“I can understand your concern.”
“Hasn?t a damn thing to do with that. Chief and Doe are family to me. I won?t stand by and see either
of them hurt.”
“I wasn?t planning on it.”
“Anything else would be tomfoolery,” he snapped. The molasses in his tone had changed to flint.
“Could be there?s more to it than that,” I suggested.
“Now what the hell?s that supposed to mean?”
“How long do you think you can keep this under the table? How long can Harry Raines play dumb?”
“He ain?t playing nothin?,” the sheriff snapped vehemently. “If Morehead was doin? his job, none of
this would?ve happened.”
“That?s bullshit and you know it. If the Committee had done its job, none of this would?ve happened.”
At my mention of the Committee, he reared back as if I had slapped him. I went on before he could
say anything.
“That makes you as much to blame for what?s happening here as anybody. I could understand
Donleavy and Seaborn being naive enough to swallow Tagliani?s line. You?re the sheriff, Mr. Stoney,
lord high protector of Dunetown and all its peasants and all its kings. You should have tumbled to
therm. Why dump it off on somebody else?”
“Doughboy, I?m beginning to think you?re suicidal,” he said softly, and with enough menace that it
made me pucker a little.
“Okay,” I said, “I?ll put it on the table. How clean is Raines?”
“Don?t be silly,” he snapped. “You think Harry Raines had anything to do with this?”
I said, “If anybody local sold out to the Taglianis, they?re looking down the throat of a RICO case.
And that means you, Harry Raines, or anybody else.”
“You have to prove racketeering on the Taglianis,” he said. “From what I hear, you ain?t got doodlyshit on any of them. You?re gonna bust out here, just like you did up north. They got you buffaloed,
doughboy. Admit it.”
I wanted to tell the crafty old bastard more, but I decided not to. Instead, I said:
“If he?s dirty, he?s going to get turned up.”
“I said, don?t be silly, boy. Harry Raines is as honest as a Swiss pocket watch. You?re dreamin? if you
think different. Dangerous dreamin?. Harry, Sam Donleavy, me, we all did our best to keep Dunetown
clean. Sounds to me like you may be tryin? to put a size two shoe on a size ten foot.”
“On the other hand, if the shoe fits..
I let the rest of the sentence dangle.
“Let me put it to you straight, doughboy,” he said with unmistakable authority. “You stay away from
