MISSION FLATS
By William Landay
Delacourt Press, a Division of Random House, Inc. New York, New York
$23.95, hardcover, 369 pages; ISBN 0-385-33614-4 (2003).
This book was the featured Alternate Selection of the Mystery Guild and it's easy to see why – it's a fine first effort by a former prosecutor in Massachusetts. The story is told in first person by Ben Truman, an inexperienced police chief in the fictionalized small town of Versailles (pronounced "Ver-sales"), Maine. Ben left graduate school at Boston University to come home to care for his mother who is slowly losing her memory – and her willingness to live – from Alzheimer's.
His father, Claude Truman, had been the chief of police for years. When he retired, Ben somewhat reluctantly took the job. Claude is full of rage over the recent death of his wife and Ben is also mourning her passing, when he finds the murdered body of Robert Danziger, a prosecutor from Boston, in a cabin by the lake.
This is the first serious crime to occur while he is police chief, and Ben wants to handle the investigation. He has two problems: (1) he is clearly out of his element and has no idea how to pursue a murder investigation; and (2) the Maine Attorney General's office handles all murder cases and quickly takes over the case.
Boston police also investigate the case and quickly determine that Harold Braxton, a drug dealer and gang leader in a rundown section of Boston called Mission Flats, is the primary suspect. Danziger was getting ready to prosecute some low level members in Braxton's gang and was working his way up to Braxton.
Ben's ineptitude is apparent to John Kelly, a retired Boston policeman who takes a quick look at the crime scene to "scratch an itch." Kelly quickly sees that Ben has no skills as a detective and explains to him what he sees at the crime scene. Kelly tells Ben that by looking at the blood spatters, it's clear that the body was moved:
"Well, you figure out what your man was looking for – why he moved the body – and you'll find him."
I shook my head. I felt at a loss, unnerved by the whole thing. The reality of it, the nearness.
"Don't look so hopeless, Ben Truman. It's not rocket science. You'll figure it out."
"Doesn't matter anyway, it's not my case. It's just, you have to wonder how anybody could do this. Not
how – I guess we know how. I mean why?"
"Why indeed." Kelly gazed at the cabin. "Well, here's your first lesson. There are only six motives for murder: anger, fear, greed, jealousy, desire, revenge. Your first job is just to figure out which one fits your case. There's no such thing as a murder without a motive. Even psychopaths have a motive that makes sense to them. Every murder has a motive," Kelly said. "That's the golden rule."
"I thought the golden rule was 'Do unto others.'"
"For priests, not policemen." He winked. "We have our own golden rules."
The investigation quickly turns into an effort to find Braxton in Massachusetts, and Ben, along with Kelly's assistance, is able to convince the Boston police to allow him to be part of the investigation being done by the Boston detectives. Ben soon gets lots of on-the-job training by participating in drug raids, watching court hearings and seeing how different Boston police detectives use informants and solve crimes.
Ben soon believes that Harold Braxton may be innocent and questions why the Boston detectives are so convinced of his guilt without any direct evidence. Two past unsolved murders of Boston cops come to light and Braxton is the prime suspect in one of them – though he beat the rap due to a technicality.
As the story progresses, Ben also becomes a suspect in the murder since it appears that Danziger may have been investigating him for his involvement in assisting his mother in her suicide attempt while she was staying in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Boston. The police need to solve this case – and Ben knows that if Braxton walks, he may take the rap.
The question is, how far will Ben go in search of the truth? Do the ends justify the means? What will Ben ultimately do to protect himself? The ending is a complete surprise, and for many, it may not be particularly gratifying. You'll have to read it for yourself and make up your own mind.
This is a very engaging first novel. The author carefully weaves the past into his story so that characters are fleshed out gradually. And just when you think you know someone – you're shocked by what they do next. The author is at ease with police procedures and describing court hearings. But it is his vivid characters that propel you to keep reading in anticipation of the next revelation.
This is a novel you won't soon forget.
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