“He said I should dig into Malley’s background and find out if Malley and the mother were getting along and if there was some sort of conflict I could suggest Malley hated the wife and the kid hired those two little bastards to kill the kid I said you’re insane that’s the stupidest thing I ever heard of he said not if Troy backs it up I could talk to Troy Troy trusts me Troy would say anything I tell him to because we have rapport— ”

“Daney knew Troy that well?”

“He knew him from working as a youth worker that’s a laugh a youth leader who doesn’t like kids he kept trying to convince me with his stupid story finally I threatened to stop sleeping with him told him what you’re asking me to do is suborn perjury you idiot the facts are clear the best we can hope for is extenuating circumstances rough childhood abuse neglect all that if you can find me some abuse some real abuse I’ll go to the damned judge with that but otherwise stay out of it— can you take off these cuffs?”

Milo said, “Going to behave?”

“Haven’t I?”

“You haven’t had much choice, Sydney.”

“Even without cuffs what’s my choice you’re three times my size in your arms I’m a little girl.”

Hair flip.

Milo said, “One screwup and they go back on.”

“Fine I get it you’re the boss the man you call the shots.”

He made another trip to the backseat. Sydney Weider said, “Ahh it’s like Joni Mitchell said you don’t know what you got till it’s gone so why all these questions about Daney he finally do something real stupid?”

Milo walked around the car, got in back, and sat next to her. “As opposed to small-time stupid?”

“Exactly he was always small-time stupid.”

“How exactly did you meet him?”

“Another case,” she said. “Another little psychopath Daney doing his youth work bullshit he calls offers to help any way he can I figured why not maybe he could put a letter in the kid’s file for sentencing.”

“Same thing he did for Troy,” I said.

“That’s the way it is at the P.D. ninety-five percent of what we did was process guilty people and angle for the best deal— ”

“Remember the name of the other little psychopath?”

“Some Latin junkie he shot some other junkies downtown I got it pled down to manslaughter Nestor something . . . Almodovar that’s it Nestor Almodovar.”

Milo didn’t correct her. “Daney wrote a letter for Nestor.”

“Your basic character reference Nestor was a good kid rough childhood extenuating circumstances blah blah blah.”

“And Daney just happened to be working on another of your cases?”