Scam

you. See how it goes.”
    MacAullif blinked. “You mean there’s something else?”
    “In a way.”
    “Well, you think you could figure out what way? Because, believe it or not, I happen to have my own case load.”
    “If I’m boring you, I can go.”
    “Don’t be an asshole. I’m just tellin’ you I’m pressed for time, so, whatever it is, stop dancing around and come out with it.”
    “Okay, but it’s hard, ’cause it’s just a feeling.”
    “Oh, Jesus.”
    “No, it’s real, MacAullif. Christ, didn’t you ever go on a feeling?”
    “Don’t get me started.”
    “Okay, here’s the bit. After we find the girl, Belcher comes out and questions me. And the gloves are off and the mask is down. No pretense, he’s telling me straight out I’m fucked. And that he’s the one fuckin’ me.”
    “Yeah,” MacAullif said. “Well, if it’s just you and him, so what?”
    “Exactly,” I said. “It’s what I’ve been waiting for. For him to drop the pretense and acknowledge what’s going on. Instead of playing games. So he does, and that’s fine.”
    “And that bothers you?”
    “No, like I say, it’s what I was waiting for. But after he does, he starts grilling me about the girl. And everything he’s saying is like I killed her.”
    “Yes, of course. If it’s the same gun, now he’s framing you for that too.”
    “Yeah, I know. But that’s not it. The thing is—and this is what blew my mind—he’s questioning me like he really thought I did it. You see what I mean?”
    MacAullif frowned. “Not exactly. What are you trying to say?”
    “Just that. I got the impression, when Belcher was questioning me about the girl, that he thought I really might have done it. Which doesn’t compute somehow. Not with him framing me.” I shrugged my shoulders, spread my arms. “I mean, if he’s framing me, he knows I’m innocent because he knows I’m being framed.”
    MacAullif thought that over. “Yes and no.”
    I groaned. “Oh, great. You wanna elaborate on that?”
    “Yes, he knows he’s framin’ you,” MacAullif said. “But that don’t mean you didn’t do it. I mean, try the concept. Belcher shows up at the crime scene. Finds the murder weapon, shoves it in his pocket. When you show up, he plants it in your car. He does that to frame you. But he has no idea who actually committed the crime. So, it could be you just as well as anybody else. In his own mind, the fact he’s framed you doesn’t make you any less likely a suspect. You see what I mean?”
    “I suppose so.”
    “Hey, you don’t have to like these theories. I just throw them out for what they’re worth. But you want an explanation for him grillin’ you about the girl. The way I see it, that’s it.”
    “You think he seriously considers me a suspect? A real suspect, I mean?”
    “I don’t think he did when he framed you. But the way things stand now? Think about it. Ever since he framed you, all you’ve done is run around meddling in the case. Granted, it’s a no-win situation—you’re framed, so you gotta meddle, and meddling makes you look guilty. With all your runnin’ around talking to witnesses. And then you lead him right to the girl and she’s dead. Well, hell, you’d start lookin’ like a pretty good suspect to me too.”
    “Thanks a lot.”
    “You can see that, can’t you?”
    “I suppose so. It just bothers me.”
    “Hell, everything bothers you. You’re an analyst’s dream. If I were a shrink, I’d make a fortune off you, retire to the Bahamas.”
    “I haven’t got a fortune.”
    “Too bad. Is that it now? Or you got another homicide you’d like to throw at me?”
    “I was hoping for some help with this one.”
    “You were hopin’ that yesterday. I give you the girl, and this is the thanks I get.”
    “She wasn’t in the best condition.”
    “There are no guarantees.”
    “You don’t have another suggestion?”
    “What, I’m supposed to solve this case? You don’t have any theories of your own?”
    “I got theories. It’s just the more people dead, the harder they are to confirm.”
    “So, what’s your theory?”
    “I go back to square one. Cranston Pritchert claims he’s being set up. Apparently, that’s a lie. But what if it’s not? What if at least part of what he told me is true?”
    “What if it is?”
    “Then what was the original scam? That’s the question I need answered. That’s what I hoped the girl would know. With her dead, it gets