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The whole herd of elephants in the room.
The medical definition, you can look it up if you want to, of my current condition: absolute crap.
Rip is always right next to my bed, or the couch, occasionally staring up at me to see if I’m still breathing. Probably thinking back to when we met, and he was supposed to play the part of sick dog.
Ben Kalinsky has been in Boston for a veterinary convention,due back tonight. I haven’t told him how lousy I’ve been feeling, because even with his expertise at treating sick dogs, he’s far away.
I’ve told Jimmy, because I tell Jimmy pretty much everything, even more than I tell Ben. Even when I don’t tell Jimmy things, he usually seems to know anyway. He says it was the same way with his cop partners, all the way back to Mickey Dunne.
Brigid says she’ll call from Meier when she knows more. I’m honest enough with myself to know that Iamat least partly feeling the way I’m feeling because of her, because of how much I hate what she’s about to go through all over again.
Jimmy calls from the city, after spending the last two nights at my apartment on Christopher Street in the West Village. He says he has a new dirtbag update.
“On McKenzie?”
“Joe Champi.”
“Tell me he’s still dead.”
“Very much so,” Jimmy says. “But it turns out he had a partner from back in the day.”
“Another dirty cop?”
“Yup. Name of Anthony Licata. King of the dirtbags, from what I’m told. I’ll tellyouall about him when I get there.”
I tell him if it’s going to be too late, we can do it in the morning. He says he won’t be that late, he’s about to break his own speed record once he gets off the LIE at Exit 70.
As soon as I hang up, Rob Jacobson calls.
“Since the night of my beach walk, the court wouldn’t give me another furlough even when I told them I wanted to drop in on my lawyer,” he says.
“I didn’t like you dropping in even before you were wearing the ankle bracelet,” I say.
Rip starts barking as if he knows who I’m talking to.
“I think I can help you.”
“Have you cured cancer since I was over at your house?”
“You told me to get serious, and that’s what I’m doing. I think I can help you solve this.”
“This? I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a lot more specific than that, Rob. Which case?”
“All of them.”
I wait for him to drop a funny line on me. Or one he thinks is funny. But he doesn’t.
“What if it’s all one thing?” he asks.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Jimmy
JIMMY IS NEARLY TO Amagansett when Jane calls to tell him she’s making the short drive over to Jacobson’s rental house.
Jimmy tells her he’ll meet her there. Jimmy knows Jacobson prefers meeting with Jane alone, but Jimmy’s convinced Jacobson has the hots for her, whether or not he’s ever verbalized that. Even the idea of them together gives Jimmy the creeps.
“Somebody take another shot at him?” Jimmy asks.
