Inherit the Dead

truth. It didn’t bother him that it would be an ugly street brawl of a trial. What did was the knowledge that he couldn’t win—on any level. The fix was in, the truth didn’t matter, and it probably would never even be known, given the kind of press coverage he’d get. So ultimately, he’d declined. But in the process, he’d learned a few things about employment discrimination cases—as the man squirming across from him had just found out the hard way.
    Loki licked his lips and rubbed his hands on his thighs. “Uh . . . no, not really. I guess you could say I handled the less . . . complicated cases.”
    Or, Perry thought, you could say that Loki is a bald-faced liar. But Loki’s nervous retreat made it clear he knew he’d been busted. All to the good. Nothing like a little shaming to inspire honesty. “How’d you and Julia cross paths?”
    Loki’s eyes darted anxiously around the room, managing to hit everywhere but the place where Perry was sitting. “A dinner for new associates. I started out at Schilling, Stearns and Castleman.”
    Perry recognized the name. It was a high-power, multinational corporate firm. The kind only Harvard Law grads with big connects got into. The kind that represented those Goliath corporations Loki had just declaimed.
    “So you met Julia shortly after you passed the bar?”
    Loki took a deep breath and stretched his legs. “Yep. Married for thirty-two glorious, fun-filled years.” Though Loki said it with a tinge of irony, his voice held no rancor. In fact, Perry thought, his tone seemed a little wistful.
    “Whose idea was it, the divorce?”
    Loki turned toward the fire. Without meeting Perry’s eyes, he replied, “It was what you might call a mutually agreed upon parting of the ways.”
    Should Perry pursue the issue? Loki and Julia Drusilla’s relationship might be relevant to Angel’s disappearance, but then again, it might not. Before he could make up his mind, Loki leaned forward, his face tight. “Look, you’re not, like, a real cop anymore, right?”
    Perry tried not to wince. The admission still had the power to wound. “No.”
    “It’s just that, this whole situation . . . it’s got me kind of stressed out. I really need to power down, man.”
    “Have at it,” Perry said. Relaxed meant talkative. Fine by him.
    Loki moved to the fireplace and reached under a framed photo of the Beatles (autographed by all four) walking barefoot at Abbey Road. It swung open to reveal a safelike cavity. Only there were no stock certificates or bundles of cash. There was just a large-size ziplock baggie of weed, an assortment of pipes, and one multicolored, blown-glass bong. Loki took out a small brass pipe and held up the baggie in silent invitation.
    Apparently Norman Loki had exchanged the booze for the bong.
    Perry’d always hated the stuff. It made him paranoid. And slow. And it stank. “No, thanks. But by all means . . . ”
    After three long, loving tokes, Loki slid back in his chair and put his feet up. His eyes were red but a lot less darty. “Now where were we?”
    “We were just chatting about what caused your divorce.”
    “Oh, right.” That wistful tone again. “Let’s just say we found we had one too many things in common.”
    Perry waited, hoping the old trick of silence would make Loki jump in to fill the gap. But Loki wasn’t jumping anywhere. His gaze drifted complacently over Perry’s right shoulder and out through thewindow to the dark ocean. Perry sighed. Note to self: next time a witness says he needs to relax, hum something by Enya.
    “I understand Angel’s been missing for two weeks?”
    “Yeah.” Loki pulled his attention back with an effort. “Last time I saw her, she said she was going up to Hartford to see a showing with Lilith.”
    “Does Lilith have a last name?”
    “Bates. She’s Angel’s latest BFF.”
    Perry would follow up on that shortly. “And what was the showing of?”
    “Art. Something modern, I think. Lilith is an artist.” Loki’s mouth curved in a smirk. “ ‘She don’t look back.’ ” He glanced at Perry. “That’s—”
    “Bob Dylan, yeah, I know. Did Angel tell you where they were staying up there?”
    Loki’s expression sobered. “I know where she said they were staying. The Sheraton. But when I couldn’t reach her on her cell, I called the hotel, and they said no one by that name had ever checked in.”
    “I assume you also checked under Lilith’s name.”
    Loki gave Perry a look