I nodded.
'I'm sorry to have to ask,' I said. 'But have any thoughts about what happened to her?'
'She probably went with him,' he said. 'She was impressed with movie stars.'
'Even fat, piggy ones?' I said.
'It never seemed to matter,' Matthew said. 'If someone was interested in her, or she thought he was . . .'
'Was she interested in, ah, atypical sex?'
'Kinky stuff, you mean? I don't know how old you are, but most girls nowadays do most things.'
'I'm sorry to press,' I said. 'But I meant things that most girls don't do nowadays.'
'Stuff that might have killed her, you mean?'
'Yeah.'
'Like, you know, strangulation stuff?'
'She appears to have died of asphyxiation,' I said.
Matthew shook his head and looked back down at his pizza. He took a slice of pepperoni off the pizza and ate it.
'We talked some about sex,' he said. 'But not about that kind of stuff. You saying she coulda done it herself?'
'Or asked Jumbo Nelson to do it with her.'
'He did it,' Matthew said. 'Didn't he? Everyone says he did.'
'Don't know exactly what happened,' I said. 'But I will.'
'Who you working for,' Matthew said.
'The law firm that represents Nelson,' I said.
'So you're trying to get the fucker off,' Matthew said.
'Nope, that's the law firm's job. I'm just trying to find out what happened.'
'And if you find out that he did it?'
'I'll tell the law firm,' I said.
'And if they get him off anyway?'
'That's how the system works,' I said.
'Well, the system sucks,' Matthew said.
'Often,' I said.
'So you're willing to let him get away with killing my sister?' Matthew said.
'I'll make that call when I have to,' I said.
'Meaning?'
'Meaning it's a hard call to make. The law says if you can't convict him, then he doesn't get punished.'
'And what do you say?'
'Maybe he didn't kill her. Maybe he did but it was an accident. Maybe he did it. I'll decide what to do about it when I know what happened.'
'If you knew he did it, and told, would you get in trouble with the law firm?' Matthew said.
'Might.'
'What firm is it?'
'Cone, Oakes, and Baldwin,' I said.
'Would it matter if they were mad at you?'
'Be unlikely to hire me again,' I said.
'Could they blackball you?' he said. 'You know, tell other law firms?'
'Possible,' I said.
'So it wouldn't be a good idea for you to tell,' he said.
'It would not enhance my earning potential,' I said.
Matthew was silent for a time. The pizza was mostly uneaten. The wet people came and went in the atrium. At the open ends, I could see the rain falling hard.
Then he said, 'So you won't.'
'Might,' I said.
He repressed a scornful snort. And nodded knowingly and stood up.
