Read Online Gin Palace 02 - The Bone Orchard by Daniel Judson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Daniel Judson
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“so if what I’m telling you is old news, bear with me.” He paused a moment. “From what I understand two men tried to sack Augie at his house a few hours ago. He shot one of them in the chest twice. He’s dead. The other took off. Right now there’s a lab crew at his house, gathering evidence. All I know is they took Augie in for questioning, after which they booked him on the charge of manslaughter.”
I thought of the trail of bloody footsteps I had left through Augie’s house.
“Apparently, he shot from his front door an unarmed man standing on his lawn, twenty feet away.”
“Augie said the man drew a weapon.”
“Well, the Chief’s boys are saying different. They found no weapon, nothing, not even an empty holster. I’ve sent a lawyer to meet Augie for the arraignment. I think we should be prepared for the worst, considering the personalities at play here, considering what’s going on behind the scenes.”
I turned my head and looked at him then. “Have you talked to Augie?”
“Briefly. He called me when they booked him. He said they questioned him for maybe twenty minutes and then the word came down to book him.” He took another sip from his coffee and rested the cup back on the desk top. He was wearing dark wool pants and densely knit fisherman’s sweater and dark shoes. None of them looked cheap.
“Is he okay?”
Frank shrugged. “Yeah, he’s fine. He’s been in worse places.”
“Do you know about the accident?”
“The girl, yeah. I was told Augie pulled her out of the water, but I assume you were there and just took off before the boys showed up.”
“We went back afterward to look around. Augie was convinced the police did a half-assed job investigating the scene. He said it seemed to him that they were cleaning up more than anything else.”
“What do you think?”
“I didn’t see anything, except for what looked like the marks left by a spike strip.”
“Anything else?”
“After Augie dropped me off I got jumped by someone who tried hard to convince me to mind my own business.”
“And when Augie got home the same thing was waiting for him. Except for him they sent two.”
“It seems so.”
“Did you get a look at the guy who jumped you?”
“Not at his face, not enough to recognize him if I saw him again. He’ll probably be walking with a limp for a while, that’s all I can tell you. Do you have any idea who the girl in the Corvette was?”
“Not yet. From what I’m told they haven’t notified next of kin. So they either don’t know who she is or they’re not saying just yet. Whatever the case, there’s an awful lot of running around next door for what little seems to be getting accomplished. I’d like to find out why that is.”
I turned my head again and looked back out at the sky beyond the bare branches of the old trees lining Main. I had no interest in town politics, or benefiting from the suffering of others. To Frank every misfortune that befell another was a potential point of leverage for him to use as he saw fit. It was hard for me to think of the young girl Augie and I had tried to save as some kind of gift to Frank. I could remember clearly now the point I had reached last year, when I turned Frank’s office upside down. I was a drunk then, and that contributed to my rage. It also explained what I was doing working for him in the first place. But I wasn’t a drunk now. I could see things with bare attention, I could see things for what they were. I could see clearly where this meeting was going, and that I had no desire go there. All I had to do was tell Frank to go to hell and walk away and spend today washing dishes for an unhappy and ill-tempered boss.
But I also knew he wouldn’t make it that easy for me to do that. Augie needed help. Frank would know what to do. I wouldn’t.
“One thing about the girl,” Frank said. “She was wearing a high school ring. From Southampton High. The date on it makes her a senior. Maybe
I thought of the trail of bloody footsteps I had left through Augie’s house.
“Apparently, he shot from his front door an unarmed man standing on his lawn, twenty feet away.”
“Augie said the man drew a weapon.”
“Well, the Chief’s boys are saying different. They found no weapon, nothing, not even an empty holster. I’ve sent a lawyer to meet Augie for the arraignment. I think we should be prepared for the worst, considering the personalities at play here, considering what’s going on behind the scenes.”
I turned my head and looked at him then. “Have you talked to Augie?”
“Briefly. He called me when they booked him. He said they questioned him for maybe twenty minutes and then the word came down to book him.” He took another sip from his coffee and rested the cup back on the desk top. He was wearing dark wool pants and densely knit fisherman’s sweater and dark shoes. None of them looked cheap.
“Is he okay?”
Frank shrugged. “Yeah, he’s fine. He’s been in worse places.”
“Do you know about the accident?”
“The girl, yeah. I was told Augie pulled her out of the water, but I assume you were there and just took off before the boys showed up.”
“We went back afterward to look around. Augie was convinced the police did a half-assed job investigating the scene. He said it seemed to him that they were cleaning up more than anything else.”
“What do you think?”
“I didn’t see anything, except for what looked like the marks left by a spike strip.”
“Anything else?”
“After Augie dropped me off I got jumped by someone who tried hard to convince me to mind my own business.”
“And when Augie got home the same thing was waiting for him. Except for him they sent two.”
“It seems so.”
“Did you get a look at the guy who jumped you?”
“Not at his face, not enough to recognize him if I saw him again. He’ll probably be walking with a limp for a while, that’s all I can tell you. Do you have any idea who the girl in the Corvette was?”
“Not yet. From what I’m told they haven’t notified next of kin. So they either don’t know who she is or they’re not saying just yet. Whatever the case, there’s an awful lot of running around next door for what little seems to be getting accomplished. I’d like to find out why that is.”
I turned my head again and looked back out at the sky beyond the bare branches of the old trees lining Main. I had no interest in town politics, or benefiting from the suffering of others. To Frank every misfortune that befell another was a potential point of leverage for him to use as he saw fit. It was hard for me to think of the young girl Augie and I had tried to save as some kind of gift to Frank. I could remember clearly now the point I had reached last year, when I turned Frank’s office upside down. I was a drunk then, and that contributed to my rage. It also explained what I was doing working for him in the first place. But I wasn’t a drunk now. I could see things with bare attention, I could see things for what they were. I could see clearly where this meeting was going, and that I had no desire go there. All I had to do was tell Frank to go to hell and walk away and spend today washing dishes for an unhappy and ill-tempered boss.
But I also knew he wouldn’t make it that easy for me to do that. Augie needed help. Frank would know what to do. I wouldn’t.
“One thing about the girl,” Frank said. “She was wearing a high school ring. From Southampton High. The date on it makes her a senior. Maybe
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