“Yeah,” said Maddocks, regarding him steadily. “I thought so. Why don’t you loosen your tie up a bit there, Detective? You’re looking kinda heated and frustrated tonight.”
“Fuck you,” Leo whispered under his breath, turning his attention instead to the hockey game on the TV screen behind the bar. But the old cop couldn’t seem to help himself, either. “She’s a fucking ballbreaker, and you know it. I figure she’s the fucking department leak, if you ask me—just the kinda game she’d play. I reckon she’s trying to hurt the old brass who won’t let her into homicide. Out of sheer spite.” He sucked back half the whiskey in his glass, coughed, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and said, “What happened to your wrists? Looks like you were tied up bad as our floater.”
“I was.”
His gaze shot back to Maddocks’s eyes. “What for?”
“Sex.”
He stared.
“Never been cuffed to a bed and taken advantage of, Detective?”
“You’re shitting me.”
“You wish.”
Leo opened his mouth, but before he could shoot back a retort, McGregor arrived with the burger and fries and placed the food steaming hot in front of him. With relief, Maddocks immediately stuffed several fries into his mouth. As he chewed, the pub doors burst open. Doc O’Hagan blew in with a blustery blast of winter. Wearing her big, comfy-looking jeans, she waddled directly toward them at the bar.
Leo jerked his head toward her. “Here comes another ballbreaker. Maybe she and Pallorino are getting it on, what you say?” He sipped his drink.
“How you doing, Leo?” O’Hagan said, slapping the old detective so hard on the back that he was forced to cough up his whiskey as it was going down. Leo’s eyes watered, and his face burned redder. Cheery-faced, O’Hagan grinned broadly and raised her hand to summon McGregor. She ordered a Guinness pot pie and a draft of pale ale. She turned to Maddocks.
“So, Detective Newbie, how’ve the first days on the job been so far?” She smiled a genuine gap-toothed smile.
“The way I like it,” he said, returning her smile. “Big case, the hours flying by.”
“You weren’t looking for a desk gig, then—management?”
He picked up his burger. “I wanted to get down and dirty in the trenches again for a while.” He bit into his food. She assessed him in silence for several beats as he chewed, probably reading a lot more in his statement than most would.
“Well, that it’s been so far—down and dirty.” She scanned the noisy and full establishment as she spoke. “Where’s Buziak?”
“Gunnar called him in for some kind of meeting,” Leo mumbled.
“A meeting with the chief? This late?” O’Hagan said.
Leo shrugged and returned to his drink, growing morose now. O’Hagan gave Maddocks a nod and went over to talk to Angie.
“Barbed fucking wire O’Hagan,” Leo muttered into his drink.
Maddocks turned back to the counter and quietly ate his burger and fries, intending to clear out as soon as he’d finished. But in the mirror behind the bar he could see Angie putting her pool cue down. He watched as she joined O’Hagan in a booth. McGregor brought drinks over to them, and Angie smiled at something O’Hagan said, then she threw back her head and laughed as McGregor made some quip. And in that moment Maddocks thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. It was the first time he’d seen her smile, laugh, and he ached suddenly to be on the receiving end of that smile. Shit. He was drunker than he’d thought. He needed to get out of here, stat.
Hurriedly, he finished his meal, plunked cash on the counter, waved a thanks to McGregor, and made his way to the men’s room before leaving.
But when he exited the bathroom a short while later, he heard Leo’s raspy voice in the corridor. “It’s you,you’rethe fucking leak.”
Maddocks came quickly around a partition and saw that the old detective had cornered Angie in the tiny passageway as she’d exited the ladies’ washroom. “You’re trying to take usalldown because you fucking can’t take us on like a proper cop—”
“Hey! Back off there, Leo,” Maddocks called, coming quickly forward. But Angie threw Maddocks a sharp warning look that stopped him in his tracks.
“Look, Leo,” she said, her voice going low and cool. “I’m going to let this slide tonight, okay? Because you’ve had a few too many, and I know that you’re going to regret ever having said this. Now back off, nice and easy, and let me pass.”
Admiration swelled in Maddocks.
But Leo poked his finger into her face. “It’syouwho’s wrecking us—you who needs—”
“I said back off, Leo.” As she spoke, she was positioning her right foot slightly to her rear, and Maddocks saw her shifting weight onto it. She was getting ready to clock Detective Harvey Leo. Maddocks tensed, his own fists balling and shoulders tightening instinctively.
