said he has a good chance of pulling through. They couldn’t do anything for poor Becky though.”
“What?”
“Mrs. Pierson.” John said. “She’s been killed. Shot twice in the face.”
“I didn’t know.” I said. “No one told me. I can’t believe-”
“Just be glad you didn’t see the body.” John said. “Poor Niti wasn’t ready for it. When I was on the force I saw some worse crime scenes, but not many. It’s bad. Real bad-” Chris interrupted us on the walkie-talkie, asking for John. “Right here.” He said. “What do you need?”
“There’s a news crew here. They want to do a report from the scene.”
“No!” John shouted. “No news crews, do you hear me? Under no circumstances are you to let them in. Understand?”
“Yeah, got it.”
John was about to say something else when Chris spoke again. “They say they want to talk to me on camera. Should I tell them anything?”
“No!” John yelled. “Don’t talk to them! Don’t say a word, just keep them out. If they have any questions tell them to ask the police. If I see your face on the news tomorrow so help me god I’ll wring your neck!”
“Alright, alright, jeez.” Chris said.
“We’re gonna have enough to answer for.” John said to me, shaking his head. “This stuff isn’t supposed to happen here, this is a gated community -and we’re the ones supposed to be minding the gate.”
“I gotta use the bathroom.” I said. “I’m going down to the Sloop. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Hurry up, we might need you.” John said. I turned and walked away, past the growing crowd on the sidewalk. I went down to Main Street, past the movie house to Sloopy’s Diner. I had a key, but I didn’t go in, I stood in the doorway and called Jessie on my cell.
“Hi.” She said. “You getting bored on gate duty again?”
“No. Listen, I don’t have much time to talk. On the dresser, in my cigar box, there’s a stack of cards and slips of paper. One of them is the number for David Telano. Could you get it for me? I think it’s on a piece of a napkin. I need it fast.”
“Why do you need that?” She asked. I could hear the creak of the floor as she walked into the bedroom with the phone.
“I can’t really explain right now, but it’s important. Just find me that number quick.”
“If it’s there I’ll find it.” She said. I heard her rummaging around. “Here it is. Do you want his cell or home?”
“Cell.” I said. She read me the number and I repeated it to myself over and over, only stopping to thank her and tell her to watch the news. I dialed David’s number and hit send. It rang three times before he answered.
“David, what the fuck is going on?”
“Oh, I thought that was you. Did you have to report me?” He asked.
“Yeah of course.” I answered. “You’re in a lot of trouble man, they’re going to see your face on the security video.”
“Who?” He asked.
“The police!” I said.
“Nah.” David said with a laugh. “It won’t even be reported stolen, watch. I’ve got the owner by the balls. He’ll just say someone borrowed his car. The police won’t be involved.”
“Becky Pierson is dead.” I said. “And Junior is in the hospital. The police are already involved.”
There was silence on his end. “Dead?” He asked finally.
“Yeah, dead. That’s usually what happens when you shoot someone in the face.”
“I didn’t shoot anyone!” He shouted.
“Uh-huh. I don’t want to know okay? I just called you to say that I’m not going to lie for you. I’m not gonna risk going to jail to help you out of this shit. This is way over the line, and you are going to get caught.”
There was another moment of silence on his end. “I didn’t even have a gun!” He yelled. “I’ve gotta get rid of this fucking car, quick! I-”
I didn’t hear what else he said because detective Reyes had turned the corner and was walking towards me. I snapped the phone shut and slipped it into my pocket. “Who are you calling at this hour?” She asked.
“My girlfriend.” I answered. “I wanted to tell her I’d be late.”
“Oh? What time do you usually get off?”
“Three AM,” I said, “I just thought I might be even later than usual because of all this.”
She smiled at me. She knew I was lying.
THREE
“I had to tell them it was David.” I said. I was sitting next to Jessie on the couch with the TV on mute. I explained that it was plausible that I couldn’t get a good look at him as he drove past, but when they freeze-framed the video and zoomed in, you could see his face clearly. If I’d kept quiet and they found out later that we were friends, it would look like I was involved in some way.
“Why’d you want his number?” Jessie asked.
“I gave it to the cops.” I said. It was the truth. After I told them I recognized him, I gave them his number from my cell. I didn’t tell Jess that I’d called him because I didn’t want to admit to doing something so dumb.
“This is silly.” She said. “David wouldn’t kill anyone. He might steal stuff or sell some dope, but he’s not a murderer.”
“Maybe he graduated.” I said.
“No, not David. He’s gentle. He acts tough, but inside he’s like a little boy. He wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“All the evidence pointing to him couldn’t be a coincidence.” I said. “You think he just stole a car and the people he stole it from happened to get shot by some other intruder? There’s never been a violent crime like this in the history of Lakeview.”
“Something’s wrong with it. David wouldn’t do that.” She said. “Tell it to me again, start at the beginning.” She picked up her bong and lighter and looked at me as she took a hit. I went through everything starting with the first noise call. She asked me questions about it until I could barely keep my eyes open. I told her I was going to bed.
A few hours later I was dimly aware of her getting into bed beside me. “Pap called.” She said. I grunted. “He told me to tell you that there’s a company meeting today at two. George Loeffler wants to talk to all the GSA employees about what happened.”
“Okay, thanks.” I said, trying to end the conversation quickly so I could get back to sleep. I heard her sniff a couple of times and realized she was crying. “What’s the matter?”
“It was on the early news.” She said. “That poor woman. The whole town is devastated, they put up memorials and pictures-”
“The whole town despised her.” I said. “She’d been married to Junior for three years, and people were still calling her ‘that home wrecker’. Now that she’s dead I’m sure she’ll be sainted. Are you really crying for Becky Pierson? You must still be high.”
“That poor woman.” She said again. “Shot in her own home. It’s not right. The whole town came out to show their respect.”
“Yeah but people die all the time Jess. The other day they were saying on the radio that in Darfur there’s these gangs that go around-”
“Don’t talk to me about Darfur!” She said. “This happened right here! It happened in Lakeview.” She reached for a tissue.
“You’re crazy.” I said. “You didn’t even know Becky Pierson.”
“Fuck off. I’m sad about it all right? Is that okay with you?”
“Darfur.” I said as I turned over and pulled the sheets up to my chin.
The entire Guardian Security Agency sat in rows of folding chairs in the guardhouse’s common room at two o’clock. Even Ms. Ryan who did payroll and other paperwork for the agency was there. George Loeffler and John sat facing us with their backs to the big map of Lakeview that took up most of the room’s wall. There were ten of us in uniform, four part time guards, four full time guards, and Garrett, the only agent other than me. He had been with the GSA almost as long as John Marchin. There was no chitchat or messing around before the meeting,
we sat there in silence until George Loeffler stood to address us.
“Murder…” He had to stop to clear his throat and it turned into a prolonged coughing jag. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his mouth. The whole display made him seem very old. He began again: “Murder, right here, not four blocks away, within the gates of our community. I wish I could express to you all what I am feeling right now, but words fail me. I won’t try to make you understand, I’ll just tell you that I’m disappointed.”
He had to swallow hard here, and he took a look around the room, staring directly at me for a moment before he continued. “We must take every step necessary to insure that something like this cannot happen again. From what we know now there’s no reason to believe that this incident will result in the termination of anyone’s employment. Not as a direct reaction, anyway. But there will be an internal investigation to find out what could’ve been done to prevent it. We need to look very carefully at our procedures and protocols, and make sure that nothing like this can happen again. The Resident’s Council wanted to disband the GSA and bring in an outside firm, but I told them no. I only hope that my decision was not a foolish one. Everyone who lives in Lakeview is like family to me, but Junior Pierson especially. His father and I founded this community together over forty years ago. We envisioned a place that would be safe from the encroachments of the outside world. A place where you could take your family and not have to worry about them, a place where you could leave your doors unlocked. I believe that we can do better. That’s all I have to say. I, I