same time dug my forearm into his throat and twisted my body. His face turned purple and he let go of the camera so he could claw frantically at my arm. I let go of him and he tumbled to the floor, gasping for air.
All three of us got out of there then, with me trailing behind to make sure none of the jokers we were leaving tried any more tricks. By the time we got outside both Tina and Eric were giggling, more from nerves than anything else.
I got behind the wheel this time and told Eric I’d drive. He didn’t seem to mind. He was still shaking from the adrenalin rush of the last few minutes.
‘That was, what can I say, fucking unbelievable,’ he said, his body still shaking. ‘It sure beats shooting video of foliage or a moose wandering around downtown Burlington. Damn, I felt like a real newsman in there.’
‘I thought I was going to puke,’ Tina volunteered.
‘So, chief,’ Eric asked, ‘where next?’
I checked the clock on the dashboard. Kelley’s would be just opening, but I wanted to wait until after their lunch crowd. I also didn’t want to hang around Bradley any more than I had to. I had a feeling that Junior and his goons would be looking for us.
‘Why don’t we head back to your station? We can drop off the video, grab some lunch, and then head out again.’
I could see he was disappointed. He was still caught up in the rush of the moment, but he saw the sense in what I was saying and didn’t argue. The ride back to Burlington seemed shorter. I guess we were all caught up in our own thoughts. I kept playing back in my mind Tina announcing the station call letters when we busted in on the crystal meth lab. It made me a little sick thinking about it. Even though the call letters were in big bold print on the camera, most likely none of them had the presence of mind to notice it. I couldn’t see any good coming from giving Junior that information. The more I thought about it, the sicker I felt. All I could hope for was that he was in the middle of eating something like a sausage sub when he heard the news, and that it made him choke on it.
When we got back to the station Eileen was waiting for us. She looked tense when she asked Eric how things went. He smiled and put a hand on my shoulder.
‘This guy was unbelievable,’ he said. ‘You should’ve seen him in action. God damn, it was something.’
‘His information panned out?’ she asked, her eyebrows rising in both relief and surprise.
‘Oh yeah, I’d say so. Let me show you what I got.’
I took a seat while the three of them crowded around a video monitor. A few other people in the office joined them. When they were done, Eileen walked over to me.
‘So far so good,’ she said.
I shrugged. ‘Have you heard from anyone about this?’
‘No. Will I?’
‘I don’t know. Your reporter yelled out your station’s call letters while we were there. I wish she hadn’t done that.’
‘You think Vassey will come here guns a-blazin’?’ she asked, her lips curving into another thin smile. I didn’t bother saying anything.
‘I heard things got rough in there,’ she said.
‘Not really.’
‘Not really? I understand you almost choked a man to death.’
I made a face while I shook my head. ‘I think your people got a little too excited. All I did was disable one of Vassey’s boys while he was trying to wrestle the video camera away from your cameraman. He was fine when I left him.’
‘I’m thinking we have enough for tonight’s story.’
She was smiling, staring at me with her pale, almost translucent blue eyes, but she flinched as I stared back. Her smile weakened as she looked away.
‘The story’s only half done,’ I said.
‘I think we have enough.’
‘We did the hard part. The rest is easy.’
She didn’t say anything.
‘I know this is Vermont. I know you’re comfortable doing mostly stories about leaves changing color, but you are a news station, right?’
She met my stare again, smiling just enough to show her canines. ‘That’s right. I remember eight years ago doing dozens of stories about a dirty cop who tried to stab a district attorney to death.’
‘Then why not finish this story?’
Indecision weakened her. ‘We should get the police involved,’ she said.
‘We won’t have a story if we do that.’
‘I don’t want to put my people in danger.’
‘You won’t. There’ll be plenty of bystanders where we’re going next. Nothing’s going to happen there. I promise you that. We’ll be in and out in five minutes.’
Eric and Tina had wandered over. Eric, grinning widely, asked, ‘Are we ready to rock and roll?’
Eileen halfheartedly nodded. Thin lines of worry creased her brow. She turned towards the two of them. ‘Be careful, okay?’ she asked.
‘Don’t worry about us,’ Eric said, laughing. ‘We got a killer here to protect us.’
When we left, I suggested we use one of their cars instead of the van, and Eric volunteered his Honda. First thing we did was drive a couple of blocks to a sandwich shop and have lunch with the station picking up the bill. Then we headed back towards Bradley.
I was a little worried about running into Junior. I had no idea what he’d do if he saw us.
The only thing I knew for sure was I wouldn’t put anything past him. I felt some relief knowing he’d be looking for either my Mustang or the van. I also knew he’d never expect us to head to Kelley’s. Still, my nerves were on edge. I tried to keep it to myself. I joked around and tried to appear at ease. The last thing I needed were for the two kids with me to start panicking.
It was forty minutes past one by the time we pulled into the parking lot at Kelley’s. A skinhead type with tattoos all along his neck and the side of his face covered the front door. He did kind of a double-take when he saw us, not quite believing what he was seeing.
As I got closer he moved to block me. I turned him aside with some effort and whispered in his ear, ‘This isn’t worth getting your skull cracked open for, is it?’
He looked at the camera and then back at me, and I guess he decided it wasn’t. He stepped aside and let us pass.
The place had maybe a dozen customers in it. Earl was behind the bar, and when he spotted me he pulled out a cell phone and made a call. His eyes were focused on me as he talked on the phone. I don’t think he noticed Tina or Eric until they were well into the club. His head tilted to the side as he tried to comprehend what they were doing there.
I moved quickly through the room, leading Tina and Eric towards the back area. With some luck one of the private rooms would be in use. I nudged Eric and pointed out the dancer on stage. She was completely naked and was staring at us. She seemed disoriented, not quite sure whether to keep dancing or to get off the stage.
‘Get a shot of her,’ I told him. ‘Vermont’s a topless-only state. That’s one violation so far.’
Eric stopped to shoot some video and then we kept moving.
When we got past the curtains, I started trying the doors. The third one I tried was locked. The doors were flimsy and were meant only for privacy. I doubted Earl ever expected anyone to try breaking one down. I used my shoulder and the door flew open on the first try. A middle-aged man was sitting on the carpeted bench with his pants down to his ankles while a thin dark brunette straddled him as she bounced up and down. I had seen her dancing Saturday night. I remembered her name was Cindy. She started to yell at us and then froze in mid-bounce when she saw the camera and realized what was going on.
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