Hooligans Part 55

"Yes, I suppose. At any rate, if you need any help at all from me, just ask."

"Thanks," I said. After a decent pause I asked, "Did you know Tagliani?" I tried to sound casual.

"Yes. But as Frank Turner."

"Were you social friends?"

"Not at all. I met with Turner on a couple of occasions to help him get oriented, but that was some time ago."

"And to size him up?" I suggested.

He stared at me intently for a few seconds, then nodded slowly. "That, too."

"So you knew him personally?"

"Not really; it was all business. I haven't seen him to talk to since he moved here."

"When was that?"

"I couldn't say accurately. About three years ago."

"Did you meet here in Dunetown?"

He nodded. "The first time we were supposed to meet at the old Beach Hotel, but it didn't suit him, so we switched the meeting to Charlie Seaborn's yacht. The second time he had his own boat down here."

"What did you talk about?"

"Development ideas, other money interests. Later he put us on to"-he waved a hand vaguely in the air-"several others . . . "

"Bronicata, Chevos," I said.

"Yes, only not by those names. You've got to remember, he came very highly recommended. He had development resources, excellent credit references, all in the name of Frank Turner."

"And you never suspected who he really was?"

His face clouded up. "Of course not," he said. There was a touch of indignation in his tone but he tempered it quickly. "Look," he went on, "we were looking for developers here. It was obvious the track was going to change things, and Turner talked an excellent game. He seemed very civic-minded. His development ideas were sound. We had no reason to doubt him."

"I wasn't accusing you of anything," I said.

"I know that. I just want you to understand, this is all very new to us. At worst we were guilty of naivete."

Babs Thomas appeared in the doorway, tapping her foot.

"The party's in here," she said sternly. "You two can talk football, or whatever you've found so d.a.m.ned interesting, some other time. And you, Sam, have a phone call. I think it's Charlie. You can take it in the bedroom."

"d.a.m.n!" Donleavy said. "I'm sorry. We can finish this over lunch tomorrow."

"Just one other thing," I said. "Do you happen to remember the date Tagliani came here the first time?"

He thought about it for several seconds, then took out a business card and scrambled a number on the back.

"No, but I've got an old date book at home," he said. "Here's my number. Give me a call about quarter to eight and I can give it to you precisely. Don't wait until eight or you'll be out of luck. Dutch Morehead usually calls me then. We talk once a week, keeps me in touch. He's very prompt and we've been known to talk for an hour or more."

I thanked him, pocketed the card, and we started back inside. As Donleavy hurried off to take his call, Stonewall t.i.tan materialized from behind a potted plant.

"h.e.l.lo, doughboy," he said. "Don't miss a trick, do you? Just pop up everywhere."

"I was thinking the same thing about you," I said.

t.i.tan looked at me, the candles igniting sparks in his narrowed eyes.

"You've done it again, raised more h.e.l.l, ain't you, son?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean your conversation with Harry at the track. That was a d.a.m.n fool thing to do."

"Time somebody leveled with him."

"You're a bad penny, doughboy," he growled. "You show up back here and within four days we got somethin' akin to twelve homicides."

He slashed at a potted plant with his cane.

"I haven't had two unsolved G.o.dd.a.m.n homicides at the same time in this county in forty d.a.m.n years. Now I got twelve!"

Donleavy came out of the bedroom, made his apologies, and left to await Dutch's weekly call, waving good-bye as he did. It was seven fifteen. In another thirty minutes we could all leave.

"I'll give it to you again," I said. "I didn't cause the homicides and murder isn't my game. It's not why I came here and it isn't why I'm staying."

"I mean altogether I haven't had twelve unsolved homicides since I been sheriff," he said, ignoring my comments. "You understand my concern when we have twelve in the s.p.a.ce of a couple of days?"

"Sure."

"Sure? What do you mean, sure?"

"I mean sure, I understand your consternation."

"Hot d.a.m.n, college boy. Consternation. Well, listen close, because my consternation tells me you know one h.e.l.luva lot more about what the h.e.l.l's goin' on than I do, and since this is my county, I think it's time we shared whatever information you might have."

I smiled. "And what would I get out of it?" I asked.

"Your a.s.s, in one piece," he said flatly.

I laughed. "What're you going to do, Mr. Stoney, put out a contract on me?"

"It may be funny to you, doughboy-"

"That's not what I'm laughing about," I said, cutting him off. "I've been under the impression we were both on the same side."

He ignored my comment and went right on making his point. "I'm not without considerable influence where it means something," he said. "I could have your tail bent till it hurts by just raisin' a question or two about your conduct of this investigation."

"I'm sure you could."

"What the h.e.l.l's goin' on? What are you after, Kilmer?"

"I'm looking for RICO violations, Mr. Stoney. You know that. Now, I could be wrong. Tagliani may very well have inched in here without anybody knowing who he really was. But I've got to know that for sure."

"No matter who gets hurt, that it?"

"I don't give a d.a.m.n whose tombstones I have to kick over to get to the truth."

"Or whose bed you sleep in?"

"Who are you really worried about, Mr. Stoney? Who are you trying to cover?"

"The integrity of my county," he snapped.

I shook my head with disbelief. "You mean what's left of it, don't you?"

"You can be an irritatin' son of a b.i.t.c.h."

"Probably. I didn't come here to run for Queen of the May."

His tone became more condescending.

"I don't wanna see things blown out of proportion, okay, doughboy? People make mistakes. It's natural. We ain't all perfect."

"I'll buy that," I said. "I just want to make sure that's what they were-mistakes."

"I'm tellin' you they were."

"Sheriff, I'll tell you everything I think. Not what I know, because I don't know that much. I think the same gun killed Tagliani, Stinetto, and O'Brian, possibly an American 180. I think the same gun was used to kill Stizano and his bunch and Draganata, probably an M-16 equipped with a grenade launcher. Whoever used them has a military background and killed Logeto and Graves' girlfriend, Della Norman, using a garotte that was fairly common in Vietnam. I think it was all done by one person."

t.i.tan pursed his lips and c.o.c.ked his head to one side. "Not bad for someone who's game ain't murder," he said. "Why?"

"If I knew that, I could give you the killer."

"Humph," he snorted.

"Now I've got a question to ask you. Who busted Tony Lukatis on the pot charge?"

"Why?"

"He's dead, that's why."

"I know that. They're doing an autopsy down in Glynn County right now. So what does Tony's previous record have to do with anything?"

"Just curious."

"The drug enforcement boys nailed Lukatis and his buddy."

"Did they both do time?"

He paused for a second or two and shook his head. "The shrimper turned state's and got a suspended sentence."

"Was Lukatis running marijuana for Longnose Graves?"

t.i.tan looked shocked. "h.e.l.l no," he stormed. "Graves doesn't run dope. He may have a lot of faults but that ain't one of them. Far as I know, Lukatis and his friend were free-lancin'."

"Where were they caught?"

"On Buccaneer Island, where the South River empties into Buccaneer Bay. Why are you so interested in Lukatis?"

"Just trying to keep all the lines straight," I said. "He and at least one of Graves' men were killed at the same time. Don't you wonder why?"

He leaned forward and said, "I'll find out why when it's necessary."

"You know what I think, Mr. Stoney?" I said. "I think you want to neutralize me and I'm not sure why. Like I said, I thought we were both on the same side."

"I told you last night, I enforce the law my own way," he said. "Be advised." He turned abruptly, elbowed his way through the chitchat, paid his respects to Babs, and left. She breezed back over.

"You're just the life of the party," she said. "So far you've talked to Chief Findley, Stoney, and Sam Donleavy, and all three of them have left the party."

"I do seem to have that effect on people, don't I?"

"Well, darling, Doe is still here. All is not lost."

"I keep telling you-"

"And I don't believe a word of it," she said, finishing the sentence, and went off to attend to something.

I stepped out onto the terrace but the rain had started, its first big drops splattering me, so I stood under an awning, watched the thunderclouds gather around the penthouse, and listened to the wind give the chimes a nervous breakdown and the rain grow to a steady downpour.

Doe moved on me slowly, stopping here and there to chat as she came through the room. Finally she stepped outside and stood there, staring up at me.

"I've called you and called you today," she said, somewhat sternly.

"I don't spend a lot of time around the hotel," I said.

"Come back to Windsong with me tonight," she said in a half-whisper.

"You're crazy. What do you plan to do about Harry? He's-"

"He won't come out there. He stays at the townhouse during the racing season. He doesn't like to make that long drive twice a day. Are you going to make me beg you, Jake?"

"Don't be silly."

"I'm spoiled, Jake," she said with a laugh. "n.o.body's ever denied that."