The Bitterest Pill

Thirty-nine

Bill met Jesse at the Starbucks near the old Episcopal church, where they used to go for coffee after the AA meetings. Far from the eyes of Paradise’s citizens, those were the first meetings Jesse had ever attended, and Bill befriended Jesse early on. Bill’s encouragement really helped Jesse get through those early sessions and helped him buy into the plan. Not everyone has to buy into it like it is the gospel truth, Bill had told him, but Bill had also warned Jesse that too much doubt and straying too far from the twelve steps was also a route back to drinking. So when Jesse picked a sponsor, he chose Bill.

“You okay, Jesse?” Bill asked after they’d said their hellos and settled into their favorite table by the window.

“You could see the church from Diana’s apartment windows,” Jesse said, referring to his murdered fiancée. He smiled sadly. “That’s why I picked the church for my first meetings, to feel close to her.”

“Still miss her?”

“Every day.”

“Seeing anyone?”

Jesse told Bill about Maryglenn.

“Serious?”

Jesse shrugged. “I’m not sure what that means, Bill.”

Bill knew it was time to change the subject. “How about your boy?”

That chased away Diana’s ghost and questions about Maryglenn for the time being and changed Jesse’s mood. Jesse could feel himself smiling and his chest jutting out.

“He’s going to be a Statie. Applied without me knowing about it. He’s going into the academy next month.”

Bill reached over and shook Jesse’s hand hard. They held on to each other’s hand a beat longer than usual.

“Bet you felt like having a double Johnny Black when you heard that news.”

“You know it.”

“But you didn’t.”

“I did not,” Jesse said.

“So, Jesse, not for nothing, but I’m not sure you couldn’t have told me all this good news over the phone.”

“I was going to be in town today anyway, and I could use your expertise.”

“In?”

Jesse showed Bill the receipt and ticket from Precious Pawn and Loan. Bill raised his eyebrows and gave Jesse a sideways glance. “I’ve been straight for twenty years. I’m not sure what I could tell you. If you’re asking me if I know the people who run this shop and do I know if they’re legit or not... I can’t tell you. When I stopped drinking, I cut myself off from the people I used to drink and do business with.”

“No, Bill, that’s not it.” Then Jesse explained about Jolene’s reaction to seeing the paperwork and Jerry’s explanation about the goods being sold and his being unsure of what the pawned item was.

Bill laughed. “Things have changed, but not that much. The game is still the game.”

“Explain it to me.”

“Look, a thief comes to me to get rid of some merch, but I want to cover my ass in case the cops are on to the guy. I pay the guy for the watches or the rings or whatever. I write him out a receipt for fifty bucks without describing the merchandise. Just like this one here you’re showing me. I give him a claim ticket even though I know he’s never coming back to get his stuff.

“If I can, I let a few weeks go by and then sell the merchandise. Somebody like you shows up in my store, I’m covered. There’s nothing on the receipt says what the pawned goods were, and because I recognize the coded color on the claim ticket, I know the deal. I blow you off the same way this Jerry guy did. If you persist and make yourself a pain in the ass, I find some piece-of-junk watch or set of bongo drums and say this is what was pawned on that ticket. How can you prove otherwise? The hot merch is long gone. I’m surprised you only found this one receipt and claim ticket. This sort of arrangement isn’t usually a onetime type of deal. It’s not worth it to the broker. Too much risk, not enough return.”

“There are probably plenty more receipts. We just haven’t found them yet.”

Bill asked what this was about. Jesse explained about Chris Grimm.

Bill asked, “You think the kid’s dead?”

“I do.”

“You headed back up to Paradise after we finish?”

“One more stop.”

“Where?”

“Nowhere that would interest you.”

“You sure about that?” Bill said.

“We’ll never know.”

Bill held his hands up in surrender. “I get it. Never mind. You should come back for a meeting down here when you can. We’ll do dinner afterward.”

“Sounds good. I know a place that has great Armenian food.”

Bill gave Jesse another sideways glance but kept quiet and finished his coffee.