‘As it so often does with you. Well, and?’
‘And I guess she kind of thought we had something going on, but I … didn’t. No real chemistry there at all – it was just the drinks and the music. But then she kept calling me, so I just sort of … made myself scarce till she gave up on me.’
‘And then along came Ed Lacey and took her mind off you.’
‘Well, yes. A little bit later.’
‘So what’s the problem?’ Her smile held a little edge. ‘You think she’s still hot for you after all these years?’
Looking offended, he shrugged and concentrated on his lunch for a while. Finally, he said, ‘Hey, forget I said anything, OK? It was just a thought. But if you don’t want to work with me—’
‘Oh, come on, I’m just pulling your chain. The truth is I’d be grateful for any info you’ve got about the family, especially Ed Lacey’s ex-wife. She could be the key to the whole thing. But the truth also is, you should have told Delaney if there was a problem about you getting in touch with her—’
‘Oh, Sarah, por favor, you know better than that. If Delaney hears one whisper about a problem between me and a woman ever again, he’ll throw me off this crew. I half suspect he assigned me to Lacey’s wife hoping I’d give him an excuse to fire me.’
‘I didn’t hear you say that.’ Sarah wanted to stay out of this fight, if that’s what it was going to be. But she did think Cifuentes was trying hard to succeed in his job, and Delaney was being a little judgmental about his personal life. ‘So what do you want from me?’
‘Well, I thought maybe if I gave you the number you could make the call.’
‘Really, is that what you thought? How very surprising. I would never have guessed that was what you were after.’ She waited while he got his face arranged in his pleading-puppy look before she said, ‘Oh, go get the damn number, Oscar.’
He pulled a small card out of his shirt pocket and handed it over. ‘She works at this used clothing store on West Ina.’
‘She does? That’s funny; I thought I read that she worked in the credit union where the uncle stole the money.’
‘Allegedly stole.’ Cifuentes shrugged. ‘After the investigation she quit her job there and went back to the store where Lacey found her, is how I heard it.’
‘He did? What in the world would a good street cop like Ed Lacey be looking for in the used rag shop?’
‘Tell you what, Sarah,’ Cifuentes said, ‘let’s find her and ask her.’
Sarah opened her phone. ‘I’ll drive my car and you buy the coffee and snacks. Deal?’
FOUR
A whiskey-voiced woman said, ‘Twice As Nice.’ When Sarah asked for Angela Lacey, she said, ‘Hang on.’ After a click, Sarah listened to dead air for some time. She’d begun to debate hanging up and starting over again when a second click opened a line and a quiet voice said, ‘This is Angela.’
Sarah identified herself and her reason for calling, hoping the ex-wife would have read the weekend coverage in The Star. Angela had not been on the list of kin to be notified – the only person on that list was Lacey’s mother, Luz García-Lacey, who did not answer at the only number they could find for her.
‘Yes, I saw the story,’ Angela said.
‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ Sarah said. ‘I’m calling to set up a time for an interview. We need to talk to you at your earliest convenience.’
‘Oh? You know, Ed and I have been divorced for over a year.’
‘Yes, I see you’re no longer listed as next of kin,’ Sarah said. ‘But we’d still like to ask you some questions.’
‘Um, what about?’
‘Well … we think maybe you could help us understand the uh, the manner of his death and the way he left the department.’
‘He got fired is why he left,’ the woman said.
‘So I understand. When could we talk, Ms Lacey?’
‘Well … I already went to lunch and we don’t get coffee breaks, so I guess it can’t be today.’
‘We could meet you after work …’
‘No, I’m busy tonight.’ She didn’t explain – Angela was no chatterbox.
‘How about lunch at twelve tomorrow?’
‘Um … I guess I could do that. I get exactly one hour, so it has to be someplace close. There’s a McDonald’s in this mall, can you put up with that?’
‘Of course. How about … I could order lunch, have it waiting for you, would that help?’
‘Well … yes. I’ll take a chicken Caesar salad and a large coke.’