Page 35 of Feared

“I still don’t get why you didn’t follow me. I thought you guys would follow me.”

“We tried, but they wouldn’t let us.”

“I was hoping we could get into the house.”

“But that’s not police procedure. It’s a crime scene. They don’t let anybody through the perimeter.”

“I know, but I wanted to give it a try, together, as a group.”

“You mean likestormthe house?”

“No, talk our way in,” Bennie shot back. “Like we always do.”

“So what did you say?”

“I grabbed the first cop I saw, and told him I was a lawyer and needed to see the detectives on the case, so he took me to them.”

“Andthatgot you through?” Mary asked, incredulous.

“He thought I was an assistant district attorney.”

“You told him you were an ADA?” Mary would’ve laughed on any other night. Judy stayed quiet in the backseat.

“No, but I implied it, or rather, he inferred from the circumstances.”

“What circumstances?”

“DiNunzio, you’ve worked enough murder cases to know. A lawyer who arrives at a crime scene in the middle of the night? Every cop in the world assumes that’s an ADA. All I had to do was act important, and I can do that in my sleep. In fact, I do.”

Mary suppressed a smile.

“So then he took me to the detectives in charge, and they were young guys I don’t know. Detectives Krakoff and Marks. I told them we were willing to give them a statement, so they said fine.”

“Why did you do that?” Mary asked, confounded. They all felt miserable tonight, shocked over John’s murder, and maybe Bennie had lost her mind. It really was true that everybody grieved differently.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? I want to get into the Roundhouse and nose around. I want details.”

Mary didn’t know if she could handle the details of John’s murder, but she didn’t say so. “But why tonight? Couldn’t we have waited until they asked us to come in, instead of provoking it?”

“Nothing benefits from delay, DiNunzio. It’s always better to get the jump. And you know in any murder investigation, facts can develop early on. Besides, I want to talk to them before they know enough to ask us better questions. Once they figureout about the lawsuit and the statements John made, this could get sticky.”

“I don’t know if we should be going in unrepresented.”

“We’re lawyers. We know how to handle a police interview, we’ve defended plenty of them.”

“What about Roger? We told him we would play nice.”

“I called him earlier, but this is a murder case, not a reverse-discrimination case. He’s not our lawyer for all things and all times.” Bennie snorted. “If you want, I’ll text him where we’re going. I’m not about to carry him on a sedan chair.”

“Don’t we want his PR guy, too? Isaac?”

“I don’t, but if you do, I’m fine with their coming. We know how to handle the press in a murder case. Basically, don’t feed them. And don’t flip them the bird, even if you want to.” Bennie paused. “Look, DiNunzio, I just realized, I should’ve thought of your condition.” Her tone softened. “You must be beat and you should probably go home. Why don’t you drop me off? I can do my own snooping.”

“No, that’s okay,” Mary said, with a twinge of regret. She felt bad for saying anything, and secretly, she didn’t want to miss out. Anthony looked over, his mouth tight, so Mary added, “I actually feel fine. I’m not even tired. I don’t want to go home.”

“Carrier,” Bennie said, again softly. “You can go home too. I know this is roughest on you. You guys were pals.”

“Thanks but no,” Judy said, her voice thick. “I don’t want to go home, either. I wouldn’t sleep anyway.”