The Beach House

"This is the cover of last year's Christmas catalog for Bjorn Boontaag, which is now owned by Barry Neubauer. I will read what the catalog copy says: 'Boontaag is the most profitable manufacturer of toys and furniture in the world. The three stuffed lionesses on the cover are the incredibly popular Sneha, Saydaa, and Mehta, sold by the tens of thousands to parents all over the world. Inside this catalog are two hundred pages of children's toys, clothing, and furniture.'

"The People will offer this picture as Exhibit B," I said.

Then I looked around the room like a guerrilla fighter in the eerily serene seconds before firing off his first missile.

"The People will now offer Exhibit C."

Chapter 101

"EXHIBIT C, I HAVE TO WARN YOU, is not nearly as wholesome as the Boontaag Christmas catalog," I said. "In fact, if you're watching with your children now, you should have them leave the room."

I walked slowly back to my table and picked up the portfolio-size envelope. As I did so, I peered at Barry Neubauer, holding his glance until I could see the first shadow of panic in his narrowing eyes.

"The images I'm about to put on this wall aren't warm and fuzzy. They're hot and cruel and in razor-sharp focus. If they celebrate anything, it's definitely not children or family."

"Objection!" shouted Montrose. "I vehemently object to this!"

"Let the evidence speak for itself," said Macklin. "Go on, Jack."

My heart was banging as violently as if I were fighting for my life, but I spoke with preternatural calm. "Your Honor," I said, "the People call Ms. Pauline Grabowski."

Pauline briskly walked to the witness chair. I could tell that she was eager to play her part, even if it meant implicating herself.

"Ms. Grabowski," I began, "how are you employed?"

"Up until recently, I was a private investigator employed at Mr. Montrose's law firm."

"How long were you employed there?"

"Ten years, until I quit."

"How were you viewed by the firm?"

"I received five promotions during my ten years. I was given performance bonuses each year that exceeded the target bonus by at least one hundred percent. Mr. Montrose himself told me that I was the best investigator that he had worked with in his twenty-five years of practice."

I couldn't help but smile as Montrose squirmed in his seat.

"Now, Ms. Grabowski, what if any role have you played in the investigation of this case?"

"Well, I've done the usual background checks, talked to potential witnesses, collected documents…"

"Directing your attention to Thursday, the third of May, did you meet with counsel at the Memory Motel?"

"Yes, I did."

"What, if anything, did you find there?"

"I found Sammy Giamalva's private collection of photographs. I examined several dozen black-and-white prints."

Now it was about to begin.

I moved in slow motion… extracting the photographs inch by inch.

"Ms. Grabowski, are these the photographs?"

"Yes."

"Are they in the same condition today as the day you first saw them?"

"Yes."

"Your Honor, the People offer People's Exhibit C, thirteen eight-by-twelve black-and-white print photographs."

Montrose screamed, "Objection!"

Macklin waved him off. "Overruled. This is relevant evidence that has been authenticated by a qualified witness. I'll allow it."

I held the first photograph with its back to the room and carefully examined it. It still made me sick.

Then I walked to the wall and taped the photograph beside the cover of the Boontaag Christmas catalog. Only when I was satisfied that it was securely attached to the wall, and not the slightest bit askew, did I step aside.

I let Molly zoom in and lock off in tight focus.

The first thing that hit anyone who viewed the photograph was the lurid intensity of the lighting. Even in this well-lit room it burned like neon in the night. It was the kind of light that is pumped into operating rooms and morgues. It froze every vein and follicle and blemish in a nightmarish hyperreality.

Matching the harsh intensity of the lighting were the crazed expressions of the two men and one woman, and the heat of the action itself. They were crowded together at the center of the print as if the woman were on fire and the men were huddling around her for warmth.

Only after adjusting to the glare would anyone notice that the woman between the two men was Stella Fitzharding. The man sodomizing her was Barry Neubauer, and the man on his back beneath her was my brother.

Chapter 102

THE BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOGRAPH jolted the room like a powerfully concussive blast that leaves those in the vicinity damaged but unbloodied. It was Neubauer who broke the silence. "Goddamned bastard!" he shouted.

Montrose bellowed, "Objection! Objection! Objection!" as if his client's cry had tripped a mechanical alarm in his throat.

Their ruckus set off Macklin. He was mad, and it showed. "I'll gag the whole room if you don't pipe down. This is evidence, and it's certainly relevant. I'll allow it."

Only when quiet had been restored did I return to the painstaking task of hanging more photos. Reminding myself to take my time to "build the boat," I spent the next five minutes taping up pictures of Peter and various partners. All together I put up thirteen, a pornographer's dirty dozen and just about the saddest family album I've ever seen.

Although there were occasional cameos by unidentified guests, the core troupe remained constant: Barry and Peter, Stella and Tom – the Neubauers' best friends. We definitely had the right people in the room. They had been doing my brother since he was a kid.

There's no denying the disconcerting power of hard-core pornography. After each photograph was secured to the wall, Molly zoomed in for a close-up. She held it for a full ten seconds.

"Turn off the camera!" screamed Neubauer. "Stop it now!"

"Could the prosecutor and I approach the bench?" asked Bill Montrose after speaking to Neubauer. When Mack waved us forward, Montrose said, "Mr. Neubauer has a proposal he believes could end these proceedings. He's asked me to pass it on."

"The People aren't interested," I said flatly.

"What is it?" asked Macklin.

"My client insists on presenting it himself. In private."

"There is nothing of value he can offer this court," I told Macklin. "Let's move on."

Montrose repeated his request to Macklin. "All he wants is ninety seconds, Your Honor. Surely you can spare us that – in the interest of fairness, or whatever the hell this is supposed to represent."

"This court is recessed for two minutes," a

He motioned for Gidley, then led all four of us into a library equipped with a ru

Being in the same room with Neubauer, even with his hands cuffed, was unsettling. He was close to a rage state. He wasn't used to not getting his way. His eyes were dilated, and his nostrils flared. He gave off a feral, vinegary odor that was hard to take.

"Ten million dollars!" said Neubauer as soon as the door shut behind him. "And none of us will cooperate in any criminal proceedings against you, your grandfather, or your friends."

"That's your proposal, Mr. Neubauer?" asked Macklin.

"Ten million dollars," he repeated, "in cash deposited into an account in your name in Grand Cayman in the Bahamas. Plus, no one in your group spends any time in jail. You have my word on it. Now would somebody take off these cuffs? I want to get out of here. You got what you wanted. You won!"

"We aren't interested in your money," I said flatly.

Neubauer flicked his head at me dismissively. "A couple of years ago," he said, "some of my guests got a little carried away. A hooker fell off my yacht. It cost me five hundred thousand dollars. Now another whore has died, and I want to settle my account again. I am a man who pays his debts."