2008-02-20 Do-gooder hoes a hard row

Officer Matt Worth of the Omaha Police Department is at a personal and career nadir. Recently divorced, he's now on a provisional assignment guarding the theft-prone SaveMore supermarket pending a psychological fitness sign-off after having slugged the Homicide detective that stole his wife. But even in that punch-up, satisfaction was muted as the other guy was the better hitter. In any case, Worth's only current job satisfaction is flirting with the pretty check-out girl, Gwen. But Gwen has an abusive boyfriend, Russell T. James, whom she bludgeons to death with a bedside table lamp while he sleeps after giving her a particularly nasty beating. With no one to turn to but Matt, she shows him her bruises at the hospital ER then the body back at the apartment. Sympathizing with her predicament, Worth decides not to make an arrest but rather to permanently eradicate Russell's corpse and live at let live. It seemed like the right and gentlemanly thing to do at the time.

What Worth doesn't know is that James was employed as a narcotics and drug money courier by Eddie Tice, owner of Tice Is Nice Quality Used and Discount Furniture, who also has two local plain clothes cops on the take. That, and the $260 K gone missing with Russell, makes for an escalating set of complications for the chivalrous Worth.

Worth, who's a perfectly average shmoe both in his personal and professional life, riding a bad situation into a disaster exemplifies one of my personal favorite adages, which is that No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. If you insist on acting out of the goodness of your heart, either do it with complete anonymity or be prepared for an unacceptable gain/loss ratio.

If life imitates art, or vice versa, then THE CLEANUP, a delightfully entertaining piece of unpretentious lit noir, certainly illustrates the Law of Unintended Consequences. Moreover, it's a conveniently quick read, after which you can go back to saving the world.