“Detective?What’s wrong?” said Sterling.
She smelled like apricot marmalade and another man’s cologne.
He grasped the velvet curtain to stay upright. It slid aside, and he careened with it.
“This entire case is wrong.Ois im Oasch. Everything was logical, until you,” he said, booping her nose. “You’ll cost me my job. You ruin men’s lives.”
“Hey, it’s nice to have a hobby.” She leaned back and scanned him, appearing to assess his intoxication level visually. “How many beers did you drink?”
He counted on his fingers. He ran out of fingers.
She dragged him into the lobby by his tie, then slumped him into a seat in the bar.
“Heast. I bin früher a hochg’schätzter Polizeidetektiv g’wesn. Jetz bin i nur a b’soffener Kerl mit an Polizeiausweis. Morgen bin i b’soffn und hoknstad. Passt scho, dan kan I wenigstens wondern gehn.”
She spoke with a patronizing coo. “Yes, darling, youwerea respectable policeman, and now you’re a very drunk policeman. Butthat’s a lovely idea to go hiking tomorrow after they fire you. Always good to look at the bright side.”
She left the bar, swiveling her hips as she disappeared around the corner.
He begged her to stay:“Na, Schatzerl, kom z’ruck.”
It worked. She reappeared, carrying a tray. He simpered.
“Ois is furchtbar, die gonze verdommte Stodt geht zum Teifel. Ois bled, außer dir,” he said.
“I might’ve missed that one. Is the entire city going to hell or am I going to hell?” she asked. “You know what? Don’t answer.”
She’d missed when he said everything was stupid except her. He kept his compliment to himself.
She set a glass of water in front of him.
And a coffee.
And a white pill.
And a breath mint.
He pointed from the mint to his mouth. “Mogst a Busserl?” he asked, puckering up.
“Sei ned frech,” she said, clicking her tongue in disapproval.
“I’m not being rude. Okay, maybe abisserlrude. What, you don’t want a kiss?” he said, winking. The wink stuck on his face. He peeled his eye open with his fingers.
“You’re very kissable, Detective,” she said, “but you’re too drunk to consent. Take this pill if you want. It’s Fernando’s invention and will save you from hell tomorrow.”
He swallowed the pill. “Du bist a g’scheida Augenschmaus.”
“I’m a… smart piece of eye candy? Eh, I’ll take it,” she said, bending over to look at him. Her sweater dipped low, showing her bra. Red.
“Dei Hemd. I kan dein Busen sehn.”
“Oh, I know exactly what you can see, darling.”
She stood, ruining his view, then walked into the office.
“Na, bitte kom z’ruck.”
“I’ll be back in a second,” she said. She picked up the phone and must have called Fernando, because he appeared a minute later, waving a light in Andreas’s eyes.
