Criminal

Kitty was renting out her apartment to the other girls.”
    “I guess she gets that entrepreneurial spirit from her father.”
    “The next logical step would be to interrogate Andrew Treadwell and Hank Bennett.”
    “Or, we could flap our hands and fly to the moon.”
    “We should go back to Trey Callahan at the Union Mission. Juice said that he’s friends with the guy who runs the soup kitchen.”
    Evelyn’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Is it just me, or does everyone lie to us?”
    “They lie to the men, too. No one tells you the truth if you have a badge.”
    “Well, I suppose we should tell Betty Friedan we’ve finally achieved some parity.”
    Amanda smiled.
    “We should talk to the soup kitchen guy, too.”
    “We still don’t know who Butch’s CI is. Someone at Techwood identified Jane Delray as Lucy Bennett.”
    Evelyn took a clean sheet of paper out of her desk drawer. “Okay, first thing tomorrow: Union Mission, then the soup kitchen, then Techwood to show around the photographs of the girls. Do you think we could sneak a picture of Hank Bennett?” She tapped her pen on the desk. “I know a gal over at the driver’s license bureau. I bet we can get his photograph that way.”
    Amanda looked at her friend. She was showing the same mixture of excitement and purpose that Amanda had felt all week. Something about working this case made them forget the danger involved. She said, “Two people warned me off this today.”
    “Landry?”
    “Three, then. Holly Scott and Deena Coolidge. They both told me that I was crazy to be doing this.”
    Evelyn chewed her lip. She didn’t have to say that the women were right.
    Amanda asked, “Are we really going to keep doing this?”
    Evelyn stared back at her rather than respond. They both knew that they should stop. They both knew what was on the line. Not just their jobs. Their lives. Their futures. If they were fired from the police force, no one else would hire them. They would be pariahs.
    “Girls!” Bill Mitchell called. “Supper’s on.”
    Evelyn stood up. She squeezed Amanda’s hand. “Pretend it’s wonderful, whatever it is.”
    Amanda didn’t know whether Evelyn was referring to Bill’s supper or the mess they were getting themselves into. Either way, she couldn’t help but feel admiration as she followed the other woman into the hallway. Evelyn was either the most upbeat person the world had ever offered or the most delusional.
    “Ladies.” Kenny was standing beside the hi-fi with a record in his hands. “What’s your pleasure?”
    Evelyn smiled back at Amanda as she headed toward the kitchen, leaving her to answer the question.
    Kenny suggested, “Skynyrd? Allman Brothers? Clapton?”
    Amanda figured she might as well get this out of the way. “I’m sorry to say I’m more Sinatra.”
    “Do you know that I saw him at Madison Square Garden last year?” Kenny smiled at her surprise. “I flew up to New York just to see the show. I was three rows back. He came into the ring like a champ and belted on for hours.” Kenny thumbed through the record collection. “Here you go. I let Bill borrow this six months ago. I doubt he’s even looked at it.” Kenny showed her the record sleeve. The Main Event—Live .
    Bill called, “Dinner’s getting cold.”
    Amanda waited for Kenny to put on the record. The overture played softly through the speakers. Kenny held out his arm and escorted her to the dining room. Evelyn was sitting in her husband’s lap. He patted her bottom. She kissed him before getting up. “Amanda, the wine is lovely.” She took a hefty sip from her glass. “You shouldn’t have.”
    “I’m glad it’s palatable. I had a feeling the man at the store was misleading me.”
    “I’m sure you’re an excellent sommelier.” Kenny pulled out a chair. Amanda sat down, letting her purse slide to the floor. Kenny’s hand brushed across her shoulder before he sat down opposite his brother.
    Amanda held her wineglass to her mouth as she exhaled a breath of air between her lips.
    Bill asked, “What were you two gals up to? Should I be worried you’re going to wallpaper the house with construction paper?”
    “Maybe.” Evelyn raised an eyebrow as she took another sip of wine. “We’ve got this case that’s probably going to get us both fired.”
    “More time with my gal,” Bill exclaimed. He hardly seemed worried as he stabbed a dry-looking piece of roast and put it on her plate. “Have you been mouthing