apart when a relative died. That fit in with Gino’s image of life and death and love and family, and made it easy for him to be softspoken, gentle, as comforting as a cop could be in such a situation. But the angry ones who lashed out, or the stoic ones who kept their feelings close to the vest, always threw him into a tailspin, and Lily Gilbert seemed to be a combination of the two.
‘Excuse me, Mrs Gilbert,’ he interrupted gently, eliciting an eye roll from Gino. ‘Would it be too difficult for you to take me outside and show me where you found your husband? Maybe walk me through it, step-by-step, while Gino talks to your friend Sol? We can get through this faster, then.’
The reminder of finding her husband’s body brought the first sign of weakness to her eyes. Just a flicker, but it was there.
‘I’m really sorry to have to ask you to do this. If it’s too hard, we don’t have to do it right now.’
Her gaze sharpened immediately. ‘Of course we have to do it now, Detective. Now is all we have.’ She marched toward the door, a little old soldier focusing on the mission, so she didn’t have to think of anything else. Magozzi hurried to open it for her.
‘Wait just a minute.’ Marty frowned. ‘Where’s Jack, Lily? Why isn’t he here yet?’
‘Jack who?’
‘Damnit, Lily, don’t tell me you didn’t call him.’
She was out the door before he finished.
‘Shit.’
‘Who’s Jack?’ Magozzi asked, still holding the door.
‘Jack Gilbert. Her son. They haven’t talked in a long time, but Jesus, his father just died. I gotta call him.’
While Marty went to the checkout counter and started punching numbers into the phone, Gino walked over to Magozzi and said under his breath, ‘Listen, while you’re out there talking to the old lady, why don’t you ask her how a ninety-pound peanut managed to drag over two hundred pounds of dead weight all the way in here, then heft it onto that table.’
‘Gee, Mr Detective, thanks for the tip.’
‘Glad to help.’
‘You don’t like her much, do you?’
‘Hey, I like her fine, except for the fact that she’s got a personality like ground glass.’
‘Huh. She never mentioned your outfit. I’d say that was a kindness.’
‘This is the deal. I’m thinking, How the hell did she move him? So I answer myself: Gee, maybe she didn’t. Maybe she shot him in here, and just said he was killed outside so we’d think we didn’t have a crime scene.’
Magozzi thought about that for a minute. ‘Interesting. Devious. I like the way you think.’
‘Thank you.’
Magozzi opened the door to go outside. ‘But she didn’t do it.’
‘Damnit, Leo, you don’t know that.’
‘Yeah. I do.’
