„Let’s see – a bribe or not a bribe.“ Mallory turned back to the two uniforms. „I suppose we could put Mr. Prado in the cage while we get an opinion from the DA’s office. That might take a while.“
Prado left his chair and moved closer to the cage for a better look at the small, slight boy on the floor. „So you think your little friend and I might fall in love while I’m waiting?“
„He doesn’t want your body. He wants a needle.“ Mallory looked down at the wasted prisoner with the rolled-back eyes. A thirteen-year-old girl could beat him up in a fair fight. „But he might take a shot at you if you irritate him.“ She looked at Prado and shook her head. „No, old man, you wouldn’t last two seconds with a sick junkie.“
Prado was so startled, Mallory half expected him to check his testicles to make sure that she had not snipped them off.
She was getting to that.
After kicking a chair out from the table, she waved him to it. „Have a seat, Prado.“
„I think I’ll stand.“ His voice was firm.
Mallory turned to the uniforms. „Sit Mr. Prado down.“
They were moving toward him when he decided to take a seat at the table. His movements were stiff.
Mallory nodded to the officers. „You can go now. Oh, wait.“ She turned back to the boy in the cage. „You’re sure he doesn’t speak English?“
„Yeah, I’m sure,“ said Hong, and his partner added, „But the perp’s still got eyes, Mallory.“
It would be hard to miss the implication that she should not brutalize her suspect in front of a witness – a second opinion on Prado’s declining manhood. She watched the man’s hands clench into fists.
Now what could she do to make his head explode?
„If I’m not under arrest, I don’t have to talk to you.“
„You got that backward, Prado. When we arrest you, you’ll have the right to remain silent. But right now? You answer questions or I nail you for obstructing a homicide investigation.“
„You can’t prove Oliver was – “
„Oh, yes I can. It was hardly a perfect murder. But I have so many homicides to choose from. Louisa’s – that one’s provable, too. And what about Franny Futura? Should I put him on the list of dead bodies? What did you do with him, Prado?“
He held up a cigar. „May I? Oh, wait, there are laws against smoking in public buildings.“ Prado rose from the chair and collected his coat. „I’ll just step outside.“
He was moving toward the door when Mallory threw up the window sash. „You can smoke on the fire escape.“
She grabbed his arm and swung him back. He was off balance and moving toward the window with the force of inertia and very little effort by Mallory. Prado lost his footing, and his head was thrust out the open window. His hands froze in a death grip on the sill. His mouth hung open, and then he began to shake. One hand went to his chest, and he was fighting for breath.
His heart? No, this was something miles more interesting. In only three seconds, the man had progressed from surprise to a full-blown panic attack. When he moved away from the window on shaky legs, his distress lessened, but Mallory blocked any further retreat.
„Don’t be afraid,“ she said, with too much sincerity to be believed. She pointed down to the street below. His eyes followed this gesture with equal parts of fascination and fear.
„Look, Prado. You can see right through the grate. With all those reporters down there, what are the odds I’m going to push you off?“
If he kept biting into his lower lip, he was going to draw blood.
Perhaps it was something on the sidewalk that frightened him. Mallory leaned out the window and looked down through the grate as Shorty Ross’s wheelchair zoomed out the front door of the station house. All the reporters were stampeding one another, hailing taxis and climbing into vans and private cars. Others were pouring into the subway.
A uniformed officer opened the door of the lockup. „Hey, Mallory. That guy you wanted us to pick up – St. John? He hung himself.“
Charles Butler carried a bouquet of flowers down the corridor and walked into a heated conversation between Mallory and a very large nurse.
A few steps beyond these two, a uniformed policeman stood with Malakhai. Behind them, a door opened and Nick Prado stepped out, looked around at the assembled company, then turned on his heel and sped down the hall toward an exit sign.
Nick had good instincts. Charles wondered if he should pay his respects to Emile St. John some other time.
The woman in the white uniform was yelling at Mallory, „What the hell do I care what you want? Mr. St. John is not a crime victim. You got that? It was an accident.“
Not Mallory’s favorite words these days. „I have a problem with that.“
She pulled out her badge. „So few people accidentally hang themselves.“
The nurse never even glanced at the gold shield. „Mr. St. John says it was a mistake in a magic trick. That’s his story, and his assistant backs him up. Now if he wants to see Mr. Prado, or Mr. Malakhai, or anybody else, it’s fine with me. But not you. He was real specific about that.“
Charles watched Mallory regroup with a tactic short of gunning down the nurse. She pulled a notebook from her pocket, only showing the woman a glimpse of the holstered weapon. Her eyes and tone of voice went farther, to tell the nurse how badly she really wanted to draw blood. „I need a statement from – “
„The hell you do!“ The nurse pointed to the officer standing by the door of the hospital room. „And that guard has no business here. He’s gotta go.“
Malakhai leaned against the wall of the corridor, enjoying this exchange. He nodded a greeting to Charles, and then turned back to the defeated Mallory. „So you think Emile will have another accident while I’m visiting? Maybe Nick’s already done him in. Shouldn’t we check?“
Charles perceived a volatile atmosphere between Malakhai and Mallory. If not for the extreme difference in their ages, he might have called it a sexual tension. All the signs were there in a subtle dance. Mallory stepped forward, as if she meant to touch him, and Malakhai bent down to her – in anticipation of what? A caress?
Not likely.
Charles thought she was going to strike the man. At least she had this in her mind, even as she backed away. She was drawn to Malakhai, repulsed by him, angry and fixated, all the symptoms to sister psychoses of love and hate.
The nurse held the door open and spoke to Malakhai. „You just go on inside, and I’ll take care of the guard.“ And now she cast an evil eye on the uniformed officer stationed by the door. When the door had closed behind the magician, Mallory drew Charles down the hall and away from the nurse, who held an uneasy guard duty standing toe to toe with a policeman.
„Let’s say a man is afraid of heights,“ said Mallory. „What are the odds he’d live in a penthouse?“
„And of course, it’s just a coincidence that Nick Prado lives in a penthouse.“
„Charles, I’m not asking you to turn on a friend. I’m trying to eliminate suspects, too. A fear of heights might explain why he wasn’t on that parade float when the gun went off. Now, is he afraid of heights?“
„I have no idea.“
„Charles, think back. Futura said Prado wouldn’t get up on the float – like he refused. Prado was wearing a tux that morning. He was supposed to be part of the act, right? But did he ever get up on the top hat float?“
„Well, no, but I assumed he was explaining the crossbow stunt to the cops who arrested Oliver’s nephew.“
„No, Futura did that. It took ten minutes. So Prado was never on that float?“
„Well, no, but that doesn’t imply – “
„Could he live in a penthouse if he was afraid of heights?“
„Yes, he could even fly an airplane. As long as he’s in an enclosed space, there’s no problem. You see, it’s the only phobia that carries a fear of physical injury. He’d have to be near the edge of a precipice, or maybe standing on a ladder. But if there’s a protective barrier, like window glass – there wouldn’t be any anxiety.“