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“I’m surprised you’re sharing this with me.”
“We have a taped confession and tons of physical evidence. Her prints were all over Joyce’s car. And I’m sure there are DNA matches. The woman sheds hair like a cat. And with the way things operate in this town, every detail will be circulated at Mabel’s Hair Salon and Giovichinni’s Market today. I don’t know how it gets leaked out, but it always does.”
“Did you talk to Berger?”
“No. We’ve been playing phone tag. I’ll try to hook up today.”
Morelli left, and I went to my computer to get information on Billings. I found the company and scrolled through a bunch of pages. It looked like they distributed gourmet prepared food, specialty items, and premium meat and poultry. The warehouse and central offices were just north of Bordentown. It was a private company owned by Chester Billings. He wasn’t exactly squeaky clean. He’d been charged with income-tax evasion three years ago, but he’d settled up and nothing more had come of it. He’d also been charged with possession of stolen goods, but nothing had come of that, either.
I plugged Chester Billings into a new search program that woul
d give me some personal history. He was born in New Brunswick. Parents were Mary and William Billings. Sister Brenda. Holy cow. Brenda.
I put Brenda Schwartz into the same search program and read down. There it was … Brenda Billings. Brother Chester.
Okay, so I had finally made a connection. And it was interesting. But I still had no idea why the photograph was important. Or, for that matter, what I had to do to get everyone off my back.
I shut my computer down, took a shower, got dressed, and headed out. Lancer and Slasher fell in line behind me on Hamilton and followed me all the way. We parked in front of the bonds office, and I walked back to talk to them.
“I know who you work for,” I said to Lancer.
“I didn’t tell you,” he said.
“No. I found out on my own.”
“I guess it’s okay then.”
“You don’t seem especially motivated to beat information out of me,” I said.
“We’re following orders,” Lancer said. “We keep our eye on you and report back where you go and who you talk to.”
“Razzle Dazzle is more aggressive.”
Lancer snorted. “He’s a freak. He used to hang out at the casino until they kicked him out. He had a way of getting the slots to pay out. Works for some Somali nutcase. Used to brag about how he could cut off a finger with a single slash of his knife.”
• • •
Connie, Lula, and Vinnie were standing at silent attention when I walked into the office.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We’re listening,” Connie said. “Do you hear that?”
I cocked my head and listened. “What am I supposed to be hearing?”
“They’re squeaking,” Connie said. “They’re having a meeting.”
“Who?”
“The rats.”
Oh boy.
“I don’t hear them no more,” Lula said. “I’m not sure I ever heard them. I think the squeaking might have been Vinnie wheezin’.”
“I don’t wheeze,” Vinnie said. “I’m the picture of health.”
“Things to do. People to see,” I said. “There’s a warehouse I need to check out by Bordentown.”
