“They told me he works at the GE in Lynn,”
Simpson said. “I’ll
call them in the morning. Anthony says he’ll stay here.
I’ll get
Eddie to come over in the morning and give him a break.”
“Do that,” Jesse said.
Perkins got into his truck and drove away. DeAngelo settled in behind the wheel in his cruiser in front of the house.
“I gotta get going, Jesse,” Simpson said.
Jesse nodded. Simpson shifted his weight a little.
“You, ah, gonna be all right?” he said.
“Yes.”
“Okay,” Simpson said.
He walked back toward his cruiser. And stopped and turned back toward Jesse.
“I’m sorry about Abby,” he said.
“Thanks, Suit.”
Simpson got into his cruiser, started it, and drove down North Side Drive. In the rearview mirror he could see that Jesse was still standing where he’d left him.
36
The Paradise selectmen called a special town meeting, which authorized a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers. A telephone hot line was established and the number publicized statewide. The Paradise police were working twelve-hour shifts, and the hot line was manned in the town clerk’s
office by off-duty firemen. A meeting room in the Paradise Town Hall had been converted to a press headquarters. Vans from the Boston television stations were parked in the public works lot behind the town hall, and almost every day a television reporter was doing a live report standing in front of the Paradise Police Station.
Police in Paradise are pressing their search today for the
killer or killers in a series of seemingly random murders that have terrorized this affluent North Shore community. In a news conference earlier today, Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone said the full resources of his department, augmented by the Massachusetts State Police are being brought to bear on this investigation. But to this point the reign of terror continues.
Reporting live in Paradise, this is Katy Morton. Back to you, Larry.
That’s a tense situation up there, Katy.
Now to other news,
an heroic Siamese cat today …
Jesse shut off the television. With him in his office was a state police sergeant named Vargas.
“Jeez,” he said.
“Didn’t you want to know about that
cat?”
“I’ve got enough excitement in my
life,” Jesse said. “How many
people can you give me?”
“Captain says we’ll continue to help with the investigation, and
he wants to know what else you need. How many patrols you got out now?”
“Five cars, two shifts.”
“Ten people,” Vargas said. “How
many people you got on the
force?”
“Twelve,” Jesse said. “Including
me. Molly Crane covers the desk
days, and I stay here at night.”
“You’re swamped,” Vargas said.
“I’ll get some of our guys to
cover the night patrols. Captain says to tell you that we aren’t
taking this thing over. You’re still in charge of it.
I’m just
