WHEN BETH JACKSON came out of Pinnacle Fitness and into the lobby, I was waiting for her.
“Buy you coffee,” I said.
She looked at me as if I was something she stepped in.
“I don’t want coffee,” she said.
“I’ll buy you whatever you want,” I said.
“I don’t want anything,” she said.
“Well, here’s the thing,” I said. “I’m going to keep annoying you until you talk with me for a little while, so why not get it over with now.”
“If you continue to annoy me,” she said, “I shall call the police.”
“Sure,” I said. “In the meantime, lemme buy you some coffee and talk with you about Boo.”
She stared at me for a moment, then sighed.
“Very well,” she said, and stalked ahead of me to the snack bar.
I knew Boo would get her, and if it didn’t, it would mean whoever Vinnie saw wasn’t Boo. If it was Boo, she would have to talk to me enough to find out what I knew. We ordered coffee.
“What about this Boo person, or whatever Boo is?” she said.
“Boo is the slugger used to work for your husband,” I said.
“He and a guy named Zel.”
The coffee arrived. I added some sugar and took a swallow. “Oh,” she said, “Boo. I hadn’t thought of Boo since Chet died.”
“Until Monday,” I said.
“Monday?”
“Boo stopped you in front of your house. You and he argued. You shoved him and went in. He stayed outside for a while and looked at your door.”
She didn’t say anything. She looked at me silently for a long time. I let her look. I was interested in what she’d come up with.
Finally she said, “Are you spying on me?”
“Yuh,” I said.
“Why?”
“What did Boo want?” I said.
“Boo,” she said. “So that’s who that was.”
“You didn’t recognize him,” I said.
“No. I mean, I thought he looked familiar, but… no.”
“And what did he want?” I said.
“Oh, God,” she said. “I have no idea. I thought he was some kind of stumblebum, you know? I just wanted him to leave me alone.”
I nodded.
“And I object to you lurking around spying.”
“Noted,” I said.
“Why are you doing that?”
“Got nothing else to do,” I said.
“Do you think I’m doing something bad?”
“Are you?” I said.
“Gary and I are just trying to live our lives,” she said, “in the midst of terrible tragedy.”
“Boo want money?” I said.
“No… I don’t know… I just wanted to get away from him,” she said.
“What’s the first thing he said to you?”
Her face got sort of squeezed up. Her cheeks reddened a little.
“I won’t talk about this anymore,” she said. “I’ve done nothing wrong, and I won’t let you question me as if I have.”
She stood up abruptly and walked to the elevator. I watched her go.
Spenser, the grand inquisitor.