School Days

Chapter 27

"WHAT KIND O F DOG you say she was?" DiBella said.

"German shorthaired pointer," I said.

"And why has she got her head in my wastebasket?"

"Looking for clues," I said.

Pearl straightened from her exploration of DiBella's wastebasket with an empty yogurt carton in her mouth.

"See, now we know what you were eating," I said.

Pearl took the carton to the corner of the office and settled down with it.

"She gonna eat the fucking carton?" DiBella said.

"She'll probably chew it and spit it out," I said.

"On my fucking floor?"

"I'll pick it up," I said.

DiBella watched her for a moment, then looked at me and shook his head slowly.

"You know how many people come in here with a fucking dog?" he said.

"None?"

"That's right, none."

"They're obviously not fun like me," I said.

"And God bless them for it," DiBella said. "We got nothing on Luis Yang."

"How about his brother?"

"I talked with the gang squad in Boston."

"And?"

"They got nothing on Luis Yang, either," he said. "But there's a Jose Yang in a gang called Los Diablos."

"Clever name," I said.

"Yeah. Gangbangers are always imaginative. Usual stuff-deal dope, run a chop shop, fight other gangs."

"Guns?"

"Yeah. Gang squad says they have guns, probably got a connection. Probably could get more. Probably pretty much anything you wanted."

"So," I said. "Maybe we know where the guns came from."

"Maybe," DiBella said. "We could shake Animal a little, see what came out."

"We can always do that," I said. "If we do it too soon and release him, he'll be looking for whoever ratted him out, and no one will talk to me again."

"You figure Wendell and the Clark kid hooked up somehow, and Grant got the guns from Animal."

"Yeah." I said. "And Animal had taught Grant how to shoot, and, maybe, for whatever reason, Grant taught Clark."

"That would make it sort of not spur of the moment," DiBella said.

"It would," I said.

"No surprise," DiBella said. "Part of the excitement of something like this is probably the planning and preparation."

"So," I said. "They decide to do the shooting. They buy guns and ammo from Animal. They practice until they're ready. And off they go."

"Yeah?"

"So," I said, "assuming Animal didn't give them the guns and ammo because he's a generous guy, where'd they get the money?"

"Families are well off," DiBella said. "Hell, the Clark family is loaded."

" 'Hey, Dad, gimme a couple grand to buy guns and ammo'?"

"Good point," DiBella said. "Find out when either or both came up with a chunk of cash, and you got an idea when the gun deal went down."

"Yep."

"Still don't excite me," DiBella said. "We got the shooters. We got their confessions. Los Diablos are Boston's problem, and I'm not sure Animal is a major threat to civil order in Bethel County."

"Animal is small change," I said. "But I still want to know why."

"And you think if you know why, you'll be able to clear the Clark kid?" DiBella said.

"I won't know that until I know why," I said.

DiBella nodded thoughtfully.

"I don't know how smart you are," he said. "But I'll give you stubborn."

"May be better than smart," I said.

"May be," DiBella said. "Both is even better."

Pearl exhausted the yogurt carton and abandoned the remnants. She came and sat next to me and looked hopeful.

"So," DiBella said. "Fine. Go to it. But pick up the chewed carton first."

Which I did. A man's only as good as his word.