“It wasn’t your fault Franconi was murdered,” Laurie said indignantly.

“Tell that to the commissioner,” Lou commented. He took a loud sip from his coffee. “Mind if I smoke?” He looked at Laurie and Jack. “Forget it,” he said the moment he saw their expressions. “I don’t know why I asked. Must have been a moment of temporary insanity.”

“What have you learned?” Laurie asked. Laurie knew that prior to being assigned to Homicide, Lou had been with the Organized Crime unit. With his experience, there was no one more qualified to investigate the case.

“It was definitely a Vaccarro hit,” Lou said. “We learned that from our informers. But since Franconi was about to testify, we’d already assumed as much. The only real lead is that we have the murder weapon.”

“That should help,” Laurie said.

“Not as much as you’d think,” Lou said. “It’s not so unusual during a mob hit that the weapon is left behind. We found it on a rooftop across from the Positano Restaurant. It was a scoped 30-30 Remington with two rounds missing from its magazine. The two casings were on the roof.”

“Fingerprints?” Laurie asked.

“Wiped clean,” Lou said, “but the crime boys are still going over it.”

“Traceable?” Jack asked.

“Yeah,” Lou said with a sigh. “We did that. The rifle belonged to a hunting freak out in Menlo Park. But it was the expected dead end. The guy’s place had been robbed the day before. The only thing missing was the rifle.”

“So what’s next?” Laurie asked.

“We’re still following up leads,” Lou said. “Plus there are more informers that we’ve not been able to contact. But mostly we’re just keeping our fingers crossed for some sort of break. What about you guys? Any idea how the body walked out of here?”

“Not yet, but I’m looking into it personally,” Laurie said.

“Hey, don’t encourage her,” Jack said. “That’s for Bingham and Washington to do.”

“He’s got a point, Laurie,” Lou said.

“Damn straight I got a point,” Jack said. “Last time Laurie got involved with the mob she got carried out of here nailed in a coffin. At least that’s what you told me.”

“That was then and this is now,” Laurie said. “I’m not involved in this case the way I was in that one. I think it is important to find out how the body disappeared for the sake of this office, and frankly I’m not convinced either Bingham or Washington will make the effort. From their point of view, it is better to let the episode just fade.”

“I can understand that,” Lou said. “In fact, if the goddamned media would only let up, the commissioner might even want us to ease up. Who knows?”

“I’m going to find out how it happened,” Laurie repeated with conviction.

“Well, knowing the who and the how could help my investigation,” Lou said. “It was most likely the same people from the Vaccarro organization. It just stands to reason.”