Kasabian could have passed for a fireman in a suit, if such a thing existed. He was tall and fit, with a face like one of the old Marlboro men from the days when rugged cowpokes smoked cigarettes while herding cattle against a background of Wyoming sky. Before they all got fitted for nasal oxygen tubes. He squinted at Ted and said, “What do you call a busload of lawyers going over a cliff?”

“I don’t practice law,” Ted said.

“A good start,” Kasabian said.

“You need a snare drum if you’re going to keep telling jokes as old as that. Ask me if I know any detective jokes.”

“Don’t be a wiseass, Molloy.”

“I do know some, but I’d probably have to explain them to you.”

Kasabian didn’t crack a smile. “Do you own a gun, Molloy?”

“Without a permit? That would be against the law, Detective.”

Duran had told Ted that if he had to come back, he wasn’t coming alone. And now Ted was facing the bad cop. He spoke to the good cop. “Am I now a target of that investigation we mentioned?”

“You need to clear up some issues, and then we’ll get out of your hair,” Duran answered.

“Oddly enough, I am not comforted,” Ted said.

“If we’re going to be wasting our time,” Kasabian said, “I’d rather do it at the precinct. Let’s take him in.”

“Mr. Molloy has no reason not to cooperate with us,” Duran replied.

Ted took a small measure of comfort from that double negative. Duran was still playing good cop. “Why are you here?” Ted asked.

“Murder,” Duran said.

Kasabian was impatient. “You had dinner with the wife of the deceased last night. Was that a romantic meeting?”

They were keeping close tabs on Cheryl—or him. “We went over this.” Ted glared at Duran.

Duran was unimpressed. He’d been glared at before. “Come on, Ted. Let’s do it again, for Chuck,” he said. “He missed your story first time around.”

Ted bit back a sigh. Stonewalling the cops only worked when you were in the power seat. He had nothing. They’d want to hear the story three or four times, looking for the tiniest inconsistencies, before they’d quit. He wasn’t going to make it to the gym, and if he wanted to get home in time for the first pitch, he had better get started. Putting off the confrontation until he had counsel was pointless. And he might learn something from the questions they asked.