AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Damn it.
“Go ahead,” he said. “Please.”
I went into the next room, said to Cappy and Alvarez, “If he goes nuts, break in. I’m going to record what is said on my phone.”
Cappy said, “Tell him you turned off the mic and don’t do it. He’s not going to know.”
Alvarez said, “I’ll record with my phone. You just talk.”
“Good.”
I walked back into Interview One and said, “We’re all alone, Bill. I’ve got a few questions, and then anything you want to say, I’m here and I care.”
I took a notepad and pen from the center of the table and headed the top page with our names and the date and time.
Then, “Bill, when was the last time you saw Marty?”
“When I quit, because of him, all those years ago. I wanted to be a cop since I was about ten and resigning broke my fuckin’ heart. That and I had to explain it in job interviews. Still, everything worked out okay. Working on cop films. Being the authority. Having a gig where you go home on time and no one shoots at you.”
“I’m guessing the pay’s better.”
“You’d be half right. The cost of living in LA is higher. But Beverly and I have a house with a pool. You met my wife a couple of times when I brought her to the station. Do you remember Beverly?”
“I think I do. Blond hair. She was very nice to the kid I was back then. So you haven’t seen Marty in what, twenty or thirty years?”
“Something like that.”
I nodded, and casually asked, “And where were you this past Sunday, from 6 p.m. through about midnight?”
“You thinkIkilled him?” D’Amato said in a loud, querulous voice.
“Hell no, Bill. Just account for your time and we can move on. You know how this goes.”
He scoffed, shook his head. I was watching his hands, ready to draw down on him if he reached for a weapon. Knowing backup was four feet away on the other side of the mirror was comforting.
CHAPTER 30
D’AMATO GLARED AT me, then decided to tell me his whereabouts at the time Marty was murdered.
He said, “Okay. So yesterday Beverly and I got into SFO at four o’clock. We got to the place we’re staying on 39th Avenue. I showered, changed my clothes. Bev watched some liberal news crap on the tube. I did not think of Marty. I didn’t call him. I had no idea where he was and I sure didn’t cap him, Lindsay. I can show you my boarding pass from the flight. I have a printout in my jacket pocket back in the break room.
“I spent the whole day and night with my beautiful bride and we watched Cop TV until we woke up in the morning. Beverly will testify to this.”
I dotted ani,crossed aton the pad in front of me.
“Good, Bill. Now that we’ve got your movements down, who doyouthink killed Marty?”
“I know thirty guys and more than a couple women who’d kill him for free.”
“And?”
“I’ve got to say, Lindsay, I’m surprised that I’m being treated as a suspect. Feels like the worst of times. I came here, don’t forget, on my own time, my own dime.”
“Bill, you know you would be asking anyone who knew Marty the same questions.”
“Okay. Point, Boxer. Here’s something you might want to know.”
What he told me made my poor aching head reel. After that, I walked Bill to the break room, accepted his boarding pass from LA to San Francisco, and his business card. I thanked him and walked him to the elevator.
