'Yeah.'
'Bruiser, stay!' he snapped at the dog, leaving me alone.
The Rottweiler watched me, praying I'd try to leave.
9
I was on my third smoke when Wolfe and Lola came back. Wolfe smacked the Rottweiler on top of his broad head. 'Bruiser, place!'
The thickly muscled beast walked grudgingly over to a far corner, lay down on a slab of carpet. Pinned me with his eyes.
'He gets along with Sheba?' I asked her.
'Not really. They don't mix much. She has her space, Bruiser has his. Sheba, she's the whole Bureau's dog. Even sleeps here. But Bruiser's mine. Aren't you, Bruisey?'
The Rottweiler made a noise between a yawn and a growl.
'The distance between the witness chair and the defense table is about thirty feet, depending on the line of sight,' she said. 'Why'd you want to know?'
'I got an idea…something that might work.'
Wolfe flashed her trademark smile— the one that made defense attorneys think about switching to real estate work. 'And all you need is the defendant's address, right?'
'You misjudge me,' I said, trying for an injured tone. 'It's nothing like that.'
'What
'How about a look at the courtroom?'
Wolfe looked across her desk. Lola nodded. 'It's after hours,' she said.
10
We moved through the marble corridors in a loose diamond-shaped cluster: the thug taking the point, holding Bruiser on his leash. Me to the right, Lily beside me. Wolfe and Lola to the left, Rocco bringing up the rear.
In the center of the diamond, Mary Beth.
Courtroom K-2 was one floor up from the DA's basement. Empty.
Lily escorted Mary Beth to the witness chair. Lola took her place at the prosecutor's table. I sat in the defendant's spot, Rocco next to me. Wolfe stood by the jury box, one hand on the railing. The thug stayed by the door with Bruiser.
'It's your show,' Wolfe said.
I took a breath, pulling up the calm, centering…so my voice would carry without cutting.
'Hi, Mary Beth,' I called out. 'Can you hear me?'
She nodded her head. If she said anything, I couldn't catch it.
'Let's play a game, okay?'
Nothing.
'Okay, Mary Beth? Come on, it'll be fun.'
Lily leaned over and whispered something to her. The little girl giggled.
Lily nodded at me. I took a roll of bills out of my pocket, handed some singles to Rocco. He took them without a word, going along.
'Now, Mary Beth, my friend Rocco is going to hold something up. If you can guess what it is, you can have it, okay?'
'Okay.' Soft, but audible.
'Don't hold up the whole fucking roll,' I whispered to him. 'One at a time.'
He held up a dollar bill.
Mary Beth said something I couldn't hear.
'What was that, baby?' I called out to her.
'Money.'
'That's right. You win.'
'And you lose,' Rocco said, jumping to his feet, walking over to the girl, handing her the cash. Making a production out of it, like a game-show host. Faint trace of a smile on the child's face.
'This is too easy, huh? Okay, Rocco, you stay there. Let's try something harder. Mary Beth, tell me how many fingers I'm holding up and you win again, okay?'
She nodded.
I held up three fingers.
'Three.' A little girl's voice, faint.
Rocco bowed deeply, presented her with another dollar.
I tried again.
