down and rubbed her back.
“Have you any scotch,” Rita said.
“I do.”
“With soda?”
“Coming right up.”
He prepared two drinks and brought her one.
“What won’t I like,” Jesse said as he sat down next to her.
“Rules first.”
“What rules?”
“We’re gonna play a little game called ‘privileged information.’”
“Meaning?”
“We’re going to protect the integrity of the defense counsel.”
“How do we do that?”
“This conversation never happened.”
“That bad?”
“I think so.”
“Okay. It never happened. What’s up?”
“Goodwin canceled our appointment and refused to set up another.”
“Did he offer a reason why?”
“He did not.”
“That’s strange.”
“There’s more. Tony Devlin, my A-list investigator, tells me that the executives at state Water and Power claim not to have heard from William J. Goodwin for several years.”
Jesse didn’t say anything.
“Tony knows someone there, and he made a routine call in an effort to confirm who it was that rebuffed Goodwin’s appeals for a rate reevaluation. His contact did some sniffing around and then informed Tony there was no record of any recent meetings between their personnel and Goodwin. The contact’s research identified Goodwin as having once been actively engaged in dealings with W and P, but not for a while.”
Jesse sipped his drink.
“And that’s just for openers,” Rita said. “Tony took a drive up here in order to have a look around. He started with Goodwin’s house, which was nothing out of the ordinary. Oscar LaBrea’s residence, on the other hand, was a different story. Our Mr. LaBrea lives in a two-story town house located on Osgood’s Point, which Tony describes as a high-end neighborhood. He probed further and discovered that the town house is appraised for something north of a million dollars.”
Jesse didn’t say anything.
“Isn’t this guy a meter reader?”
“Maybe he logged a lot of overtime.”
“Don’t kid around, Jesse. He’s living in the lap of luxury.”
“Okay.”
“Normally we would subpoena a suspect’s financial records. In order to get a peek at bank statements, investment accounts, stuff like that. But because Tony is so well connected, he was able to sniff out some information without a subpoena.”
“I won’t like this either, will I?”
“Mr. LaBrea is sitting on more than a million dollars’ worth of top-grade investments. All purchased within the last few years.”
Jesse didn’t say anything.
“Odd, don’t you think,” Rita said.
“What about Goodwin?”
“Hard to say. He lives modestly in a house he’s owned for more than a decade.”
“And his finances?”
“He’s made a great many contributions to water-starved countries and water-related enterprises. The accountants are going to have a field day sorting them all out. But in contrast to Mr. Goodwin, it appears that Oscar LaBrea was raiding the cookie jar for his personal enrichment. We’re double- and triple-checking it, of course.”
“Yikes,” Jesse said.
“Exactly.”
Jesse was silent for a while.
“What are you going to do,” Rita said.
“I’ll have a look for myself.”
“I don’t like this, Jesse. You’ll want to be careful.”
58
Jesse pulled up in front of Goodwin’s modest Colonial. The small house was partially hidden behind a row of privet hedges and featured an immaculate lawn bordered by crab apple and dogwood trees, Japanese maples, hydrangeas, and a pair of stately American elm trees.
Jesse rang the bell, and after a while he heard William Goodwin’s distinctive voice.
“Who is it,” he said.
“It’s Jesse. Please open the door.”
“Go away.”
“Please let me in.”
“I’ve suffered enough.”
“If you don’t open the door, I’ll call for backup and we’ll break in.”
After a moment, the door swung open.
Goodwin stood aside and motioned for Jesse to enter.
The house was furnished simply but tastefully. The main room featured overflowing floor-to-ceiling bookcases.
“What can I offer you,” Goodwin said.
“Nothing, thank you.”
They wandered into the living room. Goodwin was silent.
“I gather you’re refusing to speak with Rita Fiore.”
Goodwin looked away.
“Why?”
“I’m fearful,” Goodwin said.
“Of?”
“The mess.”
“What mess?”
“My mess. Oscar’s mess.”
“What’s Oscar’s mess?”
Goodwin didn’t say anything.
“What’s Oscar’s mess,” Jesse said again.
“I believe that Oscar was embezzling.”
“You mean over and above what you and he had been stealing together?”
“The money that we gathered together was used for honorable purposes.”
“Meaning?”
“We didn’t enrich ourselves with it, if that’s what you’re suggesting. We used it to right a great many wrongs.”
Jesse didn’t say anything.
“Oscar appears to have changed the game.”
