“The hell I do,” Des said. “Why did they kill Tuck Weems?”
“Maybe he was wracked by guilt,” Mitch suggested. “Maybe he genuinely cared about Torry. I do know that he was very, very tightly wrapped. And getting tighter by the day. I wouldn’t be surprised if he just plain lost it when Niles’s body was found. Bud certainly did-he suddenly had to account for why he’d raided Dolly’s accounts. Maybe Tuck threatened to tell Dolly what really happened. Or even to go to the law. And so they had to kill him. That job no doubt fell on Tal Bliss’s shoulders. Bliss met his old friend down at the beach. Got him so drunk that he wouldn’t feel any pain. And their secret died with him. Everything was cool. Until, that is, you started moving in on Bliss. He couldn’t handle it. The guilt. The shame. The suspicion and scrutiny that would fall upon Dolly. So he shot himself, thereby letting Bud, Red and Jamie off the hook. Except they’re not. We’re on to them.” Mitch grinned at her now. “Well, say something, will you? Take your best shot. Go for it.”
“Straight up, it’s a sweet theory, Mitch,” she said slowly. “It plays. But it’s not nearly enough to go on. I mean, you can’t prove any of it.”
“I know that,” he acknowledged. “That’s why I’m taking steps.”
“Steps? What kind of steps?”
“Ever hear of a movie called I Saw What You Did?”
Des let out a groan. “Oh, God, I have a feeling I’m really not going to like this.”
“No, no. Everything’s cool. Really. It was a grade-Z black-and-white thriller that William Castle made back in ’sixty-five with John Ireland and a somewhat cadaverous Joan Crawford. Budget of about twelve dollars. Serious shlock. Although, interestingly enough, the screenplay was by William McGivern, the novelist who wrote The Big Heat. Which was made into the movie where Lee Marvin threw the pot of coffee in Gloria Graham’s face, remember?”
“Man, if you don’t get to the point, and fast, I am going to get way ugly!”
“Okay, okay-what happens is these two teenage girls are home one night making harmless prank phone calls. They pick numbers out of the book at random, call people up and say ‘I saw what you did.’ And then hang up giggling, right?”
“Right…”
“Only, by accident, they happen to call a guy who has just murdered his wife. And he totally freaks out because he thinks they saw him do it. And he comes after them to shut them up. Neat idea, right?”
“Right…”
“In my case, I go with a note. Something simple and direct: I am on to you. I slide it under each of their doors. They freak out. They come after me, thereby showing their hand, and, bam, we’ve got ’em. Perfect, right?”
Des peered across the table at him. “Okay, I’ve really got to nail something down here right now.”
“Not a problem. Go right ahead.”
“Are you goofing on me or what?”
Mitch seemed startled by her question. “I’m being totally serious. Why would you think I’m goofing on you?”
“Because this is real life, not a freaking movie!” Des cried out. Heads at nearby tables immediately turned. She lowered her voice. Or at least she tried to. “You can tell the difference, can’t you? Because they have a technical term for people who can’t-they’re called meshugah!”
“It’ll work,” he insisted stubbornly.
“Mitch, it’s a bad idea.”
“It’s the only way.”
“Mitch, forget it.”
“I’m really sorry you feel that way, Lieutenant.” He ran a hand over his face. He suddenly looked terribly concerned. “You see, I already did it. I’ve set the wheels in motion.”
“You what?!” Out of control. Her life was truly spinning out of control. “When?!”
“Last night,” he replied, swallowing. “Right after we spoke on the phone. I put notes under each of their doors. Anyone who’s innocent will have no idea what it means. Anyone who’s guilty is probably plotting my demise at this very minute.”
“My God,” she gasped. “You are insane.”
“No, I’m not,” he said with quiet determination. “I just happen to like Big Sister. These guys have done something truly awful out there. And they’ve ruined your career. And I don’t think they should get away with it. Any of it.”
“And what if they actually try to kill you?” Des demanded. “Have you given any thought to what happens then?”
“Of course. You’ll arrest them. I have total confidence in you.”
Des took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Mitch, I want you to listen to me very, very carefully. What you’re proposing falls under the legal heading of entrapment. Anything I learned under such circumstances would be considered inadmissable in a court of law. A judge would drop-kick it right out the door. And me with it. I cannot have anything to do with this. I am already under investigation by Internal Affairs. If I am even remotely associated with such a loony-toons stunt, my career in law enforcement will be over and out.”
“And you’ll have to concentrate on your art, instead. Worse things could happen.”
“That’s my decision to make. It’s my career, my art and my life!”
“And I’m not trying to run your life, Lieutenant. Honestly, I’m just trying to help.”
“Why, damn it? Why are you doing all of this? I mean, how did I get to be so lucky?”
“Because Lacy was right,” he explained.
“Who in the hell is Lacy?!”
“My editor. She was positive I’d met someone. I was positive she was wrong. But she wasn’t. I had met someone. And that someone was you.”
All of the air went right out of Des’s body. She was speechless, her mouth dry, her heart racing so fast that she felt light-headed.
“I wanted to see you again,” he continued. “I wanted to get to know you better. Frankly, this all seemed to me like a perfect convergence of priorities.”
She reached for her coffee and took a sip, wondering if he could see how her hand was trembling. “If you wanted to see me again why didn’t you just ask me out?”
“You mean like on a date?”
“What I’m talking about.”
“Would you have said yes?”
“Well, no…”
“There, you see? My point exactly.”
“But there are ways for sane adults to behave, Mitch. And this isn’t one of them. This is not some old Preston Surtees movie-”
“Sturges. It’s Preston Sturges.”
“Shut up! You can’t just go around throwing yourself in front of a moving car because you want to get busy with the driver.” She shook her head at him disapprovingly. “Man, I am so not happy that I ever met you.”
“That’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time,” he said, beaming at her proudly. At that particular moment, Des felt quite sure she knew exactly what he’d looked like when he was a round little boy with grape jam all over his face.
“Why didn’t you check with me before you did this?” she asked him. “You should have checked with me.”
“You’re absolutely right,” he acknowledged readily. “Next time I’ll check with you.”
“There isn’t going to be any next time, fool! Not if you’re right-they are going to kill you!”
“Will you watch my back for me?” he asked her imploringly. “Will you be there for me.?”