Page 97 of Lion & Lamb

“I’m sorry, Ms. Lion. But seriously, you have no idea what you’re doing.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Cooper said. “We’ve met the opposition. I’m pretty sure this Quiet One tried to silence me last night.”

“Nope,” Red said. “If someone sent…that oneafter you, we wouldn’t be talking right now. I would be trying to decide whether or not it was worth driving to Philly for your goddamn funeral.”

“You don’t think the Quiet One killed Archie?” asked Veena.

Red frowned, then signaled the bartender for another whiskey sour. “Is it possible? Sure. But it wouldn’t make no sense. The professional you’re talking about would cost too much, even for a debt as sizable as Archie’s. Just wouldn’t make sense.”

“What about Roz Cline?” Veena asked.

“What about her?”

“Why did she have to die?”

“I have no earthly idea, but she kind of put herself in that position. Once she sank her hooks into Archie, she was sure to parade her fatted calf all around town. You ask me, she got what she deserved.”

“She deserved to be thrown off her balcony?”

“Buy the ticket, take the ride.”

Cooper watched Veena struggle to contain the rage simmering inside her. Not that anyone else could tell, especially Red. But Cooper knew she was using all of her willpower to keep from knocking Red on his ass. “Speaking of tickets, what’s our favorite policeman Mickey Bernstein doing in town?” Cooper asked.

“How would I know?”

“He works for you, right?”

“Nice try, Lamb. No, Mickey is not currently in my employ. He’s down here all the time. Maybe he’s a big fan of the Knife and Fork, I don’t know.”

“You’ve been a big help, Red.”

“I’m not sure what you want from me. But hey, one more thing, just between the three of us—”

Cooper interrupted. “I know, I know, we should watch our backs.”

“Oh, no, you two are way past that point. I’ll do what I can, but you keep screwing around with hornet’s nests, you’re gonna get stung.”

“You’re a big fan of that metaphor, Red.”

“I don’t know why you came here showing your faces around town. You could have picked up the phone, you know.”

Cooper wasn’t facing Veena, but he could practically feel the heat from her eyes. There would be anI told you solater on.

“In fact, if you two were smart, you’d drive back to Philly right now. Don’t worry about the room, I’ll take care of it.”

“Trying to scare us off, Red? You nervous about where this investigation is headed?”

Red smiled. “Please. I’m just trying to keep one of my small-timers from getting killed.”

Chapter104

4:04 p.m.

“LET’S HITthe boardwalk and think,” Cooper said.

Veena nodded and led the way out of the hotel and onto the nearly empty boardwalk outside. The sky was slate gray, and the winter Atlantic Ocean was restless, pummeling the khaki sand like it had a grudge against it. This was not a place you wanted to be in the off-season. But Cooper liked the salty air, always had, going back to the days when his parents would bring him to AC. The scent brought back happy memories because even the most troubled families could call a truce on vacation.

But something felt off. And not just because they were in Atlantic City in late January. They reached the steel railing on the far side of the boardwalk and looked out over the sand.

---