“It’s not a secret. Katrina Stone is dead, murdered after she left here.”
“Seriously?”
“I wish I was joking.”
“The guy from last night?”
“It’s certainly possible. That jog your memory?”
“No, I wish I did know him, I’d give his punk ass up in a heartbeat.”
The day drinker waved his empty glass. Lefty looked like he was going to tell him to go fuck himself, but Margot told him, “Get the man a drink, I’m good.”
Lefty shuffled off to get the man another drink and Margot worked on her whiskey on ice.
She was getting ready to settle up and leave when Detective Ames sat down next to her.
“Am I under arrest again?”
“No.”
“Then sit somewhere else.”
“I was hoping you might help me find Mal. It’s for his own good.”
“Sure it is.”
“I know, it sounds like standard cop bullshit, but we’re not the only ones looking. He’s going to want to be found by us first.”
“Who else is looking?”
“Bring him in and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Margot shook her head. “Sure you will. What part of sit somewhere else did you miss?”
“You know, you never should have quit. You had good instincts and a good moral compass.”
“How would you know anything about me?”
“I pay attention. Your only weakness was a blind spot for Mal. You let him take you down with him back when you were cops and you’re letting him do the same thing now.”
“That so?”
“If you're with him when they find you, I can’t help.”
“I don’t remember asking for help.”
“You should be. Your lawyer is going to run out of stall tactics and you're going to find yourself locked up. Do you think anybody inside is going to care you’re no longer a cop?”
Before Margot could answer that, Lefty approached, saying to Ames, “What can I get you?”
“Nothing, thanks.”
“Bar stools are for paying customers.”
>
Ames gave Lefty a hard stare for a long second before getting up.