“Slade a cop?”
“Yes, Barnstable police.”
“Okay. A hundred a day and expenses. The expenses are going to include a motel room and a lot of meals. I don’t want to commute back and forth from Boston every day.”
“Whatever it costs, I’ll pay. You want something up front?”
“Harv, if you do run for President I will be your advance man.”
He smiled his weak smile again. I wasn’t taking his mind off his troubles.
“How much you want?”
“Five hundred.”
He took a long wallet from his inside coat pocket and took five hundred-dollar bills out of it and gave them to me. I couldn’t see how much was left in the wallet. I folded them up and stuck them in my pants pocket and tried to look like they were joining others.
“I’ll come down in the morning. You be home?”
“Yeah. I’m on Ocean Street, eighteen Ocean Street. When do you think you’ll get there? I got just a ton of work to do. Jesus, what a time for her to walk out on us.”
“I’ll be there at nine o’clock. If you got pictures of her, get them ready, I’ll have copies made. If you have any letters, phone bills, charge-card receipts, that sort of thing, dig them out, I’ll want to see them. Check stubs? List of friends or family she might go to? How about another man?”
“Pam? Naw. She’s not interested much in sex.”
“She might be interested in love.”
“I give her that, Spenser. All she could ever use.”
“Well, whatever. How about the kids? Can I talk in front of them?”
“Yeah, we don’t hide things. They know she took off. They’re old enough anyway, the youngest is twelve.”
“They have any thoughts on their mother’s whereabouts?”
“I don’t think so. They say they don’t.”
“But you’re not certain?”
“It’s just, I’m not sure they’d tell me. I mean I haven’t talked with them much lately as much as I should. I don’t know for sure that they’re leveling with me. Especially the girls.”
“I have that feeling all the time about everybody. Don’t feel bad.”
“Easy for you.”
“Yeah, you’re right. You have anything else to tell me?”
He shook his head.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow at nine.”
We shook hands.
“You know how to get there?”
“Yes,” I said. “I know Hyannis pretty well. I’ll find you.”
“Will you find her, Spenser?”
“Yep.”
Chapter 2
When Susan Silverman came back from her Coke I was sitting at the desk with the five one-hundred-dollar bills spread out in front of me.
“Whose picture is on a one-hundred-dollar bill?” I said.
“Nelson Rockefeller.”
“Wrong.”
“David Rockefeller?”
“Never mind.”
“Laurance Rockefeller?”
“Where would you like to go to lunch?”
“You shouldn’t have shown me the money. I was ready to settle for Ugi’s steak and onion subs. Now I’m thinking about Pier 4.”
“Pier 4 it is. Think I’ll have to change?”
“At least wipe the sweat off your chest.”
“Come on, we’ll go back to my place and suit up.”
