Part 33 (1/2)

”It was on Danny when he died?” I guessed.

”Danny,” Lopez repeated. His voice got chillier. ”You were on first-name terms?”

I said to Max, ”He's talking about the piece of paper I gave Danny last night.”

”It was near the body,” Lopez said. ”Probably fell out of the victim's hand-or maybe a pocket-when he died.”

”Oh, dear,” Max said.

Lopez said, ”It's easy to see how it got missed. The scene was such a mess. And your note was stuck by dried blood to a broken bottle so that it almost looked like part of the torn wine label. It's just luck that I'm the one who noticed it.” His expression didn't suggest that the luck was necessarily good. ”No names. Just two phone numbers. I recognized one of them right away.” He looked at me again. ”Yours.” His voice was still flat. ”I had a bad feeling that I knew who the other number belonged to, but I was hoping I was wrong.” He s.h.i.+fted his gaze to Max. ”Until I dialed it and found out I was right.”

This comment was followed by an awkward silence. My heart sank. I recalled thinking this afternoon, just before I left Lopez so I could try to help Danny, that I would tell him the truth tonight about where I'd gone today. But this wasn't how I had intended to break the news.

I asked, ”Has this made things very bad with Detective Napoli?”

”Napoli doesn't know,” he said.

My shoulders sagged with relief. ”Oh, that's good.”

”No, it's not good,” Lopez snapped. ”Today I concealed evidence in a murder investigation, Esther!”

”Oh!” I realized what he was saying. ”Oh. You found that note with our numbers on it, and you . . . pocketed it? To protect me?”

”Yes.” His voice was clipped, his expression dark.

”That was very thoughtful,” Max said, beaming at Lopez.

Lopez gave him a look that scared me.

”Max,” I said, ”try not to talk.”

”Hmm?”

”If they find out,” I said anxiously to Lopez, ”would you be suspended? Or . . .”

”Or charged? charged?” He unleashed his anger now. ”For stealing a note that connects my 'fiancee' to a brutal murder? Yes Yes, Esther, I could be charged with obstructing justice. Probably, though, the department would rather keep it quiet and just kick me off the force. No one wants a scandal in the Organized Crime Control Bureau, after all, so the NYPD probably wouldn't like to advertise advertise, by charging me, that one of their detectives concealed evidence in a murder to protect the mob girl he's been dating. The possibilities for tabloid headlines alone would be bloodcurdling, from my captain's point of view.”

Feeling terrible about this, I said, ”I never-”

”Merely suspending suspending me, of course, is a possibility. That's the kind of pa.s.s that a superior officer gives to a detective he likes and who has a track record in his department. But guess what?” me, of course, is a possibility. That's the kind of pa.s.s that a superior officer gives to a detective he likes and who has a track record in his department. But guess what?”

”I know,” I said, my heart pounding as I saw just how furious he was. ”Napoli doesn't like you, and you've only been in OCCB a few days. But-”

”And that's not the point!”

Max said, ”Perhaps we should all calm-”

”If you don't shut him up,” Lopez said to me, ”I swear to G.o.d I'm going to do something that they'll have have to charge me for.” to charge me for.”

”Max,” I said sharply, ”don't talk.” ”don't talk.”

”The point,” Lopez said, ”is that there's been a murder, and I concealed evidence and removed it from the scene, and I'm a cop, and that's not not what I what I do do.”

And that was the bottom line, I realized. He was more appalled by what he had done to protect me than he would be by anything that could happen to his career because of me.

”Then we have to face the music,” I said.

”What?” he snapped.

A sudden sense of fatalistic calm washed over me. ”You've got to enter that evidence into the investigation. You didn't destroy it, did you? So take it to work and say that you found it at the scene and something happened that distracted you, so you pocketed it without realizing it, and now you're-”

”And as soon as Napoli finds out whose phone number is written on this note, he'll know I'm lying,” Lopez said dismissively.

”Of course he will. But he'll also know that, after you took the note, you came to your senses and brought it right back.” When Lopez didn't respond, I said, ”Or if you don't like that plan, then go back to Vinny's wine vault and leave the note there for someone else to find. You're a cop, you must know how to plant evidence.” After a moment, I said, ”That came out wrong.”

But his attention was suddenly on a different matter. ”How do you know the hit happened in the vault? We haven't released that information.”

I had seen enough episodes of Crime and Punishment Crime and Punishment to recognize the implication. ” to recognize the implication. ”We didn't kill Danny!” didn't kill Danny!”

”Gracious, no!” Then Max remembered he wasn't supposed to speak. ”My apologies.”

Lopez blinked. ”For not killing Danny Dapezzo?”

My cell phone rang, making us all jump.

”You know know we're not killers,” I said as I went over to the table where my purse was lying. we're not killers,” I said as I went over to the table where my purse was lying.

”Don't answer that,” Lopez said.

”I have to. It could be my agent,” I said. ”At long last.”

”This late?” he said doubtfully.

”Maybe,” I said. ”We've been having trouble connecting and this is important.”

”This is more more important, Esther.” important, Esther.”

”I'm trying to get an audition for something specific,” I said, opening my purse. ”There's very little time left.” In fact, I was afraid Thack was calling me to say it was too late by now, the part had already been cast.

”We're talking about murder and concealing evidence,” Lopez said sharply.

The ringing persisted.

”The only reason I'm involved in this mess in the first place,” I said, searching my purse for the phone, ”is because I was waiting tables when Charlie Chiccante died instead of working a real job. So I would think that you, of all people, would appreciate how important it is that I get this audition!”