Robert B. Parker’s Revenge Tour

Thirty-One

It didn’t take long for Melvin to realize that the rules of engagement were different this time, and that acting like some aging lounge lizard wasn’t going to get him anywhere with Frank Belson as part of the contact visit.

Nor would the fact that he’d cleaned himself up by shaving off his own beard.

“So nice to make your acquaintance, Lieutenant Belson,” Melvin said after he’d greeted me.

“Kiss my ass,” Belson said.

Melvin smiled at him.

“How about you kiss mine?” Melvin said.

Belson smiled back. Shook his head sadly. And then suddenly was out of his chair and in front of Melvin’s chair and casually slapping him in the face.

“Hey!” Melvin said, a shocked look on his face. “Hey, Guard, did you see that?”

From across the room the guard turned to us, grinning. “See what?” he said.

“He hit me,” Melvin said.

The guard was built like a boxcar.

“He’s an officer of the law, Doc,” the guy said. “He’d never make contact with a prisoner.”

“He could get in trouble for something like that,” I said, as if trying to be helpful.

Melvin’s otherwise pasty skin was red where Belson had just hit him with a good one. Belson had sat back down and was flipping his cigar with his thumb and forefinger.

“Now that I have your attention,” he said to Melvin. “You need to know a couple things. One is that I read back on you, and hope you’re still in here even after Jesus comes back. That’s one.” He was still smiling. “The other is that I’m not here to fuck around.”

“Neither am I,” Melvin said. “I’m leaving.”

Belson started to get up and I watched as Melvin recoiled.

“I’ll let you know when we’re done here, asshole,” Belson said.

After apparently reviewing his options, and having realized he was going to get no help whatsoever from the guard, Melvin stayed right where he was.

“Why did you meet with Richard Gross?” Belson said.

Melvin tilted his head slightly, as if deciding how he wanted to answer that one.

“I was considering a change of lawyers for my latest appeal,” he said finally. “I figured that if Richard Gross was good enough for my Melanie Joan, he was good enough for me.”

“His specialty used to be business law,” I said. “But he hasn’t even done his own legal work for the past twenty years.”

“I read up on him when he signed on with Melanie Joan,” Melvin said. “He actually did a lot of appeals work when he was making a name for himself in L.A., before his only business became show business. I thought that perhaps I could offer him enough money to get him back in court. All he could say was no.”

“Bullshit,” Belson said.

I studied Melvin, almost fascinated. Even here, even knowing he might die in prison, there was something about him that made him think he was superior to Belson. And perhaps to me as well. It was as if he had settled back into character, despite having just been bitch-slapped by Frank.

“If you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask Mr. Gross,” Melvin said to Belson now. “Oh, wait.”

“Goddamn, Melvin,” Belson said. “You really think you’re slicker than shit, don’t you? But what I’m wondering, from where I sit, is how you think things will go for you when Sunny and me show up at whatever parole hearing there might be down the road and tell them that you told us you couldn’t wait to be back on the outside so you can stalk more women, on account of you having had all this time to think about getting away with it.”

Melvin crossed his arms in front of him, almost smugly. “We both know you’re bluffing.”

Belson was studying his cigar as if it were some kind of clue.

“Try me,” he said to Belson.

Then he said to Melvin, “Why did Gross come to see you?”

“Okay,” Melvin said, “okay. I just got him out here, on the promise of paying him a boatload of money, just as a way to fuck with my former wife. It had nothing to do with my appeal. He told me when he got here that he was only here to warn me to leave Melanie Joan alone. He actually told me he knew people who knew people, and that if it was me harassing Melanie Joan, something might happen to me, even on the inside.”

Melvin put out his hands.

“The conversation deteriorated from there,” Melvin said. “You can check the log. He wasn’t here for very long. The next thing I knew, the poor man was dead.”

“Imagine that,” Belson said.

“What I don’t understand is why you think I had anything to do with Mr. Gross’s unfortunate demise.”

“If you sent people after Melanie Joan,” I said, “you could certainly make a call and have Richard Gross killed by somebody on the outside who you’re working with. Just as another way of hurting Melanie Joan. And give purpose to your pathetic, shitheel life.”

Belson gave me a look to tell me to sit this one out.

“You give me far too much credit,” Melvin said.

“No,” Belson said, “I don’t.”

“I hate being mocked,” Melvin said.

“Pity,” I said.

“You mock me sometimes without saying a word, Sunny.”

“What can I say?” I said. “It’s a gift.”

Melvin turned his attention to Belson now. He’d recovered from the humiliation of being slapped and not being able to do anything about it. Now he actually seemed to be enjoying himself. Like he wanted to have another go at Frank.

“I hope I haven’t helped you,” Melvin said to him.

“Good one,” Belson said. “The other assholes in here must think you’re a riot at mess hall.”

“We’re done,” Melvin said.

“For now,” Belson said.

As he was walking slowly to the door, Melvin said, “The last thing I told Mr. Gross before he left this room was for him to stay safe, it was a dangerous world out there, full of random acts of violence.”

He smiled at Belson one last time.

“But who’d know that better than you, Frank?” Melvin said.

The guard held the door open for John Melvin. Before he walked through it, I called out to him.

“Just out of curiosity,” I said. “Who’s the lawyer who had been handling your appeals?”

Melvin turned and looked suddenly, almost inexplicably, pleased.

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that question,” John Melvin said.

Now I waited, too.

“It’s none other than the great Joe Doyle,” Melvin said.

Then he was laughing.

“Small world, isn’t it?” he said, and then was gone.