Delaney laughed again. His dark, curly hair blew in the wind, and he had a nice laugh, too. "Listen, I know this isn't the best time, but the way I see it, I owe you dinner."
Wow. "You do. A really nice dinner."
"So, if you don't have any plans right now and want some company, how about I take you out? You shouldn't be alone, and I can offer you an excellent shoulder to cry-"
"VICK!" came a sudden shout from behind them, and Vicki turned.
Dan. Running toward her. Concern creased his forehead, and she wondered if something was wrong. He was winded when he reached her, his chest heaving and his breath puffing white in the chill.
Dan nodded to Delaney. " 'Scuse me, can I borrow this girl?
It's important." "Sure." Delaney released Vicki's arm and stepped back. "It might take us a while, friend," Dan said brusquely, and
Delaney nodded.
"Vicki, maybe I should give you a call, another time?" Delaney asked, and before she could process it, he had edged away.
"Yes. Do." "You in the book?" "Yes," Vicki said, and Delaney said good-bye, then walked away as she turned to Dan, concerned. "What's the matter?" Dan cracked a wry grin. "Sorry to interrupt. Who was that?" "Mr. Right." Dan laughed. "Since when?" "Okay, Mr. Right Now. Which would have worked for me." "You can't be serious. What a geek." "He's not a geek, he's an ADA." "Not in Major Crimes, he's not. I can tell." "He's in Insurance Fraud."
Dan fake-snored, closing his eyes and dropping his head to the side.
"Very funny."
"Shhh, I'm asleep."
Vicki looked over Dan's shoulder. Delaney was long gone. The reception line shifted forward in the cold. "Where's Dr. Mariella?"
Dan fake-woke up. "In the ladies' room."
Hmmm. "So what's the matter? Is something going on?"
"Yes, I need to talk to you."
"I'm parked this way," Vicki said, and they walked together into the wind. Dan took her arm, but she missed the way Delaney had held her. Also, he was single.
"Listen, I fixed everything between you and Bale," Dan said, under his breath, and Vicki looked at him in surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"I told him what we talked about this morning, all about your theory, and he said it sounded like you made a real connection. He said he's going to talk to Saxon about it, smooth some feathers, and ask ATF to get the surveillance squad on Jamal Browning."
"You're kidding!" Vicki felt off balance. As happy as she was that they'd go forward on Browning, she wished she had been a part of the discussion. "When are they going to start surveillance? I know they have a big meeting, but it's not until Wednesday."
"Bale didn't say."
"I wish I could be there. They should do it right away. They don't need a warrant or anything, it's plain view."
"And guess what?" Dan strode on. "ATF is already running down a lead on your cell phone."
"What's the lead? The guy with the gravelly voice?"
"I don't think Bale knows. It's ATF. They got tech experts in Philly and D.C. on it, Bale says."
"D.C.? Then it will never happen."
"Don't be so negative."
"All they have to do is go to Cater Street and ask around. My cell phone has blue daisies on it, for God's sake." Vicki shook her head. It felt colder out, but it could have been her imagination. "No self-respecting drug dealer will carry that around for long."
"Bale thinks they'll ask the judge for a tap."
"With what? Don't they need my affidavit for probable cause? Or my notes?"
"Evidently not," Dan answered, then waved at a phalanx of uniformed Philadelphia police, attending a black Cadillac hearse. Morty's hearse. Vicki looked away.
"Well, what else do they have on Browning? The bills at Shayla's house? That's not enough."
"I didn't ask, and he wasn't telling. I got the idea it was confidential."
"When are they going for the tap? They can't do anything until this meeting, unless they moved it up. Did they move the meeting up?"
"I didn't cross-examine him, Vick. I was just happy to hear you're still gainfully employed." Dan picked up his pace. "He got your phone message."
"Think I could be at that meeting?"
"Honestly, no. But he's not even that mad that you were harassing drug dealers. Great result, huh?"
"Great. Thanks."
"You're happy, right?"
"It's Morty's wake, how happy can I be?"
Dan stopped in his tracks, frowning beside a powdery mound of plowed snow. "You know what I meant."
"Yes, and I appreciate what you did." Vicki felt confused, her thoughts a grief-stricken jumble. "I wish I had talked to Bale, though. I want to be the one to indict on this case."
"You're too junior, Vick, and you couldn't try it anyway. You're a fact witness. You were there."
"I could still be on the indictment. I want to work that case. I want to be the one-"
"Stop." Dan put up a hand. "You're getting ahead of yourself. It doesn't matter who's on the indictment, does it? The only thing that matters is that they get the conviction."
Vicki shook her head. The only thing she agreed with was that they couldn't discuss this now, or here, beside Morty's hearse.
"You know I'm right." "For now, maybe." "Good." Dan smiled, cocking his head. His hair blew sideways in the cold, drying stiff from the mousse. "Then isn't it time for the magic word?" "Huh?" " ‘Thank you.' " "You're shameless, Malloy." Vicki rolled her eyes. "Please is the magic word, anyway."
"Wrong. You didn't read the statute. It's in the definitions section, right up front." Dan folded his arms. "You gonna say it or not?"
"Okay, thanks." "You're very welcome." Vicki tried to buck up, and started liking Dan again. Or loving him, as the case may be. "I'm just sad, is all." "I know. Me, too." They started walking again. "They're not moving fast enough. I mean, did you see it in there? All that brass? Morty almost gets lost in the process." "No, he doesn't. They care." "But they need to get moving! Washington? It's a murder case, not a Senate hearing. So will they keep us posted?" "Bale said he'd give you a call when the suits leave." "Good, I need a paycheck." Vicki shook her head. "Am I off suspension yet, did Bale say?" "No." "Argh!"
They reached the Cabrio, and Dan put a hand on her shoulder. "Take it easy, sweetie."
"I have no choice." Vicki dug in her purse for her car keys. "So what about my cases?"
"I got your back. Chin up." Dan gentled her chin upward with a cold hand. "By the way, what did you think of my speech, in there?"
"It was great."
"Thanks. It wasn't easy." Dan appraised her, his eyes ice-blue in the bright sun, the pupils telescoped to pinpoints. "You gonna be okay, Vick?"
"Yes. You?"
"I've had better days." Dan checked his watch, then frowned. "I gotta go."
Vicki unlocked the Cabrio door. "Give her my best," she said, but when she turned back, Dan had already taken off.
Leaving Vicki alone with her questions.
And her impatience.
TWENTY-FIVE
By noon on Monday, Vicki had done everything possible to get her life back to normal. She had cleaned her house, paying special attention to the rooms that the cops had upended, then went out to buy a new cell phone and get groceries. When she came home, she organized her closet, worked out on the elliptical, and finally pasted her hair with a conditioning "masque" that made it greasier than ever. She ran for the telephone every time it rang because she thought it would be Dan or Jim Delaney, which it wasn't.
She sat now at the kitchen table, ignoring half of a turkey sandwich, sucking down another cup of coffee, and paging idly though the newspaper. It was all murder all the time, and she closed the page. It had stopped snowing, leaving a foot on the ground, so she and the Holloway kids had a snow day. Only one of them was happy about it. It wasn't easy to sit around and leave important matters to federal agencies, especially the investigation of Morty's murder. Vicki was in mourning, with a side order of cabin fever. She hadn't spoken to another human being in a whole day, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd convicted anybody.