“So are you ready to tell me what this is about?”

“Mr. Rubiano was the victim of a homicide, Mr. Molloy. He had a few business cards in his wallet. Yours was one.”

A flicker of grief surprised Ted. A shooting pain that was gone even as he put a name to it. Richie was not a friend and never had been. But since his divorce, Ted’s world had continued to shrink to the point that now any regularly repeated human contact had significance. He would miss the weasel.

The shock of how Richie had died took a moment longer to register.

“He was murdered?” Incredulity beat all. People in his life died by disease, rarely by accident, and never before by murder. Ted sought words to define or explain it. “He was a not very successful con man years ago, but I can’t imagine any of his marks showing up to take revenge.”

“Would you be willing to come down and give a statement?” Detective Duran managed to make the request sound casual.

Sirens and flashing lights went off in Ted’s head. The shark was inviting him home for dinner. “Only with my lawyer present. And that would cost me money, and you would learn nothing that might be of use to you.”

“I would think you’d be more cooperative. We’re looking for the person who killed your friend.”

Ted noted the feeble attempt at inducing guilt and ignored it. Bitterness had long replaced guilt as a motivating factor in his life. But people he knew were not murdered. He felt himself being pulled in despite misgivings.

If there was any chance that Richie had stirred up some hornet’s nest by looking into the old lady’s surplus money, there was also a chance of that trouble leading back to Molloy Partners. A chance only, but Ted did not want to take that risk. He needed to know more, and if that meant trading information, he was willing.

“I have a proposal, Detective. If you’re willing to answer a few of my questions, I will try a little harder to be more open. But only if the conversation is one-on-one and on my turf.”

The cop sighed, signaling that Ted was making his difficult job more so. “Counselor, I am an overworked civil servant just trying to make a living. Cut me a break.”

“I’m trying. Listen, I’ll go you one better. Let me buy you a burger. Lunch. Tomorrow. Do you know Gallagher’s? On Grand?”

-3-

-3-

Ted found he had no appetite for his now ice-cold breakfast. He told himself that he had to eat and took one bite. The rest went into the trash.