Echoes in Death (In Death 44)

“She ain’t raising her boys to be criminals. Tells us all the time.”

“That’s good. You like your job, Ollie?” Peabody asked him.

“I like it fine and good. Pays okay, and Carmine, he’s solid square. I got three years in, and I got a raise first of the year.”

“You did a delivery and pickup yesterday,” Eve began.

“Did five altogether yesterday. Weekends is busy. Five deliveries,” he qualified. “Three pickups. Got another pickup I’m on tonight.”

“The Strazza job,” Eve qualified.

“Um.”

But he brightened up when she reeled off the address.

“Sure did. Five ten-top tables, fifty chairs. Delivery and setup—that was for five sharp, and break down and pick up between eight-thirty and eight-forty-five. Big-ass house—you get to see a lot of fancy places with the job. We’ve done jobs at that place lots of times. The lady tips good. Some of them don’t, but the lady there, she does. Always says thank you, too. Some don’t.”

“Did you see any of the guests?”

“Oh, no, uh-uh. We went in when they were in the dining room. See, they had this fancy before-the-dinner thing in the living room. Don’t know why, but it’s not my business. We just go in, and the lady who does the food—that’s, um, Xena! Yeah, she’s nice, too. She’s cleared off the dishes and whatever, and we just go in, break down the tables, haul out the rentals. Quiet and quick like.”

“So no one went in or out but you. You only saw the catering staff.”

“Well, they had the valet guys outside—shot the shit with them a little. Then the entertainment.”

Eve held up a finger. “Entertainment?”

“Yeah, I guess. I didn’t really see him. Luca said how he must be the entertainment.”

“What did he look like?”

“Luca?”

“No, Ollie, the entertainment.”

“Oh, I only just caught like a glimpse when I was hauling out a table with Stizzle, and this guy was going up the stairs—in the house. I said, ‘I guess he’s late for dinner,’ and Luca, he said how he must be the entertainment.”

“How do know it was a man?” Peabody prompted.

Ollie’s skinny eyebrows drew together in serious thought. “Um. I guess he looked like one. From the back. I dunno. I didn’t think about it.”

“White guy, black guy, anything?” Eve asked.

“I dunno. I think he had on a big black coat and a hat. I didn’t really pay attention, you know, ’cause we were humping it. Using the main ’cause it was the big tables and the double doors there made it faster. I just saw him going up the stairs.”

“Between eight-thirty and eight-forty,” Eve added.

“I guess about eight-forty-ish-like or like that. I guess we were in and out inside like twenty minutes, and we had the last table. Few more chairs left to go. So I figured he was late to the dinner thing, but Luca said he was the entertainment. Lots of times they have entertainment at the big-ass houses with the fancy parties.”

“Okay, Ollie, thanks for coming in.”

“I can just go?”

“Yeah.” Eve rose to get the door. “And, Ollie, do yourself a favor and don’t buy anything else from Chachie. One day it could come back and bite you in the ass.”

“That’s what my ma would say.”

“Listen to your ma.”