Beach Wedding(38)

“Yeah, well, looks like no one bothered to tell the cops,” our cousin said with a shrug. “And they’re taking cars.”

I immediately followed Tom across the lawn. As we reached the end of the driveway by Meadow Lane, we saw it was true. Two tow trucks were hooking up cars parked along the shoulder as a third one arrived.

There was a uniformed cop there as well, wearing aviator shades and sitting on the hood of a police cruiser across the road. I knew he was some kind of brass by his crisp white shirt and black tie.

I followed Tom across the street toward the cop.

About six-one with broad enough shoulders, the man had some size on him, I noticed. But he wasn’t really in shape. He was soft in the middle and sort of pear-shaped.

“What’s the problem, Officer?” Tom said as we stepped up. “We cleared the event with the town. I have the permit right here on my phone. There must be a mistake.”

“It’s ‘Chief,’ not ‘Officer,’” he said, casually straightening his tie. “Chief Tapley. And I’m not from the town. I’m from the county.”

I couldn’t believe it. Marvin wasn’t kidding. Tapley was definitely not on the up-and-up.

“But it’s right here, Chief,” Tom said, offering the phone to him. “Please, if you would just take a look.”

“Get that shit out of my face unless you want to watch it land in the bay,” Tapley said nastily.

“What?” Tom said, confused.

The smirk that slowly crossed Tapley’s face had some real mirth in it, I saw. Like other psychos I had unfortunately worked with from time to time on the job, this loo-loo seemed to have a real high opinion of himself.

And he was truly enjoying this.

“I’m from the county,” he repeated. “You need a hearing aid? This is my county.”

“Oh, the county,” Tom said, peering at him. “I get it now. Let me see. Do I genuflect now or bow? Salute maybe?”

Tapley removed his shades as his smile disappeared. His eyes were cold and gray as sheet metal.

“You tone down that smart mouth,” he said. “This is a county park police matter. Permit or no permit, you’re blocking access to Shinnecock east county park, and I will do what I need to do to render the situation safe.”

“Shinnecock east! That’s three miles away down Meadow Lane!” Tom said, pointing.

“Doesn’t matter,” Tapley said. “The blockage is here and we’ve gotten complaints.”

Just as he said this, a vehicle approached from the direction of the beach.

It was a fancy blue Mercedes SUV, I saw as it slowed. One of those really expensive safari-style things.

The woman in the Mercedes looked pretty fancy and expensive herself. She was dark-haired and regal and perfectly tan in a black bandeau bikini top and matching wrap and floppy beach hat. A Hermès Birkin bag with a little dog in it sat on the passenger seat beside her.

It must have been the Sam Adams I’d just drunk, because even after she lifted her Chanel shades, it took me a second to realize we were all standing there staring at Hailey Sutton.

“Thank you, Chief,” she said before she tore off in the six-figure Merc down Meadow Lane in a demure grumble and puff of sand.

“Oh, I see,” my brother said, watching after her.

“Yeah? You see what?” Tapley said as Tom stepped another foot closer to him.

“Tell me, Chief. She paying you in cash?” Tom said. “Or maybe you boys at the county got one of those electronic Square things now for your iPhone to take American Express payments.”

Tapley’s mirthful smile was back.

“You got a problem with me, why don’t you take it up right here, Rourke?” Tapley said, pointing at his chin. “I’ll even give you the first shot. Or maybe you’re not your poor old dearly departed drunk of a daddy’s son after all. Wall Street made you soft, did it?”

I grabbed my brother just in time as he lunged forward.

Tapley smiled some more as he slowly slid his sunglasses back on.

“Guess your little brother got the brains in the family, Rourke. Because that would have been the worst mistake you ever made.”

“It’s all right, Tom. Calm down, dude,” I said as I pulled Tom with all my might back onto the other side of Meadow Lane into the driveway.

“How do you like that, Terry? Hailey Sutton herself!” Tom said as he broke free and began pacing back and forth on the seashells.

“Tom, come on now. You saw that cop. He’s baiting you and he’s fricking evil. He’s working with Hailey. It’s all a setup! He’s also loving every minute of messing with us. He’s begging for you to do something so he can nail you.”

“Oh, he won’t have long to wait, then!” Tom screamed as he kicked half a foot of expensive gravel into the hedges.



PART THREE

THE COLD HARD TRUTH




50

Beyond the dark shore of Connecticut, the lights of New London winked in the warm summer night like a diamond necklace.

Then the Orient Point ferry’s horn sounded from the top deck beside me as it lurched to a stop.

From the ferry’s top rail, I stood looking across the boatyard as a deckhand clattered a ramp down onto the concrete dock.