Page 56 of Two Kinds of Stranger

‘Working hard?’ I asked.

‘Hardly working. I’m watching Elly’s TikkyToks.’

‘I don’t think that’s the right term.’

‘I’m old. What’s up?’

‘I’m going slightly crazy thinking about this case. I don’t like prosecutors keeping me in the dark. We can’t build a defense if we don’t know what case we have to fight.’

Harry put down his phone, took a sip from his coffee, said, ‘You have no patience. Just wait for the indictment.’

‘If we’re going to trial at lightning speed then every day we spend sitting on our asses while Castro’s office builds a case against Elly is against my religion.’

‘She should be out on bail tomorrow, if your bondsman comes through. There will be plenty to do then. Just try to relax. Wait for Bloch and Lake to come back.’

‘I can’t sit here. I’ve got to do something.’

‘What can you do?’

I thought for a moment. Looked at Clarence. He wasn’t bothered by any of this. His master was at peace in his chair, he’d been fed and walked, and all was right with the world. I needed to think. Which meant I needed to move. There was one thing I could do that might help us get a jump start on Elly’s defense.

‘I’ve got to know more about the murders, but it might get us into trouble,’ I said.

‘What kind of trouble?’

‘The serious kind. Want to come?’

Harry thought for a moment, asked, ‘Whose car are we going to take?’

Harry drove.

I needed to make some calls on the way.

He still maneuvered his green convertible sports car way too fast. It was very old and very British. Harry loved this car.Nobody else did. It had a suspension system that I guessed was made out of old boots and tree branches, the steering made a horrible noise if you turned left hard and the brakes were either fully on or fully off, which made stop lights damn dangerous. We drove with the top down, despite the cold. Having the top up was an arcane puzzle that Harry had never quite mastered. Even with it up, it leaked and sent concentrated icy drafts of air across your face.

‘Why don’t you get this car fixed?’ I asked, holding my cell phone to my ear.

‘I can’t. This thing was hand-built in England. If it broke down in the factory, surrounded by the guys who built it, they still wouldn’t be able to put it back together.’

‘Then buy a new car. This one is dangerous.’

‘I like this car. It has character.’

‘You mean you like it because it doesn’t work properly?’

We were coming up on a red light. Harry touched the brakes, throwing us forward as the wheels locked up. The seatbelt bit into my shoulder.

‘Yeah, that’s kind of the point,’ said Harry. ‘Think about our office. You think any one of those people function properly? You never left the con game, not even when you’re on your feet in court; Kate is an obsessive workaholic; Bloch is the best investigator I’ve ever seen, but she’s like an AI robot most of the time; and Lake is a bumbling mass of anxiety who likes to shoot people every now and again. If it wasn’t for Denise, the whole place would collapse. None of you can function properly. We’re all flawed, Eddie. That’s what makes us human. That’s why I love this car.’

We drove on in silence.

I called the prosecutor’s office. Bernice was out and her secretary said she was on her cell and gave me her number.

It took almost thirty seconds, but Bernice answered the call.

‘You know, you shouldn’t keep your cell phone in that handbag,’ I said.

‘My life is in this bag, Eddie. What do you want? I already told you I can’t divulge anything about this case. Grand Jury empaneled tomorrow. You should have discovery in a week or two.’