Yesterday's News by Jeremiah Healy Page A

said, “Figured you were there.”
    â€œThat why you stood up against Schonstein and Cronan?”
    â€œNah. Them two shits, the one’s a jerk and the other a bully boy. I just liked the way you didn’t let them push you. You don’t stand against them every time, there’s ten more like them next week, like they multiplied or something.”
    â€œStill, you piss them off, they could let you down when you need them.”
    â€œNot really, least not in this business. It’s not the detectives ever do you any good. The uniforms, they’re the ones you gotta keep happy, ’cause they’re the ones put it on the line if twelve bikers all of a sudden decide to homestead in one of your units.”
    I picked up a wing. “You know Schonsy? The father, I mean.”
    â€œYeah. He was a uniform, and a good cop. Tried not to crack any heads less he had to, but the best I ever seen once he got started. More chicken?”
    â€œPlease.”
    Jones carved the second leg off and said, “White meat or dark?”
    â€œWhichever you like less.”
    â€œMarried?”
    â€œMe?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œNot for a while,” I said. “Why?”
    â€œYou seem to have awful good manners for a husband. Usually the wife wears it out of you.”
    â€œYou ever married, Emil?”
    â€œOnce. Bad idea.” He set the platter back on the table. “Didn’t really want a wife. Really wanted somebody just to be thinking about me when I wasn’t around. No kinda reason for getting hitched.”
    â€œI’ve heard worse.”
    â€œMaybe. But my case, it soured me. You know, you give a hundred orders a day to troopers denser than the ammo they’re loading, it’s kind of hard to break that when you go home to the missus. She wants to get her two words in, and they ain’t always ‘Yes, dear.’”
    â€œKids?”
    â€œNah. Just as well. Had a puppy once when I was little, really got a kick out of watching him grow up. Then once he hit a year or so, I kind of lost interest. Always figured the same would happen with a kid. Plus, the Big Green Machine ain’t no place to raise kids right, even if you love the hell out of them.”
    â€œHow do you mean?”
    â€œWell …” Jones put his fork down and took a swig of ale. “The military’s a good life for somebody like me. No skills, no college or nothing, enlisted right out of high school. You grow up beginning at age eighteen, but you already had another life. Things get tough, you can look back on it. Kind of, I don’t know, draw strength from it or something. You get raised on an army base, though, you lose that. … I don’t know what you’d call it.”
    â€œPerspective?”
    â€œYeah. Perspective’s a good word for it. You lose that, or I guess you don’t have it to start with, your whole world’s been the army, you don’t ever appreciate there’s another one out there, maybe’s got some good ideas going for it you oughta know about.”
    â€œHow’d you end up here?”
    â€œWife’s family was from Nasharbor, and we spent some holidays here. They’re mostly dead now, but I kind of liked this part of the country. They aren’t quite as crazy around here as other places I’ve been.”
    â€œWhy the motel business?”
    â€œSaw the Crestview was for sale the last time I was back here burying one of the wife’s relatives. She’d bugged out on me by then, but the funeral was a good excuse for an emergency leave. Day before I had to head back, I come out and talked to the owner. He’d been navy, and he was dying, fixing to go into a VA hospital his last couple of months. He gave me the feeling this sort of job would be interesting.”
    â€œWas he right, Emil?”
    â€œDepends on whether you find bankruptcy interesting.”
    â€œThat bad?”
    â€œNo,