“How do you know her?” he finally said.
“Hey, just answer the question.”
He looked at her in the rearview mirror. Couldn’t decide whether to be offended at her tone, or to answer. He chose to answer.
“She’s…good,” he said.
“That’s what I call a ringing endorsement.”
“Well, I mean. You know, smart. Efficient.”
“Now you’re gushing.”
“She — ”
“Do you think she’s hot?”
“Ma’am, I’d rather not…I’m driving. And you’re involved in a double homicide. I don’t think I should be talking to you about our detectives.”
Mary nodded to him in the rearview mirror.
“Is she still messing around with that Cornell guy?”
“Okay,” the young cop said. “That’s it. I’m going to stop talking now.”
“Just tell me the office scuttlebutt. Are they still a couple?”
He looked in the mirror again at her, as he took the exit for downtown proper.
“That’s the rumor,” he said.
Mary laid her head back on the seat and watched L.A. fly past her window.
You never knew with rumors. Jake had said it was a one-night stand. Well, if it was more than that, good for Jake. Might help him get promoted faster. They made a nice couple.
Kind of like Satan and Judas.
Chapter Thirty-One
The cop allowed her to go to the bathroom, then brought her a cup of coffee in an actual coffee cup. The cup read “Death Valley National Park.” Nice.
“How appropriate,” Mary said. She took a sip. It was awful.
They left her alone for an hour. Goddamn Jake. How could he leave her in here this long, knowing she’d just killed someone? The depths of his treachery were deepening every day. He was probably picking up the Shark’s dry cleaning, trying to improve the scores on his performance review at the end of the year.
Or else they were just killing time to make her more willing to talk. Bastards.
After another fifteen minutes of waiting, the door opened and Jake walked in. He looked tired and frazzled. Mary had no sympathy for him.
“All done debriefing your boss?” Mary said.
Jake stopped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Mary put a finger to her chin. “Hmm. What could that mean? What could the subtext possibly be?”
He let out a heavy sigh and dropped a file folder on the desk. “This isn’t the time,” Jake said.
“That’s what you said last time,” Mary said. “She’s really got you under control — did she put a dog collar on you and call you dirty names-”
“Mary,” he said through gritted teeth. “You’re not doing yourself any good.” Jake’s eyes snaked over toward the mirror.
“I know she’s listening,” Mary said. “Probably watching your tough guy interrogation tactics and touching herself every time you-”
“Cut the shit and tell me what happened.”
Mary raised an eyebrow at his flaring temper.
“Oooh,” she said. “I think you just made her moan.”
Jake ground his jaws together. “What. Happened.”
Mary sighed. “Okay. I actually do have a confession to make. Are you sure I shouldn’t have my lawyer here?”
“Come on, Mary,” he said, his voice softer and his body relaxing. “It’s me.”
“Okay,” Mary said, nodding as if she'd reached a decision. “My confession. Here it is.”
She let the pause hang for a moment.
“I’m a chubby chaser. I like tubby guys.”
Jake’s eyes went half-mast.
“That big guy I was with?” she said. “I planned to take his giant ass home and screw his brains out. There’s nothing I like more than grabbing a couple handfuls of Dubuque ham-”
The door banged open and the Shark walked in.
“Jake, I’ll take over.”
“Ooh,” Mary said. “I think you’ve just been demoted Jake.”
“Shut up,” Davies said.
Mary rolled her eyes. “Potty mouth,” she said.
“Jake,” the Shark said. “Out.”
Jake turned and headed for the door.
“I bet he likes it when you boss him around, doesn’t he?” Mary said. “I can tell you’re the Alpha Male in the relationship, that’s for sure. Does he have food bowls with his name on them?”
The door slammed shut and the sound reverberated in the small room. Davies said nothing. She just looked at Mary, gathering herself. Mary looked back at her. One eyebrow raised.
“What’s the problem?” Mary said. “I really do like the plus-sized guys.”
The Shark nodded. “How about we help each other out?” she said.
“You mean…cooperate?”
“You give us some information, we’ll give you some information.”
“That sounds very Democratic,” Mary said. “Very American.”
“So tell me something. Anything.”
Mary nodded. “That makes sense. Perfect sense. Okay, here’s what I know-”
The door burst open and slammed against the opposite wall.
“That’s enough!” Whitney Braggs said as he walked into the room accompanied by a tall, regal woman with a pinched face and frizzy hair.
“I’m Joan Hessburg,” the woman said. She handed a card to Davies. “I am an attorney and Mary Cooper is my client,” the woman said. “Are you charging her with a crime, Detective?”
The Shark looked like a pile of horse manure had just been dropped at her feet.
“The cavalry led by Bob Barker,” Mary said. “I love it!”
“Sons of bitches kept us waiting for a half hour,” Braggs said and glared at Davies.
Mary shook her head. The guy looked like a walking advertisement for Nautica but beat people up and had the mouth of a Navy construction worker.
“Let’s go, Miss Cooper,” her new attorney said. She gave the Shark her card. “Contact me if you wish to further question my client.”
The Shark took the card and threw it on the floor, then headed for the door.
Mary turned to Braggs and her new attorney.
“You got here just in time,” Mary said. She nodded toward the departing Davies. “She was going to do a full cavity search on me. But here's the awful part, she said she was going to have me do one on her afterward.”
Mary shook her head, and looked toward the mirror. “Sicko.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Mary needed a drink, and she invited Braggs and the attorney. Of course, Ms. Hessburg begged off. Time is money was the unspoken excuse. She left Mary with a card and a lingering scent of Chanel. Or maybe J. Lo.
Mary had killed before. She’d shot an insane husband set on killing his ex-wife. She’d killed a drug dealer determined to kill her client’s son for some sort of supposed deal gone bad.
Each time, there was a delayed reaction. Initially, the justification was enough. Over time, however, it wasn’t easy. It was like a darkish cloud hanging over her for awhile. The immediate solution? Booze.
But Mary had to clean herself. So she had Braggs drive her home and sent him out for drinks. If the guy was going to be around, he might as well be useful. By the time she had showered, Braggs showed up with enough bottles of beer, booze, and wine to satisfy a fraternity during Rush week.
She requested a double Jack Daniels on the rocks. Braggs quickly complied. Mary sat on the couch. She didn’t want to look out at the water, but she did.
“Have you ever had a lychee martini?” Braggs asked.