Robert B. Parker’s The Devil Wins

63

Jesse took Marchand’s visit as a sign that the clock was ticking on him faster than he had been led to believe. Although Marchand had promised him seven days, what did that matter? One more bad turn in any of the cases and the mayor and/or the selectmen could decide to cut him loose and name an acting chief. He also realized that the arson and Millner’s smug attitude meant he had finally gotten some traction. So he decided he would push the envelope of lies and half-truths even further than he’d already dared to. He had no clue whether this war vet could identify his John Doe or not, but that’s not what he planned to tell people.

On his way out of the station, he was mobbed by the usual throng of reporters.

“Chief Stone,” a faceless voice called out to him from the crowd, “any word on the DNA results?”

He lied. “Yes, as we stand here now, the state police are checking the results against existing databases.”

“What do they hope to accomplish by that?” the same reporter asked.

“To find a killer.”

Someone else called to him, “What’s your reaction to the situation in Framingham?”

Jesse didn’t know what the reporter was referring to, but he didn’t let on. “It would be improper for me to comment on other jurisdictions.”

There was another question. “Are there any other developments?”

“Yes. Someone will be here tomorrow who has come forward who can help us identify our John Doe.”

“You’re referring to the man in the blue tarp?” a fourth reporter asked.

“Exactly,” Jesse said. “Once we have his identity, the rest of the case should fall into place. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Jesse pushed through the crowd and made his way to his Explorer. Healy called as Jesse pulled out of his spot.

“What’s going on in Framingham, Healy? I just got ambushed by a reporter outside the station asking me about it.”

“It’s a mess. A triple homicide in the tony part of town. Three DBs and not a stitch of clothing between them. All done execution-style.”

Jesse asked, “Why are the staties involved?”

“One of the victims is a congressman’s brother and neither of the two murdered women found with him was his wife. You know how that goes.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Three vics, one man and two women. Kind of like what you’re dealing with in Paradise.”

“At least your victims were all killed in the same century.”

“Good point. Listen, Jesse, I’m sorry to have to do this, but I gotta pull my man off Dragoa. He’s too good a man for surveillance duty with this triple dumped in my lap. Framingham is an all-hands-on-deck situation,” Healy said. “If this thing gets cleared up soon, I’ll give him back to you.”

“Don’t sweat it. Stuff happens.”

“Bad stuff, yeah, and a lot of it all at once.”

“Tell me about it,” Jesse said. “Let me give you a heads-up. I lied to the press again. Told them you guys were comparing my DNA results to the state database.”

“I’ll cover for you. It’s the least I can do since I’ve got to pull my man.”

Healy clicked off and Jesse headed to the morgue.