CHAPTER FORTY

“Hey,” Nora said as she leaned into the basement war room.

Benny jerked his head up. “Give a guy a heart attack, why dontcha. What’re you still doing here?”

“Oh, I’m here full-time as of this morning. Suspended. ‘On the beach,’ as they say.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know for sure, because they didn’t tape it,” Nora said. “All I know is Louis waited until Rob was out of town and then asked the MC—in his words—to ‘reconsider my employment status.’ ”

“How do you know all this?” Benny asked.

“Because fucking Louis called this morning and fucking told me.”

Nora now shifted her tone to imitate Louis’s flat way of speaking. “We at Saugatuck have not prejudged your case, of course, but the risks to the firm’s reputation have now grown to the point where the MC decided it was prudent to not have a prime murder suspect on site until this issue is resolved.”

“Louis? That you?” Benny asked with a smile.

Nora ignored his attempt at humor. “Sneaky bastard just trying to push me aside because he wants my job. I lose my one remaining ally on the MC, temporarily, so Louie makes his move. It’s actually brilliant. Keep me as an employee, but don’t let me actually do any work, and he slides into my office and my job. Very un-Saugatuck, if you ask me.”

“Wait,” Benny said. “They’re paying you?”

Nora nodded.

“To do nothing?”

“Yup, I’m not allowed to do any work.”

“Holy shit, how do I get that gig?” he asked, smiling again.

“No, it’s embarrassing, Benny. Everyone at work will know I’m not there and they’ll assume I did something wrong, a narrative that sneaky Louie will encourage. It sucks.”

“Okay, I get that. But maybe not as much as not being paid a ton of money to stay home would suck, right? And you told me you got a huge to-do list, right? All kinds of shit to fix or change here at the McMansion?”

Nora grinned. “You really are a ray of sunshine, aren’t you? All right, I’ll get to work. You got complaints about the basement?”

Benny smiled back. “Now that you mention it, yes. There’s a bulb out in the hall by the bathroom door. I was just gonna hit you on the Airbnb rating, but be nice if you could replace it.”

“Light bulb is now on my list,” Nora said. “What’s on yours today?”

“I’m gonna run around with Laslo and check some shit out. Call or text if you need anything. Where’s your mom?”

Nora lifted one corner of her mouth in a half smile. “She went to Hoboken to visit some of her friends. I can’t believe she’s not keeping you posted on her movements.”

“You just can’t stop, can you?” Benny said as Nora walked away. “And put the alarm on when I’m gone,” he called after her.

Nora was in Sophie’s bathroom tightening the loose towel rack when she heard the driveway sensor chime and glanced at the app on her phone. An unmarked police car had pulled into the driveway. She went downstairs and was disarming the alarm keypad by the front door when the doorbell rang.

Demi Kofatos looked embarrassed. “Oh, Ms. Carleton, I’m sorry to bother you. I was looking for Benny. Is he around?”

“No, he’s out and about. You can hit him on his cell. Do you have the number?”

“I do,” Demi replied, taking a step backward on the front stoop. “Many thanks. And, again, I’m sorry to bother you.”

“No bother,” Nora said as the detective turned to leave. “Hey, do you want a cup of tea or coffee?”

Demi turned back and hesitated. “That’s nice, but I’m not supposed to talk with you without your lawyers.”

Nora suddenly found herself speaking quickly, her words spilling out. “Well we can’t talk about the case. We could talk about other things, but that’s okay, I understand. You’re probably too busy.”

Demi tilted her head before answering. “Yeah, I guess that’s right. And I have a few minutes. Thanks.”

Nora stepped aside, gesturing toward the kitchen. “Coffee or tea?”

“What’re you having?” Demi asked.

“Tea.”

“Perfect.”

Demi slid into a seat at the kitchen table as Nora fixed two cups of tea. “How about I interview you?” Nora asked as she carried the cups to the table. “That way we stay completely away from the case.”

“Sure,” Demi replied. “Where does the interview start?”

“Tell me your story,” Nora said. “I always like to begin that way. Open-ended. I can learn a lot just by where the subject starts and where they go.”

Demi narrowed her eyes. “Okay, I guess. My story’s pretty simple. Born and raised around here. Both my parents were cops, believe it or not. That’s actually how they met, on the job in Norwalk. Both Greek—actually a lot of Greeks in Norwalk; not sure why. So I went to public school in Norwalk, then to college at UConn, like a good girl. Lived at home in college to save money. Worked as a police dispatcher in the evenings. After graduation, I applied to Westport PD because they paid more and I really didn’t want to be working with my mom and dad. Started in patrol, did all the jobs and shifts. Twelve years in, I made detective. And that’s my story.”

“A good story,” Nora said. “Siblings?”

“Five kids in the family. We are Greeks, after all. I’m the middle child and the only girl.”

“Wow, that must have been something, growing up with four brothers. Are they in law enforcement too?”

“Actually, none of them went into the family business. They do all kinds of different things.”

“So why did you become the only second-generation cop in the family?” Nora asked.

“I’m not sure,” Demi answered. “Probably some combination of a desire to please my parents and my admiration for my mom. I’m sure you know, but it isn’t easy for a woman in law enforcement in a lot of places, and she came up when it was not a common thing. I think her own parents were horrified.”

“You have a family of your own?”

“Me? No. Thirty-five-year-old single White female, which would be devastating to my folks if my brothers weren’t such prolific breeders. Luckily, I’ve got ten nieces and nephews. Enough so my parents don’t have time to focus on what a disappointment I am, relationship-wise.”

Nora laughed. “Maybe you’re just a late bloomer. You’ll find your person.” She paused before nodding down at the table. “And can I ask what’s up with the black nails?”

“Ha,” Demi answered, extending the fingers on one hand. “A subtle attempt to let my flag fly, I guess.” She paused and looked down into her mug. After a beat, she glanced up at Nora and added, “I’m not gonna ask your story because I don’t want some lawyers jumping on me and I kinda already know it.”

Nora chuckled. “Yeah, we don’t need them mad. But can I ask how police officers afford to live around here?”

After chatting about housing prices, Demi used a pause in the conversation to push her chair back. “Listen, thanks for this,” she said, standing. “Here’s hoping we can talk again someday, in different circumstances. Never got the chance to drink the tea with all my talking. Sorry. Where should I put the mug?”

“Oh, just leave it,” Nora said. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Right,” Demi said stiffly, extending her hand. “I’ll reach out to Benny.”

Nora shook Demi’s hand. “You do that. And thanks for telling me your story. It’s a good one. And I’ll bet it has a happy ending.”

Demi chuckled as she broke the long handshake. “Not too soon, I hope. The ending I mean. But I appreciate the thought. Have a good day.”