You Cannoli Die Once by Shelley Costa

Author:Shelley Costa
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Pocket Books

12

“Withholding evidence,” I said into my phone in a purely hypothetical sort of way.

“Yes?” said Joe Beck warily.

“What can you tell me about it?” Beside me, Landon was chewing a fingernail.

Joe rattled off, “Spoliation of evidence means altering, destroying—”

“Wait, wait,” I said with a laugh, “who said anything about spoliating?”

The man plowed on. “Covering up, concealing . . . ”

I suppose that part included stuffing the evidence absentmindedly into one’s pocket. And showing it three days later to one’s cousin. “Okay, I got the picture. How bad are we talking here?”

Silence. Then: “What are you withholding?” Then: “No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

My voice dropped. “I don’t blame you.”

After about three seconds, he went on: “I’ve still got your Visa, so I want you to authorize a one-dollar charge.”

I was puzzled. “What for?”

“Me.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little high?” I couldn’t resist.

“Quit kidding around,” said Joe a trifle sternly. “You’re hiring me.”

Did the bottom drop out of the lawyer market? “I thought you charge four hundred an hour.”

“That’s when I actually do something for the money. For a buck, you’ve just bought yourself attorney-client privilege.”

I already liked the sound of it. “Which means?”

“You can tell me your deepest, darkest secrets and I can legally keep my trap shut.”

I reached for my secret stash of pico de gallo chips, tucked away in the glove compartment. “Okay, Joe, I authorize you to put a buck on my card.” Then I turned to Landon. “Now I’ve got me a lawyer.”

Landon looked encouraging, and pointed to himself.

I turned back to the phone. “For another buck, can you be Landon’s, too?”

“Whatever. Yes. Fine.”

“Now, about those consequences.” I filled him in on Landon’s finding the bracelet and stuffing it into his pocket until now.

By that point, Joe Beck was groaning. “No, no, no, no . . . ”

Wasn’t looking good. “So tell me.”

“Up to twenty years.”

I needed to hear some wiggle room. “Hypothetically?”

He got a bit starchy. “There’s nothing hypothetical about prison, Eve, so if you—”

“Thanks, Joe.” If he was going to go all Marian the Librarian on me, he was useless.

“Wait!” He raised his voice. “None of that’s going to happen, because you’re going to take that bracelet to Ted and Sally. Right now. And you’re going to—”

“Thanks, Joe, talk to you later.” I hung up as we pulled up to the two-story brick colonial that housed the Quaker Hills Police Department. Landon grabbed his canvas tote with Bad-Ass Tree Hugger scrawled across it that contained some goodies for Maria Pia: a box of Godiva dark chocolates, her blue kimono, a few People magazines, new red rhinestone reading glasses, a pump container of Lubriderm, and a Magic 8 Ball.

I slipped the bracelet into my purse, the bauble that could buy Landon and me twenty years in the slammer. I needed time to think.

Inside, the QHPD was surprisingly bright and pretty nonthreatening, considering. Hanging globe lamps, natural woodwork, those little white octagonal floor tiles. Through a half-glass wall near the back, I saw Ted downing an overstuffed sub at his desk.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.