'Still don't excite me,' DiBella said. 'We got the shooters. We got their confessions. Los Diablos are Boston's problem, and I'm not sure Animal is a major threat to civil order in Bethel County.'
'Animal is small change,' I said. 'But I still want to know why.'
'And you think if you know why, you'll be able to clear the Clark kid?' DiBella said.
'I won't know that until I know why,' I said.
DiBella nodded thoughtfully.
'I don't know how smart you are,' he said. 'But I'll give you stubborn.'
'May be better than smart,' I said.
'May be,' DiBella said. 'Both is even better.'
Pearl exhausted the yogurt carton and abandoned the remnants. She came and sat next to me and looked hopeful.
'So,' DiBella said. 'Fine. Go to it. But pick up the chewed carton first.'
Which I did. A man's only as good as his word.
Chapter 28
I SAT WITH Lily Ellsworth in a large, domed-glass conservatory with a view of the Bethel River, which moved in big blue meanders across the floor of the Bethel Valley under the high, cloudless sky.
'What have you to report?' she said.
'I think he probably did it,' I said.
'I didn't hire you to tell me he did it,' Mrs. Ellsworth said.
'Yes, ma'am,' I said.
She sat very straight in her chair, her hands clasped motionless in her lap. She was perfectly groomed and perfectly still. Under her careful makeup, her skin had a healthy, outdoorsy look to it. Her hair was white, not silver, but white, and brushed back softly off her face. She was quite beautiful.
'Did you ever give money to your grandson?' I said.
'Often,' she said.
'Large amounts?' I said.
'What might seem a large amount to you,' she said, 'might seem a very small amount to me.'
I nodded. I did the math in my head. 'Two or three thousand dollars?' I said.
'I have given him that much.'
'Often?'
'No, last winter,' she said. 'He needed it.'
'Did he say what for?'
'No,' she said. 'And I did not ask. I love my grandson, Mr. Spenser.'
I nodded.
'Can you recall exactly when last winter?' I said.
'Not really.'
'Did you write a check?'
'Yes.'
'Could you look it up?' I said.
'Why is that necessary?'
'I believe he bought some guns with the money,' I said. 'It might help to know when.'
'He did not buy guns,' she said.
'Ma'am,' I said. 'They already have him cold. Grant has named him as the other shooter. He's confessed to it. I don't have to help convict him. Anything I can find out will be useful only on his behalf.'
'Or you won't use it?' she said.
'Correct,' I said.
She nodded slowly. We looked out through the glass at the slow lawn that declined toward the valley. Along one side was a stand of hydrangea, their big blossoms moving in the soft wind.
'It is four-ten in the afternoon,' she said. 'Would you care for a cocktail?'
'That would be nice,' I said.
She stood effortlessly and walked briskly out of the glass room. I watched the hydrangea blossoms move for a while. She came back with a tray with two glasses on it.
'Gin and tonic,' she said. 'I suppose I should have asked.'
