Twisted Game, Nora Kane [the giving tree read aloud .TXT] 📗

her as well, but you need to stay clear. I’m already giving you a break because you were with Mal and I have a soft spot for him.”

Margot didn’t reply to that. She’d forgotten it had been alleged that Mal was working for Harry Lee back when Mal was a cop. Mal had always denied it, but the way Harry casually tossed out Mal’s name now made it seem like the allegations may have had some truth to them.

“The thing is, Margot, I have a rock-solid alibi. So does Bobby, he was driving that night. You need to leave me out. I’m no angel—I do plenty of bad shit—so don’t drag me into some bad shit I had nothing to do with.”

“How about Lucas? Does he have an alibi?”

Harry laughed as if the idea of Lucas doing the killing sounded ridiculous.

“You need to watch your mouth, bitch,” Lucas told her.

“Whatever you say, Lucas.”

“Do we have an agreement, Margot?” Harry said. “I think we’d both be happier if we could be friends.”

“Yeah, because that worked out so well for Mal.”

“He’s still breathing, so it can’t have worked out that badly.”

“I don’t think you killed Tim and Rita, Harry. Unless I find out differently, you have nothing to worry about from me.”

“I suppose that’s fair since I had nothing to do with it. How’s the stomach”

“Bobby hits like a runaway freight train, but I think I’m going to live.”

“So, you two can call it even?” Harry asked.

“I’m good if he’s good.”

Bobby smiled. “I like a girl who can take a punch. We’re cool.”

Harry nodded at Lucas and he pulled to the curb about a block from Margot’s car.

“You can walk from here. Have a nice day, Margot.”

While it was fresh on her mind, Margot called Browers and Associates, hoping someone was there on a Saturday. There wasn't, so she left a voicemail asking if the lab reports on the bloody dress showed anything unusual. Once this was done, she started walking.

Again, Margot called Radcliff while she walked to her car.

“What happened?’ Radcliff asked, sounding a little agitated.

“Harry Lee wanted another conversation,” Margot told him, leaving out the part where his thug punched her in the stomach.

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“You shouldn’t, but it might have been productive. Do you know anyone in the Organized Crime task force who can get me some information on Lee’s driver, a guy they call Lucas? I’d owe you one.”

“I suppose I can do that, but why?”

“Some things he said.”

“That’s it?”

“That, and he and Phoebe probably wear the same size dress,” Margot said, leaving out the part about the straight razor. She found it curious that, in a world with no shortage of combat knives and switchblades, Lucas carried a straight razor a lot like the one Phoebe said was stolen from her place.

Chapter 11

Bobby was sitting at the bar drinking a dark beer when Margot sat down next to him. Since she was working, she ordered a light beer.

Bobby didn’t look at her as he said, “We both know this isn’t the kind of place you drink.”

“Is that so?”

“You come here looking for payback? I was willing to call it even.”

“Since we’re even, I thought maybe we could talk.”

“About what? You ain’t really my type, so I’m not sure what we’ve got to talk about.”

“Lucas.”

“What about him? I know he talks a lot of shit, but if you were two inches from officially being a midget, it might make you a little angry too.”

“Are you saying he’s got issues?”

“I’m not saying shit, but isn’t it kind of obvious?”

Margot took out her digital recorder.

“You recording this?”

“No, I usually do, but I figure you’d want this conversation off the record and I’m fine with that.”

“You say that like there’s going to be a conversation.”

Margot played the sound she had queued up.

“Keep talking, bitch. The last woman who disrespected wished she hadn’t.”

“That sounds like Lucas,” Bobby told her.

“You know who the ‘last woman who disrespected him’ was?”

“Dude didn’t get a lot of respect, especially from the ladies.”

“That include Rita?”

“That includes the entire female gender unless he was paying them. I don’t know if you noticed, but besides not being a physical specimen, he’s not exactly charming. What are you getting at?”

“Okay, in the course of his duties, did he and Rita ever run across each other?”

“Yeah, the fact was, she was really the head of Helms’ operation. She liked to let him pretend he was running things, but if we needed something done, she was the one to talk to. I can’t remember anything specific though.”

“Did he know Rita threatened to expose your business with Tim and Helms?”

“Yeah, he heard, so what?”

“How bad does Lucas want to impress Harry?”

“Pretty damn bad. Honestly, it’s probably why he keeps him around. Anybody can drive a car, but Lucas is sure eager to please.”

Margot hit play again.

Lucas’s digital voice said, “It’s probably good they did it that way, boss. Cops never even considered it could have been you.”

“Was that in the car on Saturday?”

“Yeah, I forgot to turn it off after I was talking to Helms and you forgot to check for it. Don’t worry, there’s nothing incriminating on there. Other than the parts with Lucas, I dumped the rest.”

“So you’re thinking Lucas used his day off to kill Tim and Rita?”

“Seems a possibility.”

“A long shot at best.”

“Sure, but there’s more. The dress covered in blood they figured Phoebe wore had some hairs on it that didn’t match Phoebe’s. Short black ones.”

“Lucas is covered in those, but that doesn’t narrow it down much.”

“No, but put it in with motive, opportunity, and Lucas’s generally nasty disposition,