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"No-"
"Nor did Detective Schwi
"A problem?"
"In terms of commonality. Developing rapport with Detective Schwi
"No, I…" Milo shut his mouth.
"You…?" said Broussard.
"Nothing."
"You were about to say something, Detective."
"Not really."
"Oh, yes you were," said Broussard, suddenly cheerful. Milo craned, involuntarily. Saw his purplish, bowed lips hooked up at the corners. But Broussard's mouth locked shut, no teeth. "You were definitely going to say something, Detective."
"I…"
"Let's recap, Detective, to refresh your memory. I asked you if Detective Schwi
"There's no problem between Detective Schwi
"Do you?" said Poulse
"Yes."
Broussard said, "So Detective Schwi
"About what?"
"About justice."
"I- you'd have to ask him."
"You've never discussed weighty issues with Detective Schwi
"No, as a matter of fact, we concentrate on our cases-"
"You're telling us that Detective Schwi
"Well," said Milo, "I can't really pinpoint-"
Poulse
Broussard said, "Are you aware of any improper behavior on the part of Detective Schwi
"No-"
"Consider your words before you speak, Detective Sturgis. This is an official department inquiry."
"Into Detective Schwi
"Is there a reason to look into your behavior, Detective Sturgis?"
"No, but I didn't know there was any reason to look into Detective Schwi
"You didn't?" said Poulse
Broussard clicked his tongue. Switched off the recorder, pulled something out of a jacket pocket. A sheaf of papers that he waved. Milo was craning hard now, saw the front sheet, the familiar layout of a photocopied mug shot.
Female arrestee, dead-eyed and dark-ski
Broussard peeled off the sheet, held it in front of Milo's eyes.
Darla Washington, DOB 5-14-54, HT. 5-06 WT. 134.
Instinctively, Milo's eyes dropped to the penal code violation: 653.2
Loitering for the purpose of prostitution…
"Have you ever met this woman?" said Broussard.
"Never."
"Not in the company of Detective Schwi
"Never."
"It wouldn't be in the company of anyone else," said Poulse
Nothing happened for a full minute. The IA men letting that last bit of dialogue sink in. Letting Milo know that they knew he was the least likely man in the room to engage a female hooker?
Or was he being paranoid? This was about Schwi
He said, "Never saw her anywhere."
Broussard placed Darla Washington's sheet at the bottom of the stack, flashed the next page.
LaTawna Hodgkins.
P.C. 653.2.
"What about this woman?"
"Never saw her."
This time, Broussard didn't push, just moved to the next page. The game went on for a while, a collection of bored/stoned/sad-eyed streetwalkers, all black. Do
Broussard shuffled the 653.2 deck like a Vegas pro. Poulse
She was the eighth card dealt.
Different hair than last night's red extravagance- a bleached blond mushroom cloud that made her look ridiculous. But the face was the same.
Schwi
Tonya Marie Stumpf. The Teutonic surname seemed incongruous, where had that come from-
The mug shot danced in front of him for a long time, and he realized he hadn't responded to Broussard's, "And this woman?"
Broussard said, "Detective Sturgis?"
Milo's throat tightened and his face burned and he had trouble breathing. Like one of those anaphylactic reactions he'd seen as a medic. Perfectly healthy guys surviving firefights only to keel over from eating peanuts.
He felt as if he'd been force-fed something toxic…
"Detective Sturgis," Broussard repeated, nothing friendly in his tone.
"Yes, sir?"
"This woman. Have you seen her before?"
They'd been watching the unmarked, surveilling Schwi
So Schwi
"Detective Sturgis," Broussard demanded. "We need an answer."
A whir from the table distracted Milo. Tape reels, revolving slowly. When had the machine been switched on, again?
Milo broke out in a full-body sweat. Recalling Schwi
Told you so.
"Detective," said Broussard. "Answer the question. Now."
"Yes," said Milo.
"Yes, what?"
"I've seen her."
"Yes, you have, son," said Broussard, crouching low, exuding citrus and success.
Son. The asshole was only a few years older than Milo, but it was clear who had the power.
"You definitely have seen her."
They kept him in there for another hour and a half, taping his statement then replaying it, over and over. Explaining that they wanted to make sure everything had copied accurately, but Milo knew the real reason: wanting him to hear the fear and evasiveness in his own voice in order to instill self-loathing, soften him up for whatever they had in store.
He copped only to the basic details of Tonya's pickup- stuff they knew already- and resisted the pressure to elaborate. The room grew hot and rancid with fear as they changed the subject from Tonya to Schwi
They returned to probing sexual details. He maintained his denial of witnessing any actual sexual encounters between Schwi
When they asked about the conversation between Schwi
"Whispers," said Broussard. "You didn't think that was unusual? Detective Schwi
"I figured it for work talk. She was an informant, and Schwi
Waiting for the obvious next question: "Info on what?" But it never came.
No questions at all about Janie Ingalls's murder or any other case he and Schwi
"You thought she was an informant," said Poulse