Page 53 of There is No Devil

Am I man surveying my own work?

Am I satisfied?

Am I aroused …

Blandly, I say to Hawks, “I’ve never met her.”

“She was killed in the Mission District. Police saw a man fleeing the scene. He was tall and dark-haired.”

“That only applies to half the men in San Francisco.”

“It applies to you.”

“And thousands of others.”

Hawks takes the photograph back, tucking it into his pocket once more, right against his heart.

He takes this personally. It’s not only ambition for him.

And heislosing patience with my stonewalling. Slowly and surely.

“Have you injured yourself lately?” he demands.

I never visited a doctor when I sprained my ankle jumping from that roof. It’s possible someone saw me limping in the week afterward, when I wrapped my ankle in a Tensor bandage and swallowed handfuls of painkillers until the swelling went down.

“Nothing comes to mind,” I say vaguely.

“Don’t have much of a memory, do you?” Hawks sneers.

“I like to keep my mind occupied with more interesting things than the minutia of my schedule and the time people leave parties.”

“What’s interesting to you?” Hawks asks, his jaw rigid, his hand still resting against the breast pocket of his jacket.

“I’m curious why you’re talking to me, and not to Shaw.”

“You think he attacked Mara? And killed her roommate?”

“That’s what Mara says.”

“You believe her.”

“She’s very perceptive.”

So is this cop. She was right about that.

Hawks knows something is fucked up here. He can sense the links between our strange trio, but he can’t conceptualize what they mean.

He has no evidence—I didn’t leave so much as a fingerprint at the tenements. I’m sure Shaw was even more careful.

How infuriating, to have to work inside the bounds of the law. Your hands always tied by rules and regulations. Only one side playing fair.

I see the strain on Hawks’ face. His impotent anger.

He’s been around enough criminals to know that I’m no law-abiding citizen. But that’s true of most of the wealthy elite in this city. We all flout the rules for our benefit. He can’t decide if I’m just another rich prick, or the killer he seeks.

I’ve already satisfied myself that Hawks has nothing. No evidence against me, nothing but suspicion.

Hawks takes a breath, steadying himself. Getting ready for one last push.

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