James Sheehan - The Law of Second Chances

“If you guys can hang on a few minutes,” Tillie said after they had introduced themselves, “I’ll be off the bar and we can sit in the back and talk.” So Henry and Jack each ordered a club soda and waited for Tillie to get off. The six other people in the bar looked at them like they had some sort of disease. One by one they stopped looking, however, when Henry returned their stares.

Fifteen minutes later, Tillie led them to a table in the back so that they could talk freely.

“So one of you guys is gonna represent Benny?” he asked, just to make sure he had it right.

“It’s a possibility,” Jack replied. “We’re kind of in the investigative stage.”

“How do I know that you are who you say you are?”

“You mean are we cops or something?” Jack suggested.

“I don’t wanna seem like an asshole or anything, but the thought had crossed my mind, yeah.”

“Do I look like a cop?” Henry asked. “Besides, we’re not going to ask you about anything that could hurt Benny. If we do, then you can refuse to talk to us. We just want to get a little flavor of who the guy is. He gave us your name.”

“All right,” Tillie said. “I don’t know if I can help you that much, but I’ll tell you what I know.”

“Fair enough,” Henry told him.

“Benny is a street guy,” Tillie began. “He don’t own nothin’-at least nothin’ of value. He lived in one of those condemned buildings. He’s never had anything going for himself. Never could keep things together, you know what I mean?” Henry nodded. He knew exactly what Tillie meant. “I know he’s a thief,” Tillie continued, “but in a lotta ways Benny’s harmless. This is a violent neighborhood, but it never rubbed off on Benny. Not that I could see, anyway. He’s a character. To tell you the truth, I miss him.”

“He’s charged with murder, you know,” Jack pressed.

“Yeah, I know, but I figure that’s a trumped-up charge. Some big shot was killed, and Benny’s the fall guy.”

“There are eyewitnesses who put him at the scene,” Jack added.

“I don’t know anything about that,” Tillie said. “But I’ll tell you this. The cop who arrested him-he arrested him right over there by the pool table. I was here. Benny and me were playing pool at the time. Anyway, this cop told Benny that he was arresting him for something he didn’t believe Benny did. And he told Benny to clam up-not to talk to anybody until he had a lawyer. Now, that’s a cop talking, and a cop who knows Benny real well. That’s why I’m saying he’s a fall guy.”

“What’s this cop’s name?” Jack asked.

“Joe Fogarty, but that ain’t gonna do you no good. He ain’t never gonna admit he said those things.”

“Is that good enough evidence for you?” Henry asked on their way out.

“If it’s true,” Jack replied.

“What do you mean, if it’s true?”

“I mean, Tillie is Benny’s friend. He’s going to say things to help Benny. Do you think a jury would believe him without some corroboration?”

“Maybe not,” Henry admitted. “But I believe him, and I’ve been a street person.”

“You’re not a disinterested party anymore, Henry. You’re on Benny’s side one hundred percent. Maybe more. I just need something more.”

“Where are you going to get that? The cop isn’t going to talk to you.”

“Maybe not. But I can try.”

Jack dropped Henry off in Harlem on the way back to Charlie’s. They agreed to meet for breakfast the next morning.

Jack wanted to make a decision about whether to represent Benny before they left New York. When he arrived back at the apartment, Charlie was waiting for him, anxious to hear about the events of the day. Jack put her off for a few minutes. He had to call an old friend right away.

Frankie O’Connor picked up the phone on the second ring.

“Frankie?”

“Yeah,” Frankie answered hesitantly. Nobody called him Frankie anymore.

“Frankie, it’s Johnny Tobin. How are you doing?”

“Johnny! Long time no see. Where are you?”

“I’m in the city. Actually, I’m in the old neighborhood.”

“How long are you going to be in town?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe a couple more days.”

“You know, some of us get together at the Carlow on Thursday nights. I’m off on Fridays. It’s one of a hundred bad things about being a cop-you rarely get weekends off.”

“I’ll come down. I was planning on going to the Carlow anyway. Listen, I need to ask a favor.”

“Shoot,” Frankie replied without hesitation. They hadn’t set eyes on each other since Mikey’s funeral several years before, but that didn’t mean anything to Frankie. Johnny was an old friend.

“I’m trying to get in touch with a cop.”

“I’ll help you if I can, Johnny, but there are twenty-five thousand cops on the force now. If he’s an old-timer, I’ll know him. Still, I’m not sure I can help you.”

It was an unwritten code, and Jack was well aware of it. Frankie wasn’t going to give out any information about any cop until he called the guy, filled him in on the situation, and got his permission to do so.

“I know what you mean, Frankie. The guy’s name is Joe Fogarty.”

“Oh, I know Joe. He came on a few years after me. Tell me what it’s about and I’ll give him a call.”

Jack filled Frankie in on Benny’s case and told him all about the conversation with Tillie. He didn’t tell him who Benny’s father was just yet. He wanted to let the situation play itself out.

Frankie hesitated. “I don’t know, Johnny. You know I’d do anything for you personally. But this would put Joe in an awkward position, and I don’t want to do that. Why are you getting involved in this case anyway? Nick Walsh was the lead detective, and Nick’s a legend in the department. This guy is guilty.”

“He may be, Frankie. I’m just trying to decide whether I should represent him or not.” Jack sensed the moment was right. “His father is an old friend of mine. And yours too.”

“Who?”

“Do you remember Rico who played with us on the Lexingtons?”

“The skinny Puerto Rican kid who taught you how to play cornerback?”

“That’s the one.”

“Sure, I remember him. He was one tough cookie. He and Floyd got a raw deal too. Being a cop, I think about what happened to them from time to time. This Benny kid is his son?”

“Yup.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then Frankie said, “I’ll give Joe a call and tell him about the situation, but it’ll be up to him if he wants to talk to you or not. Just remember, Johnny, if he confirms what he said to Benny and the higher-ups downtown find out about it, they’ll be writing him up for spilling his coffee.”

“I hear you, Frankie. I won’t do anything he doesn’t want me to.”

“By the way-and this is really strange-there’s another connection between this case and the Lexingtons.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“Do you remember Jimmy Walsh, the kicker?”

“Of course.”

“Well, he was Nick Walsh’s younger brother. That won’t get you anywhere with Nick, though. He’s strictly by the book. It’s just kinda interesting.”

“Yeah, it is,” Jack replied.

“I’ll tell you something else that should make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.”

“What’s that?”

“Nick investigated the murder of this Benny kid’s last lawyer. Someone blew his brains out. Nick said it was a mess. Watch yourself, Johnny.”

“I thought they decided there wasn’t any connection.”

“They couldn’t find a connection, but they never solved the murder either.”

Half an hour later, just as Jack was winding up telling Charlie about the day’s events, Frankie called to let Jack know that Joe Fogarty would be at the Carlow East on Thursday night.