Damn. These guys had me fooled. This is serious. “Sam and I took a drive.”
“Anyone see you?”
My partner shows him her phone’s GPS. “You can track us. We’ve been investigating Judge Bannerman. Our car was parked in front of his house for the better part of an hour. We had a tip he was meeting someone, but it didn’t pan out. We had only just arrived when you picked us up in the lobby.”
“What case? Who’s your client?”
“Okay, Sebs. Do your thing.” Crossing her ankles, Sam closes her eyes, and tilts back her chair.
I share a knowing glance with the hidden folks behind the two-way mirror, pick up the timer, click the top, and set it down so all can see. “Well, to explain best, I need to take y’all back. A few weeks ago, a Ms. Selena Bright came to see me in my Brooklyn office. She said her teenage daughter was missing and wanted to hire our agency, Suds and Sam, to find her. I learned she doesn’t have custody but keeps a close eye on her on account of an ancient granny watchin’ her who has dementia. It’s no wonder the girl left. So, anyhow, this girl got caught up in a prostitution chess club and-”
“Wait. The murder in Buffalo?” The detective’s mouth drops open.
“Hold your horses. I’m gettin’ there. Ya got me all confused. Where was I? Oh yeah. The moment I agree to take on Selena as my client, she’s coincidentally shot at, right in front of my office. However, because she’s not dead and she should be unless the shooter was blind which, while possible, don’t make much sense. The hitman would miss all the time and…” Needing air, I inhale.
At the same moment, a man with a grim mouth, stripes, and crewcut glares at the two-way mirror. He snatches the stopwatch, makes a big deal of turning it off, then snarls at me. “Murder is not a joke, Mr. Sutcliff.”
“Wahl, thank God you arrived, Sergeant?”
“Miller.”
“Got it, Sergeant Miller, let me start over.”
“Just the pertinent facts, if you will.” Scowling, he leans against the back wall.
I bob my head up and down, happy to oblige. “Yes sir. I could not agree more. My wife was simply sayin’ there should be no ramblin’ this evening on account of she needs some sleep and I approve whole-heartedly exceptin’ for the fact your precinct wanted to see me in action and I didn’t-”
“Mr. Sutcliff. Stop.” A vein appears in the man’s forehead and Sam notices it, too.
She glares at me with a twinkle in her eye. “Sebastian, please play nice.”
I sigh heavily and glare at the cop. “Mebbe try bein’ a little more specific and I can limit my answers somewhat. Tell me. Exactly what, do you want to know?”
“Did you speak to Mr. CJ Cavell yesterday.”
I nod. “Yessir, I did. We both did.” I pat my wife’s hands and put them in my lap.
“And what did you talk about?” He leans in and I notice he has a little green between his front teeth.
I point at it. “You got a little somethin’ stuck there.”
Standing, he walks to the mirror, and as he picks off the food with a pinky, I can’t help but think of the people in the room behind watching. My mouth wants to grin, especially as my partner snickers, covering hers with her hand.
However, me, being a professional, listen to his next question with a straight face. “Precisely what are you investigating?”
“Well, sir, it seems we have come full circle. Do you want me to explain fully or not?”
My wife gives up the effort of holding back and laughs out loud.
Hissing through his teeth, the sergeant sits his ass down. “Please do.”
The moment he’s not looking, I wink at the mirror. “Well, like I was sayin’, we were hired to find the teenager Chrissy Bright from Cheektowaga. It seems she got caught up in a college prostitution ring. We looked high and low but finally trailed her to her mom’s New York City apartment. Now, normally, this would be the end of my story. Woman hires private investigators to find runaway daughter, we find the kid, and we get paid. You with me, sir?”
He frowns. “What does this have to do with CJ Cavell?”
“Well, here’s the tricky part. I’m not quite sure we know. In fact, there’s two dead people associated with the case. There’s the chess club’s website designer and-”
“Wait. You lost me.”
