“I was a pitcher,” Healy said.
“Phillies igned me.”
“And?”
“And the war came and I went. When I came home there was the wife, the kids. I went on the cops.”
“Miss it?” Jesse said.
“Every day,” Healy said.
Jesse nodded. They were both silent for a moment. Healy took another small sip of scotch.
“So what have we got,” he said.
“Got her I.D.‘d,” Jesse said.
“Name’s Tammy Portugal.
Twenty-eight years old, divorced, two kids. Lived on the pond, other end of town. Left the kids with her mother yesterday afternoon, her alimony check always arrived on this date and the mother always took the kids, give her daughter a break, let her spend some of the alimony.
Tammy was supposed to pick the kids up at noon today.“
Jesse glanced at his watch without really seeing it.
“Yesterday.
When she didn’t show, the mother called us.“
“Where’s the husband?” Healy
said.
“Don’t know. Mother says he took off two years ago, right after the divorce. Says he always sends his alimony on time. But she doesn’t know where he is.”
“And the alimony check came today?”
“Yesterday.” Again Jesse did the automatic glance at his watch. “Day before, actually.”
“So she must have cashed it before she went out,” Healy said.
“Yeah, and we could trace it. We’ll check on that in the morning. We didn’t get all of this until the bank closed.
Even if she cashed it someplace else,“ Jesse said,
”it will probably clear through the Para!ise Bank, and the president is one of our selectmen.“
“So he’ll be cooperative.”
“Probably,” Jesse said.
Healy looked at him and waited. Jesse didn’t add to the
“probably.” Healy let it slide. Jesse saw him let it slide, and also saw him file it away. Stone has some reservations about the bank president.
“You got her movements established, prior to death?”
Healy said.
“Not yet. Thought the M.E. might help us on that.”
“He might,” Healy said. “She had
drunk a fair amount of alcohol.”
“I figured. And, single kid, twenty-eight, night out, she probably went to a place where she could meet guys.”
“Narrows it down,” Healy said.
“Well, maybe it does,” Jesse said.
“I’m guessing she didn’t go clubbing in Boston. Not many people from this town go into Boston.”
“Christ no,” Healy said. “Must
be fifteen miles away.”
“This is an insular town,” Jesse said.
“She went clubbing, I figure she went around here.”
“Including Route One?”
“Yeah.”
“So you only got about five hundred clubs to check.”
“We’re talking to people who knew her. She may have had some favorite plaes. Most women don’t like to go to a strange place alone. She probably went to the same places or a few of the same places every time.”
“I can give you some help along Route
One,” Healy said.
