innocent. I’d have spent the rest of my career in Alaska.”
“Charming guy. Which reminds me. You never told me about your ride with St. John after Sullivan’s funeral.”
“Vintage St. John. He wanted to know what I knew about Sullivan’s death and reminded me in his usual subtle way that I had left under a cloud that could rain on me at any time. He promised me sunny skies if I kept him informed.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I suggested that he and McNamara try some anatomically impossible dance steps.”
“Did you suspect Nick was moonlighting?”
She played with her spoon, swirling the remnants of her coffee. “You’ve got to trust your partner completely or it doesn’t work. I’d invested an awful lot into the relationship. It bought a lot of loyalty, maybe the wrong kind.” The mist in her eyes said there were layers of meaning in her words.
“Were you in love with him?”
“Sometimes.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Do you always have to be so damn sensitive?”
“I’m just not jealous of the dead.”
She laughed and swept her hair back. “So much for sensitive. And I just thought you were trying to get in my pants!”
“How am I doing?”
“Well, rehashing old murders is an interesting approach. Does that normally work for you?”
“I never know what works for me. Might as well give it a run.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
They left, strolling past the outdoor sculptures, weaving in and out of the crowd that jammed the shop-filled streets. Mason remembered the first night he walked on the Plaza with a girl and tried to hold hands with her. They were sweaty-palmed teenagers whose fingers accidentally brushed together. He was so proud when she didn’t pull her hand away.
Kelly slipped her hand into his like they’d done it a thousand times before. Mason squeezed her hand and told her about life in his aunt Claire’s house. When he tried to make excuses for screwing up, Claire cut him off, insisting that life was about causes and not becauses. She spent more time feeding him values than vegetables, setting the bar high and expecting him to do backflips over it. He ended up with her house, great memories, and a lifetime supply of rules to remember.
“Ever been married?” Kelly asked.
Mason gave her the highlights on Kate and turned the questions back to her.
“Why did you go back home after you quit the bureau?”
“I wanted out of city life. I know that the country isn’t pure. But it seemed like all I ever saw in any city was the dirt that people did to each other. But with this case, it looks like my exit strategy has a few holes in it.”
They wandered to the eastern edge of the Plaza, hands intertwined, arms swaying slightly to their newfound rhythm. Sitting on the edge of a fountain, they watched as the mist fractured the fading sunlight into miniature rainbows. Last week’s heat had marched east, leaving the city host to a cool front. The air cleared as the temperature dropped, turning the evening into one that demanded sleeping under the stars.
Their life stories exhausted, they filled the space with a stream-of-consciousness zigzag through baseball, modern art, and celebrity look-alikes.
“So who do you look like?” she asked.
“When I was eighteen, older women said I looked like Dustin Hoffman. Fifteen years later, a girl at Baskin- Robbins told me I was a dead ringer for Tom Cruise. Go figure.”
“They saw what they wanted to see. Who do I remind you of?”
“No one I’ve ever known.”
“Now, there’s a good approach, Counselor.”
First kisses are promises. Hers was moist and soft. Second kisses are offers. His was plain. Third kisses are answers. Hers would have to wait.
“So who’s on your short list of suspects?” she asked, pulling back.
“You really know how to keep a guy’s interest.”
“I told you I was a tough interrogator. I was just softening you up.”
“Soft is not where I was headed.”
The fountain lost its magic, and they started walking again-west this time.
“Come on,” she said, consoling his hormones. “A deal is a deal. I paid for dinner and now you turn in all your friends.”
“Pretty funny for a cop. I don’t think Pamela did it. Sullivan wouldn’t let her inject him with anything-he wasn’t the type.”
“So who does that leave?”
“You mean other than the unnumbered women whom he exposed to AIDS?”
“I want the short list, not the long list.”
Mason took a deep breath and jumped in. “Angela Molina says Sullivan was blackmailing her because she embezzled from the firm.”
“Angela qualifies.”
“Angela also says that Sullivan billed O’Malley half a million bucks for work that was never done-and O’Malley paid for it.”
“Add O’Malley to the list. Anyone else?”
Mason hesitated. Scott Daniel’s name was the next obvious one. He struggled to find a reason not to add it to the list. Loyalty was the only one. On almost any other day, that would have been reason enough. But Mason’s suspicion of Scott was growing like a bad seed. Mason hoped he was wrong.
“And Scott Daniels. He hated Sullivan and wants me to convince St. John that Sullivan was the only bad guy in the firm.”
“Was he?”
“I don’t know. Scott handled a series of transactions for O’Malley that we haven’t figured out yet. They may not pass the smell test.”
“With Cara Trent and Pamela Sullivan, that’s not such a short list. Do any of them have access to insulin?” Kelly asked.
“Pamela’s the only possibility I can think of, based on what you said about her volunteer work at the hospital.”
“There’s always money. What do you know about Sullivan’s estate?”
“Not much. Scott wrote the estate plan. He say’s Pamela’s in good shape, but I haven’t seen the will.”
“Where is it?”
“Probably in the safe at the office. I’ll check with Pamela and B.J. Moore. If they don’t object, you can come by tomorrow morning and I’ll go over it with you.”
“Tell me more about your review of O’Malley’s files.”
“O’Malley fired us today. Other than that, I can’t talk about it because it’s privileged.”
“Don’t give me that. This is a murder investigation.”
“Come on, Kelly. You went to law school. The privilege belongs to the client and lasts forever, even if he fires us.”
“Except your firm is a target of a criminal investigation. If your defense requires you to disclose client confidences, the privilege is waived. Talk to me, Counselor.”
“The firm hasn’t been charged with a crime yet. Besides, the waiver may only apply to that case and not yours.”
