“Lana Ortega.”
“Who?”
“When’s the last time you saw Lana?”
Hearing Lana’s name didn’t seem to register with him. “I don’t know.”
“In the courthouse on Monday?”
“I couldn’t say. There was a lot going on that day.”
“Lana is a real pain in your ass, isn’t she? She made a big scene that day. An important guy like you doesn’t like big scenes. You like to fly below the radar. Thank God she’s loyal to you, which is good considering how much she knows about your operation.”
“Is she talking?”
Did he not know that Lana was dead, or was he playing some kind of game? Novak could play along for now. “She’s friends now with the commonwealth’s attorney and getting some nice gifts and favors.”
Benny sniffed and glanced at his nails. “You going to tell me if there’s a point to all this?”
“Why would a big shot like you need a woman like that as a punching bag?” he asked.
Benny leaned in. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Novak grinned. “You lost your shit thinking Lana betrayed you when it actually was the cop.” He baited the hook. “And the funniest part is you could have taken off and not been caught with all that coke in the trunk of your car.”
Benny’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Novak. “You’ve been talking to Lana?”
“Lana says I’m a good listener.” The lie tumbled over his tongue like the gospel truth. Lying to a guy like Benny was all part of the job. “And as it turns out, she can be pretty chatty when you treat her right. She’s a good-looking woman.”
Benny’s lips pursed, and he mumbled an oath under his breath. “She wouldn’t be stupid enough to talk to a cop.”
Novak tapped his index finger on the table. “She did it before.”
He tensed. “Lana has shit for brains, but she’s loyal. She loves me. She wouldn’t betray me.”
“You beat her up pretty bad. Think that wins you long-term loyalty?”
His brown eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”
“Maybe Lana is a lot smarter than she lets on.”
“It was that cop that was spying on me.”
“Correct, Benny. Lana had your back until you beat her up that night. After that, she cut a deal with the cops. I think Lana’s show of loyalty to you at the courthouse deserves an Oscar.”
“Fuck you.”
“No, pal, but that’s exactly what Lana is doing to you now.”
Benny sat back, the chains of his handcuffs rattling. “You think I didn’t know about Lana?”
“You didn’t have a clue,” Novak said.
“I’ve known all along she’d turn on me.”
Novak leaned forward, his fists resting on the edge of the table. “Is that why you had her killed, Benny?”
Benny stared at him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Novak hesitated, letting him squirm in the silence. “I thought you would have heard. Lana is dead.”
Benny shook his head. “The hell she is. I just saw her in court. You’re jerking my chain. What the hell kind of game is this?”
Novak reached in his breast pocket and pulled out several pictures taken at the crime scene of her face. He laid them faceup, one at a time, like playing cards. At first Benny didn’t look, but as the prisoner seemed to sense the detective’s unwavering confidence, he looked down.
Benny simply stared. He swallowed. Finally, he reached for a picture. His cuffs prevented him from touching it.
Novak gently pushed the picture within Benny’s reach.
Benny’s gaze scanned the photo, but he didn’t touch the image at first. Then he picked up the picture that featured Lana’s pale drawn face, blue lips, and partly open eyes. He shoved the image away. “This is some kind of trick.”
“No trick. I came here today to find out what you really thought about Lana and if you hated her enough to kill her.”
He dropped the picture and leaned back. “I didn’t kill her.”
Novak gathered the pictures and slowly and carefully stacked them into a neat pile. He tucked them back into his breast pocket. “Now, because of Lana’s murder, I’m wondering if your boss is coming after you next. I’m not sure you have the connections in prison to stay safe.”
Benny drew in a breath, all traces of arrogance gone from his eyes.
“Now, if you say you didn’t hang Lana, maybe Popov’s crew was in on it?”
“Popov? Fuck.” He sat up straight. “I don’t associate with that crazy Russian family. Ever.”
“So you know the family?”
“Who doesn’t?”
“It might take me time, but I’ll prove that you had her killed or knew she was going to be killed. And then your slick attorney won’t be scrambling to get an appeal to keep you out of prison. She’ll be fighting to keep you off death row.”
“This is bullshit,” Benny hissed. “I didn’t kill her.”
Novak rose, wondering now if Benny’s righteous anger was real or another act. The dealer was smart. “Next time I see you it’ll be in court, and the commonwealth’s attorney will be filing first-degree murder charges.” He leaned forward, knowing Benny was a cockroach whose number-one goal was survival. “What do you think Popov’s family will do when they hear you’ve been copycatting a play from their game book?”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” Benny tried to stand, but the cuffs kept him in place. “You can’t go spreading shit that I’m challenging Popov. This is bullshit.”
“I can do whatever I want.”
Benny’s frustrated curses followed Novak out into the hallway. Novak smiled.
The door closed, and Novak turned to the deputy in the
hallway. “He’s going to want to call his attorney. Can you keep him in isolation?”
“Sure, how long do you want him to stew?”
“Let him stew for a day. And when he does meet with her, let me know, would you?”
“Will do.”
Novak thanked the deputy and walked the hallway to the guard station. Both he and Julia collected their guns and headed straight to his car without saying a word. In his car, he started the engine as she stared out at large white clouds.
“How did it go?” she asked.
“I showed him a picture of Lana’s face right after she was cut down. I certainly rattled his cage.”
She tipped her face toward the sun. “Did he look surprised?”
“His face drained instantly. Not even a great actor could pull that off.”
“Novak, he can fake it well enough when he wants to. Benny can also be charming when it suits. Above all, he’s cunning. Though I’ll say he’s not very creative. And I don’t remember him having an obsession with ropes.” She rubbed her thumb against a silver ring on her index finger.
“He wasn’t faking.”
“Are the guards going to let him simmer for a while before he gets a phone call to his lawyer?”
“They said they’d keep him in isolation until tomorrow.”
“Perfect. He hates being by himself. His paranoia and doubts will work on him.”
Novak sat back, enjoying sitting alone with her. When she was around, he felt more alive.
“If not Benny, then who? Killing Lana wasn’t random.”
“No, it wasn’t. We need to dig deeper into your father’s case. Solve that one and we might get a double out of it.”
“Even better.”
His phone rang and displayed his partner’s number. “Riggs.”
“I found Rita Gallagher’s brother, Brad. He works in Southside at a construction site.” He gave the address. Novak thanked Riggs and pulled out, turning south to head across the river. “Brad Gallagher’s been found.”
“This should be interesting.”
The drive took less than a half hour, and it was four thirty when they pulled into the gravel parking lot. By the looks of things, the construction company was renovating an older building, giving it a face-lift to fit the style of the new owner.