Doppelgangster - Laura Resnick [38]
It seemed simple enough.
But when Lopez planted his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands, I decided that maybe honesty wasn’t the best policy after all.
“What were you doing with Lucky Battistuzzi this morning?” he asked, head still in hands. “No, wait, that’s not my first question. My first question is, what was Lucky doing at Max’s? No, wait—” He lifted his head and scowled at me. “What were you doing at Max’s?”
“On a scale of one to ten,” I said, “how important are these questions?”
“What?” he snapped.
“I mean, what did you come here this morning to talk to me about?”
He looked dumbfounded. “You drop a bombshell like that—telling me you spent the morning watching a notorious Gambello hit man shooting up the home of a guy who you know I think is crazy and probably a danger to you—”
“Max isn’t crazy,” I said patiently. “And he’s certainly not dangerous.”
“—and you expect me to remember what I came here to talk about?”
“It’s been a weird twenty-four hours,” I admitted.
“Esther.” He seemed at a loss for words.
“I didn’t realize the truth would upset you this much,” I said.
“Max is bad enough,” he said in appalled tones, “but Lucky Battistuzzi? Don’t you realize how dangerous it is to hang out with him?”
“Don’t worry, I took away his gun,” I said, thinking this would soothe my concerned suitor.
Lopez’s eyes bulged. “You took away Lucky Battistuzzi’s gun?”
“Actually, I guess Max took it away,” I said, recalling the spell which had briefly transformed it into a winged bat. I decided not to mention the details. “But I hid it. So Lucky doesn’t have it anymore.
“He has plenty more of them,” Lopez said tersely. He shook his head as if trying to clear it. “Why were you with him in the first place?”
“He wanted to know what I could remember about Charlie’s death.”
“You shouldn’t be talking to him about that!” Lopez exploded. “It’s a police matter!”
“I know,” I said, “but Lucky and Charlie were . . . Well, I guess ‘friends’ would be a wild exaggeration.”
“For all you know, Lucky was questioning you on behalf of the killer!” Lopez said in exasperation. “To see if they need to get rid of you!”
“You think Lucky is involved in Charlie’s death?”
“Actually, I think the Corvinos killed Charlie,” he said irritably. “I think they’ve probably just fired the first shot in a brand new war with the Gambello family. But right now, that’s only a theory, Esther. Without more facts, I have to keep in mind the possibility that Lucky could be involved and might have a motive to eliminate you!”
“That did occur to me,” I admitted.
“And you met with him anyhow?” Lopez shouted.
“Only after I decided it was safe!”
“What convinced you it was safe?” he demanded.
At the moment, I couldn’t actually remember. So I said, “The point is, it was safe, and—”
“No, the point is you should not be running off to meet with wiseguys at Max’s place!” A horrible expression crossed his face. “Oh, my God. Wait a minute. You’re saying . . . Max is involved in this?”
“Um . . .” This wasn’t going well. I stared silently at Lopez, wondering what to say now.
Looking like he wanted to shout at me again, he closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “What is it about Max, Esther? Why do you hang out with him?”
Despite feeling very conscious of the need to stay far, far away from the fact that I had helped Max kill Hieronymus, I said, “He saved my life. Max is odd, I admit, but he’s got his reasons. And he’s someone I trust. Someone I can count on.”
Still looking like his head hurt, Lopez said, “Look, I know that you . . . hear a different drummer. And I like that about you.”
“I hear a ‘but’ coming.”
“But this is dangerous, Esther. It’s also skirting the edge of the law. I don’t think you’re stupid or a thrill seeker.” He made a vague gesture and shook his head. “But you don’t know what you’re getting into, hanging out with guys like Lucky and Max.”
I was startled into laughter. Lopez’s dark expression made it clear that my levity only confirmed his fears. But hearing