and the business got to be pretty big…and me and Edith only did the special clients.”
“When did you become Erin Flint?” Hammer said gently from his place against the wall.
“Gerard changed our names,” Erin said. “Right when we first went with him.”
“And why did you use different names?” Hammer said.
“I don’t know. Some guys liked that we were sisters, you know? Both at the same time. Some guys, I guess, didn’t. So we had different names. Gerard told us.”
“And when did you, ah, leave Gerard?” Hammer said.
“When I met Buddy.”
Everyone was quiet. Erin kept studying her hands.
“Questions?” Hammer said.
Bebe had stopped patting Erin’s forearm, but her hand still rested there.
“How did you meet Buddy?” I said.
“Hotel,” Erin said with no inflection and without raising her head.
“Hey,” Buddy said.
“Everybody knows everything, Buddy,” Erin said.
“Well, if the fucking media gets it,” Buddy said, “your career is fucking history.”
“That’s not necessarily going to happen,” Hammer said. “And if it did, it wouldn’t necessarily ruin anyone’s career.”
“You shut the fuck up,” Buddy said. “You and her”—Buddy pointed his chin at Bebe—“are fucking fired, as of right now.”
Hammer looked a little tired. If anything, Bebe looked a little amused. I wondered how many times Buddy had fired them before.
“I bring you down here to protect us, for crissake,” Buddy said, “and you got her blabbing her whole goddamned whore history.”
“You knew I was a whore, Buddy,” Erin said softly.
For a moment I almost liked her.
“Shut up,” Buddy said.
“Buddy,” I said.
“You shut up, too,” Buddy said.
“Buddy,” I said. “Stop having a tantrum. This isn’t some cute business ploy that didn’t work. This is a homicide investigation. There are no secrets.”
“Not with you on the fucking job,” Buddy said.
“I’m a detective. DNA and fingerprints and powder traces are nice,” I said. “But most clues are human, they have to do with who people are and where they’ve been. Erin, you want me to find out who killed Misty. If you don’t want that, say so now. Because if I stay on, I’ll keep doing what I do.”
“Bullshit,” Buddy said.
Hammer said, “Let’s make this decision together, Buddy. Not right now, right here.”
Buddy started to brush him off, and stopped, and looked at him, and nodded slowly.
“Okay,” Buddy said. “Okay.”
Jesse was looking at Erin. Her face was gray now, and her head hung, and her shoulders slumped.
“There are a lot more questions we will have to ask,” he said to her. “But we don’t have to ask them now.”
He smiled at Erin.
“Why don’t you go home and have a drink.”
She looked up at him for a moment and nodded her head.
“Yes,” she said.
“Let’s get the fuck outta here,” Buddy said, and headed for the door. Erin and the two lawyers followed. The lawyers shook hands with me and Jesse as they left. Hammer gave us both a card.
“That was kind of you,” I said to Jesse when we were alone.
He grinned.
“How’d you like to be Buddy Bollen’s lawyer,” Jesse said.
“They were better than many,” I said.
“Yes. That woman lawyer,” Jesse said, “Bebe. Didn’t say a single thing I could hear.”
“I know.”
“She was quiet and thoughtful,” Jesse said.
“Not a bad thing in a lawyer,” I said.
“I wonder how she got through law school,” Jesse said.
26
J ESSE AND I went to watch Erin work out in the cage at Taft. She was wearing Adidas spikes, a black tank top, gray shorts, and a black adjustable baseball cap worn backward. Roy Linden was leaning on the edge of the batting cage, his chin on his folded forearms. A different college kid was pitching. Two of Buddy’s security guys stood near the batting cage.
“I spent about two hours with her Monday,” Jesse said.
Erin hit the ball very hard into the billowing field house net. She
“When did you become Erin Flint?” Hammer said gently from his place against the wall.
“Gerard changed our names,” Erin said. “Right when we first went with him.”
“And why did you use different names?” Hammer said.
“I don’t know. Some guys liked that we were sisters, you know? Both at the same time. Some guys, I guess, didn’t. So we had different names. Gerard told us.”
“And when did you, ah, leave Gerard?” Hammer said.
“When I met Buddy.”
Everyone was quiet. Erin kept studying her hands.
“Questions?” Hammer said.
Bebe had stopped patting Erin’s forearm, but her hand still rested there.
“How did you meet Buddy?” I said.
“Hotel,” Erin said with no inflection and without raising her head.
“Hey,” Buddy said.
“Everybody knows everything, Buddy,” Erin said.
“Well, if the fucking media gets it,” Buddy said, “your career is fucking history.”
“That’s not necessarily going to happen,” Hammer said. “And if it did, it wouldn’t necessarily ruin anyone’s career.”
“You shut the fuck up,” Buddy said. “You and her”—Buddy pointed his chin at Bebe—“are fucking fired, as of right now.”
Hammer looked a little tired. If anything, Bebe looked a little amused. I wondered how many times Buddy had fired them before.
“I bring you down here to protect us, for crissake,” Buddy said, “and you got her blabbing her whole goddamned whore history.”
“You knew I was a whore, Buddy,” Erin said softly.
For a moment I almost liked her.
“Shut up,” Buddy said.
“Buddy,” I said.
“You shut up, too,” Buddy said.
“Buddy,” I said. “Stop having a tantrum. This isn’t some cute business ploy that didn’t work. This is a homicide investigation. There are no secrets.”
“Not with you on the fucking job,” Buddy said.
“I’m a detective. DNA and fingerprints and powder traces are nice,” I said. “But most clues are human, they have to do with who people are and where they’ve been. Erin, you want me to find out who killed Misty. If you don’t want that, say so now. Because if I stay on, I’ll keep doing what I do.”
“Bullshit,” Buddy said.
Hammer said, “Let’s make this decision together, Buddy. Not right now, right here.”
Buddy started to brush him off, and stopped, and looked at him, and nodded slowly.
“Okay,” Buddy said. “Okay.”
Jesse was looking at Erin. Her face was gray now, and her head hung, and her shoulders slumped.
“There are a lot more questions we will have to ask,” he said to her. “But we don’t have to ask them now.”
He smiled at Erin.
“Why don’t you go home and have a drink.”
She looked up at him for a moment and nodded her head.
“Yes,” she said.
“Let’s get the fuck outta here,” Buddy said, and headed for the door. Erin and the two lawyers followed. The lawyers shook hands with me and Jesse as they left. Hammer gave us both a card.
“That was kind of you,” I said to Jesse when we were alone.
He grinned.
“How’d you like to be Buddy Bollen’s lawyer,” Jesse said.
“They were better than many,” I said.
“Yes. That woman lawyer,” Jesse said, “Bebe. Didn’t say a single thing I could hear.”
“I know.”
“She was quiet and thoughtful,” Jesse said.
“Not a bad thing in a lawyer,” I said.
“I wonder how she got through law school,” Jesse said.
26
J ESSE AND I went to watch Erin work out in the cage at Taft. She was wearing Adidas spikes, a black tank top, gray shorts, and a black adjustable baseball cap worn backward. Roy Linden was leaning on the edge of the batting cage, his chin on his folded forearms. A different college kid was pitching. Two of Buddy’s security guys stood near the batting cage.
“I spent about two hours with her Monday,” Jesse said.
Erin hit the ball very hard into the billowing field house net. She
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