“The crazy location. The welfare patients. The welfare bums. The whole thing. I wouldn’t let anyone I know go to Gramatan for a hangnail. You’re better off dead.”

“You get what you pay for,” says Schlotman.

They agree.

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

I AM IN SUCH a rush to tell Patrik’s story that I don’t take the time to even spoon up the leftovers I promised. Instead, I end up bringing Leon Blumenthal food that’s even worse than meatloaf and cornflakes: six small peanut-butter and cheddar-cheese crackers, barbecue-flavored potato chips, and two Drake’s Ring Dings. All are courtesy of the lobby vending machine.

I drop Blumenthal’s “dinner” on his desk-table. He glances at the assembled junk food and says, “I’ll eat this later. When I can give it my full attention.”

That’s obviously my signal to start talking.

Blumenthal listens intently as I tell him the extraordinary story that Patrik Kovac just told me. Blumenthal nods occasionally. He types frequently on his laptop. He does not eat even a morsel of the crackers or snack cakes.

“Did Kovac say if he or anyone in his family got the names of the Russian duo?” he asks.

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”

Shit. I’m not a pro. I’m arrogant, but I’m an amateur. Damn it. That’s probably exactly what Blumenthal is thinking, too. Well, too bad, because Mr. Kovac came to me.

“Don’t worry,” Blumenthal says. “We’ll ask. But chances are great that they didn’t give their names, and if they did, Kovac was so nervous that he probably wouldn’t have remembered the names anyway. Did he say if his daughter, Katra, knew he was coming to see you?”

“Uh…no. He didn’t say…”

“And you didn’t think to ask,” Blumenthal adds.

What I’m thinking now, however, is that Blumenthal is ready to heave a sigh of frustration and toss me out, but I also want to believe that he is interested in Patrik’s story. And, well, when all is said and done, I’m the person who owns the story.

What Blumenthal says next, however, does not reassure me of his interest. He flips his laptop closed and says, “Okay, good. What you’ve found out, this stuff you just told me, it might turn out to be helpful.”

I explode. Out loud. Big. Really big.

“‘Helpful’? This is a goddamn breakthrough. This is what they call a lead. I don’t know you that well at all, Detective, but under normal circumstances, with a normal detective, this would be considered very, very big news. You take this info from Katra’s father, and you add this to the high-heeled woman in the video, and then you just sit there.”

Now it’s Blumenthal’s turn to explode. And he does a full Vesuvius. He stands up so quickly that it seems he might actually hit the ceiling.