“Not yet.”
Kelly leaned against the wall by the door and folded his arms. Garner stared at Norman Shaw. Shaw was sitting beside Jesse’s desk. He had a bad hangover. His face was stiff. His movements were careful. His hands shook a little.
“I want a lawyer,” Garner said.
“You’re not under arrest,” Jesse said.
“Then I want to leave.”
“Be in your best interest,” Jesse said, “to stay.”
Garner looked at Kelly. Kelly shrugged.
“Long walk back to Boston,” he said.
“I want to call Gino.”
“Alan,” Kelly said. “Right now we have you for a few small pimp charges. You might get away with no time.”
“We could jack that up to murder,” Jesse said.
Garner sat down, suddenly, beside Shaw. His face had gotten smaller. He had trouble swallowing.
“What murder?”
Shaw said, “Should I have a lawyer?”
“I don’t know,” Jesse said. “Should you?”
“I haven’t done anything,” Shaw said.
Jesse nodded.
“You know a kid named Billie Bishop?” Jesse said to Shaw.
“Of course not.”
“Why ‘of course not’?”
“Well, I mean, I know who I know, for God’s sake.”
“And you don’t know Billie Bishop?”
“No.”
Jesse looked at Garner.
“Alan?”
“What?”
“Does he know Billie Bishop?”
“You said I wouldn’t…” Garner said. “You promised I wouldn’t have to testify.”
“I lied,” Jesse said. “Does he know Billie Bishop?”
“I can’t… Gino…”
“One of you will go down for this,” Jesse said. “You want to be it?”
“Down for what?”
“Killing the kid,” Jesse said.
“I didn’t kill anybody.”
Jesse waited. Kelly was still and expressionless leaning on the door. Shaw seemed to have shrunk in his chair.
“I just introduced him to her.”
“Shaw to Billie?” Jesse said.
Shaw made a stifled sound as if he’d been hit.
“Yes.”
“You deliver?”
“Deliver?”
“Do you bring the girls to Shaw?”
“Usually yes. I mean, these girls don’t usually have a car.”
“And if they did they’re not old enough to drive,” Kelly said.
“Every one of them told me she was at least twenty,” Shaw said suddenly.
His voice seemed high and unnatural, almost petulant. Nobody responded.
“And you drive them to the motel?”
