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  “I take it he wouldn’t say anything about me.”

  “Exactly. I’m not going to ask what he did for you—I don’t want to know—but I need to know if he’s back in your employ.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “He’s in town, and he’s involved in this whole thing somehow.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “A video Cassandra Cole showed to me.”

  “The one they arrested you for trying to kill?”

  “Technically, they never arrested me, but yeah,” Margot told him, “the video is the man they think contracted Lucas’s murder. The man looks a lot like Mal.”

  “Looks a lot like Mal is not the same as being Mal.”

  “No, but whoever he was he used the name Dennis Thorn.”

  “So?”

  “So, Dennis Thorn was Mal’s alias when he was working undercover.”

  Harry smiled again. “Now that you say it, I remember when we first met he was Dennis Thorn. I’d forgotten.”

  “So had I for a little bit.”

  “Mal put the hit on Lucas?”

  “Looks that way. The question is, who told him to do it? I don’t see him doing that on his own.”

  Bobby brought them their drinks. Harry gave him a look and Bobby went back to the bar and ordered something for himself.

  “So you called to ask me if he works for me?”

  “Seems a reasonable question.”

  “Except I hired you to find Lucas’s killer. It would be a weird thing to do if I was the one who ordered Lucas go down.”

  “It would be, but if it was true, I’d guess you’d have some kind of angle.”

  “What would my angle be?”

  Margot finished her first drink. She took a sip of the second one even though she said she didn’t want it. Once again, Harry had picked out her drink of choice.

  “I don’t know what your angle would be, Harry. I’m just a simple P.I. You're the criminal mastermind. Just because I don’t see it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

  “All that being true, I can still tell you Mal is not working for me right now in any capacity.”

  “Okay, if not you, who?”

  “I don’t know, but I can do some checking. These people will be much more inclined to talk to me than you.”

  “Thanks. In the meantime, watch your back. It has the feel of someone moving in on you.”

  “I’ll do that, Margot, thanks.”

  “One more thing: if he’s not working for you, I’m giving his name to the police.”

  “Really? After all you’ve been through together?”

  “Someone tried to shoot me earlier tonight. It felt a lot like Mal. Even if it wasn’t, I can’t be holding out on an accessory to murder.”

  “He’s not working for me. Tell whoever you want.”

  “I wasn’t asking permission.”

  “Just out of curiosity, if he was working for me, what would you have done?”

  “You’re just going to have to stay curious about that one.”

  “I’m not sure I like that answer.”

  Margot drank some more of the drink she claimed not to want before she said, “I leave first. Take your time and enjoy our drink because if I see any of you coming my way, someone is getting hurt.”

  “You still don’t trust me?”

  “No,” Margot said as she stood.

  “You sure you don’t want to hang around? Getting shot at is no picnic. If I was you, I’d want to have a few drinks.”

  “I’m over it already,” Margot said as she took another sip. She left thinking not finishing the whole glass was something of a victory.

  Margot was debating whether to call the maid or call Ames and tell him about Mal. While she was trying to decide, she checked her email and saw Mal had replied to her messages.

  His message was simple: It’s not what you think.

  Margot replied: Then what is it?

  He didn’t reply.

  Margot got in her car and Mal sat up in her backseat.

  Chapter 8

  “Have you come to finish the job you messed up last night?” Margot asked Mal, keeping her eyes on him in the mirror and shifting her hand toward her purse.

  “What job last night?”

  He sounded sincere, but even though he’d always been honest with her, Margot knew he was a very capable liar.

  “You didn’t shoot at me last night by the 7-11?”

  “No, why would you think that?”

  “Car looked like yours.”

  “A drive-by?”

  “Yeah.”

  “If I wanted to shoot you, Margot, I wouldn’t do some dumb gang-banger bullshit. I’d walk up and shoot you.”

  “Or wait in the back of my car and put one in the back of my head?”

  “Yeah, though I’d probably put two just to be sure. I wouldn’t talk about it first though, I’d just do it, if you’re worried. Are you worried?”

  “No.”

  “Good. I wouldn’t mind if you drove though. I’m kind of a wanted man and every cop in town knows my face.”

  Margot started her car and pulled into traffic.

  “Anywhere you want to go?”

  “Just drive for now. I know you and I are kind of on the outs, Margot, but why would I want to kill you?”

  “I figured out what you did at the county jail. You did a good job hiding your face but using Dennis Thorn was kind of a giveaway.”

  “Honestly, Margot, I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

  “Someone who looked a lot like you using the alias Dennis Thorn visited the main suspect in the death of Lucas Lau just before Lucas got shanked to death in the infirmary.”

  “The suspect a man named Heller?”

  “Yeah.”

  “If he killed someone, that’s news to me. I sure as Hell didn’t tell him to. Even if I was contracting a murder, which I’m not, I wouldn’t use Heller. He’s dumb as a rock.”

  “But you met him as Dennis Thorn?”

  “Yeah, but not to tell him to kill Lucas Lau. Who is Lucas Lau, anyway?”

  “Until someone shanked him, he was the main suspect in a case I’m involved in. You might have heard about it, the media called it the Masterson Hot Tub Massacre.”

  “That was that Lucas? You were working that?”

  “I was, or I am, working for Phoebe Masterson’s legal counsel.”

  “Big case, who got it?”

  “Browers and Associates.”

  “Congratulations, those guys are big time. Working for Shaw must really be paying off.”

  “Why were you there talking to Heller?”

  “I can tell you it had nothing to do with Lucas Lau or the Masterson Hot Tub Massacre.”

  “Okay, if that’s what it wasn’t, what was it?”

  “I can’t tell you that yet.”

  “Yet?”

  “Yeah, it’s going to depend on how the rest of this conversation goes.”

  “Can you tell me why you used your old alias?”

  “I couldn’t use my own name and I needed a name Heller would recognize.”

  “He knew Dennis Thorn?”

  “I was using that name when I busted him for possession with intent to distribute.”

  “He agreed to meet the guy who busted him?”

  “For a dude like Heller, that was like four of five charges ago. Heller isn’t really a details guy. He knew he knew me from somewhere, but he never realized Dennis Thorn was the narc who busted him back in the day. Like I said, he’s dumb as a rock.”

  “I guess I should be glad you didn’t order the hit on Lucas, but I’m guessing you’re still up to no good.”

  “That depends on the definition of no good.”

  Margot figured that was about as much as he was going to tell her and didn’t reply. The silence between them lasted a couple of blocks before Mal said, “It’s good to see you, Margot. I’m sorry things ended the way the
y did between us.”

  “Me too.”

  “We could fix it and leave all this behind, you know.”

  “No, I don’t know. What are you talking about?”

  “You and I getting out of town, living somewhere nice, and not having anyone shoot at us for the rest of our lives.”

  “How do you think we would do that?”

  “I’ve got a job, it’s a one-time thing, but once it’s done, I’ll have enough to get out and stay out. I’m asking you to come with me when that happens.”

  “Is this why you were sneaking into the county jail to talk to Conner Heller?”

  “This is that ‘yet’ part, Margot. If you’re in, I tell you everything, but if you’re out? I can’t risk telling you anything. Are you in?”

  “No.”

  “That was a quick answer. You should think about it.”

  “There’s nothing to think about.”

  “Would it make a difference if I said I needed your help?”

  Margot gave that one some thought before she said, “No.”

  “You sure? We were good together.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. We’re not going to be a couple again and I’m not leaving town. Neither should you. Turn yourself in, you’re only wanted as a witness at this point.”

  “We both know that’s not how it’s going to go down. I killed people.”

  “In self-defense.”

  “Even if that was entirely true, I’m somebody people have been looking to bust for a while. They won’t let me off the hook and you know it.”

  Margot wanted to tell him he was wrong, but she couldn’t.

  “Is it because of the choirboy?” Mal asked.

  “Is what because of who?”

  “The detective you’re seeing, Radcliff, is he the reason you’re turning me down?”

  “No. Sure, he’s a factor, so’s my job with Shaw, but it’s more than that. I’m not like you anymore, Mal. I don’t feel like I have nothing to lose. Even if there was no Radcliff and there was no Shaw, though, the answer would be the same. I’m not a criminal, I’m not an outlaw, and I have no desire to become one.”

  “You say that like you’ve never crossed the line before.”

  “I never claimed to be an angel, but I’ve never gone far enough I couldn’t get back.”

  “You think I have?”

  “Do you honestly believe you haven’t?”

  Mal opened his mouth like he was going to say something but closed it without uttering a word.

  After a long uncomfortable silence, Mal pointed to a parking lot and said, “Drop me off here.”

  “Look, there’s got to be something we can do…”

  Mal shook his head and pointed to the mostly empty lot. Margot pulled in.

  “Drive away, Margot. Don’t look back,” Mal told her. He was out of the car before she could reply.

  He stood there by the car looking at her for a second and Margot thought he might get back in, but he just pointed down the road and said, “Drive away.”

  Margot did as she was told. She did look back in the mirror, though. He was already gone.

  Chapter 9

  Margot was back at her office, trying to figure out what to do next. While she was glad Mal was not involved in the murder of Lucas, taking him out of the equation put her back at square one in trying to decipher who killed Lucas and why. It also left her with the uncomfortable feeling that despite his apparent innocence when it came to Lucas, Mal was about to do something terrible. Margot couldn’t think of anything Mal could do besides killing somebody that would pay near the money he was implying he was going to get.

  Margot picked up her phone and made a few calls. She had to go through a few people she knew before she got a hold of Conner Heller’s lawyer. It took some convincing, but he gave her permission to talk to his client. They made an appointment for the next morning.

  While she was making the arrangement to talk to Heller, someone tried to call her. When she’d finished the call, she checked her voicemail.

  “This is Ames. Call me back A.S.A.P.”

  Ames was rarely helpful, but she thought of something she wanted to ask him and he hadn’t been a complete bastard to her after the shooting, so she called him back.

  “About time,” Ames said as he answered the call.

  “You say that like I’m sitting around waiting for you to call.”

  “Yeah, well, I was actually waiting for yours. You said you had an idea who took a shot at you last night, but you never said who.”

  “I thought that wasn’t your case.”

  “It’s not but since you didn’t reveal your secret to either of the detectives in charge as promised, I thought I’d check back with you.”

  “Don’t you have something better to do?”

  “Not really. Radcliff is in court all day, and he gets mad if I solve crimes without him.”

  “Why aren’t you there too?”

  “The D.A. said I come across as ‘abrasive’ and ‘unlikable,’ which I guess is bad.”

  “I wish I could disagree with him.”

  “You seem to be avoiding answering the question. You knew something last night. What was it? Don’t tell me you told them already. I asked.”

  “It didn’t pan out.”

  “Come on…”

  “Seriously, I was wrong. I looked into it, and it was a dead end. You think I wouldn’t want to tell you guys if I knew who just tried to murder me?”

  “What was a dead end?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Are you planning to take justice into your own hands on this one, Margot?”

  “No, if I have my way, I’ll never pull the trigger again unless I’m at the range.”

  Ames was silent for a moment and then he said, “Have it your way, but if this is something you're doing on the shady side, do me a favor and don’t drag Radcliff into it.”