“Let me put it this way, Mr. Colt,” Matt said. “As long as you’re in Philadelphia, the virtue of chastity will have to be its own reward for you.”
Terry Davis giggled.
“You telling me, I think, that I don’t get to fool around?” Colt asked.
“That’s right.”
“Not even a little?”
“Not even a little.”
“You understand who I am?”
“That’s why you don’t get to fool around, even a little.”
Colt turned to Terry Davis.
“You think this is funny, don’t you?”
“You’re the one who said you wanted to hang out with a real, live Homicide cop.”
“And I do. I do. And I really like this guy! This is better than I hoped for.” He turned to Matt. “I am going to get to watch you work, right?”
“The commissioner said I was to show you as much about how Homicide works as I think I can.”
“Which means what?”
“I will show you everything I can, so long as doing so doesn’t interfere with an investigation.”
“And you make that call?”
“Right.”
“And what if I complain to him?” Colt asked, pointing to McGuire. “He’s a lieutenant, right? And you’re a sergeant?”
“The lieutenant’s job is to protect you,” Matt said. “Mine is to ensure your chastity.”
Colt was now smiling.
“That may be harder than you think,” he said. “You think you can stay awake twenty-four hours a day?”
“No. But there’s two detectives in the corridor who’ve also been assigned to the Chastity Detail.”
Colt glanced at the stylishly dressed young man who had just hung up the telephone.
“Well?” he asked, curtly.
“You’ll have a black limo in the morning, Stan, but not tonight. It’s the best I could do.”
“Not good enough, Alex,” Colt snapped. “Call somebody else, for Christ’s sake. I don’t want to arrive at this place looking like Tinkerbell.” Then he had another thought. “You going to the cocktail party, Sergeant Payne?”
Matt looked at McGuire, who nodded, and then nodded himself.
“You must have a police car. Any reason I can’t ride with you?”
“No.”
“Will there be room for everybody?” Alex asked.