Bad Business

26

Healy came into my office with a bag of donuts and two large cups of coffee. He sat and handed me a coffee.

"Dunkin' Donuts," he said. "I get the cop discount."

He held the bag of donuts toward me and I took one. Cinnamon, my favorite.

"I thought it might be time for us to compare notes," Healy said.

"Wow," I said. "You are really stuck, huh?"

"Here's what we know," Healy said. "Somebody shot Trent Rowley to death."

I waited. Healy didn't say anything. After a while I said, "That much."

"Just barely," Healy said. "Whaddya got?"

"What have I got, just like that? A cup of coffee and a donut and I spill my guts to you?"

"That was my plan," Healy said.

We each drank some coffee. Healy and I had been sort of friends for a long time. Which did not mean I needed to tell him everything I knew unless there was something in it for me. There might be.

"The security guy at Kinergy," I said. "Gavin. He hired two, ah, marginal private eyes to follow the wives of a couple of his employees, including Marlene Rowley."

"Tell me about that," Healy said. I told him.

"And you can't find either gumshoe," Healy said.

"Maybe I just keep missing them," I said.

"Maybe. I'll have someone run it down."

"Can you let me know?" I said.

"As quick as you did," Healy said.

I gave him my big charming smile. "Better late than never," I said.

"Yeah," Healy said, "sure."

My big charming smile generally worked better with women.

"What's Gavin have to say about it?"

"Denies everything."

"And he paid them cash."

"Yep."

"So the only way we know he hired them to do the tail job is because they told you."

"Yep."

"And now you can't find them."

"So far," I said.

"So unless we find them we have no evidence that Gavin did anything except what you say they told you."

"Exactly," I said.

"We know how much that's worth," Healy said.

"Sadly, yes," I said.

"Hell, even if it was worth anything it doesn't prove it was Gavin; there's a lot of blond guys with mustaches."

"I know," I said. "It would have to be an ID by O'Neill or Francis."

"Which we can't get if we can't find them."

Healy and I both took a bite of donut and looked at each other while we chewed.

When he was through chewing, Healy swallowed and said, "Might be we won't find them."

"That occurred to me," I said.

"Still, we got Gavin," Healy said.

"For what?"

"For looking into," Healy said.

"It's a start," I said.