"It was on Danny when he died?" I guessed.
"Danny," Lopez repeated. His voice got chillier. "You were on first-name terms?"
I said to Max, "He"s talking about the piece of paper I gave Danny last night."
"It was near the body," Lopez said. "Probably fell out of the victim"s hand-or maybe a pocket-when he died."
"Oh, dear," Max said.
Lopez said, "It"s easy to see how it got missed. The scene was such a mess. And your note was stuck by dried blood to a broken bottle so that it almost looked like part of the torn wine label. It"s just luck that I"m the one who noticed it." His expression didn"t suggest that the luck was necessarily good. "No names. Just two phone numbers. I recognized one of them right away." He looked at me again. "Yours." His voice was still flat. "I had a bad feeling that I knew who the other number belonged to, but I was hoping I was wrong." He shifted his gaze to Max. "Until I dialed it and found out I was right."
This comment was followed by an awkward silence. My heart sank. I recalled thinking this afternoon, just before I left Lopez so I could try to help Danny, that I would tell him the truth tonight about where I"d gone today. But this wasn"t how I had intended to break the news.
I asked, "Has this made things very bad with Detective Napoli?"
"Napoli doesn"t know," he said.
My shoulders sagged with relief. "Oh, that"s good."
"No, it"s not good," Lopez snapped. "Today I concealed evidence in a murder investigation, Esther!"
"Oh!" I realized what he was saying. "Oh. You found that note with our numbers on it, and you . . . pocketed it? To protect me?"
"Yes." His voice was clipped, his expression dark.
"That was very thoughtful," Max said, beaming at Lopez.
Lopez gave him a look that scared me.
"Max," I said, "try not to talk."
"Hmm?"
"If they find out," I said anxiously to Lopez, "would you be suspended? Or . . ."
"Or charged? charged?" He unleashed his anger now. "For stealing a note that connects my "fiancee" to a brutal murder? Yes Yes, Esther, I could be charged with obstructing justice. Probably, though, the department would rather keep it quiet and just kick me off the force. No one wants a scandal in the Organized Crime Control Bureau, after all, so the NYPD probably wouldn"t like to advertise advertise, by charging me, that one of their detectives concealed evidence in a murder to protect the mob girl he"s been dating. The possibilities for tabloid headlines alone would be bloodcurdling, from my captain"s point of view."
Feeling terrible about this, I said, "I never-"
"Merely suspending suspending me, of course, is a possibility. That"s the kind of pa.s.s that a superior officer gives to a detective he likes and who has a track record in his department. But guess what?" me, of course, is a possibility. That"s the kind of pa.s.s that a superior officer gives to a detective he likes and who has a track record in his department. But guess what?"
"I know," I said, my heart pounding as I saw just how furious he was. "Napoli doesn"t like you, and you"ve only been in OCCB a few days. But-"
"And that"s not the point!"
Max said, "Perhaps we should all calm-"
"If you don"t shut him up," Lopez said to me, "I swear to G.o.d I"m going to do something that they"ll have have to charge me for." to charge me for."
"Max," I said sharply, "don"t talk." "don"t talk."
"The point," Lopez said, "is that there"s been a murder, and I concealed evidence and removed it from the scene, and I"m a cop, and that"s not not what I what I do do."
And that was the bottom line, I realized. He was more appalled by what he had done to protect me than he would be by anything that could happen to his career because of me.
"Then we have to face the music," I said.
"What?" he snapped.
A sudden sense of fatalistic calm washed over me. "You"ve got to enter that evidence into the investigation. You didn"t destroy it, did you? So take it to work and say that you found it at the scene and something happened that distracted you, so you pocketed it without realizing it, and now you"re-"
"And as soon as Napoli finds out whose phone number is written on this note, he"ll know I"m lying," Lopez said dismissively.
"Of course he will. But he"ll also know that, after you took the note, you came to your senses and brought it right back." When Lopez didn"t respond, I said, "Or if you don"t like that plan, then go back to Vinny"s wine vault and leave the note there for someone else to find. You"re a cop, you must know how to plant evidence." After a moment, I said, "That came out wrong."
But his attention was suddenly on a different matter. "How do you know the hit happened in the vault? We haven"t released that information."
I had seen enough episodes of Crime and Punishment Crime and Punishment to recognize the implication. " to recognize the implication. "We didn"t kill Danny!" didn"t kill Danny!"
"Gracious, no!" Then Max remembered he wasn"t supposed to speak. "My apologies."
Lopez blinked. "For not killing Danny Dapezzo?"
My cell phone rang, making us all jump.
"You know know we"re not killers," I said as I went over to the table where my purse was lying. we"re not killers," I said as I went over to the table where my purse was lying.
"Don"t answer that," Lopez said.
"I have to. It could be my agent," I said. "At long last."
"This late?" he said doubtfully.
"Maybe," I said. "We"ve been having trouble connecting and this is important."
"This is more more important, Esther." important, Esther."
"I"m trying to get an audition for something specific," I said, opening my purse. "There"s very little time left." In fact, I was afraid Thack was calling me to say it was too late by now, the part had already been cast.
"We"re talking about murder and concealing evidence," Lopez said sharply.
The ringing persisted.
"The only reason I"m involved in this mess in the first place," I said, searching my purse for the phone, "is because I was waiting tables when Charlie Chiccante died instead of working a real job. So I would think that you, of all people, would appreciate how important it is that I get this audition!"
The door bells chimed. I froze briefly as I thought about Corvino a.s.sa.s.sins again, then relaxed when I heard Lucky"s voice.
"Hey, has the Doc got some plastic bags or something?" he called. "Our favorite familiar left her calling card on the sidewalk."
Nelli growled.
Lopez turned toward the sound of Lucky"s voice. "Jesus, Esther, please tell me that"s not who I think it is."
"Hey, don"t growl at me," Lucky admonished the dog. I heard the metallic click of him unhooking her leash. "You"re the one who . . . Nelli?" the one who . . . Nelli?"
I found my ringing phone in my purse, pulled it out, and looked at the LCD panel. Not Thack. d.a.m.n. The readout said "Caller Unknown." I didn"t recognize the number.
Nelli"s toenails clicked on the floor as she trotted around the bookcase, still growling. She froze when she saw Lopez, her body tense, her floppy ears p.r.i.c.ked alertly.
I flipped open my phone and raised it to my ear.
Nelli"s lips peeled back in a snarl, exposing her big, sharp teeth, and she crouched down on her ma.s.sive haunches, letting out a ferocious growl.
Shocked, I dropped my phone. It fell to the floor with a clatter. "Nelli!" I said. "Stop that!"
Lopez looked at Max. "You got a vicious dog the size of a taxi cab? You really are out of your mind."
Lucky appeared behind Nelli and said to her, "Hey! What"s with you?"
"Lucky Battistuzzi," Lopez said with resignation. "Great. Just great."
"Nelli, no!" I said, as the dog crept menacingly toward Lopez, still growling, her fangs bared. "Max, make her stop that."
"That does it," Lopez said, holding very still. "I"m having this dog impounded."
"I don"t get it," Lucky said to Lopez. "Kids in the street can walk right up to this dog, no problem. But one whiff of you you, and . . ." He drew in a sharp breath.
I heard a man"s voice calling my name through my cell phone. Keeping my eyes fixed on Nelli, I bent down and fumbled around until my fingers felt the phone, then I picked it up.
Max drew in a sharp breath, too. Then he seized one of the swords on the table.
"Max, what are you doing?" I grabbed his arm and hung on. "Just reprimand her! You don"t have to kill kill her!" her!"
Lucky reached into his pocket and shoved past the ma.s.sive snarling dog. I heard the snap of metal, and I saw something glint beneath the overhead lights as Lucky made a slashing motion at Lopez"s face.
I cried out. Lopez moved just as fast. His fist shot out, his weight shifted, and the knife in Lucky"s hand flew past Nelli as the gangster went tumbling to the floor.
"Max," Lucky rasped, sounding like he"d had the wind knocked out of him. "Now!"
Lopez had already picked up a chair and was using it to ward off Nelli, who was stalking him, her growls terrifyingly loud, her fangs dripping, her eyes glowing with feral aggression. "Call off your dog, Max, or I"ll shoot it!"
"Nelli, run!" Max cried, shaking off my slack grip. "It"s armed!"
I saw that the skin of Lopez"s cheek was gaping open from the wound Lucky had inflicted.
There was no blood.
"Oh, my G.o.d," I said in a strangled voice. "Max! NO! NO!"
The old mage rushed forward with his sword.
Still keeping the chair between himself and Nelli, Lopez reached for his gun. But dealing with three adversaries and surprised by Max"s attack, he wasn"t quite fast enough. He was still drawing his weapon when Max cut off his head.
18.
I screamed so shrilly, my ears rang. Nelli barked. Lopez disappeared. screamed so shrilly, my ears rang. Nelli barked. Lopez disappeared.
One moment he was there, his body falling as his head was separated violently from his shoulders by the mighty sweep of Max"s blade. And the next moment he was gone as feathers, chunks of soil, pale little sticks, leaves, and pebbles flew through the air and rolled around the floor.
I sank to my knees. I wanted to scream again, but my vocal cords wouldn"t work. All that came out was a strangled, squealing sound.
Lucky was trying to sit up, coughing as he brushed feathers and dust away from his face. "Eph . . . ephem . . . ephemeral substances," he mumbled.
Nelli was busily sniffing at all the detritus and debris, scrambling around the room in furious haste as she examined the bits and pieces of what had been, only moments ago . . .
"Lopez?" I croaked.
Someone was screaming my name over the cell phone that sat next to me. I stared in numb shock at the ephemeral substances scattered all around me, while Max helped Lucky off the floor. Then I picked up the cell phone. Moving mechanically, I raised it to my face.
"h.e.l.lo?"
"Esther? Esther! Esther!" Lopez shouted over the phone.
"Yes, I"m here."
"Are you all right?" He sounded frantic. "Esther? It"s me! Can you hear me? Are you all right?"
"I"m fine."
Lucky looked at me. "You"re talkin" on the phone? Now? Now?"
I tried to say Lopez"s name. Instead, I slid sideways and hit the floor.
Drops of cold water sprinkled across my face. I groaned irritably and turned my head away.
A giant, warm, wet thing thing brushed my face. I gasped and opened my eyes-and immediately shut them as Nelli licked my face again. brushed my face. I gasped and opened my eyes-and immediately shut them as Nelli licked my face again.