Page 23 of Delusional

“On vacation.” I decided to try and move the conversation to another subject. “This is Maggie Chin, with the ATF.”

She gave a polite nod and smile to Maggie but didn’t say anything else. That silent look had broken many a suspect.

I blurted out, “Look, Virginia, I know why you’re here and I know what you want me for.”

“Bennett, what the hell are you talking about?”

I hesitated. It took me a moment to realize I’d misread this situation. Perhaps badly. I quickly moved on and said, “What are you doing in Queens?”

“You mean, besides living here?” She looked past me to the house. Then said, “Armando Junior wanted a new controller for his Nintendo.” She held up the small red-and-white box in her hand. “Since I live close by, I’m the contact for the family with the different fraternal organizations. We bring by toys and food and other things they might need. Contrary to what you might think, the NYPD takes care of its own.”

“At least the dead ones.”

That one seemed to bite into Virginia. She snapped back at me. “At least the ones who don’t break policy. Jesus, Bennett, you been around long enough to know not everyone follows the rules.”

I held up my hands. “You’re right. That was a cheap shot. I’m sorry. I should’ve realized you were here visiting the family on behalf of the NYPD.”

That seemed to satisfy Virginia. She straightened up and said, “A group of us bring dinner twice a week, babysit when Armando’s mom is unavailable, and we set up college funds for both the kids.”

“That’s really nice.”

Virginia gave me one of her patented stares. “You thought I was here to talk to you. Why is that, Bennett? What’d you do?”

Maggie jumped in and saved me. She said, “Detective Bennett and I are working on the bombing that killed the clerk who worked in the Office of Technology and Innovation yesterday. We’re trying to see if it’s linked to the bomb that killed Sergeant Vega.”

Virginia shook her head. “Heartbreaking. I saw a photo of the victim, such a pretty young woman. Did the same group claim credit yet?”

I shook my head. Frankly, I was afraid to say too much more.

We stood in silence for a moment. Then Virginia looked over her shoulder at my blue Impala. “How many of your kids can you cram in your car?”

I felt my whole body tense. Transporting family members in a city-issued vehicle was one of the policies that tended to get a lot of cops in hot water. “Never tried.”

“And I’m still a virgin.”

“That might explain your disposition.” I regretted the words immediately. Why had I said something like that? It wasn’t like I was hanging out with a couple of my buddies. This woman wasn’t known for her sense of humor.

But Virginia smiled. She even laughed a little bit and said, “Good one. Maybe you aren’t the button-down tight-ass I always figured you for.” She let out another chuckle, then got serious again. “Now, tell me why you thought I was coming here to talk to you.”

I stepped around her as Maggie and I continued to my car. “Nice seeing you, Virginia. Gotta scoot.”

And we did.

CHAPTER 26

ROB AND GARY Trilling sat in Hildebrand’s Sports Bar, having left Lillian to run Chet home. Fido would remain at the car lot for the time being, under Cindy’s supervision, until Lillian returned to keep him company. Technically, the bar was not in the town limits of Palm Island, but it was the closest restaurant to the car lot. There wasn’t much of a crowd, making it the perfect place to speak privately about the Trilling family business. The owner had made a half-assed attempt at creating a real sports venue with random football jerseys on the wall and an old basketball hoop with LAKERS written across the back of it in gold paint. After visiting some of the famous sports bars in Manhattan, this place didn’t really excite Rob.

Rob nursed a club soda while his brother started on his second sixteen-ounce beer. Gary finally said, “What did you think of Cindy?”

“She seems nice.”

“Did you miss the fact that she’s gorgeous? She’s sweet too. She comes over and talks to Pops whenever he’s at the car lot.”

Rob kept sipping his soda.

“You should ask her out,” Gary said. “C’mon, I know you get kind of tongue-tied around girls, but seriously, get over it. You’re a cop and a war hero.”

“I thought I came all this way to help you deal with some guy from Los Angeles trying to buy your car lot. I didn’t realize it was all an elaborate ploy to get me a date.”