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I said, “I’ll be fine.”
Todd smiled. “That’s what everyone says just before they screw up.”
Chapter 24
No one was sitting near Diego as I approached. A coat and backpack were slung across the back of the chair next to him. I slid into the chair directly across from him. The way he raised his eyes from the book told me that he immediately realized I was a cop.
He said, “Am I not supposed to be here?”
“I don’t know what the exact rules are for studying in the library, but you seem to be following them.”
I reached across and lifted the cover of his book from the table. Biology of Humans by Judith Goodenough.
I smiled and said, “Tough subject, but a great name for an author.”
“The book costs, like, seventy bucks, but I can read it here or over at the O’Malley library for free.”
“I went to Manhattan College. Spent a lot of time at O’Malley. Should’ve spent more.”
Diego looked at me a second time and said, “Aren’t you a cop?”
“You’d be surprised. A lot of cops go to college.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sorry, sir. What did you study?”
“Philosophy.” I paused for a moment, then said, “I guess that doesn’t set me up for a lot of jobs other than being a cop.”
I didn’t see how there was any way this young man was tied up in the drug business. Let alone capable of doing what I had heard he did.
“My name is Mike Bennett. I work out of the Manhattan North Homicide Squad. Your name’s Diego, right?”
He nodded but didn’t seem particularly nervous. “Why would a homicide detective come into the library to talk to me? I’m a high school student. I live in the projects north of here.”
“I’m just trying to do my job. Probably been some sort of mistake, but I thought I would sit and talk with you for a few minutes before the mistake turned into something worse.”
He closed the biology book and shoved it to one side. Then he took a paperback from the table and stuck it in the backpack sitting on the chair next to him. “I brought that with me into the library.”
I raised both hands. “I didn’t say anything.”
“I just wanted you to know I’m straight up.” He twisted his head in every direction to make sure no one could hear us, then said, “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I heard you might be working with a group. A group that can be pretty tough. A group that moves dope through the city and is brutal to the people who sell it for them. That’s just what I hear. I wanted to see what you had to say.”
“Who says I work for any group? I go to high school. I want to be a doctor.”
I studied his face and couldn’t see any hint of deception. He looked me right in the eye and kept that calm, polite tone.
“It doesn’t matter who says you’re in the group. I’m interested in knowing about what you do in your free time. If you ever travel to any of the high schools close by. How you can afford to buy a customized Wenger backpack and a Vineyard Vines peacoat.” I looked at the chair next to him with the jacket neatly hung across the back and the backpack open, facing him. “Those are the kinds of questions I’d like answered.”
It worked. I could see the change in his face. I was betting he had three-hundred-dollar sneakers on as well. But he kept his calm.
Diego looked at me and said, “Do you get questioned every time you buy something nice? I don’t think it’s right that I get singled out for having a couple of nice things. What exactly do you think I did?”
“Does the name Gary Mule mean anything to you?”
The kid caught me by surprise. It was such a casual move. No telegraph, no stress. He just leaned over and reached into his open backpack.
That’s when I saw the gun.
