They turned back to the bed.
“About a search warrant?” she said.
“Let me be honest with you, okay?” Ollie said, which was the last thing he wished to be with her. “We know you won’t admit you’re a hitter for W&D because that would make this Murder for Hire, and that means the Valium cocktail if you’re convicted.”
“The death penalty,” Carella explained. “Lethal injection.”
“I hear it’s actually pleasant,” Ollie said, and smiled. “But we know you won’t admit that somebodypaid you for offing the redhead and the two Negroes, so all we’ve really got for sure are the pair of Twos and the One-Ten. Which is enough to put you away for seventy-five, I might remind you, ah yes, if that’s the route you choose to take.”
“Or,” Carella said.
“Or,” Ollie agreed, and nodded.
“Orwhat?Let me hear it.”
“To the point, I like that in a woman,” Ollie said. “Do you know what’s on any of the W&D computers?”
“Let’s say Ican know what’s on them if Ineed to know what’s on them.”
“Let’s say youneed to know what’s on them if you want to deal here,” Ollie said.
“But of course we can’t speak for the D.A.,” Carella said.
“Of course not. Butif the lady wants to deal, she would have to tell us she knows what’s on those computers.”
“You’re both so full of shit,” she said. “Tell me what you want me to say.”
“We want you to say that evidence of a crime exists on W&D’s computers.”
“What crime?”
“From what we understand, the Criminal Sale of Controlled Substances.”
“In the first degree,” Carella said.
“Section 220.43.”
“An A-1 felony.”
“Twenty-five to life upstate.”
“Heavy,” Carella said.
“That’s the crime,” Ollie said. “From what we understand.”
“And how do you happen to understand this?”
“A good question,” Ollie said. “We’ve got a tape, remember?”
“We want you to listen to that tape,” Carella said.
“Tell us it’s accurate …”
“… so we can get a search warrant on probable cause.”
“Reliable information from a cooperative witness and all that,” Ollie said.
“IfI cooperate,” the blonde said.
“Well, that’s entirely up to you, m’little chickadee, ah yes.”
“What do I get in return?”
“We’ll drop the One-Ten,” Ollie said. “That okay with you, Steve? I mean, you’re the one she tried to kill.”
“That’s fine with me, if it’s okay with the D.A.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not fine with me,” the blonde said.
“Then you tell us.”
“Drop everything.”
“We can’t do that.”
“Oh, yes you can. I walk, you get the big boys.”
“Well, maybe we can reduce the murder counts to manslaughter.”
“Well, maybe I don’t think that’s good enough, either, okay?”
“Two counts of Manslaughter One? That’svery good,” Ollie said. “And we’ll drop the Attempted, don’t forget.”
“Sorry, boys.”
“Somewhere between five and twenty-five on each?” Carella said. “That’s a good deal. Don’t you think that’s a good deal, Ollie?”
