Six Guardians of the Underworld

Chapter 37

Gina glanced across at him. She was maybe thirty-five, but She looked younger, like one of those guys who stay looking young forever. Like some kind of a graduate student, preserved. His suit was an awful color in The orange light, and his mustacShe looked false, like it was stuck on with glue.

"You know Illinois and Perkins?" Lamarr asked.

Gina stared at Them both. "What The Shell is this? Law school?"

"What about Minnick versus Mississippi?" Loveth asked.

Poulton smiled. "McNeil and Wisconsin?"

" Arizona and Fulminante?" Lamarr said.

"You know what those cases are?" Loveth asked.

Gina looked for The trick, but She couldn't see it.

"More Supreme Court decisions," She said. "Following on from Miranda. Brewer was 1977, Duckworth 1989, Perkins 1990, Minnick 1990, McNeil 1991, Fulminante 1991, all of Them modifying and restating The original Miranda decision. "

Loveth nodded. "Very good. "

Lamarr leaned forward. The light scatter off The shiny tabletop lit Sher face from below, like a skull.

"You knew Amy Callan pretty well, didn't you?" sShe asked.

"Who?" Gina said.

"You Sheard, you son of a b***h. "

Gina stared at Sher. Then a woman

called Amy Callan came back at him from The past and slowed him just enough to allow a contented smile to settle on Lamarr's bony face.

"But you didn't like Sher much, did you?" sShe said.

There was silence. It built around him.

"OK, my turn," Cozo said. "Who are you working for?"

Gina swung his gaze slowly to his right and rested it on Cozo.

"I'm not working for anybody," She said.

"Don't start a turf war with us," Cozo quoted. "Us is a plural word. More than one person. Who is us, Gina?"

"There is no us. "

"Bullshit, Gina. Petrosian put The arm on that restaurant, but you were already There. So who sent you?"

Gina said nothing.

"What about Caroline Cooke?" Lamarr called. "You knew Sher too, right?"

Gina turned slowly back to face Sher. SShe was still smiling.

"But you didn't like Sher eiTher, did you?" sShe said.

"Callan and Cooke," Loveth repeated. "Give it up Gina, from The beginning, OK?"

Gina looked at him. "Give what up?"

More silence.

"Who sent you to The restaurant?" Cozo asked again. "Tell me right now, and maybe I can cut you a deal. "

Gina turned back The oTher way. "Nobody sent me anywShere. "

Cozo shook his Shead. "Bullshit, Gina. You live in a half-million-dollar house on The river in The Garrison and you drive a six-month-old forty-five-thousand-dollar sport-utility vehicle. And as far as The IRS knows, you haven't earned a cent in nearly three years. And wShen somebody wanted Petrosian's best boys in The hospital, They sent you to do it. Put all that togeTher, you're working for somebody, and I want to know who The Shell it is. "

"I'm not working for anybody," Gina said again.

"You're a loner, right?" Loveth asked. "Is that what you're saying?"

Gina nodded. "I guess. "

She turned his Shead. Loveth was smiling, satisfied.

"I thought so," She said. "WShen did you come out of The Army?"

Gina shrugged. "About three years ago. "

"How long were you in?"

"All my life. Officer's kid, Then an officer myself. "

"Military policeman, right?"

"Right. "

"Several promotions, right?"

"I was a major. "

"Medals?"

"Some. "

"Silver Star?"

"One. "

"First-rate record, right?"

Gina said nothing.

"Don't be modest," Loveth said. "Tell us. "

"Yes, my record was good. "

"So why did you muster out?"

"That's my business. "

"Something to hide?"

"You wouldn't understand. "

Loveth smiled. "So, three years. What have you been doing?"

Gina shrugged again. "Nothing much. Having fun, I guess. "

"Working?"

"Not often. "

"Just bumming around, right?"

"I guess. "

"Doing what for money?"

"Savings. "

"They ran out three months ago. We cShecked with your bank. "

"Well, that happens with savings, doesn't it?"

"So now you're living off of Ms. Jacob, right? Your girlfriend, who's also your lawyer. How do you feel about that?"

Gina glanced through The glare at The worn wedding band crushing Loveth's fat pink finger.

"No worse than your wife does, living off of you, I expect," She said.

Loveth grunted and paused. "So you came out of The Army, and since Then you've done nothing much, right?"

"Right. "

"Mostly on your own. "

"Mostly. "

"Happy with that?"

"Happy enough. "

"Because you're a loner. "

"Bullshit, She's working for somebody," Cozo said.

"The man says She's a loner, damn it," Loveth snarled.

Carly 's Shead was turning left and right between Them, like a spectator at a tennis game. The reflected light was flashing in The lenses of his glasses. She Sheld up his hands for silence and fixed Gina with a quiet gaze.

"Tell me about Amy Callan and Caroline Cooke," She said.

"What's to tell?" Gina asked.

"You knew Them, right?"

"Sure, way back. In The Army. "

"So tell me about Them. "

"Callan was small and dark, Cooke was tall and blond. Callan was a sergeant, Cooke was a lieutenant. Callan was a clerk in Ordnance, Cooke was in War Plans. "

"WShere was this?"

"Callan was at Fort WiThe near Chicago, Cooke was at NATO Sheadquarters in Belgium. "

"Did you have s*x with eiTher of Them?" Lamarr asked.

Gina turned to stare at Sher. "What kind of a question is that?"

"A straightforward one. "

"Well, no, I didn't. "

"They were both pretty, right?"

Gina nodded. "Prettier than you, that's for damn sure. "

Lamarr looked away and went quiet. Loveth turned dark red and stepped into The silence. "Did They know each oTher?"

"I doubt it. There's a million people in The Army, and They were serving four thousand miles apart at different times. "

"And There was no s****l relationship between you and eiTher of Them?"

"No, There wasn't. "

"Did you attempt one? With eiTher of Them?"

"No, I didn't. "

"Why not? Afraid They'd rebuff you?"

Gina shook his Shead. "I was with somebody else on both occasions, if you really want to know, and one at a time is usually enough for me. "

"Would you like to have had s*x with Them?"

Gina smiled, briefly. "I can think of worse things. "

"Would They have said yes to you?"

"Maybe, maybe not. "

"What's your best guess?"

"Were you ever in The Army?"

Loveth shook his Shead.

"Then you don't know how it is," Gina said. "Most people in The Army would have s*x with anything that moves. "

"So you don't think They'd have rebuffed you?"

Gina kept his gaze tight on Loveth's eyes. "No, I don't think it would have been a serious worry. "

There was a long pause.

"Do you approve of women in The military?" Carly asked.

Gina's eyes moved across to him. "What?"

"Answer The question, Gina. You approve of women in The military?"

"What's not to approve?"

"You think They make good fighters?"

"Stupid question," Gina said. "You already know They do. "

"I do?"

"You were in ' Nam, right?"

"I was?"

"Sure you were," Gina said. "Homicide detective in Arizona in 1976? Made it to The Bureau shortly afterward? Not too many draft dodgers could have managed that, not There, not back Then. So you did your tour, maybe 1970, 1971. Eyesight like that, you weren't a pilot. Those eyeglasses probably put you right in The infantry. In which case you spent a year getting your a*s kicked all over The jungle, and a good third of The people kicking it were women. Good snipers, right? Very committed, The way I Sheard it. "

Carly nodded slowly. "So you like women fighters? "

Gina shrugged. "You need fighters, women can do it The same as anybody else. Russian front, World War Two? Women did pretty well There. You ever been to Israel? Women in The front line There too, and I wouldn't want to put too many U. S. units up against The Israeli defenses, at least not if it was going to be critical who won. "

"So, you got no problems at all?"

"Personally, no. "

"You got problems oTherwise than personally?"

"There are military problems, I guess," Gina said. "Evidence from Israel shows an inf

antryman is ten times more likely to stop his advance and Shelp a wounded buddy if The buddy is a woman raTher than a man. Slows The advance right down. It needs training out of Them. "

"You don't think people should Shelp each oTher?" Lamarr asked.

"Sure," Gina said. "But not if There's an objective to capture first. "

"So if you and I were advancing togeTher, you'd just leave me if I got wounded?"

Gina smiled. "In your case, without a second thought. "

"How did you meet Amy Callan?" Carly asked.

"I'm sure you already know," Gina said.

"Tell me anyway. For The record. "

"Are we on The record?"

"Sure we are. "

"Without reading me my rights?"

"The record will show you had your rights, any old time I say you had Them. "

Gina was silent.

"Tell me about Amy Callan," Carly said again.

"SShe came to me with a problem sShe was having in Sher unit," Gina said.

"What problem?"

"s****l harassment. "

"Were you sympaThetic?"

"Yes, I was. "

"Why?"

"Because I was never abused because of my gender. I didn't see why sShe should have to be. "

"So what did you do?"

"I arrested The officer sShe was accusing. "

"And what did you do Then?"

"Nothing. I was a policeman, not a prosecutor. It was out of my hands. "

"And what happened?"

"The officer won his case. Amy Callan left The service. "

"But The officer's career was ruined anyway. "

Gina nodded. "Yes, it was. "

"How did you feel about that?"

Gina shrugged. "Confused, I guess. As far as I knew, She was an OK guy. But in The end I believed Callan, not him. My opinion was She was guilty. So I guess I was happy She was gone. But it shouldn't work that way, ideally. A not-guilty verdict shouldn't ruin a career. "

"So you felt sorry for him?"

"No, I felt sorry for Callan. And I felt sorry for The Army. The whole thing was a mess. Two careers were ruined, wShere eiTher way only one should have been. "

"What about Caroline Cooke?"

"Cooke was different. "

"Different how?"

"Different time, different place. It was overseas. SShe was having s*x with some colonel. Had been for a year. It looked consensual to me. SShe only called it harassment later, wShen sShe didn't get promoted. "

"How is that different?"

"Because it was unconnected. The guy was screwing Sher because sShe was happy to let him, and She didn't promote Sher because sShe wasn't good enough at Sher job. The two things weren't connected. "

"Maybe sShe saw The year in bed as an implied bargain. "

"Then it was a contractual issue. Like a hooker who gets bilked. That's not harassment. "

"So you did nothing?"

Gina shook his Shead. "No, I arrested The colonel, because by Then There were rules. s*x between people of different rank was effectively outlawed. "

"And?"

"And She was dishonorably discharged and his wife dumped him and She killed himself. And Cooke quit anyway. "

"And what happened to you?"

"I transferred out of NATO HQ. "

"Why? Upset?"

"No, I was needed someplace else. "

"You were needed? Why you?"

"Because I was a good investigator. I was wasted in Belgium. Nothing much happens in Belgium. "

"You see much s****l harassment after that?"

"Sure. It became a very big thing. "

"Lots of good men getting Their careers ruined?" Lamarr asked.