Colin waited, lit a Marlboro.
"Schufeldt," he hissed, sounding like a steam engine.
One look at the macho wonder boy and he'd known there'd be friction between him and Hallock, so he wasn't surprised at the chief's outburst. "What happened?"
"The fucker's decided the mark's not an A."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"You ready? It's a cult marking."
"A what?"
"A cult marking. You know, the mark of some loony-tunes group like Hare Krishnas or Moonies or some damn thing."
Colin thought maybe Schufeldt might be onto something.
"What's that look in your eye, Maguire?"
"No look."
"Bull."
"Tell me why he thinks that?"
"Who the fuck knows? You think he lets me in on his thought processes? Doesn't even let himself in on them. Coupla days ago he's dragging in all the sex offenders, even though I point out to him that's not our guy's M.O. So now he wants to bring in any weirdos. Eighty percent of the Fork are weirdos, I tell him." Hallock laughed.
"What'd he say?"
"Nothing. Just gives me this look supposed to be hardass or some such. The bastard thinks he's Clint Eastwood."
Colin smiled. "I wish you knew why he thinks it's a cult marking."
"What the hell difference does it make?"
"Maybe he's got something."
"You kidding me? Forget about it."
Colin shrugged. "You never know, Chief."
"I know." He jabbed a thick thumb at his chest.
Colin could see this was not a line of inquiry to pursue. Still, you never knew. Maybe he should investigate this on his own. "So why're you so bugged about it?"
Hallock leaned forward, lowered his voice. "Because the stupid bastard is rounding up whoever he thinks is weird, going to bring 'em in, grill 'em. I mean, shit, Maguire, we don't do stuff like that around here. Thing is, he wanted me to go out, round the loons up. No way, Jose, I tell him."
"What'd he say?"
"Said if I didn't he was going to report me."
"Who to?"
"I don't know. Gildersleeve, I guess. Town board."
"Did you say again you wouldn't do it?"
"I said nada. Just walked out. Came here." He took off his cap, dropped it on the seat beside him and ran a crumpled handkerchief over his sweaty brow.
"Hey, Chief," Vivian said, "I didn't see ya come in."
"S'okay, Viv."
"Want a coffee an' Danish?"
"Just coffee."
"Refill for you?"
"Yes, thanks."
"Comin' up."
Colin said, "So what are you going to do?"
"Nothing. I mean, I'm not cruising around looking for what he calls weirdos."
"What does he call weirdos?"
Vivian placed a cup of coffee in front of Hallock and filled Colin's cup.
When she was gone Hallock said, "He says, 'You got any homos around here?' Well, Jesus, Maguire, this is a resort town a hundred miles from New York City, it's like asking you got any Jews in Israel."
Colin laughed. "A quarter of the businesses are run by gays, from what I've seen."
"You'd better believe it. You think I'm going to pull them in for questioning? I mean, for instance, can you feature me dragging in Harriet and Ginny from the card shop, giving them the third?"
Colin shook his head.
"Let the bastard make a federal case against me, I'm not wasting my time with his bullshit. Not going to embarrass a lot of nice folks 'cause this little prick's a Falwell follower or whatever. You start pulling in what he calls weirdos, next thing you have him arresting all the Democrats, or all the blonds with blue eyes, if you see what I mean." Hallock took a large swallow of coffee. "Ah, hell, Maguire, it's a dog's life."
He stifled his laughter. "C'mon, Chief, it's not that bad."
"No? I'll tell you, it's pretty bad, bringing in this hotshot from the troopers, telling me how to run an investigation when he doesn't know his dick from his elbow. Not my fault this killer's some smart Joe. Jesus, Maguire, not a goddamn clue in three murders. No prints, no hair samples, no blood samples, not a goddamn thing." His body slumped in the booth as if the puppeteer had dropped his strings.
Colin thought Hallock looked old. "It's tough, Chief, I know. But what about your plan?"
"Oh, yeah, the plan," he said unenthusiastically.
"You sounded excited about it on the phone."
"I don't know, it seems like a million-to-one shot now."
"Tell me anyway."
Hallock outlined the plan for Colin, filling him in on his early morning meeting with the women, ending with his idea of the questionnaire.
"What kind of questionnaire?"
"That's where you come in. I want something that sounds like a survey, not too long, but meaningful, give us an idea of the person. See who we can rule out. Narrow it down."
"You realize the killer may not have a phone?"
"Yeah, I know. Might not have a phone; might not be an A; if it is an A, might not be the initial of a name. Yeah, I know. But I got to do something, Maguire. I got to try."
"Okay, let's think about the questionnaire."
They sat in the Paradise for more than an hour, trying hundreds of ideas, rejecting most. In the end they came up with ten questions. Colin read them out to Hallock.
"One. Ask if respondent is the person listed in the phone book. (If yes go to Two. If no ask to speak to that person. If not at home find out when he will be home. Thank respondent, hang up. If the respondent is the one listed and a woman go to Two and Three.)
"Two. Were you watching TV Friday night, May twenty-ninth? (If yes go to Three. If no go to Four.)
"Three. What program? (When they tell you, thank them and hang up.)
"Four. Were you at home on that night? (If yes continue. If no go to Eight.)
"Five. Were you home alone or with friends? (If alone go to Six. If with friends go to Seven.)
"Six. What were you doing?
"Seven. What were you and friends doing?
"Eight. Were you at a movie, out to dinner, with friends, other? (If respondent was with friends somewhere other than band concert go to Ten. If at band concert go to Nine.)
"Nine. Did you enjoy the concert?
"Ten. Will you be watching TV tonight? Thank respondent, say good-bye."
"That's not half bad," Hallock said.
"You ought to get something out of that."
"It's worth a shot. Don't know how to thank you, Maguire."
"Forget it."
"This was off the record, right? I mean, you won't print this."
"No."
"Or tell anybody about it?"
"Not even Mark?"
"Specially not him. He's not in my cheering section, if you know what I mean."
"I'll try, Chief, that's all I can promise. He is my boss."
"Do the best you can."
"I will."
Outside, Colin and Hallock stood in front of the Paradise feeling the quiet of the town.
"It's like a frigging morgue," Hallock observed. "Usually starts jumping by this time of year. I gotta get this bastard."
"I'm sure you will, Chief," Colin said.
But he wasn't sure at all.
LOOKING BACK-25 YEARS AGO
Early in January Roy Chute advertised in The Seaville Gazette for a valuable camera he had lost. The months went by with no response. Mr. Chute, who thoroughly believes in the fundamental honesty of the average individual, refused to give up hope for the safe return of the camera. One day last week he and his wife were out. Upon their return they found the missing camera on the table in the living room. Where the camera had been for five months or who returned it he had no idea. But his belief in the honesty of human nature was verified.
TWENTY
It was one of those days Joe Carroll hated more than life itself. No Thank God It's Friday for him. And if this morning's breakfast was an example of how the day was going to go, he was screwed.
"Mom, how many years have I been asking you to make me four-minute eggs, huh?" The hardened yolk fell with a thunk into his bowl.