hell.”
“You go take care of your deliveries, and we’ll square it with your father, maybe get you down there later this morning. Detective Marzik will buy you lunch.”
Lester nodded his head like a collie.
“Okay. Sure.”
Lester vanished into the flower shop, but Marzik and Starkey stayed on the sidewalk.
“Why’d you have to tell him that, for Christ’s sake? I don’t want to spend all day with him.”
“Somebody has to be with him. You’ve set up the rapport.”
“It’s not going to do any good. You hear that, ‘pretty sure’? The guy’s wearing a cap, sunglasses, and a long-sleeved shirt on a day it’s ninety-five fuckin’ degrees. If it’s our guy, he’s wearing a goddamned disguise. If he’s not, he’s just some asshole.”
Starkey felt the urge for more antacid.
“Why do you always have to be so negative?”
“I’m not being negative. I’m just stating what’s obvious.”
“Okay, then try this for obvious:
If
he’s our guy, and
if
he’s wearing the same clothes when he set off the bomb, and
if
he’s on the news tape, the goddamned hat and sunglasses and long-sleeved shirt should make him easier to spot.”
“Whatever. I’ll go talk to the kid’s father. He’s a bastard.”
Marzik stalked into the shop without another word. Starkey shook out a cigarette, lit it, and went to her car. She was so angry that she was trembling. First Pell, now this. She was trying to get past it because she had a job to do, and she knew the anger was getting in her way. She tried to remember some of the techniques that Dana had told her for setting aside her anger, but couldn’t remember any of them. Three years in therapy, and she couldn’t remember a goddamned thing.
Just as Marzik reappeared, Starkey was considering the people coming and going from the laundry, and how many of them passed the pay phone. She took a breath, calming herself.
“Beth, you talked to the people at the laundry, right?”
Marzik answered without looking at her. Sulking.
“I told you I did.”
“Did you run the time and description by them? I’m thinking that one of their customers might’ve seen our guy.”
Marzik pulled her pad from her purse, opened it to a list of names, then held it out with the same sulky indifference.
“I asked them for any customers they recalled between noon and two. I’m not stupid, Carol.”
Starkey stared at Marzik, then dropped her cigarette and crushed it.
“Okay. I wasn’t going to say anything about this, but I think you and I need to clear the air.”
“About what? Your busting my balls about the Amway or because the kid isn’t as solid as I thought he was?”
“You told Kelso that you thought I was drinking on the job.”
Marzik went a bright crimson, confirming Starkey’s suspicion.
“No, I didn’t. Did Kelso say that?”
“Beth, this is hard enough. If you’re going to lie to me, do me the kindness of not saying anything and just listen.”
“I don’t like being accused.”
“If you don’t want to work with me, let’s go to Kelso and tell him we can’t work together. I’ll tell him it’s mutual, and neither of us will lose points.”
Marzik crossed her arms, then uncrossed them and squared herself in Starkey’s face.
“If you want to talk about this straight-up, then let’s get straight-up. Everyone on the squad knows you have a drinking problem. Jesus Christ, we can smell it. If you don’t reek of gin, you’re blowing Altoids to cover it.”
Starkey felt herself redden and fought the urge to step away.
“Everybody feels sorry for you because of what happened. They set you up over here in CCS and took care to bring you along, but you know what? That shit doesn’t cut any ice with me. No one set me up, and no one is looking out for me, and I got two kids to raise.”
“No one’s looking out for me.”
Starkey felt as if she was suddenly on the spot, and defensive.
“My ass there isn’t. Everybody knows that Dick Leyton
“You go take care of your deliveries, and we’ll square it with your father, maybe get you down there later this morning. Detective Marzik will buy you lunch.”
Lester nodded his head like a collie.
“Okay. Sure.”
Lester vanished into the flower shop, but Marzik and Starkey stayed on the sidewalk.
“Why’d you have to tell him that, for Christ’s sake? I don’t want to spend all day with him.”
“Somebody has to be with him. You’ve set up the rapport.”
“It’s not going to do any good. You hear that, ‘pretty sure’? The guy’s wearing a cap, sunglasses, and a long-sleeved shirt on a day it’s ninety-five fuckin’ degrees. If it’s our guy, he’s wearing a goddamned disguise. If he’s not, he’s just some asshole.”
Starkey felt the urge for more antacid.
“Why do you always have to be so negative?”
“I’m not being negative. I’m just stating what’s obvious.”
“Okay, then try this for obvious:
If
he’s our guy, and
if
he’s wearing the same clothes when he set off the bomb, and
if
he’s on the news tape, the goddamned hat and sunglasses and long-sleeved shirt should make him easier to spot.”
“Whatever. I’ll go talk to the kid’s father. He’s a bastard.”
Marzik stalked into the shop without another word. Starkey shook out a cigarette, lit it, and went to her car. She was so angry that she was trembling. First Pell, now this. She was trying to get past it because she had a job to do, and she knew the anger was getting in her way. She tried to remember some of the techniques that Dana had told her for setting aside her anger, but couldn’t remember any of them. Three years in therapy, and she couldn’t remember a goddamned thing.
Just as Marzik reappeared, Starkey was considering the people coming and going from the laundry, and how many of them passed the pay phone. She took a breath, calming herself.
“Beth, you talked to the people at the laundry, right?”
Marzik answered without looking at her. Sulking.
“I told you I did.”
“Did you run the time and description by them? I’m thinking that one of their customers might’ve seen our guy.”
Marzik pulled her pad from her purse, opened it to a list of names, then held it out with the same sulky indifference.
“I asked them for any customers they recalled between noon and two. I’m not stupid, Carol.”
Starkey stared at Marzik, then dropped her cigarette and crushed it.
“Okay. I wasn’t going to say anything about this, but I think you and I need to clear the air.”
“About what? Your busting my balls about the Amway or because the kid isn’t as solid as I thought he was?”
“You told Kelso that you thought I was drinking on the job.”
Marzik went a bright crimson, confirming Starkey’s suspicion.
“No, I didn’t. Did Kelso say that?”
“Beth, this is hard enough. If you’re going to lie to me, do me the kindness of not saying anything and just listen.”
“I don’t like being accused.”
“If you don’t want to work with me, let’s go to Kelso and tell him we can’t work together. I’ll tell him it’s mutual, and neither of us will lose points.”
Marzik crossed her arms, then uncrossed them and squared herself in Starkey’s face.
“If you want to talk about this straight-up, then let’s get straight-up. Everyone on the squad knows you have a drinking problem. Jesus Christ, we can smell it. If you don’t reek of gin, you’re blowing Altoids to cover it.”
Starkey felt herself redden and fought the urge to step away.
“Everybody feels sorry for you because of what happened. They set you up over here in CCS and took care to bring you along, but you know what? That shit doesn’t cut any ice with me. No one set me up, and no one is looking out for me, and I got two kids to raise.”
“No one’s looking out for me.”
Starkey felt as if she was suddenly on the spot, and defensive.
“My ass there isn’t. Everybody knows that Dick Leyton
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