Small crimes bgooj-1 Read online

  I followed him through the office to a small conference room. After I took a seat, he asked whether I'd like some coffee. I told him I would and asked if he had anything to eat. When he came back, he brought me a cup of coffee and three doughnuts on a paper plate.

  He took a seat across from me and clasped his hands behind his head, trying to look calm and in charge, but I could see a mix of eagerness and nervousness in his eyes.

  'Tell me about your proposition,' he said.

  I took a long sip of coffee and then asked him if he ever heard of Manny Vassey.

  He thought for a moment and shook his head. 'Sorry, I've never heard of him.'

  'You should've.'

  'Why's that?'

  'Manny's been running a number of criminal enterprises out of Bradley County for years. Bookmaking, loan sharking, extortion, drugs, prostitution – you name it, he's got his hands in it. And though he operates out of Bradley, his businesses go across the state.'

  'Really? Jeez, I wonder why I've never heard of him before.'

  I shrugged. 'He's a smart man. He pays off the right people and keeps things quiet. Manny's in the hospital now dying of cancer. His psychotic son, Junior, has taken over and is expanding the business. Junior is now manufacturing crystal meth and distributing it through college clubs that he's forcing owners to sell to him.'

  He blinked several times, making a face. 'How much of this can you prove?' All of it.'

  'Do the police know about this?'

  'I don't know about the crystal meth part, but yeah, you got guys on the Bradley police force and in the sheriff s office who know what Manny's been up to. Too many of them are on his payroll to do anything about it.'

  I couldn't read from his expression whether he believed me. He could've either been dumbfounded by the whole thing or thought I was nuts, or maybe that I was trying to use them for some private vendetta.

  'So what's your proposition?' he asked. 'Do you want to be interviewed on the air about this?'

  I shook my head. I want to take a cameraman and reporter out with me and show them Vassey's operations in the works. Where his bookmaking and loan sharking operations are headquartered, his crystal meth lab, show his clubs in the act of distributing it, all of it. And I want it shown tonight on your ten o'clock news.'

  'Wow. I don't know if we could do something like that-'

  'I want a decision now. Otherwise I'm taking this to one of the Boston stations.'

  He looked rattled. 'I can't make this type of decision,' he said. 'The news director will have to agree to this.'

  'Let's talk to him, then.'

  'Her. Eileen Bracket. And she doesn't get in until eleven.’

  ‘Call her up.'

  'I can't do that. I'd be waking her up. Eileen doesn't leave here until midnight every night.'

  I started to stand. He held his hand out to stop me.

  'Wait, okay?' he asked. He bit o» his lip as he tried to make a decision. 'I'll call her from my office. Just wait here, okay?'

  He left the room in a hurry. While waiting, I ate one of the doughnuts and finished my coffee. Then I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind. The next few hours were going to be critical. I had to break Junior's operations wide open for what I had in mind to work.

  It didn't take long for the kid, Wolcott, to come back. As he took a seat across from me, he looked more harried than disheveled. He tossed a pad of paper in front of him and tapped his pen nervously against the edge of the table.

  'Eileen's on her way,' he said. 'It's probably going to take her forty-five minutes to get here. In the meantime, I need some background information.'

  'Go ahead.'

  'How long have you known about this?’

  ‘A long time.'

  'Can you please be more specific. '

  ‘Maybe fifteen years.'

  And you said that other police and sheriff s officers are being paid to ignore Mr. Vassey's illegal businesses?’

  ‘Yes.'

  'Could you give me their names?'

  'No.' I shook my head. 'You can investigate this yourself later and figure out who's on Manny's payroll.’

  ‘You can't give us any names?'

  'No. I'm going to help you expose Junior's operation, but that's all. There is police corruption involved, but you're going to have to discover that yourself.'

  'What about the sheriff of Bradley County?'

  I hesitated for a second as I tried to decide whether that was a lucky guess or if it was common knowledge that Dan was crooked. I shook my head. 'I'm not ratting any police officers. At least not directly.'

  He made a face as if he wanted to argue with me, but it passed. 'Okay,' he said. 'Let's move on. Where are you going to be taking our people today?'

  'What do you mean?'

  'I need the location of this crystal meth lab, you know, and the other places.'

  'If I give you that you won't need me.'

  "That's not why I'm asking for it. We want to do our own checking on these locations. We're going to need to do this if we're going to put a story out by ten tonight.'

  'Sorry. You'll know the locations when I take your people to them.'

  He swallowed back what he wanted to say and then gave kind of a whimsical smile. "There's not much point to this, is there?' he asked.

  'Doesn't seem to be.'

  ‘

  ‘Why don't I leave you alone, then, until Eileen comes.'

  'Sure. I could also use another cup of coffee.'

  He was shaking his head when he left the room, but he brought me back a fresh cup. I didn't wait alone for too long before Eileen Bracket showed up, probably no more than twenty minutes. She was about fifty, thin, with a hawk nose and sharp angles all around. She must've rushed over – her hair was still damp from a shower and she had no makeup on, making her thin angular face appear drab and bloodless. As I looked at her, I couldn't help noticing that she had the palest blue eyes I'd ever seen.

  Wolcott introduced her to me. Shaking her hand was like holding a cold piece of bone. She took a seat across from me and Wolcott pulled up a chair next to her.

  'Steven filled me in on your proposal,' she said. I have one question, Mr. Denton – why?'

  'What do you mean?'

  'Why do you want to do this?'

  'Because I was a lousy cop,' I said. 'I want to make amends for all the years I let people down.' "That's bullshit.'

  'Not completely,' I said. 'Maybe that's not the whole reason, but it's a good part of it.'

  Her lips almost disappeared as they pulled into a thin smile.

  She asked, 'What are you really after – hurting Vassey or some of your fellow cops?'

  'Neither. And I don't have any fellow cops anymore. I haven't had any for almost eight years.'

  'Does this have anything to with the fact that you've obviously been beaten up recently?'

  I shook my head. Absolutely nothing at all to do with that. And I wasn't beaten up. All that happened was I walked into a tree. At least, that's my story.'

  That made her lips pull up a little higher. As she smiled, I couldn't help noticing how pointy her canines were.

  'Can I call you Joe?' she asked.

  'Sure.'

  'What's the urgency, Joe? Why does this have to be broadcast tonight?'

  'Does it matter? I'm handing you the story of the year for your station. And you'll end up having dozens more breaking from this one.'

  'It matters. I don't like being used,' she said.

  'Everything I've said about Vassey and his son is true. So do you want this or not?'

  For a moment I thought she was going to tell me to go screw myself, and I think she surprised herself even more that she didn't. Instead, her smile faded from her face, and she nodded slowly. I guess she wanted the story more than the satisfaction of telling me what I could do with myself.

  'If you're lying about any of this, I'm going to make your life a living hell,' she said.

  All I could think was,
you and everyone else. Instead I simply shrugged. 'I'm not lying about any of this.'

  She turned to Wolcott. 'Steven,' she told him, 'go tell Tina and Eric we have an assignment for them.'

  Wolcott nodded, got up and left the room. As she turned back to me, she showed me her thin smile again. The skin across her cheeks stretched tight against her face.

  'The DA in your county, Phil Coakley, the person you maimed. Tell me about that shooting two days ago.'

  'I had nothing to do with that.'

  Her smile stretched tighter. "That's not what I asked.'

  'I also have nothing to say about that,' I said.

  She sat silently, her thin smile pulling tighter as her pale blue eyes stared at me. I couldn't imagine her skin stretched any tighter without it ripping. I met her stare for a while and then got tired of the whole thing.

  'Look,' I said. 'I'm going to need some paperwork guaranteeing that if what I tell you pans out you're going to air the story tonight.'

  'You'll get the paperwork before you leave.'

  The door opened and Wolcott walked in, bringing with him a pretty blonde and a tall skinny kid with a scraggly goatee and a matching ponytail. I recognized the blonde from their newscasts. She looked younger in person, probably no older than early twenties. Eileen Bracket addressed the two of them, telling them who I was and what they'd be doing with me. The blonde was named Tina Hodges and she forced a smile as she held out a hand to me. The skinny kid with the ponytail, Eric, was going to be our cameraman. He kept his distance from me.

  It took an hour before I was able to get the paperwork that I wanted, and another forty minutes after that before we got underway. We drove in one of the news vans with Eric behind the wheel and me next to him giving directions. Other than my pointing out where to drive nobody said a word during most of the trip. At one point near the end, Eric asked how I broke my nose. When I didn't answer him he shut up for good. Tina Hodges didn't make a peep from the back seat during the ride.

  We arrived at the old tannery a little after ten thirty. This time there were five cars parked alongside it. I directed Eric toward* the two dumpsters on the other side of the building. When we got there, we pulled up next to them and parked. I opened both dumpsters and read off the labels of some of the containers.

  'All the ingredients for crystal meth,' I said.

  Eric took his camera out and started shooting video of what was inside the dumpsters.

  "This is so unbelievably brazen,' he muttered. 'Just throwing the stuff out where anyone can get to it.'

  I said, After fifteen years of doing whatever you want without any fear of the police, you get sloppy. Ready for what's next?'

  'We're just going to walk right in there?'

  'That's right.'

  And you don't think this is dangerous?' Tina asked, speaking for the first time. Her face paler than before and not quite as pretty as when I had first seen her. 'I don't think so, but we'll see.'

  I was pretty sure Junior wasn't going to have any muscle around. Why would he? After over fifteen years of being left alone, why bother? Of course, anything was possible, but I didn't expect to see any of his goons. We got back in the van and drove to the front. I got out first and checked the main door and almost broke put laughing when I found it unlocked. I signaled for the other two to join me.

  I opened the door and led the way. I'd been in there before and knew where the gambling operations were. I turned and could see Eric sweating as he carried his camera. Tina looked more distant and scared with each step.

  The hallway we were in was lit by a single bulb. I took us down it to the outside of the room where the operations used to be run from. I put my ear against the door and listened. After less than a minute I heard a phone ringing, and then someone talking. I checked the door. It was unlocked. I nodded to Tina and Eric and then opened the door and walked in.

  I knew with football season underway things would be in full swing. In the middle of the room were several chalkboards with spreads written on them. To the right, sitting behind a long table, were three guys. They all had computers and phones in front of them. Each of them was staring at us with total bewilderment. One of them was on the phone and I could see his mouth drop as he gawked at us.

  'What the hell's this!' one of them yelled. I recognized him from years ago. I couldn't place his name but I knew he'd worked for Manny from almost the beginning. He had always been this fat greasy slob with badly pockmarked skin. Now he was fatter, greasier, and with worse skin. He got up and started towards us. The other two were trying to hide from the camera.

  'What the hell all of you doing here?' he demanded. He was moving quickly, heading towards Tina with a clenched fist. I intercepted him, spinning him around and pushing him to the floor. He made kind of an oomph sound as he hit the deck.

  'You assholes are in trouble,' he hissed as he lay on the floor. 'Big trouble! Just wait 'til I tell-'

  I stepped down on the back of his neck. He let out a high-pitched yelp and then shut up.

  Eric took video of the chalkboards and moved to the two guys who were now trying to hide behind their chairs. Tina stood frozen as she stared at me while I pressed my foot down on the slob's neck. He squirmed red-faced on the floor as I put more pressure on him.

  'Are you going to just stand there,' I asked, 'or are you going to do your job?'

  'What are you doing to that man?' she asked, horrified. 'Don't worry, he'll be fine. Come on, we don't have all day.'

  She shook herself out of whatever stupor she had fallen Into and moved so she was standing next to the chalkboards. She was still shaking, but Eric took video of her as she pointed out the football spreads and the computers and phones on the long table. He followed her as she moved over to the two jokers who were still trying to hide themselves.

  'Are you under the employ of Manny Vassey Jr.?' she asked both of them.

  Neither of them said a word. They just looked like idiots as they tried to squeeze themselves behind their chairs and out of sight of the camera.

  'Are you taking gambling bets?' she asked.

  'Get the hell out of here and leave us alone,' one of them moaned.

  We had taken enough time. I wanted to get to the crystal meth lab while we still could. From where the dumpsters were located I had a pretty good idea where it was. I went across the room and checked a door there and found it unlocked also. It was so damn careless of them. I swung the door open, and sure enough the lab was right there in plain sight. Two kids were working in it. My guess was they were both probably chemistry majors in college. They looked annoyed when I walked in, and then both went wide-eyed when Eric trailed behind with his camera. Tina squeezed past Eric. She had more color in her face now.

  'Who are you guys?' one of the kids muttered.

  'We're with WVRT news,' Tina announced as she held out her microphone in their direction. She moved towards them so Eric could take video of her sticking her microphone inches from their faces. Are you manufacturing crystal meth here?'

  'Yeah,' one of the kids answered. He looked shell-shocked. I guess it hadn't quite dawned on him what was happening until it was too late. When it did hit him, I could see the color bleed out of his face. H^e turned his back to the camera, trying to shield himself from view. His friend was already covering his face with his shirt.

  'Are you working for Manny Vassey Jr.?' Tina asked.

  'Leave me alone,' he begged.

  'Can you please answer my question?'

  He didn't move or say a word.

  I looked out the door and could see one of the guys talking frantically on the phone. I grabbed Tina by the arm. 'Let's get out of here,' I said. 'I'd like to ask them more questions,’

  ‘We better get out now.'

  She was going to argue with me, but I swung her towards the door and something about the look on my face told her she'd better listen. Eric followed, muttering to himself how unbelievable the whole thing was.

  The slob had picked h
imself off the floor and was standing off to the side, glowering at us as we passed by. I should've paid him more attention. All of a sudden I heard Eric yell out. I turned and saw the slob trying to wrestle the camera away from him. I moved fast, got behind the slob, and pushed my foot hard into the back of his knee, and at the same time dug my forearm into his throat and twisted my body. His face turned purple and he let go of the camera so he could claw frantically at my arm. I let go of him and he tumbled to the floor, gasping for air.

  All three of us got out of there then, with me trailing behind to make sure none of the jokers we^1 were leaving tried any more tricks. By the time we got outside both Tina and Eric were giggling, more from nerves than anything else.

  I got behind the wheel this time and told Eric I'd drive. He didn't seem to mind. He was still shaking from the adrenalin rush of the last few minutes.

  'That was, what can I say, fucking unbelievable,' he said, his body still shaking. 'It sure beats shooting video of foliage or a moose wandering around downtown Burlington. Damn, I felt like a real newsman in there.'

  'I thought I was going to puke,' Tina volunteered.

  'So, chief,' Eric asked, 'where next?'

  I checked the clock on the dashboard. Kelley's would be just opening, but I wanted to wait until after their lunch crowd. I also didn't want to hang around Bradley any more than I had to. I had a feeling that Junior and his goons would be looking for us.

  'Why don't we head back to your station? We can drop off the video, grab some lunch, and then head out again.'

  I could see he was disappointed. He was still caught up in the rush of the moment, but he saw the sense in what I was saying and didn't argue. The ride back to Burlington seemed shorter. I guess we were all caught up in our own thoughts. I kept playing back in my mind Tina announcing the station call letters when we busted in on the crystal meth lab. It made me a little sick thinking about it. Even though the call letters were in big bold print on the camera, most likely none of them had the presence of mind to notice it. I couldn't see any good coming from giving Junior that information. The more I thought about it, the sicker I felt. All I could hope for was that he was in the middle of eating something like a sausage sub when he heard the news, and that it made him choke on it.