“I told Jennifer there are reasons I can’t meet her.”
“So she said. What are the reasons?”
“One of them is that the last time I spoke to you on this subject, you told me that was the last time.”
“You know we need money,” he said, “and this was too good to pass up.”
“You don’t need the money. You have enough now.”
“Good lawyers are very expensive, Susie,” Bryan said reasonably.
“You’ve got more than enough for a good lawyer,” Susan said. “I can’t get away so soon again without having people ask questions.”
“Think of something. You’re an intelligent girl. And we’re in this together, Susie.”
What is that, a not so lightly veiled threat?
“I’m not going to debate this with you,” Susan replied. “There are reasons I can’t make a trip there anytime soon.”
“I’m waiting to hear them.”
“Well, for one thing, I’ve got a cop on my back.”
That comment obviously set him back. There was a perceptible pause before he replied:
“Don’t you think you should tell me about that, Susie? What makes you think the cops are onto you? Why should they be? Are you suffering from paranoia?”
“I didn’t say ‘cops,’ I said ‘cop,’ singular.”
“Where did he come from?” Bryan asked, and Susan detected concern in his voice.
As hard as the macho son of a bitch is trying to hide it.
“Philadelphia,” she said.
“A Philadelphia cop in Harrisburg?” Bryan asked doubtfully, and then went on patronizingly: “Susie, Philadelphia cops have no authority outside Philadelphia.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, that’s so. You’re sure he’s a cop, and not FBI? How did he get onto you, anyway?”
“He’s a Philadelphia cop. Actually, a detective. I met him at Chad Nesbitt’s birthday party.”
“What was a cop doing at Mr. Canned Chicken Soup the Fourth’s birthday party?”
“He’s Mr. Canned Chicken Soup the Fourth’s oldest friend, and godfather to their baby.”
“And he’s a cop?” Bryan asked dubiously again.
“Detective.”
“Susie, this sounds unreal.”
“It feels unreal. But there it is. Every time I look in the mirror, there he is, on my back, making sophomoric jokes.”
“He came on to you?”
“He came on to me, and I put him down, and then—to hell with it. It’s a long story. The last chapter is that the Philadelphia police sent him here on some kind of an investigation—”