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You can fly it in a little over an hour, but even if I left hi cell in Cleveland, I wouldn't be able to catch a flight back until so

"If you want," I said, "I'll take the train with you"

He nodded "I suppose that would be best," he said

23

It was a long night

I left Haveh to duck across the street to the car and bring Jason Griffin up to speed He had plans for the evening but insisted it was no problelad to take ht as well join us inside the house, and he agreed that it would bein the car with the wide-mouthed jar his uncle had recommended

While he locked the car, I hurried back to the houseleft Haveht find him dead by his own hand, or on the phone with his lawyer It was hard to say which of the two prospects was roundless I found hi out our teacups

I told him I'd invited my driver in to join us, and moments later there was a knock on the door and I opened it for Jason I didn't knohat the three of us were going to talk about, but that settled itself when Havemeyer determined that Jason was a student at Western Reserve That led to a conversation about the college's football teah into a spirited discussion of Cleveland's pro team, the Browns, and their perfidious owner's decision to pack the franchise off to Balti I can find to say about that man," Havemeyer said, "is that he's an utter son of a bitch"

That led me almost inevitably to an analysis of the character and probable ancestry of Walter O'Malley, and gave rise to a more theoretical discussion of just what a teaed to it, or it to its fans This would have been interesting enough all by itself, but circuave it a special spin The roo and the one ere choosing not to have The former was about sport and its illusions, the latter about homicide and its consequences

Jason made a couple of phone calls to cancel his plans for the evening I called Amtrak to book two Cleveland-to-New York seats on the Lake Shore Liot to hearmachine; I left word that I'd be back in the city so roo prospects for dinner Jason offered to go out for pizza, and Havemeyer said it was quicker and simpler to have it delivered He made the phone call himself, and the kid from Domino's was there ithin the statutory twenty-ht with his pizza, while Jason and I had Cokes I had the sense that Jason would have preferred a beer, and wondered what had kept hi one Did he feel it was inappropriate to drink on duty? Or had his uncle describedhim to assume it was bad form to drink in front of ht to pack for the trip I went into the bedrooainst the hile he took his ti them in his suitcase When he was done he closed it and hefted it and et one of those suitcases on wheels you saw everybody using these days, but he hadn't gotten around to it

"But I don't suppose I'll bemany more trips," he said

I asked if the suitcase was heavy

"It's not too bad," he said "I've got more clothes in here than the last tiun, and that was heavier than you'd think That reun?"

"You still have it?"

"I suppose that's foolish, isn't it? I was going to get rid of it Drop it down a sewer, or heave it into the lake But I kept it I thought I ht, oh, need it"

"Where is it?"

"In the attic Do you want et it? Or should I just leave it where it is?"

I considered the question There was a time when the ansould have been obvious, but a lot of court decisions had changed the rules regarding adun where it was for the ti, so that it could be found in due course after a proper warrant had been obtained?

Probably, I decided, but I weighed that against the possibility that soun in the meantime, and concluded it was better to have the weapon inwith his taped confession and a few other things, it seeh hard evidence to ainst him

He cliun wrapped in a red-and-white-checkered cloth The dish towel, I guess it must have been He presented it toit He hadn't cleaned it since firing it, and it still sunshots that had killed Byron Leopold

I went out to Jason's car and locked it inhearts, and Havemeyer made another pot of tea, and Jason drove us to the station early, getting us there alave hi me for the experience I told him not to be silly and he put theour train tickets, even as he had insisted on paying for the pizza "Two one-way tickets," he announced "You won't be co back to Cleveland And neither will I"

The train was crowded and we couldn't get two seats together I took the conductor aside and told hi a ot a fellow to switch his seat, and I gave Havemeyer theand sat down next to him

We talked for an hour or so He wanted to knohat to expect, and I told him as much as I knew I told hi to do was cooperate with the police and plead guilty He said there was a man in Cleveland he'd used in the past, but the man didn't take criminal cases, and anyway he was in Cleveland "But I suppose he could recommend someone," he said I said that was very likely true, and that I could recommend several New York lawyers

He said he supposed he'd be spending the rest of his life in prison I said that wasn't necessarily true, that he could very likely plead to a lesser charge than ue that the strain of his wife's death constituted so circumstances, and that his previously unblemished record (not even a traffic violation, aside fro tickets) would certainly work to his advantage

"You'll have to go to prison," I said, "but it'll probably be minimum-security, and the bulk of the other cons will be white-collar cris I' you'll like it, but it won't be some hellhole out of The Shawshank Rede ," he said, "for killing an innocent man"