‘It’s a cop bar.’ He undoes the button at his collar. ‘I don’t think anyone expects us to be drinking.’
‘I’dlike to be drinking,’ Kristin pronounces. She tucks back her hair and puts her elbows on the table. ‘I’d very much like a Long Island iced tea.’
‘I don’t think they serve tea at the bar,’ Bell says, distracted by what Carter is doing.
Emma and Kristin exchange glances.
Bell looks back. ‘Okay, heads up, Carter’s bringing the public safety commissioner over here.’
Emma’s spine stiffens automatically.
‘Miss Lewis, Miss Gutmunsson, Mr Bell,’ Carter says. ‘I’d like to introduce Alan Kraus, the local commissioner. Mr Kraus, these young people are part of our consulting team.’
Kraus is an unfortunately strong-chinned man with styled red hair and a florid complexion. ‘Mr Bell, we’ve met, good to see you again. Miss Gutmunsson, thank you for coming. Miss Lewis, that was a very brave speech you gave this morning.’
Emma decides she is never shaking this man’s hand. ‘It wasn’t a speech. I didn’t know I was going to be speaking.’
‘I’m very sorry I put you on the spot this morning.’ Carter sounds sincere until he turns to Kraus. ‘We were a little pressed for time, so I didn’t get a chance to brief Miss Lewis on how things would play out.’
‘Which is convenient, because if you’d asked my permission, I would have said no.’
Carter’s face falls. ‘Miss Lewis—’
‘Excuse me.’ Emma slips off her stool. ‘I’m going to get something nonalcoholic to drink. Kristin, I’ll ask about the tea.’
She walks over to the bar. A group of plainclothes detectives stands in a semicircle, talking and knocking back shots with beer chasers. The barkeep is busy farther down the line. While Emma’s waiting, one of the men beside her turns and notices her hair.
‘Whoa, Miss Lewis, how you doing? Joe Kowalski – me and Simmons stepped you through the leads today.’ Kowalski is a jovial, heavy-set guy in his thirties, already half in his cups.
‘Oh right,’ she says. ‘Yeah, hi. I think we borrowed your desk this afternoon at headquarters.’
‘You can have it.’ Kowalski guffaws. ‘You trying to wash down the road dust?’ He gestures to the barkeep. ‘Hey, Stu! Lady here’s trying to get a drink.’
‘Oh no, it’s fine—’
‘Nah, don’t worry about it. You want a beer?’
‘Just orange juice, really it’s—’
‘Man, you need something stronger, after that shit today.’ Kowalski pushes a shot glass across the bar, fills it from the bottle of whiskey they’ve bought. ‘There you go – on the Pittsburgh PD.’
Emma regards the shot glass and has just decided that honestly, she wouldn’t mind, when Bell arrives near her elbow.
‘Carter’s waiting for you back at the table,’ he says.
‘Really.’ She picks up the glass. ‘That’s nice.’
‘C’mon, man,’ Kowalski says to Bell. ‘Let the lady finish her drink.’
‘Yeah, Bell. Let me finish my drink.’ Emma knocks back theshot. It makes her eyes water a little. Kowalski and his crew let out a ragged cheer.
Bell glares at Kowalski. ‘Lay off. She’s only nineteen.’
‘Ah shit. Sorry! I totally forgot.’ Kowalski looks repentant.
Bell’s face is stormy as he turns back to Emma. ‘Can we talk? Like, right now?’
‘Sure,’ Emma says, even though she doesn’t want to.
