Part 31 (1/2)
”He's right,” I said, considering it. ”This won't get thrown out of court on a technicality. Will it?”
”Nuh-uh.” Spinelli shook his head faintly. ”Don't see how. It wasn't a police operation. We didn't coax him into saying anything.”
”What about illegal wire tapping? We didn't have a court order to record that.”
”Don't need it. It's not our bug. Harrison vs. Cook County already set precedence for this. In that case, a county prosecutor recorded inflammatory evidence gathered from a cordless phone conversation a drug dealer had with his currier. This is practically the same thing.”
”All right then. Let's get with the D.A.'s office. Have them pet.i.tion the court for an arrest warrant immediately. With luck, maybe Ferguson will give up his co-conspirators in a plea deal.” I reached out and shook Spinelli's hand. ”Nice work, Dominic.” I went to let go and he squeezed tighter.
”Tony.” His expression grew serious. ”Will you be my best man tonight?”
I have to admit, he took me by complete surprise. I fully expected he would ask Carlos that question, especially in light of recent circ.u.mstances. Perhaps because of recent circ.u.mstances, he asked me. I answered him the only way I could.
”Sure,” I said, and returned the squeeze. ”I would be honored.”
I looked at Carlos. He turned away. I a.s.sumed he felt alienated, even dejected. ”Carlos.” He turned to me. ”Listen, if you're feeling left out because Dominic asked me”
”What? No. That's not it. I'm good with that.”
”So why the long face?”
”No reason.”
”Carlos.”
”Okay, Tony. Here's the thing.” He took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. ”It's good if we can nail Ferguson for Williams' and Delaney's murder, but that doesn't fix my Vette, does it?”
He turned and left the room, I a.s.sumed for a long walk so that he could vent. Dominic and I took bets on how many Snickers bars he would returned with. Dominic bet three. I bet five. When he did not come back, we started to worry and went down to the lobby to look for him. He was not there. Sergeant Doucette told us he saw Carlos leave the building, but not before emptying the candy machine of its Snickers. Spinelli and I looked at each another, and then at Doucette.
”How many?” Spinelli asked.
Doucette face wrinkled from the forehead down. ”How many what?”
”Snickers. How many Snickers did he get from the machine?”
The answer came with a blase shrug. ”I don't know. Four maybe.”
”Four? Are you sure?”
Another shrug. ”I don't know. I suppose so.”
”Do you think it could have been three or five?”
”What?”
”We have a bet.”
Doucette shook his head and walked off, thinking us both mad, I suppose, or at the very least, petty. I don't know. I suppose we were.
SIXTEEN.
I don't know what I expected when I first learned Dominic and Ursula's wedding would be a traditional witch's wedding. I imagined lots of magick for sure. I even expected a wedding guest or two from the other side of the black mirror, say Ursula's mother, perhaps. Lilith once told me that a witch's wedding is one of the most sacred of all ceremonies a witch can partic.i.p.ate in. Bigger even than the Rite of Pa.s.sage, the ceremony that returned Lilith and me to prime just a couple of years earlier.
Dominic, I know, was scared. He kept asking me what time it was. Forget that he was wearing a watch; the clock in his apartment chimed on the quarter hour every hour.
”Wish Carlos was here,” he said.
We stood toe-to-toe as I helped him with the knot in his tie. ”He'll be here,” I said. ”Don't worry.”
”I should have told him.”
”Told him what?”
”That I wanted you to be my best man.”
”Oh, that.”
”I know he's hurt.”
”Carlos is a big boy. He'll get over it.”
”I was going to, you know.”
”Going to tell him?”
”Ask him to be my best man.”
”Why didn't you?”
I watched the lump in his throat bob as he swallowed. ”Because of what happened between you and Ursula.”
”Oh?”
”She told me.”
My hands froze on his tie knot. ”Did she?”
”She told me everything. About what happened the night of the coven ceremony, you walking in on her in the bathroom.”
I finished the knot and cinched it tight against his collar. ”Dominic. I never meant”
”Tony. It's okay. I'm not angry. I understand. I just wanted you to know that we're still best friends. That's why I asked you to be my best man.”
”Did she tell you about this morning?”
”In the kitchen?”