Crawling things.
Slugs.
Centipedes.
Rot.
Ugh.
We find out FitzGibbon’s more than just a fatuous dickhead.
He’s a psychopathic fatuous dickhead.
He set up his son.
He killed Larry Silver.
And framed poor Jules.
Right.
And then what? I asked.
He goes to jail.
He goes to jail. Right. And?
You’re a hero.
Am I?
Sure. Front page of the Post.
Get an agent.
Book deal.
Movie rights.
Syndication.
You’d better be right.
How so?
Think about it, I said.
I gave her the under-the-eyebrows look.
Ah.
Right.
The firm just lost its biggest client.
I’m not on probation anymore.
No, you’re not.
Instead, I’m fired.
You’re fired.
And so are you.
Darn, she said. Aiding and abetting. You’re right.
And even if by some miracle we’re not fired, the firm goes under anyway.
Fifteen million in billings.
Up in smoke.
Unless the twins hire us. Having inherited the business.
Yes. That might happen. They’ll be so grateful. That we’ve incarcerated their dad.
I see your point.
We sat in silence for a while. Contemplating the ramifications. The imponderables. The tangled web.
Oh, fuck it, Dorita said at last.
In what sense might you mean that?
The usual sense. The ‘fuck it’ sense. Fuck it. Let’s do the right thing. Let’s do it right. The consequences be damned.
They’re unknowable anyway.
We can only calculate the probabilities.
Let’s not go there. Too complicated.
It’s so much simpler.
What is?
To do the right thing. Indeed.
Yes. Do it right. Do our job. Hell, Warwick handed this crap to you. How can he complain, just because you do it right?
And anyway, who says FitzGibbon did anything wrong?
He could be innocent, I suppose.
Of this, anyway.
Of this.
Sure. Maybe the maid did it.
Or that old lady next door.
The one dressed in the Anthony Perkins outfit.
Hmm. You hadn’t told me about her. Are you holding back on me again?
I could see Ramon in that outfit. And speaking of the twins again …
Ramon, Raul, she said. Trips right off the tongue. I wonder if FitzGibbon made up the names too?
You’d think he’d have enough imagination to come up with ‘Carlos’ or ‘Pedro.’ Something that started with a different letter.
Yes. A viable theory. We’ll keep it on the list.
Good. I like to think I’m making some kind of contribution to the enterprise.
Oh please, darling. You’re the boss. Isn’t that enough for you?
The boss? This is news. When was the title bestowed?
Just now, she said with an indulgent smile. I knew it would make you feel better.
You were right. I feel much better.
So, you were saying?
About those twins. I think we ought to dig around a little. I mean, why did FitzGibbon keep that bit of information from me?
Did it ever come up?
Well, one would think, when discussing wills and trusts and mothers and sons and things, that it would be natural to mention, at least, the existence of two potential heirs. Besides, one of them was right there in FitzGibbon’s office. FitzGibbon said he was Security.
Ah. That is indeed curious. Or not. Would someone normally introduce his son to a perfect stranger?
Perhaps not. But it would be more believable if he’d said nothing. Why say he was Security?
Maybe he is.
Part-time job for Daddy Warbucks?
Right.
But still. And somehow Jules never mentioned them either. Which I find even stranger.
Had other things on his mind, I guess.
Maybe. But he was awfully defensive when I asked him about them.
Why would he want to hide them from you?
I’m not saying he did. But it’s a possibility. Have to keep it on the list. No evidence to exclude it. Implausibility is not a criterion for removal. Many things seem implausible, until more facts are in.
Quarks.
Not the first example that comes to mind, but yes. Quarks.
The indeterminacy of the quantum world.
Right. Although right now I’d prefer to stay on a somewhat less rarefied plane, thank you.
Oh, all right. I thought you liked that kind of stuff. I do. I do. But right now I’d like to keep playing unsophisticated gumshoe, if you don’t mind.
I don’t mind.
Okay. So. My point is, we know a lot of stuff. Some of it makes perfect sense. Is irrefutable. Or close to it. There’s a body. It’s homicide. Jules and the former owner of the body had a fight earlier. Not long earlier. If he’s convicted, he’ll be out of luck on the trusts. FitzGibbon hates his son, and would be happy if he lost the trusts. All of
