Читать книгу The Stray - Alessio Chiadini Beuri - Страница 11

It was April who woke him up.

Mason had responded to her smile, a mixture of kindness and guilt, with a gruff good morning. It wasn't directed at her but at the fact that he seemed never to have dozed off. Elizabeth Perkins' case had taken over.

April didn't seem to mind his rudeness but handed him his hat, which had fallen from the nape of his neck abandoned to sleep.

Mason Stone crinkled his eyes and sat up, elbows on the desk and eyes interrogating the calendar to find out how long he'd been asleep. April brought a cup of freshly brewed coffee which he instinctively intercepted.

"Can you read what it says?" April had found his note.

"Sure, boss."

"Good thing, sometimes I get in trouble myself."

"It's not so terrible. There was a guy I dated in high school, Paul Russel, he had such terrible handwriting that when he asked me out on a date, I thought he'd scribbled me out."

"What happened to Paul?"

"He was a nice guy and my parents liked him but he wasn't for me," the girl's cheeks lit up as she shrugged.

"You did well, then."

"What do I need to find out about this notary?"

"As much as you can. I know I haven't given you much to work with but I'm sure you'll do a great job. I want to know who he is and what he went to do at the Perkins' on the day Elizabeth died. It's vital, I'm afraid. The problem is, I don't know his name or the name of the firm. Just the rough description of a doorman. If there's anything, it's in the police statements."

"Are you still working on that case? Captain Martelli..."

"Of course. Besides, since I've been forbidden to deal with it, it's all become much more interesting."

"Interesting?"

"How long have you been with me?"

"Three years, seven months and sixteen days."

"And in that time, how many cases have we had?"

"Several dozen, I'd say."

"And how many times did Martelli or a police officer call us to inform us that we were not liked people and that, not only should we disregard but, even, refuse the assignment?"

"I would say none."

"And you don't find that curious?"

"Without a doubt."

"That makes two of us."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing for the moment. We'll move on and see what happens. There are priorities to think about before playing cat and mouse with Martelli: I need to find Samuel Perkins, or find out what happened to him. The notary is your business, however. Get on it immediately."

"I'll go. One more perplexity yet, if I may."

"You may."

"What if Martelli had ordered your arrest in case you were discovered?"

"They may come."

"How?"

"Oh, fear not. If the captain arrested me, it would benefit me more than it would him. An arrest means at least a night in the slammer, an interrogation, maybe with Matthews himself, or Martelli if I'm so inclined. I doubt they'd let Peterson have me. They trust him less than they trust me. For someone who can listen and knows what to look for, a string of questions about my investigation might be more fruitful than reading all the case reports."

"But if they just wanted to keep you away they'd just keep you locked up!" April's voice trembled. "You need more than a pretext for an interrogation, don't you? They'd have to have well-founded reasons, like a serious criminal charge, to make them question you about what you know."

"And I'm on my way to get them." Mason rose from his desk and closed the study door behind him, accompanying April, uneasy but increasingly admiring, to her battle station.