“How did you do on the pistol range in the Academy?” Wohl asked.
“All right, I think,” Matt said. “Better than all right. I made Expert with the .45 at Quantico.”
“That’s right,” Wo
hl said. “You told me that the night I first met you, the night of Dutch’s wake. You were planning to be a Marine, weren’t you? And then you busted the physical.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is that why you came on the cops? To prove you’re a man, anyway?”
“That’s what my sister says,” Matt said. “She says I was psychologically castrated when I flunked the physical, and that what I’m doing is proving my manhood.”
“Your sister the psychiatrist?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did you get the feeling that Tony Harris is not too impressed with psychiatrists?” Wohl asked.
“Yes, sir, that came through pretty clearly.”
“Or did you come on the job because of what happened to Dutch? And/or your father?” Wohl asked, picking that up again.
“That’s probably got something to do with it,” Matt said. “It probably was impulsive. But from what I’ve seen so far—”
“What?”
“It’s going to be fascinating,” Matt said.
“You haven’t seen enough of it to be able to make that kind of judgment,” Wohl said. “All you’ve seen is the Academy.”
“And Washington and Harris,” Matt argued gently.
“You’re a long way, Matt, from getting close to guys like those two. The folklore is that being a detective is the best job in the Department; and that being a Homicide detective is the best of detective jobs. Washington and Harris, in my judgment, are the best two Homicide detectives, period. But that does trigger a thought: it would be a good idea for you to hang around with somebody, some people, who know what they’re doing. I’m talking about McFadden and Martinez. I’ll tell them to show you the ropes. That’ll mean a lot of night work, overtime. How do you feel about overtime?”
“I really don’t have anything better to do,” Matt said, honestly. “Sure, I’d like that.”
“The eyes of the average police officer would light up when a supervisor mentioned a lot of overtime,” Wohl said.
“Sir?” Matt asked, confused.
The waitress appeared with the check on a small plastic tray. Matt had to wait until Wohl had carefully added up the bill and handed her his American Express card before he got an explanation.
“Overtime means extra pay,” Wohl said. “Washington and Harris take home as much money as I do. More, probably. Supervisors get, at least, compensatory time, not pay for overtime. To most cops, overtime pay is very important.”
“I wondered why you kept mentioning to them they could have all the overtime they wanted,” Matt said.
“My point is that you weren’t thinking about the money, were you? Money isn’t much of a consideration for you, is it? You remember, you told me about that the night we met.”
“I don’t think that will keep me from doing my job,” Matt said.
“I don’t think it will, either,” Wohl said. “But I think you should keep it in mind.”
“Yes, sir.”
“About the snub-nose,” Wohl said, as he signed the American Express bill, “I don’t think anyone will challenge you, but if that happens, the paperwork will come through me, and I’ll handle it. But don’t buy a Smith & Wesson Undercover, or a Colt with a hammer shroud.”
“Sir?”