Page 18 of Lion & Lamb

“Cooper, the only thing worse than being on a teamwithyou is being on a team opposite you. Which is why I wanted to meet.”

“And here I thought you just wanted to tie one on. Speaking of…” Cooper looked around for their server, who had departed only a few moments ago.

“We’re friends and all, but I want to establish some ground rules,” Veena said.

“Perfect. This calls for a drink.”

“Rules first, drinks after.”

“Okay, fine,” Cooper said with a slight pout in his voice.

“We share everything. I mean every last shred of intelligence.”

“Done.”

Veena blinked. “Really? That was too easy.”

“Not at all. It’s the smart move. I mean, my man Victor can grab anything he likes from your files—”

“Just like my number two, Janie, can from yours.”

“See? So we’re saving valuable snooping time. Anything else?”

“Yes. We need to agree that we won’t trust anything that comes from Mickey Bernstein.”

“Done,” Cooper said. “I hate that tall handsome prick. He’s nothing but a haircut, a Penn degree, and a last name. What else?”

“No bullshit, now—who do you think killed Archie Hughes?”

“My gut take right now, based on the available facts?” Cooper asked. “Some of which came from Bernstein’s initial report?”

Veena made a sweepingThe floor is yoursgesture with her freshly manicured hands.

Cooper nodded. “It was a random carjacker. He saw the fancy Maserati, not the guy behind the wheel. Once he realized who he’d killed, he took the Super Bowl ring to pawn it for some getaway money, but then figured out it would be like tattooingGuiltyon his forehead.”

“Interesting theory. So this random carjacker is also a master criminal who can evade dozens of surveillance cameras in the area and knows how to elude the cops in a citywide manhunt?”

“Eh, beginner’s luck,” Cooper said. “This is probably the guy’s first time, which is why Mickey B. and his goons are having so much trouble finding him. And until they do, the entire city will continue to lose its collective mind. So that’s my take. Who do you like for this?”

“Oh, the wife killed him,” Veena said. “Absolutely.”

“Really.”

“No doubt about it.”

Cooper made aGive it to memotion with four fingers.

“Let’s put aside for the momentwhyFrancine Pearl Hughes definitely murdered her husband,” Veena said. “Instead, let’s discuss why they’ll never arrest her.”

“I don’t know. Could it be because…she absolutely didn’t do it?”

“No. It’s because this city loved her long before any of us had even heard of Archie Hughes.”

“True. Francine is Philadelphia’s sweetheart. What was that cringey soul trio she used to front?”

“You’re pretending like you don’t remember the Puritones, but I know you do.”

Cooper smiled like a boy caught in a fib. He was completely unaware that their server was approaching as he broke into a horribly off-key rendition of the Puritones’ hit “Cross My Broken Heart.” Veena considered Cooper a highly talented investigator who had many skills across a variety of disciplines. Singing wasn’t one of them.

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