gripping the rail like a lifeline. Something believable.
I started into another line of bullshit, but it caught in my throat, nothing more than a mangled syllable coming out my mouth. I tried again, but couldn’t spit it out, another false start dying before I could utter it.
Maggie’s sharp eyes shone in the lamplight, her bullshit meter on full alert. I sighed, my posture deflating, my ego wilting.
“I miss Niki.” I adjusted my shades, the shades Niki had given me. Underneath, my eyes misted as painful seconds drifted by.
“I know you do. She was carrying too much weight to keep living.”
Yes, she was. For the twenty-five years we’d been together, she tried to stay afloat. She really did. But the weight dragged on her ankles like an anchor until she couldn’t swim any longer. There were things in life you just couldn’t shake, and being raped by your father was one of them.
Footsteps approached from behind. “There you are. I’ve been lookin’ all over for you two.”
Just what I need. Josephs. Mark Josephs. Maggie’s newest partner and a grade-A asshole. I rubbed my chin to cover my quivering lower lip.
“Juno, you old dog, what the fuck have you done this time?”
“He and Paolo Wu found Froelich,” answered Maggie.
I cleared my throat and tried but failed to sniffle my nose clear. Using my index finger, I stabbed away a tear that leaked out from under my shades.
He leaned in to get a closer look at me. “What the fuck? You cryin’?”
“No.”
“Cryin’ over Froelich?” He threw up his hands. “You gotta be fuckin’ shittin’ me. Why you gettin’ all weepy over that dickhead?”
“Fuck off.”
“I’m just askin’.”
“Leave him alone, Mark,” said Maggie.
“What’s today’s date? I’m gonna mark my calendar. The day Juno Mozambe cried. This shit’s historic.”
A different type of spark ignited: anger. I was well acquainted with this kind. “Fuck off,” I said, my shaky right strangling the rail.
Josephs held up his hands in mock surrender. “Whoa, don’t get your titties twisted now. I’m just lightenin’ the mood. Bringin’ a little cheer like I always do. Why are you always so serious?”
I told myself to relax. Let it go. Just let it go. I peeled my fingers off the rail and shoved them in a pocket. I shifted my feet, muscles uncoiling, and even tried a smile.
“That’s better,” he said. “You gotta quit bein’ so touchy. Don’t be a bitch now.”
My nerves jingled and my eye twitched. I was ready to pummel this stiff. That was what I needed, a good fucking fight.
Maggie put a hand on Josephs’s shoulder. “Listen, Mark, why don’t you let me talk to Juno alone?”
“No.” He pulled his shoulder away. “We’re gonna do it together. We’re supposed to be partners, right?”
“I really think it would be better if you let me handle it.”
“Fuck that. If you didn’t wanna work with me, you shouldn’t have asked me to be your partner.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Her face screwed in disgust. “Nobody else would have you.”
“That ain’t it at all. It’s not that they don’t like me. Those dickheads don’t want to be outshined is all.” He flashed his pearlies. “Nobody likes to be fiddle number two.”
Hang in a little longer, I told myself. All I had to do was answer a few questions. No big deal. Then I could move on. I could find a bar and drink until the emotions stopped swinging. Drink until I couldn’t feel. “Fucking ask your questions already.”
Josephs hit Maggie with a self-satisfied smile, like he’d just won a prize. The bastard was like a jungle tick the way he loved to get under your skin.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked him.
He turned to me. “How did you find Froelich?”
“Wu and Froelich went upriver last night to do some betting on the monitor fights. Wu wasn’t sure if he made it home okay. We tried calling him this morning and he didn’t answer, so we came down here to check on him.”
“That it?”
“That’s it.”
“What’s the deal with that tattoo on his cheek? You ever seen it before?”
“No. The killer must’ve stamped him.”
Maggie asked Josephs, “What’s the status on the search?”
“The unis tell me this boat’s clean. We think whoever did this did it somewhere else, then dunked Froelich’s head in fly gel to preserve it before bringin’ it here.” To me he said, “Now why don’t you tell me where you fit in with Wu and Froelich.”
“We’re buddies.” Poker face.
“Fuckin’ bullshit. You got some shit goin’ with them two, and you’re gonna tell me what it is.”
“We’re just friends. Pals.”
“We got a dead cop. We can’t let that go unanswered. You know that. If you three were into some shit, you gotta let me know. You back to your old tricks?”
Maggie chimed in. “You know who did this, don’t you, Juno?”
Possibly, I thought with locked lips.
“A cop is dead,” said Josephs. “Fuckin’ decapitated. You understand how much pressure’s gonna come down on us? If you know somethin’, you can’t keep us in the dark. You can’t.”
I felt the pressure, their combined heat bearing down on me. But I held strong. “I told you everything I know.”
Maggie seized my wrist. My heart started it was so sudden. “Don’t you dare shut me out.” She raised an accusing finger, aimed it at the spot between my eyes.
“Trust me,” I said. “You don’t want any part of this. Leave it be.”
“Part of what?”
“I can’t even say for sure it’s related.”
“Talk.”
I didn’t like the way she was looking at me, her brows dipped in a deep V, her lips pursed, her pretty face gone sour. Her pointing finger felt like a drill aimed at my skull.
My resolve broke like I was a two-bit snitch. I wanted to keep her clear, but this was Maggie, my very last connection to the world.
“A badge,” I said, the words bitter on my tongue. “Froelich might’ve been killed by another badge.”
Maggie’s drill of a finger went limp.
Josephs’s face went blank, any vision of a clean case shattered. “Christ. The instant I saw you I should’ve known we were fucked.”
Josephs was old-school KOP. A pimp kills a cop, and it’s time to stomp some pimp ass. An O-head kills a cop, and it’s open season on every junkie who has the bad sense to sleep in an alley. A cop kills another cop? That’s a fucking minefield.
“Fuck me,” he said. “Don’t tell me he’s brass. He better not be brass. Is he brass?” He hung on the answer.
I nodded.
“Fuck! I hate you, Juno. You know that? I’ve always hated you.”
Their phones rang, both at the same time. A holo blinked into existence just beyond the rail. Captain Emil Mota’s feet floated high over the water. “You two running this investigation?”
“Yes,” they responded.
“I just got a tip. A credible tip. I want Juno Mozambe brought in for questioning.”
