Melancholy Baby

63

I was doing lunges up and down the length of my loft. Rosie kept a foot in front of me, looking at me over her shoulder, getting in the way, and having a nice time. The cordless phone rang. I picked it up and kept going and said, “Hello.”

“Sunny,” a man said, “this is Felix Burke.”

“Uncle Felix!” I said.

He was a pretty bad man but a pretty good uncle, and he kept his word. I kind of liked him.

“You got a cop you trust?” he said.

“Several,” I said.

“Well, bring one of them and meet me at Richie’s place at two.”

“The saloon?”

“The saloon,” Felix said, and hung up.

Through the magic of cell-phone technology, I found Brian Kelly and he agreed to pick me up at 1:30. Then Rosie and I had a late breakfast. I took a shower and put on my makeup and got dressed. I noticed I was unusually careful about which clothes I wore. Brian and I had enjoyed an interlude shortly after Richie and I had parted. Things linger.

At 1:35, Rosie and I got into Brian’s car outside my loft. I opened the passenger door, and Rosie jumped in and settled into the passenger seat. I had to pick her up and put her on my lap so that I could sit.

“I think it’s against regulations to transport animals in a City of Boston police car,” Brian said.

“Unless they are exceptionally cute,” I said.

“That would cover all three of us,” Brian said.

Richie’s place was down an alley off School Street, past the old City Hall. Brian parked the car, as illegally as was possible, up on the sidewalk past the Parker House. It was ten minutes before two.

“Let’s sit,” I said. “Felix likes things to go the way he said they should go.”

“There’s a limit,” Brian said, “to how much I care what Felix likes.”

“He’s doing us the favor,” I said.

“Whatever it is,” Brian said.

We sat until two, then got out and walked across the street and into the saloon. Felix was sitting in the first booth on the left, across from a strong-looking young man with a square face and receding black hair, which he wore long on the sides and combed back straight. I knew Richie wouldn’t be there. And he wasn’t. Rosie dashed around behind the bar, looking for him. The bartender reached under the bar and came up with a long chew stick. Rosie sniffed it, and grabbed it, and joined Brian and me as we sat in the booth opposite Felix. Felix scratched her absently behind the ear.

“Brian Kelly,” I said. “Felix Burke.”

“We’ve met,” Brian said.

“This is Tommy Noon,” Felix said.” He’s got some things to tell you.”

Noon looked at Felix. “Off the record?”

“Tommy,” Felix said. “You’re on my record already.”

“We can listen off the record for now,” Brian said.

“I give you something, helps you out, maybe we can deal?”

“We might work something out,” Brian said.

“Guy comes up from New York, offers me ten to whack a guy named Markham?”

“You do it?” Brian said.

Tommy glanced at Felix and got nothing back.

“Yeah,” Tommy said.

“Who’s the guy?”

“He didn’t gimme his name.”

“How do you know he’s from New York?” I said.

“He said so.”

“How’d he pay you?” Brian said.

“Cash, all hundreds.”

“Describe him,” I said.

“Kind of short, maybe five-eight, kinda fat, soft-looking. Big horn-rimmed glasses. Sort of fluty, you know, college guy, thinks he’s important.”

Harvey Delk.

“Could you identify him if you saw him?” I said.

“Sure.”

“You know who this guy is?” Brian said to me.

I nodded.

“Can we get a picture?”

“Yes.”

“This helps you out?” Tommy said.

“Yes,” I said.

Tommy looked at Felix again.

“I get to bring a lawyer when we go on the record?” he said.

Felix made no comment.

“Sure,” Brian said. “And we’ll Miranda you, and your lawyer and the ADA can work out something. But first you got to pick your guy out of a photo spread.”

“You show me a picture of him,” Tommy said. “I’ll recognize it.”

“We can probably do all this tomorrow,” Brian said. “You and your lawyer want to come in?”

Tommy continued to glance at Felix before he answered.

“Sure,” he said. “Gimme a time and place.”

Rosie was working intensely on her chew stick. Felix looked down at her.

“What’s she eating?” he said.

“That’s called a bull stick,” I said.

“What part of the bull does that come from?” Felix said.

I said, “Let’s not go there, Felix.”

He studied the bull stick some more, and his face changed slightly. I realized he was smiling.

“And if you don’t show?” Brian said.

“He’ll show,” Felix said.

Brian nodded and watched Rosie chew her bull stick for a moment.

“Since we’re off the record here, and just out of curiosity, how come you’re so willing, Tommy?”

Felix answered. “It’s a way to avoid the death penalty.”

“We don’t have a death penalty,” Brian said.

Felix shrugged. Brian studied him for a minute. Then he nodded and looked at me.

“Ah, yes,” he said.