Scam

not keen on the theory.”
    “Me either. Odds are he found the gun at the agent’s house.”
    “I should think so,” MacAullif said.
    “So he finds the gun, conceals it, doesn’t tell anyone, and sends for me.”
    “You arriving in your car, as he might expect.” MacAullif looked at me. “How does he know which car is yours?”
    “He asked me.”
    “Oh?”
    “He asked me for everything, even the license plate. Presumably so he could get the warrant. But actually, so he could find the car and plant the gun.”
    “He plant the gun before or after he got the warrant?”
    “Before.”
    “How do you know?”
    “Because he didn’t do it himself. Search the car, I mean. When he got the warrant, he asked me for the keys, gave them to a cop, and sent him out to search the car. The cop came back with the gun.”
    “Wait a minute. He asked you for the keys?”
    “Yeah.”
    “So the car was locked. That would make it harder to plant the gun.”
    I frowned. “Yeah.”
    “But not impossible,” MacAullif said. “He’s a cop, he can get in a car door just fine. He could have a jimmy or a set of keys.”
    “That’s not it,” I said.
    “Oh?”
    “It just occurred to me.”
    “What?”
    “I’m not sure I locked the door.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    “No. It’s a crime scene. There’s cops all around. I drove up, stopped the car, and got out. I know I didn’t set my code alarm. I may not have even locked the door.”
    “Jesus Christ.”
    “Well, how the hell was I to know?”
    “Because I told you, putz,” MacAullif said. “I told you not to mess around with this. I told you to be on your guard.”
    “MacAullif. I know I fucked up. The question is, what do I do now?”
    “You shouldn’t do anything. That’s the whole problem. Everything you do, you just get in deeper.”
    “I’m charged with two murders. How deep can you get?”
    “How does convicted grab you?”
    “Don’t even joke.”
    “Who’s joking? You think Belcher will stand pat? Planting a weapon makes for a strong case, but not necessarily a convicting one. The prosecutor needs more evidence, you can bet Belcher’s gonna get it for him.”
    “How?”
    “He’ll make it up, just like he did with the gun. The thing is, every step you take gives him that much more to play with.”
    “So what the hell do I do?”
    “I’ll tell you what you don’t do.”
    “What’s that?”
    “You don’t try to prove Belcher, framed you.”
    I frowned. “Why not?”
    “For starters, you can’t do it. And that’s just for starters.”
    “Why can’t I do it?”
    “Because you’re a moron.”
    “MacAullif—”
    “You’re a moron to even think you could. Have you stopped to consider what you’re up against?”
    “I know it’s tough.”
    “You don’t know shit. You’re dealing with a cop. Believe me, this one isn’t dumb. How do I know? I know because he’s still a cop. And to pull the type of shit he pulls and keep his shield, the guy is on the ball.”
    “So he’s smart. So what?”
    “So he’s smart enough to know what you can prove and what you can’t. He plants a gun on you, it’s a crude obvious frame, but try to prove it. What argument can you make?”
    “Argument?”
    “Yeah. Sell me. How do you know the guy planted the gun?”
    “I know he did because I didn’t put it there.”
    MacAullif made a noise like a buzzer. “Blah. Sorry. Self-serving declaration. Of no evidentiary value in court. You have to remember we’re not trying to convince you, we’re trying to convince an ordinary human being who doesn’t happen to be you. So let’s start again. How do you know the guy planted the gun?”
    “He had the opportunity. He asked me to describe my car.”
    “That was so he could get a warrant.”
    “Fine, but it gave him the opportunity.”
    “Okay, say he had the opportunity. Why would he do it? What’s his motive?”
    “To get me.”
    “Why does he want to get you?”
    “You know why.”
    “Sure I do,” MacAullif said. “But you wanna start proving it in court? You wanna try to prove the guy has a grudge against me, you’re a friend of mine, and therefore he’s out to get you? Even if you could prove that—and that’s a big if—you think that’s the type of thing I’d like to hear aired in court?”
    “Oh, so I’m supposed to take a murder rap so as not to hurt your feelings?”
    “Don’t be a schmuck,” MacAullif said. “I’m just trying to tell you, trying to prove he