Page 53 of One of Us Is Guilty

‘Because we were supposed to meet at your apartment. We just came from there.’

Denise got up from her desk and muttered something about getting Harry to sign a discovery motion.

‘I’m sorry. I knew it was today, I just lost track of time,’ I said, and then tried to change the subject. ‘How’s Kevin?’ I asked, politely.

‘He still has a functioning memory,’ she said.

‘Come on, Dad. Let’s go,’ said Amy.

She was smiling, trying to head off the argument that was brewing between me and her mother.

‘I’ll be right there,’ I said, and turned to get my coat.

‘Eddie,’ said Christine, and I turned. She had followed me to get out of earshot of Amy.

‘I’m sorry. I know you’ve got a lot on your mind. I can tell whenyou’re on a big case. A lot of everyday stuff gets pushed out of that big brain of yours, especially when you’re dealing with life and death trials. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.’

‘It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. And don’t worry about her – she’ll have a great time.’

‘That’s what I’m worried about. Remind her she promised no champagne, no alcohol of any kind.’

‘I will.’

She turned away, and kissed Amy goodbye before she left.

Harry came out of his office with Clarence, who bounded toward Amy. She knelt down and nuzzled him, and giggled when he rolled onto his back so she could stroke his stomach.

‘I’ll meet you at Vanessa’s hotel later. I gotta drop Amy at her friend’s party.’

‘We can blow this off till tomorrow, you know?’ offered Harry.

‘I can’t. I need to know where the hell we’re going with this case, and why our client lied to everyone, including us.’

21

Bloch

The time it takes to get from Manhattan to East Hampton varies according to the time of day, and the time of year.

It was the tail end of winter, spring was promised and the traffic on the freeway was light. Two and half hours, for the one-hundred-and-ten-mile trip. In the summer, the same journey can take anywhere between four and seven hours. East Hampton is a rich getaway town for the Manhattan elite. With its beaches and old-town feel, it’s a haven for millionaires looking to summer on Long Island. You won’t get a house with a pool for under eight million, and the mom-and-pop stores on Main Street have all but been replaced by Prada, Gucci and Ralph Lauren. The Clintons summered here, Robert Downey Jr. lives in a converted windmill and the most in-demand addition for properties in the area isn’t a tennis court, or a heated pool, it’s a helipad, so the super-rich don’t have to spend seven hours fighting through the traffic on a Friday night.

Bloch pulled her Jeep off Montauk Highway, so named after one of the indigenous peoples who were forced, bribed or hoodwinked out of their land. Another sharp left brought them into the parking lot of East Hampton Police Headquarters, just behind the local airport.

Bloch found a space, and killed the engine. No police vehicle inthe lot was more than two years old, all fitted with the latest tech. A police helicopter sat behind the station. For a small-town police force, they were better equipped than most city cops.

‘It’s more like a country club than a police station,’ said Lake.

Bloch nodded.

They got out of the car and entered the building. It was a few years old now, but to Bloch, any place that smelled of fresh paint was new. The desk sergeant looked as though he’d just had the same kind of cosmetic surgery as the building. It was a hell of thing, policing the rich. Of course, the police force wasn’t there to keep order among the millionaires and billionaires – mostly they were there to stop homes being robbed by outsiders and to keep in check the staff who lived west and south of the village, in considerably smaller homes, who cut lawns, brewed coffee, drove Ubers and did the laundry.

The Christmas tip jar for this station would’ve funded a precinct in the Bronx for a month.

‘Bloch for Captain Landry,’ she said.

The desk sergeant looked up from the mirror on his desk – he had just been admiring his tan – and picked up the phone.

‘Say, what kind of moisturizer do you use?’ asked Lake.