“To tell you the truth, Carlos, I don’t even know what Irish coffeeis, and at the moment I don’t particularly care. Please tell me, who is the inspector assigned to this case?”
“As luck would have it,Iam.”
“You are? But Sailor’s a friend of yours.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Are you allowed to investigate someone you know?”
“According to General Rules of Conduct Order Number Fifty-seven, ‘Conflict of Interest in Investigations’: ‘If a member is assigned to an investigation in which the member knows or suspects, or should reasonably know or suspect, that the member has a personal orfamily interest, the member shall immediately report the interest to the member’s immediate supervisor.’”
I blinked. “You’ve got that memorized?”
“I’ve got several of the General Orders memorized. Comes in handy. Besides, I’m sorry to say this isn’t the first time a potential conflict of interest has arisen. San Francisco is in many ways a small town, and I’ve got a large and colorful family. Ah, the drinks.”
Carlos retrieved the Irish coffees from the bar and set before me a stemmed glass of steaming, fragrant coffee topped with a thick layer of cream.
“You’re going to thank me for introducing you to this,” he said, taking a seat and raising his glass in a toast. “Here’s to exonerating your jailbird boyfriend.”
“Tell me what happened. Please, Carlos.”
He grew more serious, gazing out at the darkness in the direction of Aquatic Park. Finally, he blew out a breath and took another sip of his drink. “Just so we’re clear, I wouldn’t be discussing any of this with you if the situation didn’t strike me as hinky.”
“‘Hinky’ being the official police term for something that doesn’t add up.”
He nodded.
“Who is the victim?”
“You really don’t know?”
I shook my head.
“Tristan Dupree.”
My heart sank.Of course.“Carlos, honestly, Sailor was headed to Oakland—”
“There are witnesses.”
“That’s not possible.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. Except that there are indeed witnesses.”
“Well... eyewitnesses can be mistaken.”
“You think I don’t know that? But three different people picked him out of a lineup.Three, Lily.Upstanding citizens, with no apparent ax to grind. And if that weren’t enough, I’ve seen the hotel’s security camera footage. It was Sailor.”
I sat back, stunned. “There has to be some explanation.”
“I’d love to hear it.”
“Then tell me, what seems hinky to you?”
He shrugged, took another sip of his Irish coffee, and inclined his dark head. His eyes searched mine: intelligent, caring. Worried.
“Sailor denied it. Completely. Claimed he wasn’t in that part of town, not there at all.”
“And?”
