“Yeah?” He stared. “So why have you been dodging me? The runaround is not generating fuzzy thoughts toward you.”
“I know.”
“You know, huh? Did you know that a cop got killed this morning at the mall?”
Anna put a hand to her mouth. Tom cut his eyes over to look at her.
“Maybe,” Halden said, “instead of talking in riddles, you better start with the part where you found four hundred thousand dollars.” He watched their eyes. “Yeah,” he said. “I know about that. I know a lot of things. You two have been lying to me.”
“We’re done with that now,” Tom said quietly. “We’ll tell you everything.”
The detective nodded, dug in his pocket, came out with his keys. “Good. Come on, you can ride with me.”
“Wait,” Anna said. “The reason we met out here. At the mall, Jack Witkowski, he had a cop working for him.”
The detective cocked an eyebrow.
“I know how that sounds,” she continued, “believe me, I do. But it’s true. That’s why we wanted to meet here, why we wanted you to come alone. You we trust, but there’s at least one cop working with Jack, and maybe more.”
Halden looked from her to Tom and back, eyes appraising. He put his keys back in his pocket, then reached inside his suit, came out with a pack of Winstons and tapped it against his palm to pop one.
Tom said, “You mind?”
Halden held the pack out, then produced a gold Zippo and fired both cigarettes. He snapped the lighter closed. “I didn’t know you smoked.”
“I don’t.” Tom inhaled, then blew a stream of gray. “Quit last February.” The cop nodded. Stared, content to wait them out.
Anna took a deep breath. “We found the money when we came down for the fire,” she said. “It was hidden in the flour, in all the food boxes.” She told how it had been a game at first, strange and wonderful. How they hadn’t exactly planned to take it, but one thing led to another. She told him about hiding it, about paying down their debt. The drug dealer. Jack coming to their house. Their flight to the motel. The arrangement with Malachi.
“It was my idea,” Tom said, cutting in. “Setting Jack up.” Anna said, “We did it together.”
Her husband looked at her, his lips tight. Slowly he nodded. “We didn’t want anybody to get hurt. Anybody but him, I mean. But then that cop started shooting, and…”
“We never meant for anyone to get hurt,” Anna said.
The cop dropped the cigarette to the concrete, rested the toe of his dress shoe on it, swiveled once left, once right. “Nobody ever means for someone to get hurt. But it’s what happens when you’re over your head.”
“We know that now,” Tom said. “That’s why we’re here.”
Halden scratched at his chin. “You’ll make this same statement officially? You’ll sign it?”
Tom looked at Anna. She felt the weight of the moment, the formality of it. She put her hand behind his back, drew closer to him, the two of them standing like a couple before a priest. “We will.”
“All right.” Halden nodded. “Right now, the only person who knows you have the money is me. Let’s keep it that way. I’ll bring you in personally. You’ll talk only to me. Once you’ve made your statement and given me the money, even if you’re right and there are police involved, they won’t have a reason to come after you.”
“What about Jack?”
“Jack shot a cop.” Halden said the words clear and level, and she heard the meaning beneath them.
“And Malachi?”
“We’ll deal with him too.”
They stood in silence for a moment. Finally Anna said, “What will happen to us?”
“I’m not going to lie to you.” Halden rubbed his hands together against the chill. “What you did, it was wrong. Worse, it was dumb. But if you do exactly what I tell you, help me close the Shooting Star, bring in Jack Witkowski and the drug dealer?” He shrugged. “That will matter. A lot.”
Relief flowed through her. She felt like a little girl escaping a spanking. They could get out of this. They’d done the right thing, finally, and could have their life back. It was the best she’d felt in days.
There was a sound of music, muffled. It took her a minute to recognize the theme from Hawaii Five-0, her ring tone. She dug out her phone. The caller ID read “Sara.” Anna glanced at Halden apologetically, said, “My sister. Let me get rid of her.” He nodded, turned to Tom, who said, “How does this work?”
“Hey,” she said, speaking as soon as she stabbed the button, “I can’t talk right now.”
“Anna! Oh God, he-” There was a burst of noise, like someone grabbing the phone, and then a rough male voice came on. “Do you know who this is?”
The world wobbled, the closed concession stand and wet sand and gray skies swirling and bleeding. She fought an urge to scream the breath from her lungs. “Don’t you-” She caught herself, realized the detective was looking at her. She had to tell him, get cops racing toward her sister’s house, oh Jesus, her nephew’s house-
Stop. This is the most important moment of your life.
“Don’t I what, Anna?” It seemed a terrible obscenity that Jack’s voice could hang in her ear while the real man stood in her sister’s home miles away. “Hurt her?”
Halden turned back to Tom, said, “Simple enough. You two come in with me, I’ll take you into an interview room, we’ll go through the story again.”
“Who was that?” Jack’s voice came quick.
If Halden realizes who you’re talking to, he has to act on it.
If Jack realizes who you’re standing with, Sara dies.
“No one,” she said. “I’m outside.” She wanted to step away, but was afraid it might make the cop suspicious. “What do you want?”
“Do we need a lawyer?” Tom asked.
“What do I want?” Jack laughed. “Your aunt’s secret recipe for chocolate chip cookies. What do you think?”
“I thought you were just going to come clean,” Halden said. “Why would you need a lawyer for that?”
Her stomach felt greasy. Her thighs trembled. Choosing her words carefully, she said, “I’ll get it for you.”
“Don’t jerk me around, Anna. I know it’s here.”
“What?” Her mind raced. Why would he think the money was at her sister’s house? Unless… Oh God.
“It’s just, on TV, they always say you should have a lawyer present for something like this.”
“I saw you bring it here,” Jack said. “The other day. You walked in with this duffel bag, the one I’m looking at right now. Your sister, she says she doesn’t know anything about it, but I’m wondering if I just haven’t asked her the right way.” He paused. “What do you think, Anna? Should I ask her again?”
“No,” she said quickly. “Please.”
“Look, it’s up to you,” Halden said, his voice growing colder. “But you should know that the more you delay, the more trouble you’re going to be in.”
“Then tell me where it is.”
“It’s not there.”
Jack said, “I want you to listen to something.” A brief silence, and then she heard the scariest sound of her life.
Julian crying into the phone.
She wanted to beg, to plead, to shriek. Instead, she said, “It’s not there. I swear. You’re right, I was going to leave it. But then I thought of you. Of this.”
“You’ve got a chance to help bring in a cop killer. But time is a factor. If a lawyer dicks us around long enough for him to get away? All that leaves us with is you.”
“I don’t believe you,” Jack said.
“Yes, you do,” she said. “You’re” – she struggled for safe words – “with my nephew. Do you really think I would mess around? Now?”