Page 46 of The Writer

Declan grabs the grasshopper and throws it at the television. The martini glass cracks against the wall to the left of the screen, coating the paneling in green. “This is bullshit!”

“Hey!” Maddie shouts. “None of that nonsense in here!” She scoops up the remote and changes the channel to a hockey game—the Rangers are down by one to the Devils.

That’s when Cordova’s phone rings.

ADA Saffi.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

DECLAN CAN’T HEAR Saffi’s voice—the bar’s gotten too noisy—but he does see Cordova’s face tighten as he listens to whatever ADA Saffi has to tell him. When Cordova hangs up, he holds two fingers in the air and tells Maddie, “Another round.”

A moment later, she sets two more shots and another grasshopper down in front of them, eyeing Declan. “You best keep this one off my wall.” She reaches under the bar, produces a rag, and sets that down too. “And I expect you to clean up after yourself.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

When she heads to the opposite end of the bar, Declan tosses the rag to a rookie standing near the bathrooms andsays, “Bodie, clean that up for me and I’ll let you off the hook for the twenty you owe me from that Knicks shitshow last week.”

The kid shrugs and goes to work wiping the wall down.

“You’re an ass.” Cordova doesn’t bother with another toast. He swallows the shot and stares at the bar top.

“You gonna tell me what she said?” Declan asks.

Without looking up, Cordova says, “I tell you, you gotta promise me you won’t overreact.”

“Scout’s honor.”

When Cordova still doesn’t say anything, Declan picks up the grasshopper and drinks nearly half. It’s not bad. Tastes like mint. Low on alcohol, though. He drinks the rest, follows that with the shot, then slides his half-finished beer and empty glasses aside and places his hands on the bar. “I promise, I’m good.”

Cordova glances at their reflection in the mirror behind the bar, then looks back down. “Remember when I said Hoffman would use the alley murder to try and create smoke?”

“Yeah.”

“There’s smoke, but not the kind we thought,” he tells him. “We got DNA back for the blood found on Denise Morrow’s clothing. It’s a match for the woman we pulled from the dumpster on Eighty-Third, Mia Gomez. ME says the knife found at Morrow’s apartment is a match for the knife that killed Gomez. He’s sure.”

Declan tries to wrap his head around this. “Denise Morrow killed Mia Gomez?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“How do they even connect?”

Cordova looks like he wants another shot, and Declan sure as shit does, but instead of signaling Maddie, Cordova retrieves a pen from the breast pocket of his jacket. He takes two napkins from the stack behind the bar, writesDavid Morrowat the top of one andMia Gomezat the top of the other. Working from memory, he writes down what they know about each case—evidence, timelines, facts—turning the napkins into makeshift murder boards.

DAVID MORROW

•Murdered 11/10/2023 (Friday)

•Had arrived home at 4:40 p.m. (confirmed w/ doorman, video footage)

•Denise left for bookstore talk 7:15 p.m. (confirmed w/ doorman, video footage)

•TOD between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. (confirmed by ME w/ body temp)

•Killed with 1-inch-wide, 5-inch-long serrated-edge blade (found hidden above Geller Hoffman’s car)

•Denise Morrow home at 9:20 p.m. (confirmed w/ cab receipt, doorman, video footage)

•Denise Morrow called 911 at 9:31 p.m.

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