Robert B. Parker’s Damned If You Do

28

Jesse drove his cruiser into the Surf & Sand Motel parking area early the next morning. Jimmy Sloan was at the front desk, poring over a pile of bills. He looked up when Jesse entered.

“Am I in more trouble,” he said.

“Not that I know of,” Jesse said.

“You’re not here to arrest me?”

“No.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I’m not really sure. Mostly on a hunch. I’d like to have a look at your register for the months of March and April. Your sign-ins. You keep them, don’t you?”

“I have to keep them. By law I have to keep them.”

“So I’d like to see them.”

“Why,” Sloan asked.

“Because I’m the police chief, that’s why. Try not to be a dick about this, okay, Jimmy.”

“Hey. I’m just asking, is all. If you don’t have a warrant, I’m not compelled to show anything to you. I just want you to be aware of the fact that I’m doing it in the spirit of cooperation.”

“Okay. I’m aware of it. Show me the registers.”

Sloan stared at Jesse for a moment. Then he went into the back room. Jesse could hear him rooting around. He returned carrying two sets of hotel registration sheets. He placed them in front of Jesse.

“Enjoy yourself,” he said.

Jesse picked up the registration sheets and took them into the bar adjacent to the office. He dropped them on an empty table and sat down heavily.

With a glance back to Sloan, who stood in the doorway watching him, Jesse turned his attention to the sheets. He scanned them, searching for four specific dates. Once he found them, he removed each of the sheets from the pile and placed them side by side on the table.

He carefully read the names of the guests who had registered on each of the dates. On three of the four days, he spotted the name Jane Beck. On the fourth day, a woman had registered under the name Janice Baker.

Jesse asked Jimmy Sloan to step into the bar. When he did, Jesse showed him the pages.

“Do these names mean anything to you,” Jesse said.

“Not off the top of my head,” Sloan said.

“You don’t remember this person at all? Jane Beck? Did she provide you with any ID? Did you check her driver’s license?”

“I don’t usually do that. Not with cash customers.”

“She was a cash customer?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know that?”

“I might remember her. She wasn’t too bad-looking, if it’s who I’m thinking of. She looked like that actress, Jennifer Aniston.”

“And she registered under the name Jane Beck?”

“She might have.”

“And the fourth entry. The one for Janice Baker. Could she have been the same woman?”

“Possibly.”

“Could she be the murdered girl?”

“Maybe.”

“What name did she register under on the day she was killed?”

“She didn’t register that day.”

“Why not?”

“Because when she showed up, I offered her the bungalow free for a month if she would take me on.”

“You offered her the bungalow at no charge for a month?”

“So’s I could get some free nookie,” Sloan said.

“But it didn’t happen,” Jesse said.

“I was supposed to get it after she was done with her other business.”

“But she died before you could?”

“Yeah.”

“And you chose to keep this information secret.”

“Hey. What’s a guy to do? I didn’t actually do anything with her. I certainly didn’t kill her.”

“Did you see the person or persons who visited her?”

“No.”

“And you expect me to believe you,” Jesse said.

“She was here when the bar was open. I was busy with the customers. I didn’t see anything.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Nothing.”

“Can I tell you something, Jimmy?”

“What?”

“If for any reason I find out that you’re lying to me, you’ll regret it. It’ll become personal.”

Sloan didn’t say anything.

“Are you lying to me, Jimmy?”

“No. I swear it, Jesse. I didn’t see anyone coming or going.”

“Were there any strangers in the bar on the days she was here?”

“None.”

Jesse sighed. He stood and headed for the door.

“You’re some kind of ball buster, you know that, Jimmy?”

“Thank you,” Sloan said.

“It wasn’t meant as a compliment,” Jesse said.