Page 62 of Lion & Lamb

LAMB: Are you serious? What, do you have to drive down to Atlantic City this morning? Or are the Sables expecting you to report in?

BERNSTEIN: The fuckdid you just say to me?

LAMB: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Detective! I’ve got you on speakerphone. Do you really want to curse like that in front of my kids?

BERNSTEIN: Kids, I sincerely apologize for the profanity. But your dad is a scumbag who shouldn’t have you on speakerphone during a work call, so I’m hanging up now.

LAMB: Come on, Mickey! Be a mensch, meet with me! I can help.

BERNSTEIN: You know how you can help? Do better by your children, asshole.

“I believe the homicide detective just hung up on me,” Cooper said as he negotiated the busy traffic circle around Philadelphia’s City Hall.

“Admit it,” Ariel said, “you wanted him to hang up on you, didn’t you?”

“I wanted to see what he would do when I said key words such asAtlantic CityandSable.”

Cooper Jr., who was sprawled out in the back seat, had been listening to everything with a bemused smile on his face. But now he couldn’t resist. “Is that cop working for the owners of the Eagles?”

“Yeah,” Ariel said, “is he like their bagman or something?”

“Where did you learn about bagmen?”

“We are your children,” she replied. “We pick up everything.”

“I’m so proud I could weep.”

Chapter63

Transcript of recorded interview with Rosalind “Roz” Cline conducted by Veena Lion and Janie Hall

ROZ CLINE: Jeez, do you always wear those things inside? You look like you’re with the Secret Service or something. All I see is myself talking to myself.

JANIE HALL: I assure you it’s nothing personal, Ms. Cline. Veena is light-sensitive.

CLINE: What do you mean, light-sensitive? You’re inside a casino. It’s practically midnight in here all the time.

VEENA LION: Let’s not talk about my boring sunglasses. I want to hear all about you. I’m fascinated how you keep one foot in Philly and one foot here. Kind of the best of both worlds?

CLINE: Nobody uses the wordbestin connection to either Philly or Jersey. I’m guessing you two didn’t grow up here.

LION: Where did you grow up?

CLINE: Blackwood, New Jersey. Pretty much right at the beginning of the expressway.

HALL: Did you attend college nearby too?

CLINE: College? I didn’t even finish high school. That’s the big lie they push—work your ass off so you can graduate from high school, and don’t you dare miss a day or you won’t get the perfect-attendance award! And God forbid you’re not accepted to the right Ivy League school—you’re doomed to a lifetime of failure. Never mind that if you go to college, you’re chained to a lifetime of debt. No, I knew it was all a racket from a young age.

LION: How young, exactly?

CLINE: Finished ninth grade and that was all I could stand. Can I get another coffee? Maybe with a little Irish in it this time?

HALL: I’ll take care of that for you right away.

LION: Thanks, Janie. While we’re waiting, I wanted to ask you about Archie Hughes. How long did you know him?

CLINE: Who said I knew Archie Hughes?

---