Two Jakes by Lawrence de Maria Read Free Book Online

frequent now,
replaced by those spawned by more recent horrors.
    “Why
didn’t you stay out West?”
    “My
grandfather thought I needed some polishing. He also wanted to keep me out of
the hoosegow. My friends growing up were real cowboys and I had cousins who
were real Cheyenne Indians. We were always getting into scrapes. A hundred
years ago we’d have been hung from the nearest tree, Judge Scarne or no. So he
sent me off to Providence College in Rhode Island.”
    “Why
Providence?”
    “Good
Catholic school. But mainly because he had cousins in the city, men he
respected for having the good sense to leave Italy before the war while, as he
put it, “I stayed to fight for that fat, bald shit Mussolini.’”
    Shields
laughed.
    “Don
said you also have an admirable war record. Marines, right?”
    Scarne
felt the familiar feeling of withdrawal, the barrier going up, whenever his war
was mentioned. He never considered blood, fear, filth and death admirable. Or
some of the things he had done to other human beings. His medals were in a
drawer. He wished he could put his memories in with them.
    “You
guys had quite a chat, didn’t you?”
    Shields
noticed the subtle change in Scarne’s demeanor.
    “Don’t
be offended, Jake. I asked Don a lot of questions. He thinks highly of you and
broke no confidences. For the record, he’s not the one who told me you were
suspended from the District Attorney’s office for throwing a City Councilman
off the balcony in City Hall. By the way, is that true?”
    Scarne
smiled, his humor restored.
    “An
exaggeration. I had him by his ankle.”
    Shields
picked up his brandy glass.
    “I’d
like to hear the reason.”
    “He
bought off one of my witnesses with a patronage job. My case went down the
tubes and a rapist, a cousin of a big contributor, went free.”
    “It
cost you your career.”
    “But
now people buy me stone crabs and brandy at fancy clubs.”
    “No
regrets?”
    “Only
that I didn’t drop the bastard. Is this a problem for you?”
    “Quite
the opposite. I need someone who can shake things up, who is not afraid of … consequences.
There is an element of danger in what I want you to do. Professional, for sure,
and maybe more than that.”
    “Is
this where I say, ‘danger is my middle name’ Mr. Shields?” Scarne smiled
reassuringly at the old man. Everyone thought their problem unique and
intractable. Must be woman trouble. Some gold digger has gotten her claws into
the recent widower. Blackmail? He noticed that Shields wasn’t smiling. “I’m
sorry. I shouldn’t be flip. Why don’t you just tell me what this is all about?
I’m sure I can help.”
    Shields
took a large swallow of his brandy.
    “I
think Victor Ballantrae killed my son.”

CHAPTER
4 – JOSHUA HIDLESS
     
    Scarne
wasn’t sure he’d heard Shields correctly.
    “Victor
Ballantrae?”
    “I
take it you know who he is.”
    “Of
course. Doesn’t everyone? Wall Street’s latest darling.” Up until now, the old
man had seemed so rational. “Your own magazines have run glowing profiles on
him. ‘At the Top from Down Under,’ was one story I recall.”
    Shields
waved his hand dismissively.
    “At
one time or another we’ve run glowing profiles on Ivan Boesky, Bernie Madoff
and Allen Stanford. Business journalism is an oxymoron. We shill for these
crooks until they’re caught. Then we blame the regulators.”
    Scarne
thought the same but was surprised by the man’s candor.
    “Not
what you expected from someone in my position, is it Jake? Let’s just say that
I don’t agree with my brother’s editorial policy as it applies to Wall Street.
And neither did my son.”
    “I
heard about your recent losses, Mr. Shields. I’m sorry. I would have said
something earlier but I didn’t think it was my place. We didn’t know one
another. But I was given to understand your son died accidentally.”
    “That’s
bullshit!”
    Scarne
saw Condon and the Cardinal glance in their