around.”
“Where?”
“Why do I suspect you already know that, Collins?”
“Your confrontation with Brennan Burke outside the Midtown Tavern didn’t take up a lot of your unaccounted-for time on murder night. Though you could start by telling me about that.”
“Nothing to tell. I wanted to head downtown, maybe have a drink or two. I had heard it around town that Burke’s a lush. Spends a lot of time at the Midtown, so I decided to stop by there.”
“Burke is not a lush.”
“If you say so.”
“He likes a drink from time to time, as a lot of us do.”
“Like I said, so I heard.”
“What happened?”
“He came out of the bar with a glow on, and I saw him and told him what I thought of him leaving in the middle of my show after he had agreed to participate.”
“This was a nice, polite disagreement, was it?”
“I told him what I thought of him.”
“What was his response?”
“He was an asshole. I don’t see what you get out of hanging around with a prick like him.”
“Okay. Where did you finally meet up with April?”
“The waterfront.”
“Why the waterfront?”
“She said she liked it down there.”
“Whereabouts on the waterfront?”
“Down at the end of Salter Street.”
“All right. You’ve told me. Now you’re going to show me. I’ll see you on the waterfront one hour from now.” Click.
†
Predictably, Podgis kept him waiting. Monty had walked down Salter from his office and was standing at the water’s edge, watching a navy frigate move silently past him in the fog on its way out to sea. Still no client, so he walked out on the wharf. The ferry was steaming across from Dartmouth, and something on the deck had attracted a flock of crying seagulls. Finally, he turned and saw his client lumbering towards him from the parking lot. He was encased in a sheepskin-lined bomber jacket with lots of wool trim and a matching hat with the front flipped up. There are many reasons men need wives, Monty reflected, but kept it to himself.
“What are you doing way out there?” Podgis bellowed. “Me and her weren’t out on the wharf.”
Monty joined him and said, “All right. How did you get here that night?”
“Walked.”
“Why didn’t she pick you up?”
“She was coming from Clayton Park or someplace. I was downtown. It was easier for me to walk down the hill and meet her here.”
“Why here?”
“I told you, she liked it here.”
“Liked it here for what?”
“The view, I guess. The harbour. We didn’t discuss the beauty of the water and the boats.”
“What did you discuss?”
Podgis looked at him with what was almost a leer. It was all Monty could do not to turn away.
“Where exactly did she park?”
Podgis flapped his hand at the lot in general.
“And you walked to the car and got in?”
“Yeah.”
“Front or back seat?”
His client looked at him as if he had asked something too indelicate to merit a response.
“Were there other people on the waterfront?”
“I didn’t see anybody.”
That much was true, since he almost certainly had not been here.
“Now let’s get back to the timing. I can’t escape the notion that the love scene at which you have hinted would not have taken a couple of hours to consummate.”
“Have you gotten punched out much in your life, Collins? I’m not a violent guy usually. I’ve never killed anybody. Not Jordyn Snider. Not anybody else either. But I feel like beating the shit out of you right here and now. Because you fucking deserve it. You and all the other snotty little rich kids who grow up to be lawyers and sneer at everybody else.”
It had been a long, long time since anybody had called Monty a snotty little rich kid. And, given the fact that Podgis had built a career out of sneering at people, Monty could not bring up any feelings of guilt about taking the mickey out of his client.
“Attacking me would be yet another bad idea on your part, Pike. One, it would look very bad for you
“Where?”
“Why do I suspect you already know that, Collins?”
“Your confrontation with Brennan Burke outside the Midtown Tavern didn’t take up a lot of your unaccounted-for time on murder night. Though you could start by telling me about that.”
“Nothing to tell. I wanted to head downtown, maybe have a drink or two. I had heard it around town that Burke’s a lush. Spends a lot of time at the Midtown, so I decided to stop by there.”
“Burke is not a lush.”
“If you say so.”
“He likes a drink from time to time, as a lot of us do.”
“Like I said, so I heard.”
“What happened?”
“He came out of the bar with a glow on, and I saw him and told him what I thought of him leaving in the middle of my show after he had agreed to participate.”
“This was a nice, polite disagreement, was it?”
“I told him what I thought of him.”
“What was his response?”
“He was an asshole. I don’t see what you get out of hanging around with a prick like him.”
“Okay. Where did you finally meet up with April?”
“The waterfront.”
“Why the waterfront?”
“She said she liked it down there.”
“Whereabouts on the waterfront?”
“Down at the end of Salter Street.”
“All right. You’ve told me. Now you’re going to show me. I’ll see you on the waterfront one hour from now.” Click.
†
Predictably, Podgis kept him waiting. Monty had walked down Salter from his office and was standing at the water’s edge, watching a navy frigate move silently past him in the fog on its way out to sea. Still no client, so he walked out on the wharf. The ferry was steaming across from Dartmouth, and something on the deck had attracted a flock of crying seagulls. Finally, he turned and saw his client lumbering towards him from the parking lot. He was encased in a sheepskin-lined bomber jacket with lots of wool trim and a matching hat with the front flipped up. There are many reasons men need wives, Monty reflected, but kept it to himself.
“What are you doing way out there?” Podgis bellowed. “Me and her weren’t out on the wharf.”
Monty joined him and said, “All right. How did you get here that night?”
“Walked.”
“Why didn’t she pick you up?”
“She was coming from Clayton Park or someplace. I was downtown. It was easier for me to walk down the hill and meet her here.”
“Why here?”
“I told you, she liked it here.”
“Liked it here for what?”
“The view, I guess. The harbour. We didn’t discuss the beauty of the water and the boats.”
“What did you discuss?”
Podgis looked at him with what was almost a leer. It was all Monty could do not to turn away.
“Where exactly did she park?”
Podgis flapped his hand at the lot in general.
“And you walked to the car and got in?”
“Yeah.”
“Front or back seat?”
His client looked at him as if he had asked something too indelicate to merit a response.
“Were there other people on the waterfront?”
“I didn’t see anybody.”
That much was true, since he almost certainly had not been here.
“Now let’s get back to the timing. I can’t escape the notion that the love scene at which you have hinted would not have taken a couple of hours to consummate.”
“Have you gotten punched out much in your life, Collins? I’m not a violent guy usually. I’ve never killed anybody. Not Jordyn Snider. Not anybody else either. But I feel like beating the shit out of you right here and now. Because you fucking deserve it. You and all the other snotty little rich kids who grow up to be lawyers and sneer at everybody else.”
It had been a long, long time since anybody had called Monty a snotty little rich kid. And, given the fact that Podgis had built a career out of sneering at people, Monty could not bring up any feelings of guilt about taking the mickey out of his client.
“Attacking me would be yet another bad idea on your part, Pike. One, it would look very bad for you
Similar Books
