'What was his name?' I said.
'Didn't say his name.'
'What did he look like?' I said.
'Look like? Hell, I don't know. Tall guy, thin. Real good clothes. You know him?'
'I might,' I said. 'What'd you tell him.'
'Same thing I told you.'
'What'd he say?'
'Nothing really, just listened, thanked me for my time. I figured you had something to do with him showing up.'
'Maybe I did,' I said.
When Mattie Clayman hung up, I called the AG's office and asked for Public Charities. It took a little while, but they had no record of anybody from their office going to see anyone at AIDS Place.
'You're sure?' I said.
There was a pause while the woman on the phone thought about being sure.
'We are a government agency,' she said finally.
'Which sort of means you are not sure of anything,' I said.
'Maybe.'
After she was off the phone I sat for a while and looked at my yellow pad. There were probably fifty thousand tall thin guys with good clothes in the metropolitan area. On the other hand, one of them was, in fact, Richard Gavin. The phone was working for me, even better than the yellow pad. I picked it up again and dialed Rita Fiore. May as well go with the hot hand.
'What do you know about Richard Gavin,' I said when Rita answered.
'Just a minute,' she said. 'What about Hi-Rita-how-ya-doin'-beautiful-let's-have-a-drink-real-soon?'
'That too,' I said. 'What about Gavin?'
'Got his own farm. It says Gavin and somebody, but it's just him. Partner went a long time ago. I guess he liked the name.'
'And?'
'And what do you want to know? He's primarily criminal law. His reputation is not very good.'
'Not very good why?' I said. 'Competence or honesty?'
'The latter,' Rita said. 'He's a very clever lawyer.'
'Know any of his clients?'
'Not currently. When I was a prosecutor, he used to represent a lot of mob people on the South Shore. Now I am a mainstream corporate type. Yesterday I found myself looking at a Brooks Brothers catalog for women.'
'Maybe Hawk and I should come over for an intervention.'
'You're too faithful,' she said. 'But Hawk can come over and intervene anytime he wants.'
'This guy Gavin got anything to do with Francis Ronan?' I said.
'Nothing I know about,' Rita said. 'I mean, he may have argued a case before him. Most of us have if we do a lot of trial work.'
'You know him personally?'
'To say hello. I've never been out with him.'
'Puts him in a select group,' I said.
'Yeah,' Rita said, 'you and him.'
'That's only because I'm taken,' I said.
'Small consolation,' Rita said. 'How is the thing going with Ronan?'
'Slowly,' I said.
'Didn't I read someplace that they found a dead person in Brad Whatsis' office?'
'Yes.'
'Things do get vexious, don't they?'
'Rita,' I said, 'you have no idea.'
'Tell me about it over a drink,' she said.
'Where?'
'Boston Harbor Hotel. It's an easy walk for me.'
'Five o'clock,' I said.
