I began reading the Dismas Hardy books mid-series, when Hardy was an established defense attorney and devoted family man. So it's interesting to go back to this second novel in the series, and observe Hardy's earlier escapades.
Background: After a tour in Vietnam and several years on the police force, Hardy became a prosecutor in the San Francisco District Attorney's office. Dismas was married to Jane, a buyer for I. Magnin, and things were going well.
Then Dismas and Jane had a baby named Michael, who fell out of his crib, hit his head, and died. Hardy blamed himself for the tragedy and could barely go on. In the aftermath, Hardy and Jane divorced, and Dismas quit his job as a prosecutor. Hardy then became a bartender in the Little Shamrock, a bar owned by his friend Moses McGuire.
*****
As 'The Vig' opens, Hardy has been working in the Little Shamrock for nearly a decade, and is a one-quarter owner. Dismas has also been seeing his ex-wife Jane, who's on a buying trip to Hong Kong right now. Dismas and Jane exchange phone calls, but they're both ambivalent about making their relationship permanent.
Hardy is on the afternoon shift at the Little Shamrock when Rusty Ingraham, Dismas's former colleague in the D.A.'s office, comes in. Ingraham has news about a vicious convict named Louis Baker, a murderer who'd finally been nailed for armed robbery ten years ago. When Baker was led off to prison, he vowed to kill Ingraham and Hardy......and Baker is now getting out on parole.
Hardy and Ingraham agree to keep in touch by way of phones calls, so if one of them is found by Baker, the other will be warned. Shockingly, ONE DAY after Baker gets out, Hardy doesn't get the expected call. Hardy goes over to Ingraham's houseboat, and finds a dead woman and a trail of blood leading to the bay.
Hardy's best friend, SFPD Homicide Detective Abe Glitsky, who's half-Jewish and half-Black, arrives to examine the crime scene. The murdered woman is identified as Ingraham's girlfriend Maxine Weir, but there's no sign of Ingraham.
Hardy INSISTS Baker killed both Maxine and Rusty, and Rusty then fell or was thrown overboard. Hardy is absolutely certain Baker is coming after him now, and DEMANDS that Abe arrest Baker ASAP.
However, Abe points out there's no evidence connecting Maxine's murder to Baker, and there's no proof Ingraham is dead. For a large part of the novel, Hardy tries to PROVE Ingraham was murdered, and to convince Abe to take Baker off the street.
In the meantime, Hardy is reluctant to return to his own house, where Baker might find him. So Dismas goes to stay with Moses McGuire's sister Frannie, who's recently widowed and pregnant. Dismas and Frannie have known each other for many years, and have felt a mild attraction, but there are issues to consider.
The houseboat crime(s) form the main plot of the novel, but there's much more going on. I'll give a brief summary.
➽ Mobster Angelo Tortoni lends money to people in need, then charges a huge vigorish (interest rate).
Tortoni's 'muscle' Johnny LaGuardia collects 'the vig' every week, and gets rough if people don't pay.
*****
➽ When convict Louis Baker gets out on parole, he goes to stay with a woman he calls Mama.
Baker wants to fix up Mama's house, and his first order of business is to get white spray paint, and cover the graffiti outside. This puts Louis at odds with the drug dealer who tagged the area. The ensuing hostility leads to violent encounters.
*****
➽ A gay man named Fred Treadwell - who loves his dog Poppy - is suspected of killing his cheating lover and another man.
When the police come to arrest Fred, he kicks out a window, jumps down two stories, and injures himself badly. Fred's lawyer then accuses the cops of police brutality and gay-bashing. This lie leads to a huge ruckus, a frustrated prosecutor, and a furious police department.
In the same vein, a former SFPD detective called Hector Medina - who's now head of security at a hotel - despises Rusty Ingraham. Several years ago, Rusty spread the word that Medina shot a suspect and planted a gun. Medina was cleared of all charges, but his police career was over.
*****
All is revealed by the end of the book, including the importance of 'the vig' to the story.
Some parts of the book work better than others. The investigation conducted by Glitsky and Hardy is compelling, but the other subplots slow down the novel, and some of them feel like filler.
Still, I'd recommend the 'Dismas Hardy' series to mystery fans.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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