weed, drink beer.'
'You ever been over there?' Pink Top said.
'Yeah, couple times. Bunch of assholes.'
'Weren't you scared?'
'I go where I want to,' Carly said.
'Did you witness the shootings?' I said.
All three shook their heads.
'We were on the second floor,' White Top said, 'Janey and me. They never got there.'
'I Was in American history,' Curly said. 'We jammed the teacher's chair under the door handle to the classroom and everybody got down. They never came in.'
'Thanks for your help,' I said.
'Pleasure,' Pink Top said. 'Dork Garner isn't going to tell me who I can talk to.'
'Me either,' White Top said.
'I'm glad he tried,' I said. 'Worked out well for me.'
'Bet your ass,' Carly said. 'We were so ready to talk to you if we got the chance.'
'Okay, let's really sock it to him,' I said. 'Ask around. Anybody knows anything, you have my card.'
'You're an actual private eye,' Pink Top said.
'I've begun to have doubts,' I said.
'You must be,' Pink Top said. 'Says so right on the card.'
'Oh, thank God,' I said.
Chapter 21
TWO DOWLING COPS were leaning on a squad car outside the coffee shop. One of them stepped in front of me on the sidewalk.
'Chief wants to see you,' he said.
'Everybody does,' I said.
There was a black Chevy sedan with tinted windows parked on the curb behind the squad car. A cop in plainclothes got out of the front seat and opened the back door.
'In here,' he said.
I looked into the backseat. Cromwell was there. I slid in beside him, and the plainclothes cop closed the back door and opened the driver's door to get in.
'Wait outside the car,' Cromwell said.
The cop closed the door and went and leaned with the two uniforms on the squad car in front of us.
'This mean you like me?' I said.
Cromwell was wearing his big, terrifying pearl-handled revolver. I felt honored. Cromwell ignored my question. Probably felt it was frivolous. He looked at me with his eyes half closed. It was supposed to make my blood freeze.
'Optics are amazing, aren't they?' I said. 'We can see out fine through the tint, but people outside can't really see us much.'
'Shut up,' Cromwell said.
The eyes behind the rimless glasses narrowed some more. I squinted back at him.
'Hard to see, isn't it,' I said, 'with your eyes three quarters shut.'
'This is your last chance,' Cromwell said finally.
'It is?'
'After this, it gets very rough.'
'Oh,' I said. 'That's when.'
The front windshield wasn't tinted. Through it, the three cops leaning on the squad car could look in at us.
'You might get hurt bad,' Cromwell said, 'resisting arrest.'
'Gee,' I said, 'maybe this doesn't mean you like me.'
'Do I make myself clear?' Cromwell said.
'Actually,' I said, 'I'm a little murky on some things. Like when your guys arrived, why did they secure the perimeter and stay there while the shooters inside kept shooting?'
'It was a hostage situation. Anybody knows anything about policework knows you don't go charging into a hostage situation.'
'But it wasn't a hostage situation. It was serial murder in progress.'
