Page 37 of NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority

“Mrs.Hellman,” Kylie repeated. “His wife, Brooke, liked the idea?”

“I don’t know her name, but...” He shrugged. “I guess older women respond to my style.”

The kid was shameless. Kylie pressed on.

“When did this all happen?” she asked.

“Three months ago—April first, actually. When I got the call, I thought it was an April Fools’ joke, but Mr. Driscoll said it was real. He would have gone to the meeting with me, but he had to fly to London, so I went alone.”

“You didn’t take your dad?”

“Take him? I didn’t eventellhim. The whole thing was bizarro. I figured if anything ever came of it, I’d surprise him and say, ‘Hey, Dad, you want to be the head writer on a new show the Hellmans are doing?’ He would say, ‘Yeah,’ and I would say, ‘Cool. You’re hired.’”

“Where did the meeting take place?” Kylie said.

“Their office on WestFifty-SeventhStreet.Twenty-thirdfloor.”

“And who did you meet with?” Kylie said.

“Them,” he said, giving her the look we get when people think we’re asking dumb questions. “I met withWarren and Curtis.”

“Who else was there?”

“Just the waiter. But he was in and out.”

“Who?”

“The waiter. It was their private dining room.Talk about weird. They were both eating lunch, plus Warren was staring at his phone. I knew they were only seeing me as a favor to Mr. Driscoll, so I decide fuck it, I’ve got nothing to lose. I give them the backstory—there are five men, all trained to be lethal killers. Twenty years ago, they were working as assassins for the US government. Curtis interrupts me and says, ‘Why the fuck would anyone tune in to watch a bunch of scumbags who kill people for a living?’ So I look straight at him, and I say, ‘That’s what they said to David Chase, but he went ahead and createdThe Sopranosanyway.’”

“You got balls, kid,” Kyliesaid.

“Well, it worked. Curtis put down his fork, Warren looked up from his phone, and I said, “I don’t mean to be rude, sir, but why would you think they’re scumbags? They put their lives on the line with every mission, targeting terrorist cells that were planning attacks on American soil. There’s a nobility about the sacrifices they made for their country. They were patriots, unsung heroes, when the government fucked them over and pulled the plug on their unit. They’re in their late forties, early fifties. How are they supposed to support their families, pay their mortgages, send their kids to college? Get a job at Home Depot? No. Killing bad guys is what they know. It’s what they do best. So they go into business for themselves. I think audiences will fucking lovethem.”

“I’m betting twenty bucks they didn’t tell you to leave,” Kyliesaid.

“Hell, no. By now they both stopped eating. I don’t know what I said, but I knew I had their attention, so I started telling them about the characters.”

“Theo!” It was Carly.

He waved her over and introduced us. She was cute, blond, and all business.

“Sorry, Officers,” she said, “but we’re ready to shoot, and we need the director on set.”

“A few more minutes?” Kylie asked. “Please?”

Theo turned to Carly. The look in her eyes was unequivocal.No more minutes.

He snapped his head toward me. I gave him a half smile that let him know he was on his own.

“Who’s up first?” he asked Carly.

“The Manchester twins,” she said, not even bothering to look at her clipboard.

“Oh, man,” Theo said, turning back to Kylie. “These ladies are the best—Esther and Hester Manchester. They’reeighty-sevenyears old. Totally identical twins. Same face, same hair; they even wear the same dresses. But when they talk about all the spooky shit they’ve seen, they argue like crazy. You want to watch the interview? We can pick this stuff up later. Cool?”

I know my partner. She had zero interest in watching a pair of octogenarians squabble about ghoulies, ghosties, and things that go bump in the night. And she certainly didn’t want to pickthis stuffup later.

What she wanted to say was, “No, it is definitelynotcool. We’re investigating two homicides. Your geriatric twins can just sit tight till we’re done.” But she knew better than to get between our star witness and his girlfriend.