Bury the Lead - By David Rosenfelt Page 0,51

then at the knife. Kevin and I look at each other, then at the floor. I’m sure I’ve had more uncomfortable moments, but it would take a while to think of one.

“I was in the prison when they killed your friend,” Jimmy says, no doubt referring to Randy Clemens and completely getting my attention. “I was one of the guys arguing in the hall, to get the guards looking at us. But I didn’t kill him; I didn’t even know what they were doing until after it was over.”

“Why did they do it?”

He summons up the dignity to laugh a short, derisive laugh at my expense. “What do you think? He stole their crayons?” He shakes his head at the stupidity of my question.

Marcus takes a step toward Jimmy, which serves as a dignity-remover. Jimmy continues. “To shut him up. He overheard some things, and he wasn’t smart enough to keep quiet about it. When he called you, they put him away.”

“What did he overhear?”

Jimmy shakes his head. “I don’t know, but it had something to do with those murders.”

“Was Dominic Petrone involved?”

Jimmy flinches noticeably, then seems to pause, as if considering his position. The survival rate for people who squeal on Dominic Petrone isn’t too high. On the other hand, Jimmy is naked in a room with Marcus and a knife. Talk about your “six of one, half a dozen of the other.”

He probably makes the decision that Marcus and the knife represent a more immediate threat, so he starts talking again. “I don’t know for sure, but it’s a pretty good bet. The guy who arranged the prison hit was Tommy Lassiter, but I doubt he’d be doing it without Petrone setting it up.”

“Who is Tommy Lassiter?”

Jimmy almost does a double take at my question, then looks over at Marcus. “Come on, man . . .” is his way of telling Marcus he shouldn’t have to explain this to me, an obvious idiot.

“Tell him,” Marcus says.

Jimmy does as he is told. “Lassiter is a button man, the best there is. He’s a psycho, but if Lassiter wants you dead, you are dead. That’s it.”

“Does he work for Petrone?” I ask.

“Among others. He works for money. Sometimes it’s Petrone puttin’ up the money, sometimes it’s someone else. This time, I don’t know for sure . . . I swear. But Petrone is the best bet.”

There isn’t much more for us to get out of Jimmy, and the rest of the conversation centers around him getting us to collectively swear that we won’t reveal he talked to us. I agree and ask him to keep the secret as well, but even Marcus moans at the request. If Jimmy were to tell anyone he was here, he would effectively be committing suicide.

I take Kevin back to my house so he can get his car. On the way there, he says, “What do you think Marcus would have done?”

“You mean if Jimmy didn’t talk?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“I think he would have done whatever he had to. I think if they played a game of chicken a thousand times, Marcus would win every time.”

This answer doesn’t please Kevin very much. Kevin would prefer that trials and investigations play out the way they were drawn up in law school. The problem is, I don’t believe Marcus went to law school.

“But Marcus is on our side? He’s one of the good guys?” Kevin asks.

I shake my head. “We don’t find out who the good guys are until the jury tells us.”

“I think by then it’s too late,” he says. “Way too late.”

• • • • •

THE FIRST WITNESS Tucker calls is Officer Gary Hobart, the first policeman to arrive at the site of the Padilla murder. Usually, the initial patrolman is not a significant witness, as his function is mainly to secure the scene and wait for the detectives. In this case, Hobart is far more important because Daniel was on the scene when he got there.

“What was the defendant doing when you arrived?” Tucker asks.

“He was lying down on the stairs leading up to the pavilion. About two steps from the top.”

“Was he conscious?”

“Yes,” says Hobart. “He spoke to me.”

“What did he say?”

“That the killer called him . . . told him to come to the park.”

“Did he say anything about a murder that might have taken place there?” Tucker asks.

“No. He said he did not know what might be in the pavilion, that he was attacked on the steps. He thought he had lost