Page 121 of Nightshade
The front door opened and Tash walked in carrying two plastic bags of groceries from Vons. She stopped in her tracks when she saw his face. She mouthed the wordsYou okay?Stilwell nodded in return, even though he was far from okay.
“I want to hear you say it, Stil,” Corum said. “Do you understand?”
“I understand,” Stilwell said.
“Good, then I think we’re finished. I just got home and I don’t want to carry this shit into my house.”
“Fine. Good night, Captain.”
“Good night, Stil.”
Stilwell disconnected. Tash had put her bags up on the kitchen counter and was unloading them.
“Grilled cheese and chili,” she said. “Comfort food. Okay?”
“Okay,” Stilwell said.
“What’s wrong?”
“Fucking Ahearn.”
“What about him?”
“It’s déjà vu all over again. He’s hanging the murder on the wrong guy. He’s so fucking incompetent, and the captain doesn’t care because he gets an easy clear on a complicated case. Meantime, somebody gets away with murder.”
Tash stopped, a can of pinto beans in her hand.
“What are you going to do about it, Stil?”
“I don’t know yet… but I can’t do nothing.”
He grabbed the handle of his suitcase and rolled it into the bedroom. He opened it on the bed and started unpacking, returning unworn clothing to drawers and hangers in the closet. He was halfway through when his phone buzzed with a call from a number he recognized.
“What do you want, Ahearn?”
“I want to know what the fuck you’re doing telling the captain we tagged the wrong guy.”
“You did, Ahearn. You did what you always do. You took the easy road. But it was the wrong road.”
Ahearn laughed.
“You know what this is? It’s jealousy. I thought you’d be happy that we shared credit with you, but no, you want—”
“Don’t you get it, you fucking idiot? He’s not the guy.”
“So you say.”
“Okay, your press release says she was breaking up with him. Where’d you get that, Ahearn? Because less than twenty-four hours ago, he didn’t say a thing about that. He only talked about her quitting her job on the island so they could sail to Tahiti.”
“So he told you. He lied to you, Stillborn, and you can’t stand the fact that you fell for it hook, line, and sinker.”
“Did you even try to check out his alibi? You know what, never mind. I already know the answer to that. You didn’t do shit. You go to the guy’s house, find him dead, and think,We can make this case go away real fast.You padded the press release like you padded the case. You were just hoping it was true. But it was bullshit, just like you.”
“You’re bullshit, Stillborn.”
“No, you know what I am? I’m the guy who’s going to bring in the real killer.”
“Stilwell, you better not do any—”
