Well, no. When Andy disappeared, everything was screwed up for a while; then we had a general shuffling around, and McDonald wound up as a senior vice president in the mortgage company.
Huh, said Lucas, and Bone said, Yeah, and asked, Cant you get this stuff from the FBI or somewhere?
Probably not. Besides, the computers down.
You too? Christ, its chaos downstairs…
Did you ever hear that McDonald might whack his wife around from time to time? Pretty seriously?
Bone nodded. I heard it. I went out with a lawyer lady for a while, old family, she knows that whole country clubbunch; and she said something to me about it. She might have some details… You could talk to her if you want.
Thatd be good…
Bone scratched a name and phone number on a piece of notepaper and pushed it across the desk. Sandra Ollsen, twols. Thats her office phone over at Kelly, Batten.
What kind of law?
Estate planning, wills, trusts. He looked at his watch and said, Listen, Ive got to go to a meeting, but I can talk to a guy whos gonna be there, and find out if there was anything between Wilson and Arris.
Lucas said, Thanks, stood up, and as they shook hands, said, I understand you used to play a little ball.
Yeah, a little, Bone said.
How well do you know Dama Isley?
Reasonably wellI heard he played for the Gophers, back when. Hard to believe.
Yeah. Listen, next time you see him, take a couple of minutes and talk a little ball, old-time stuff, like college days.
Bone shrugged. Sure. Why?
Private project, Lucas said. You still play?
Bone, grinning, said, I still shoot around a little bit on Saturdays. Always a couple of kids trying to take advantage of me.
Lucas said, A banker? Playing for money?
Good grief, no, Bone said. Not for money. Thatd be illegal.
ON THE WAY OUT, LUCAS PAUSED IN THE OPEN DOOR of Bones office, saw Kerin Baki talking to the secretary, and said, loud enough for her to overhear, Im probably going to want to talk about McDonald again.
Bone, already settling back into his desk, distracted, missed the double-directed comment, nodded, said, Okay, and Lucas pulled the door shut. He smiled at Baki on the way out and said, Thank you.
By the time the elevators reached the bottom floor, hethought, the word on McDonald would be out. If Baki was as efficient as she looked, she could never pass on the chance to screw one of her bosss competitors.
LIKE BONE, SANDRA OLLSEN WAS REALLY TOO BUSY TO talk to Lucas; but he mentioned Bones name and was admitted to the mahogany offices of Kelly, Batten, Orstein amp; Shirinjivi. Ollsen was a tall, coordinated woman who looked as though she might once have played some ball herself.
Hows Jim? she asked casually as Lucas settled into the chair across her desk.
Looks fine; something of a power struggle going on over there, Lucas said.
Yes. With Susan ODell. I hope she kicks his butt.
Really? Lucas asked.
Really, she said. Lucas, bemused, watched her for a moment, waiting, and then she said, He sort of dumped me.
Ah. I know the feeling, Lucas said.
She looked him over. I dont think so, she said after a minute.
Youd be wrong, Lucas said. Anyway… he seems to think of you as a friend.
Right. She rolled her eyes. Actually, I dont think he was actually looking for friendship when he started squiring me around. He was looking… She grinned at him, not a bad smile at all. Why am I telling you this?
Because of my open face and genuine curiosity?
Cause youre a trained interrogator, thats why. When I was in college, we called you pigs.
When I was in college, Icalled us pigs, Lucas said. So what was he looking for when he started taking you around?
Sex, she said, ingenuously. Any place, any time… Some of the girls around the bank call him the Boner, if you know what I mean.
All right, Lucas said. Listen, the reason I came by…
Bet nobody would ever call you that, Ollsen said. The Boner.
Only cause I carry a big leather sap in my pocket, Lucas said. Id beat the tar out of them.
Oh, its a sap. And I just thought you were happy to see me.
Lucas held up his hands: All right, you win the war of wits. And they both laughed. But listen, the real reason I came around: You know about the Kresge killing, of course. Were investigating it, and Im wondering how well you know Wilson McDonald?
A sudden wariness appeared in her eyes, and she put a hand to her throat. You think Wilson did it?
No, we dont think anything, just yet. But he was one of the four people up there when Kresge…
Bit the bullet?
Exactly the words I was looking for, Lucas said. Anyway: How well do you know McDonald?
My parents knew the family quite well…
Does Wilson McDonald beat his wife?
Ah, Jesus, she said, softly. I wondered what Jim told you. What are you going to do, blackmail him with it? Wilson?
Domestic violence is not my department, Lucas said. Im just trying to get a reading on him, what kind of a guy he is.
Again, she hesitated, and Lucas added, This is all informal. There wont be any record of what you say.
But you could subpoena me.
If it got to that point, youd be morally obliged to tell us anyway, Lucas said.
She thought about that for a moment, then said, I was at a pool party last summerRush and Louise Freeman, he runs Freeman-Hoag.
The advertising agency.
Yes. Wilson got drunk. He was getting loud and hewent into the pool with his clothes onAudrey said he fell, but I saw it, and he looked like he was jumping in. Anyway, we got him out, and Audrey walked him around the house out toward their car, and they started arguing. And Louise went over to RushI was talking to Rush and she said something like, Rush, you better go around, theyre starting to argue. Something about the way she said it. So Rush went around the house, and I followed, and we both came around the corner just in time to see Wilson hit her right in the head. He just swatted her and knocked her down. Rush ran over and they started arguing, and I thought Wilson was going to fight him. But Audrey got up and said she was all right, and I got between the two guys. And they went off.
Nobody called the police? Lucas asked.
No.
I thought that was the correct thing to do, Lucas said. I mean with the lawer-doctor-advertising set. No violence.
She nodded. Ill tell you what, buster. If any guy ever hit me like that, his ass would be in jail ten minutes later. But… sometimes things are more complicated. Audrey didnt want it. She said he was drunk and didnt mean anything.
So that was the end of it.
Yes. Then, anyway. I was talking to Louise afterwards, and she said that hed beaten her up before. A couple of times a year.
And shed know?
Yes… Shes a little younger. Louise is. Shes Rushs second wife, used to be his secretary. She knows Audreys younger sister pretty well, I dont know how. The sister told Louise that Wilson beats up Audrey a couple of times a year. Sometimes pretty badly.
Do you think Wilson McDonald could have killed Kresge?
Yes, she said. Not just because I saw him hit Audrey. I was always a little afraid of him. I knew him whenI was littlehe was five or six years ahead of me at Cresthaven, and my brother knew him. Hes big and fat and mean; hes got those little mean eyes. Hes a goddamned animal.
Lucas nodded: Okay.
Even if he did it, you wont get him. Hes pretty smart, but most of all, hes a McDonald, she said. The Mc-Donalds… theyve got this family thing. They dont care what a family member does, as long as he doesnt get caught at it. She stopped: No, thats not quite right: they dont care what he does, as long as hes not convicted of it. In their eyes, not being convicted is the same as not doing it. That comes from way back. The first McDonalds were crooks, they stole from the farmers with their mill. The second or third generation were still crooks, and they made millions during the Depression with real estate scams that they ran through Polaris. And theyre still crooks. And theyve got very good legal advice.