Dave Zeltserman: Small crimes

'I heard about it.'

'Did you know that Coakley is working on him every goddam day? He visits Manny on his deathbed and reads him the Bible. He's trying to work the fear of God into him, and I'm afraid he might be succeeding.'

'That's not going to happen,' I said. 'Manny is about as hard a nut as you're going to find. No way is he going to be cracked. Phil's wasting his time.'

'Don't be so sure of that.' Dan shook his head gravely. 'Manny's not the same man he was seven years ago. He's changed. I visited him a few weeks ago and was not happy with what I saw. He's scared, Joe, I could see it in his eyes. He's wavering, and if he confesses we'll all go away, but you're the one who'll go away for murder. And for first-degree murder you won't be sitting out your days in county jail.'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'Come on. Don't kid a kidder.'

'I still don't know what you're talking about.'

'Play dumb all you want. It doesn't change anything.' Dan let out a soft sigh. 'Remember Billy Ferguson? I know you were doing collections for Manny back then, and I think Coakley suspects that also. What both Coakley and I know, however, is that Ferguson emptied thirty grand out of his retirement account the day he was beaten to death. What I alone know is that you bet thirty grand the next week with a bookie out of South Boston. And as usual you lost every bet.'

'Whoever told you that was bullshitting you.'

'Come on, Joe. As I said before, don't kid a kidder.'

'No, Dan, I'm not kidding you. I had nothing to do with Ferguson. If a bookie told you that then he was paid off.'

Dan smiled genially as he considered what I said. 'Maybe. It doesn't matter. If Manny gives a deathbed confession that you killed Ferguson then you'll go down for his murder. And even if he doesn't, knowing what I know about what you used to do for Manny, there's still enough to send you away for a long time. So as you can see, we've got a serious problem. One that's got to be taken care of right away. Manny or Coakley, your choice.'

'I don't know what you're talking about'.'

Dan lost his smile, his large face growing deadly stern. 'Look, Joe, you're the cause of this mess and you're going to take care of it. Plan A is for you to get rid of one of them. I don't care which. If Manny's gone, Coakley can piss all he wants but it's not going to get him anywhere. And if Coakley goes, Manny won't have anyone pressuring him and he can just die quietly in the night.'

'Forget it. I'm not doing that.'

'Not doing what, Joe?'

'I'm not killing anyone.'

'You won't, huh? Don't play all high and mighty with me. Manny's dying of cancer, for Chrissakes, snuffing him out at this point would be a blessing.'

'How am I supposed to get to Manny while he's in the hospital?'

'You're a smart man. Figure it out. And if you can't, then finish the job you started on our DA friend. After what you did to his face you'd be doing him a favor. One or the other, Joe. I don't care which.' Dan paused to scratch behind his ear. 'I'm giving you a couple of days. Three at the most. And if it's not done, I'm moving on to Plan B. I got to tell you, Joe, I don't like Plan B nearly as much as Plan A, and I guarantee you wouldn't like it at all.'

He finished what was left of his beer and tossed his bottle away. When he faced me again, a pleasant smile had melted back onto his face.

'Just get the job done and we'll have no problems. We can all live happily ever after.'

'What would you be doing now if I hadn't been paroled?'

'I would have had no choice, I would've moved on to Plan B. By the way, Joe, when this is done it might be a good idea for you to get out of Bradley. You might want to think about moving to Albany and being closer to your two girls.'

My heart skipped a beat. 'How do you know Elaine's in Albany?' I asked, trying to keep my voice composed.

'I know things, Joe. And your ex, she changed her name. My guess, she didn't want you finding her. Her new name is Elise Mathews.'

'Did she remarry?'

'I don't think so, at least she hadn't last I checked.' Any idea how my girls have been?'

He made a face as if to say how the fuck would he know that.

We stood staring at each other for a long moment. Dan finally broke the silence, telling me I had three days tops. 'Try and finish this mess earlier if you can, Joe. But get it done. I really don't want to go to Plan B.'

He offered me his hand and then nodded so long, a big friendly smile playing on his face. I watched as he turned his pickup truck around and drove off.

As I drove back to my parents' house I thought about the situation. I was pretty sure Dan was overreacting to things. The Manny Vassey I knew would just as soon spit in Phil's face as say a word to him. It didn't seem possible that he could have changed that much. Still, it was troubling thinking of Manny accepting daily visits from Phil and sitting still so he could listen to the Bible being read to him. More likely Manny was playing some con on Phil, maybe just having fun playing with his head.

I didn't bother asking Dan about Plan B because I knew what it had to be. Dan was guessing that if I were to end up dead Phil would lose interest in Manny and let him and his secrets die in peace. Years ago I hid a tape recorder in my coat pocket and recorded a conversation Dan and I'd had about a coin shop we had broken into. The exchange was kind of a heated one in which I pretended to be unhappy with my cut, and Dan, trying to soothe the situation, went into great detail about what was taken and how much his fence in upstate New York was able to get for us. I'd placed that tape and a journal I made of the crimes we committed together in a safety deposit box and arranged for the contents to be delivered to Vermont's attorney general on my death. Later I told Dan about my safety deposit box. He wasn't happy about it, but I could tell he respected me for it. For him to consider Plan B meant he either thought there was a chance I was bluffing or maybe that he had a shot of excluding my evidence due to hearsay. Or it could be that Manny had worse on him than

I had. He was deluding himself, though. If that tape and journal ever came out he'd do a hard twenty years.

I pulled up in front of my parents' house and sat quietly and thought the matter over. I wasn't going to murder either Phil or Manny. I had already done enough damage for one lifetime. Instead, I'd visit Manny, figure out what game he was playing, and then talk sense into Dan.

I found my mom in the kitchen preparing dinner. When she saw me she gave me a nervous, anxious smile and wavered for a moment before coming over to peck me on the cheek. Like my dad, she seemed to have aged excessively during the last seven years. She had shrunk somewhat, and her hair, which used to be mostly blonde with only touches of gray, was now completely white. She stood in front of me trying to smile, her eyes tiny in her now raisin-like face.

'You look tired, Joey,' she said, and then she moved back to the stove and her sauce-stirring.

I started laughing, I couldn't help it. 'After seven years that's the first thing you have to say to me?' I asked. 'Oh, and by the way, I missed you, too.'

'Of course I missed you,' she said, her voice faltering a bit. 'But you do look tired. Have you been eating enough?'

'I've been eating fine. Mom, the county jail is only a twenty-minute drive. You and dad could have visited me once.'

'We didn't feel comfortable doing that,' she said half under her breath. She started to say something else, but it died in her throat.

I watched for a minute as she stirred the sauce, her body tense, her eyes and mouth rigid. I asked her where Dad was.

'He wasn't feeling well so he's taking a nap.' She hesitated. 'Let me see if he's up.'