paused and studied Anatoly for a moment. “It might be more efficient if she rode with me or one of the other detectives. That way we could ask her some questions on the way over.”
“She’s been through enough without being forced to ride in a police car like some kind of criminal,” Anatoly said firmly.
My eyes traveled from Anatoly to Lorenzo. It was a nobrainer that Anatoly wanted to coach Leah on what to say before she answered any more questions, and it was equally obvious that Lorenzo would do whatever he could to prevent that from happening.
Lorenzo smiled and turned his attention back to Leah. “You know, Mr. Darinsky is right. You’ve been through enough. The last thing you need is to be dragged to some ugly police station. Why don’t we just sit in the car over there—” he instinctively held up his hand to block Anatoly’s predictable protest “—the unmarked car, in the front seat. I’ll have one of the guys bring us some coffee and we’ll finish the questions here.”
Anatoly’s jaw got a little tighter but he didn’t say anything. Leah looked to me questioningly for what I assumed was guidance. Ironic, since if she had ever taken my guidance before she never would have married Bob in the first place. But now I was all “guidanced out,” so of course I looked to Anatoly, who managed to loosen his jaw enough to speak.
“Go ahead, Leah, we’ll be waiting for you here.”
Leah allowed Lorenzo to steer her gently to the proper car. He stopped to talk to one of the uniformed officers, possibly to request the promised coffee, which was just stupid because the last thing Leah needed was to be more amped.
Anatoly stood silently with his arms crossed in front of him.
“Where’s the hidden camera?” I whispered.
Anatoly’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“You know, the spy stuff that detectives carry around with them when they go to crime scenes.”
Anatoly shook his head in disgust. “I was in the Russian Army, not the KGB. I don’t have any spy stuff.”
Well, that was disappointing. “Not even a mini tape recorder?”
“Not even that.”
“Then what the hell did you go back up to your apartment for?”
“A jacket.”
“You are so not worth twelve thousand dollars.”
“You wouldn’t say that if you had ever given me the opportunity to get you undressed.”
I opened my mouth to make a clever comeback, but then quickly closed it in order to keep the drool in. Not healthy. I really needed to try to be more somber. I thought about Bob’s early demise. Unfortunately that didn’t sufficiently lower my spirits. I turned my thoughts to Leah’s potential incarceration. That did it.
“Do you think she’s telling him—”
“Sophie, do us all a favor and shut up.”
“That wasn’t very nice.”
“When did you get the impression I was nice?”
“Good point. So this undressing thing…is that really part of services rendered? Because it’s a good marketing tool. ‘Hire Darinsky, he’ll catch your spouse with his pants down, and as a consolation he’ll lower yours, as well.’ Really, I think there could be a high demand for that. But since I’m hiring you for more solemn purposes, I think I’ll have to pass.”
“I didn’t actually offer.”
“The hell you didn’t.”
Anatoly smiled slightly. “I’d forgotten what you were like when you weren’t busy setting people up for murder.”
“Yep, this is me. Spunky and fun.”
“I was thinking argumentative and insane, but you should stick to the euphemisms that work best for you,” Anatoly said.
I gave him what I hoped came across as a disdainful glare. “I’m cold. I’m going back to the car.”
Anatoly hesitated, then carefully removed his jacket and held it out for me. I couldn’t help grinning while I slipped my arms into the sleeves. This is what I liked about Anatoly: he was full of contradictions. Though the jacket was about eight sizes too big, I managed to find a way to get my hands into the pockets. Anatoly reached out to stop me but it was too late—I had already felt it.
“What’s this?”
“Nothing, now just—”
“It’s a tape recorder! And it’s on, isn’t it.”
“Shh!”
“You do have spy stuff,” I hissed.
“Sophie, this is not the place. We’ll talk about it when we’re alone.”
“Oh, please, no one’s listening. You just don’t want to admit I was right.”
“You were right. Now shut up.”
I wasn’t quite as offended by the command now that I knew I was right. I simply spent the rest of the time smiling smugly at him while he ignored me. Finally, Leah emerged from the car and came over to us.
“Please get me out of here.”
My smugness was instantly squashed. Hopefully the fact that I kept forgetting about Leah’s plight was due to shock and denial and not extensive egocentrism. I ushered Leah to my car, where Anatoly once again assumed the role of driver. Leah refused my offer of the front passenger seat and tried to open the back door for herself. Unfortunately her hand was shaking so badly that she found even this task too difficult. I opened it and buckled her seat belt for her before crawling into the seat next to Anatoly.
The first five minutes of the drive were silent. It occurred to me that it would have been better if this had happened back when Leah was under the illusion that her marriage was successful. That way her final memories of Bob likely would have been positive. As it stood now, she had been robbed not only of her husband but also of the right to be angry with him. Unless of course it had been that anger that had led to his death. I shook my head vigorously and Anatoly gave me a questioning glance that I didn’t bother responding to. I wasn’t going to allow myself those thoughts. Leah was a lot of things—neurotic, insecure, judgmental—but she also had a good heart. She was simply not capable of murder.
“Jack! Oh my God, I forgot about Jack!”
I quickly turned toward Leah. “Forgot him? Forgot him where?” Images of Jack suffocating in the back seat of her Volvo flashed in front of my eyes.
“I dropped him off with Miranda for a playdate this afternoon. Oh Lord, what am I going to say to him?”
I doubted it was necessary to explain a father’s death to an eighteen-month-old child, particularly if the victim was a man that had a stronger relationship with his laptop than his son. “Why don’t you call Miranda and see if Jack can
