Dale Rogers the new chief.
Mayor Laura Jamison
Lester Haines Sightly heavy night officer.
Mike Simpson day officer. Gym rat also a short 5’4”
Lucy Kerby chubby young secretary.
Jim Sloan evening officer
Adams the realtor.
Wesley Brown handyman.
Andrew Rice my roof repairman and plumbing repairman
Betty Booth the Sergeant at arms of Happy Valley
Colonel Williams rep for Happy valley
Diane Rogers his ex wife
Sarah Rogers his daughter
Wilson Thomas Daine’s bf
Allison Dempsey lucy’s temp
Raul, andrew rice helper
Juanita Rauls wife
Myra Rauls daughter and Sarah friend.
Randy Reynolds Sarah’s bf
Mallo and Silvers the SBI Agents.
Marty the SBI computer nerd.
Angelo Martinez the pornographer
building 513 main st
Ed Marx and his son Eddie
Gayle Arnold widow on the pier
Jessie smith social security cheat.
Sam Arnold Gayle’s brother in law
Nickolas Bokolis. Adult entertainment and rapist.

The Chief (quick&dirty#5)

It was really late when I got to bed. I was up and on the bike at 6AM. If there was going to be hell to pay, I wanted to be one who wrote the check. I carried the .357 not the prissy Colt Detective Special. I might not get a chance to use it, but if I did, I at least wanted the bad guys to remember that I fought back with a serious weapon.

Of course nothing happened during the ride. I went into the Downtown Diner for breakfast. It was the first time I had been in since the Dead Pool was announced. I was a little worried about collateral damage even that morning, but I decided to risk it for Mallo and Silvers.

When Mallo and Silvers enter the Diner, I was seated and drinking my first cup of diner coffee in a week. “So how you two been?” I asked.

“Better than you it seems,” Silvers said.

“Oh?” I asked.

“If Bokolis was out to get you, you would be dead. We think he has killed a half dozen men, but all of them were in the country illegally. Since they were Russians nobody made much of an effort to find the killer. Besides Bokolis has a really good lawyer,” Mallo said.

“So what was his motives?” I asked.

“Just one motive, business,” Silvers said.

“Were all the bodies dropped locally?” I asked.

“No only one, he almost went down for it. His enterprises seem to be everywhere. Yes he is in the internet porn business, but we can’t tie him to the dark website.” Mallo said.

“It’s nice that you don’t think he was here for me. He came from the Happy Valley Estates, so maybe be was visiting Angelo Martinez. Angelo might have been a supplier of pornographic images,” I guessed.

“We can’t prove anything Angelo thinks he can beat the rap even with your girlfriend Betty’s testimony. Something about tainted evidence is where he seems to be going,” Silvers suggested. “The DA thinks you will refuse to testify about your daughter.”

“He doesn’t understand my relationship with her,” I said.

“Well we hope you remember that when guys like Bokolis begin to pressure you,” Mallo said.

“Than again hard to testify if you are dead,” Silvers added.

“All that is your problem,” I said.

“Right. So do you want to sit in on the first attempt at an interview. We are headed over there after breakfast,” Mallo informed me.

“Sure, let me call the station and pick up my ride. How about I just meet you there. So wait for me?” I asked.

“Sure as long as you get there before they find Bokolis,” Mallo said.

When I stepped outside I spoke with Allison on the land line. “Well hello, nice to hear your voice,” I said.

“I promised I would speak with you before I left for good, so can we talk today?” She asked.

“Sure but right now I’m headed for Kinston to talk to a suspect. I just wanted to check in, so anything happening?” I asked.

“Not at the moment, but you know how that goes. When the businesses open, there might be something,” she said.

“I know. Well I expect I will have to keep the cell phone off during the interview. I’ll be heading home right after, so I’ll see you at the station in a bit,” I suggested.

“I’m working from a desk in the sanitation dept,” Allison said.

“Okay, that’s fine for now,” I replied.

When I arrived at the county lock up Mallo and Silvers were waiting. “Your buddy is on his way up. We had were told to wait while he has breakfast. They eat breakfast later than we do,” Silvers said.

“They have less to do in the morning than you do,” I suggested,

“Must be nice,” Silvers said.

“I don’t think so,” I replied.

“I guess being chief of police in a town like Ansonville, has to be like being in jail,” he said.

“Not really, I can drive down to look at the ocean, Bokolis couldn’t last night. I’ll bet he is pissed,” I said.

“I can imagine he is but not about the ocean,” Mallo said. “You probably should be dead.”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “If that were the case, I would be dead.” It hit me all at once. “Crap I need to call Betty.” I dialed her phone. She answered on the forth ring.

“What do you need,” Betty asked. “I’m working.”

“Where are you?” I asked. Mallo and Silvers just looked at me like I was some kind of idiot.

“I’m at the building, why?” she asked.

“Because if Borolis wasn’t in town to take me or you out, then it was Angelo Martinez. Call Happy Valley and have security check his house,” I demanded.

She didn’t even say goodby. She simply broke the connection.

“Do you think they are going to find a body?” Mallo asked.

“Bokolis was doing something in Happy Valley,” I said. “I figure he was paying him off somehow.”

“He didn’t have a murder weapon on him,” Silvers said.

“So?” I asked.

“Okay let’s see what the house search turns up,” Mallo said. “In the meantime we need to speak with Bokolis.”

“He will be trying to get bail as soon a this mouthpiece arrives,” Silvers said.

“Surely he won’t make it. He is being held on unlawful flight,” I said.

“You just never know,” Silvers said.

“Well don’t let his ass leave for twenty minutes. I have some Happy Valley security people looking into another possible victim. I think now that it was Angelo Martinez that he came for. The security people are looking into his residence. I’m willing to bet, if the odds are good enough, that Angelo doesn’t come to the door.” I explained.

Mallo called the Sheriff’s office to make sure the Jail would cooperate. She didn’t want to miss Bokolis. She was determined to get that interview, while I was more centered on not letting Bokolis get running again.

Actually for me his killing Angelo Martinez was good news. It meant the mob was cutting their losses and didn’t need to kill Betty or me. But I didn’t won’t the search for him to be an ongoing event. I wanted the whole miserable story to just fucking end.

“His body is laying on the living room floor getting cold,” Betty’s voice came from the phone. “The Sheriff’s team is processing the crime scene as we speak.”

“Thanks Betty,” I said.

“We need to talk to Bokolis,” I said to Silvers.

“Why,” he asked.

“Because I am sure that I can get a confession from him,” I admitted.

Fifteen minutes later we were sitting in an interview room waiting for Bokolis’s lawyer to arrive. “So Nick lets you and I have a talk?” I suggested.

“Not till my lawyer arrives,” he said.

“That’s fine, you just listen. What I think happened was this. That jerk was trying to impress Betty and maybe get laid. To make that happen he let a lot of shit out without vetting her first. She was sickened by it, so she figured out a way to get it all to the FBI.

When Angelo got that idiot Randy Reynolds to compromise my daughter, I became involved. That didn’t work out like he planned. Somehow her pictures ended up on the Happy Valley website. Angelo might have put them up there, but I don’t know. My reaction was to call in the big guns.