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helpful: like he almost didn’t believe that Claymore was guilty.
    “Okay,” Kropf continued. “If you’re confident on this one, we can get it now.”
    The lieutenant was looking at Alex when he said this.
    “How?” asked the lawyer.
    “We can go to a judge and file a joint motion for a subpoena on the phone company records.”
    “And you think the phone company’s going to haul ass tonight just ‘cause we wave a subpoena in their faces? Get real!”
    Alex knew well enough what the lieutenant was up to. He was testing to see how confident they were. It wasn’t a legally binding test of innocence. But it was a good way to know whether or not he was wasting his time on a sure-fire loser.
    “OK,” said Kropf, finally. “We’re not going to charge you client.” Claymore breathed a sigh of relief. “At least not right now. We’ll wait for the DNA results to come in and we’ll take it from there.”
    Alex smiled. It was beginning to look like the storm had blown itself out before it hit dry land. But he noticed that Kropf looked far from deflated – like he still had one more card up his sleeve.
    “Just one more question Mr. Claymore, what car do you drive?”
    “Well I’ve been using taxis for the past couple of days.”
    “Any particular reason?”
    “My car was stolen.”
    “Did you report it?”
    “Not yet.”
    “Why not?
    “I haven’t had the time.”
    “What make of vehicle was it?”
    “A Mercedes.”
    “What color?”
    “Blue.”
    “A blue Mercedes?”
    “Aquamarine if you want to get technical.”

Friday, 5 June 2009 – 19:30
    “I’m beginning to think that nothing’s changed,” said Andi, bitterly.
    They were sitting on the porch of their new house, dining alfresco in the California evening sun: penne pasta with chicken and mushrooms
    “How d’you mean?” asked Gene, with measured sympathy. She wasn’t one to encourage self-pity, having seen – in the course of her work – what a self-destructive force it can be. Self-destructive and thoroughly seductive.
    Andi attacked her food with a fork displaying such ferocity that Gene was forced to smile. It meant that Andi wasn’t succumbing to the demon of surrender. She was in fighting spirits and that was surely a good sign. She’d be out of it in no time at all!
    “We uprooted ourselves from New York and relocated for what ? It’s not a department . It’s just a meaningless title.”
    “Give ‘em a chance honey. I mean it’s only your first day. Let’s see what they let you do.”
    Gene was calmly re-assuring. She knew that Andi expected no less of her. It was a game they often played: Andi bitched about life and Gene pulled her back down to earth.
    “I can just feel the vibes from the start,” Andi continued. “I’m supposed to be on the fast track for a partnership and yet I haven’t even got an office. They’ve stuck me in a glorified broom closet.”
    Gene touched Andi’s forearm gently.
    “I’m sure that’s only temporary.”
    They ate on in silence for a few seconds. Andi was still sulking. But Gene was content to leave her to it. If Andi preferred to sulk for a while longer, that was her business.
    I can’t be her mother all the time.
    In the end, it was Andi who broke the silence – with a change of subject.
    “So how was your first day?”
    She couldn’t understand why Gene looked so upset.
    “ My first day? What? At the Center? Pretty hectic. I mean, I guess I should be used to it.”
    “Are you understaffed?” asked Andi.
    She knew perfectly well that they were understaffed. Rape crisis centers always suffered from a chronic shortage of employees, exacerbated by the low pay. They were the unwanted step-child of public expenditure in California, languishing even behind education. So when recession hit, the axe fell on their exposed and vulnerable necks. As a result of that, morale was low and the staff turnover rate was high. That’s how Gene got the job as soon as she applied, with nothing