Page 63 of Fade Out

He stared at me a moment. “But you’re not on the job.”

“No.”

“Are you here investigating something?”

That was something I didn’t care to answer. It was relevant, certainly, and I knew things the CPD didn’t know. I doubted convincing them was going to be worth my time.

Luckily, I was saved by a voice behind me saying, “What are you doing here?”

I turned and there was Detective Monroe White. He was a middle-aged black guy with an expanding and shrinking waistline. At the moment he looked to be on the decline. I should have been expecting him. We were in the 18th District, after all.

“Hello, Detective White,” I said.

“Detective,” Garner said. “I’m just taking Mr. Nowak’s state—”

And that was all he got out before White said to me, “Didn’t I hear that you were in County on a murder charge?”

“I made bond.”

Garner looked at me like I’d betrayed him by not mentioning this.

“So where were you when this guy was killed?” White asked.

“He was at table number fifteen—”

“I was having a conversation with ASA Sanchez,” I said. I might have been a little smug about it, too. It was a relief to have an ironclad alibi for a change.

“You’re drunk.”

“It’s a party. Open bar.”

“Garner, go find out whose bright idea it was to keep serving alcohol, and then shut it down.”

“Oh, but could you grab me a vodka soda first?”

“No,” White said firmly. Garner got up and hurried off. White sat down across from me. “So what do you know about this?”

“You’re looking for a guy named Mike ‘Possum’ Mazur.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s the one who killed Richard Crisp.”

“You saw him?”

“No. Description.”

“You got a description from who?”

“Elaine Kelso.”

“She remembers the killer as tall.”

“Exactly. Possum is tall.”

“You know tall is not a description.”

“Possum is Rita Lindquist’s accomplice. And she has a motive.”