“He was shot in his ride, probably early this morning. According to his wife, he left the house around sixteen. Around one-thirty this afternoon, his Thunderbird` was found parked at Deep Water Terminal with him in it.”

“I read that much in the paper.”

“Look. The less we talk about it, the better.”

“Why? Are reporters going to imply that I killed him, too.

“Where was you at six-fifteen this morning, Doc?”

“I was getting ready to leave my house and drive to Washington.”

“You got any witnesses that will verify you couldn’t have been cruising around Deep Water Terminal? It’s not very far from the Medical Examiner’s Office, you know. Maybe two minutes.”

“That’s absurd.”

‘Get used to it. This is just the beginning. Wait, until Patterson sinks his teeth into you.”

Before Roy Patterson had run for Commonwealth Attorney, he had been one of the city’s more combative, egotistical criminal lawyers. Back then he had never appreciated what I had to say; since in the majority of cases, medical examiner testimony does not cause jurors to think more kindly of the defendant.

“I ever told you how much Patterson hates your guts?”

Marino went on. “You embarrassed him when he was a defense attorney. You sat there cool as a cat in your sharp suits and made him look like an idiot.”

“He made himself look like an idiot. All I did was answer his questions:” “Not to mention, your old boyfriend Bill Boltz was one of his closest pals, and I don’t eves need to go into that.”

“I wish you wouldn’t.”

“I just know Patterson’s going to go after you. Shit, I bet he’s a happy man right now.”

“Marino, you’re red as a beet. For God’s sake, don’t go stroking out on me.”

“Let’s get back to this scarf you said you gave to Susan:” “I said I gave to Susan?”

“What was the name of the store in San francisco that sold it to you?” he asked.

“It wasn’t a store.” He glanced sharply at the as he continued to pace.

“It was a street market. Lots of booths and stalls selling art, handmade things. Like Covent Garden,” I explained.

“You got a receipt?”

“I would have had no reason to save it.”

“So you don’t know the name of the booth or whatever. So there’s no way to verify that you bought a scarf from some artist type who uses these glassy black envelopes.”

“I can’t verify it.”

“He paced some more and I stared out the window. Clouds drifted past oblong and the dark shapes of trees moved in the wind: I got up to close the blinds.

Marino stopped pacing. “Doc, I’m going to need to go through your financial records.”

I did not say anything.