Ed McBain - Vespers

"Which is why we asked him to go to the Hobbs. The minute we found out he was who'd defaced that gate.”

"As a matter of fact, he's the reason I' today.”

"Oh?”

Blue eyes opening wide.

"Yes. We've been trying to locate his mo we can't find a telephone listing for her, and "Why don't you ask Hobbs?”

"We did. He doesn't know.”

"He doesn't know his own mother's telephone number?”

"They don't get along. She moved six ago, and neither of them has made any contact each other since.”

"Well, I wish I could help you, but...”

"Did Hobbs ever mention her to you?”

"No. In fact, the first time I ever spoke to was last Saturday night.”

"I thought he was a regular member of congregation. According to Jeremy Sachs...”

"Yes, I know Jer...”

"... he introduced Hobbs to your church in sometime.”

"I do know Jeremy, and that may be true. people come and go, see, it's a transient group. A of people are attracted by the novelty of it, and they realize that this is a serious religion here, we're serious worshippers here, and they drop "But you'd never talked to Hobbs before last Saturday.”

"Correct.”

"You'd seen him here, though, hadn't you?”

"Not that I can recall. But I'm sure if Jeremy says lae's been coming here since March, then I have no reason to doubt his word. It's just that I wasn't familiar with him personally.”

"And so you wouldn't have any information about his mother.”

"No.”

"Abigail Hobbs.”

"No. I'm sorry.”

"You wouldn't have met her...”

"How would I have met her?”

"Well, she could have come here in an attempt to...”

"No, I've never met anyone named Abigail Hobbs.”

"I guess you'd remember if she came here.”

"Yes, I'm sure I'd remember.”

"Before going to see Father Michael. To ask you to talk to her son, convince him to leave the church, whatever. You don't remember anything like that, is that right?”

"Nothing like that, no. I can say very definitely that I don't know anyone named Abigail Hobbs.”

"Well, thank you, Mr. Lutherson," Carella said, and sighed. "I appreciate your time.”

"Not at all. Feel free to stop in whenever you like," Lutherson said, and rose from behind and extended his hand again.

The men shook hands. Finn and dry, the the Devil's disciple.

I'll show you out," Lutherson said, Carella thought happened only in movies.

She'd told him she was going to a cattle-call that afternoon and that he could meet her Alice Weiss Theater downtown at about o'clock, by which time she hoped she'd be Hawes waited under the theater marquee watching the falling rain, watching the rushing past on their way to the subways and He wanted to be going home, too. Instead, he here waiting for Krissie Lund.

Right after their meeting in the lieutenant's Carella had told him that Alexis O'Donnell a blonde woman with Father Michael on Sunday. Whether or not the blonde had been was yet another matter; there were a great blondes in this world, including Alexis herself. bothered Hawes that she might have been. whoever the blonde was, Father Michael accused her of blackmail. And blackmail, known as extortion, was defined in Section 850! the state's Penal Law as "the obtaining of from another induced by a wrongful use of force fear." And listed under the threats that constituted extortion was: To expose any secret affecting him.

If, for example, the blonde arguing with Father Michael on Easter Sunday had threatened to expose his love affair unless he paid her a substantial sum of money or gave her property worth money a house in the country, a diamond bracelet, an Arabian show horse this would have been blackmail.

This is blackmail, the priest had shouted.

According to Alexis O'Donnell.

Who had seen a blonde.

Blackmail, or extortion, was punishable by a max of fifteen years.

A long stretch up the river if you threatened to tattle unless someone paid you off. Which potential stay in the country often provided a good reason for murder. Most often, of course, it was the intended victim who murdered his blackmailer. Better murder than exposure. But what if the victim threw all caution to the winds and threatened to report the blackmail attempt? Oh, yeah? Take this, you dirty rotten rat!

Not so funny when it happened in real life.

If Alexis O'Donnell had heard and seen correctly, a blonde had been with Father Michael on Easter Sunday, and she had threatened him with what he'd considered blackmail. If that blonde was Krissie Lund... "Hi, have you been waiting long?" she said, and took his arm.

Carella was waiting outside the First Fi, Savings and Trust when Andrew Hobbs came the bank at a quarter past five that afternoon. and without an umbrella, he pulled up the his raincoat, ducked his head, and plunged into the teeming rain.

"Mr. Hobbs?" Carella said, and fell into beside him. "I'm sorry to bother you again...”

“Yes, well, you are," Hobbs said.

"But we've been unable to reach your mother "I don't want to hear another word about bitch.”

The rain was relentless. Both men virtu galloped through it, Hobbs obviously intent reaching the subway kiosk on the corner, merely trying to keep up. When at last the' reached the sanctuary of the underground Carella grabbed Hobbs's arm, turned him and somewhat angrily said, "Hold up a minute, you?”

Hobbs was reaching into his trouser pocket subway token. His blond hair was plastered to forehead, his raincoat, trouser legs, and shoes thoroughly soaked. He shook off Carella's impatiently, found his token, glanced toward platform to see if a train was coming in, and impatiently said, "What is it you want from me?”

"Your mother's phone number.”

Sodden, homeward-bound commuters rushed past on their way to the token booth and the turnstiles. Standing against the graffiti-sprayed tile wall some four or five yards away were two young men, one of them playing acoustic guitar very badly, the other sitting against the wall with a cardboard sign hanging around his neck. The sign read: WE ARE HOMELESS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP. Hobbs glanced again toward the platform, and then turned back to Carella and said in the same impatient voice, "I don't have her number, I already told you that. Why don't you look it up in the damn phone book?”

"We have, she's not listed.”

"Don't be ridiculous. Abby not listed? Abby taking the risk of missing a phone call from a man?

Really.”

"Mr. Hobbs," Carella said, "your mother was one of the people who'd had contact with Father Michael in the several weeks before his death. We'd like to talk to her.”

"You don't think she killed him, do you?”

"We don't know who killed him, Mr. Hobbs.

We're merely exploring every possibility.”

"Wouldn't that be a hoot! Abby killing the asshole who was supposed to save me from the Devil!”

"The point is...”

And here Carella launched into a somewhat creative improvisation, in that the real reas wanted to talk to Abigail Hobbs was to further her son's anger and his potential violence... "... whatever Father Michael may have her, however unimportant it might have the time, could possibly be of enormous value to now, in retrospect, if it sheds light on events in past that could conceivably relate to the though at the time it may have a insignificant.”

Hobbs tried to digest this.

Then he said, "You're not suggesting he have confided in Abby, are you?

Because frankly, Mr. Carella, that would be tantamount confiding in a boa constrictor.”

"We won't know until we talk to her, will Carella said.

"Don't you people have ways of getting numbers?”

"We do. And we tried them. The phone doesn't have a listing anywhere in the city anyone named Abigail Hobbs.”