'Hey, Chief,' Vivian said, 'I didn't see ya come in.'
'S'okay, Viv.'
'Want a coffee an' Danish?'
'Just coffee.'
'Refill for you?'
'Yes, thanks.'
'Comin' up.'
Colin said, 'So what are you going to do?'
'Nothing. I mean, I'm not cruising around looking for what he calls weirdos.'
'What does he call weirdos?'
Vivian placed a cup of coffee in front of Hallock and filled Colin's cup.
When she was gone Hallock said, 'He says, 'You got any homos around here?' Well, Jesus, Maguire, this is a resort town a hundred miles from New York City, it's like asking you got any Jews in Israel.'
Colin laughed. 'A quarter of the businesses are run by gays, from what I've seen.'
'You'd better believe it. You think I'm going to pull them in for questioning? I mean, for instance, can you feature me dragging in Harriet and Ginny from the card shop, giving them the third?'
Colin shook his head.
'Let the bastard make a federal case against me, I'm not wasting my time with his bullshit. Not going to embarrass a lot of nice folks 'cause this little prick's a Falwell follower or whatever. You start pulling in what he calls weirdos, next thing you have him arresting all the Democrats, or all the blonds with blue eyes, if you see what I mean.' Hallock took a large swallow of coffee. 'Ah, hell, Maguire, it's a dog's life.'
He stifled his laughter. 'C'mon, Chief, it's not that bad.'
'No? I'll tell you, it's pretty bad, bringing in this hotshot from the troopers, telling me how to run an investigation when he doesn't know his dick from his elbow. Not my fault this killer's some smart Joe. Jesus, Maguire, not a goddamn clue in three murders. No prints, no hair samples, no blood samples, not a goddamn thing.' His body slumped in the booth as if the puppeteer had dropped his strings.
Colin thought Hallock looked old. 'It's tough, Chief, I know. But what about your plan?'
'Oh, yeah, the plan,' he said unenthusiastically.
'You sounded excited about it on the phone.'
'I don't know, it seems like a million-to-one shot now.'
'Tell me anyway.'
Hallock outlined the plan for Colin, filling him in on his early morning meeting with the women, ending with his idea of the questionnaire.
'What kind of questionnaire?'
'That's where you come in. I want something that sounds like a survey, not too long, but meaningful, give us an idea of the person. See who we can rule out. Narrow it down.'
'You realize the killer may not have a phone?'
'Yeah, I know. Might not have a phone; might not be an A; if it is an A, might not be the initial of a name. Yeah, I know. But I got to do something, Maguire. I got to try.'
'Okay, let's think about the questionnaire.'
They sat in the Paradise for more than an hour, trying hundreds of ideas, rejecting most. In the end they came up with ten questions. Colin read them out to Hallock.
'One. Ask if respondent is the person listed in the phone book. (If yes go to Two. If no ask to speak to that person. If not at home find out when he will be home. Thank respondent, hang up. If the respondent is the one listed and a woman go to Two and Three.)
'Two. Were you watching TV Friday night, May twenty-ninth? (If yes go to Three. If no go to Four.)
'Three. What program? (When they tell you, thank them and hang up.)
'Four. Were you at home on that night? (If yes continue. If no go to Eight.)
'Five. Were you home alone or with friends? (If alone go to Six. If with friends go to Seven.)
'Six. What were you doing?
'Seven. What were you and friends doing?
'Eight. Were you at a movie, out to dinner, with friends, other? (If respondent was with friends somewhere other than band concert go to Ten. If at band concert go to Nine.)
'Nine. Did you enjoy the concert?
'Ten. Will you be watching TV tonight? Thank respondent, say good-bye.'
'That's not half bad,' Hallock said.
'You ought to get something out of that.'
'It's worth a shot. Don't know how to thank you, Maguire.'
'Forget it.'
'This was off the record, right? I mean, you won't print this.'
'No.'
'Or tell anybody about it?'
'Not even Mark?'
'Specially not him. He's not in my cheering section, if you know what I mean.'
'I'll try, Chief, that's all I can promise. He is my boss.'
'Do the best you can.'
'I will.'
Outside, Colin and Hallock stood in front of the Paradise feeling the quiet of the town.
'It's like a frigging morgue,' Hallock observed. 'Usually starts jumping by this time of year. I gotta get this bastard.'
'I'm sure you will, Chief,' Colin said.
But he wasn't sure at all.
LOOKING BACK-25 YEARS AGO
Early in January Roy Chute advertised in The Seaville Gazette for a valuable camera he had lost. The months went by with no response. Mr. Chute, who thoroughly believes in the fundamental honesty of the average individual, refused to give up hope for the safe return of the camera. One day last week he and his wife were out. Upon their return they found the missing camera on the table in the living room. Where the camera had been for five months or who returned it he had no idea. But his belief in the honesty of human nature was verified.
TWENTY
It was one of those days Joe Carroll hated more than life itself. No Thank God It's Friday for him. And if this morning's breakfast was an example of how the day was going to go, he was screwed.
'Mom, how many years have I been asking you to make me four-minute eggs, huh?' The hardened yolk fell with a thunk into his bowl.
'Look, Joey, I got a lot on my mind, okay? Your stupid eggs aren't the only thing I gotta worry about, all right? I got Billy with crusts I gotta trim, and Tommy with Sugarboats he hates and-'
'What's Sugarboats?'
'Cereal. And Lana with pimples so she's crying her eyes out and-'
'Why do you give the kid a cereal he hates?'
'Last week it was his favorite. This week he'd rather be dead than look at it,' Mary explained.
'What pimples? I didn't see any pimples.'
'On her chin. She's got two pimples on her chin.'
