Shallow Graves

restore—“
    Zuppone said, “Bradley, Bradley. You interrupt, you might miss something important.“
    Winningham just stared at him.
    I said, “You’ve got the chips to do it, Brad. Over the course of a career, a man like you squirrels away a lot of chips. Haul them out and play them, Brad. See to it that everybody who matters agrees that closing the investigation office in Boston would be a real mistake. See to it that Harry is taken care of with the job he’s got for as long as he wants it.“
    “You don’t understand. There’s no way I—“
    Primo made a sizzling sound through his teeth. The sound of something being cooked.
    Winningham looked at him and then to me. Then he nodded again.
    I stood up. “That ought to do it, Brad. I’ll send my bill through Harry. See ya ‘round the quad, huh?“

    Out on Fifth, Zuppone flicked the toothpick into the gutter at the curb. The traffic was flowing pretty smoothly, lots of taxis just cruising.
    I said, “Want to head back?“
    Primo reached into a pocket. “Little while now, I’m gonna be pretty hungry.“
    “There’ll be a caf6 car on the train.“
    Zuppone made a face, then stuck a fresh toothpick in it. “Tell you what, I know a good restaurant.“ He pointed downtown. “On Mott Street by Hester.“
    “Stay over, you mean?“
    “Yeah. We go to a hotel for the night, or we can crash with some friends of mine, we need to.“
    “I like the hotel better.“
    “Sure, sure.“
    “Primo?“
    “Yeah?“
    “What kind of restaurant is this?“
    The toothpick moved from one corner to the other. “What kind.“
    Zuppone turned from me with the half-laugh and raised his hand to hail a cab.

JEREMIAH HEALY is a professor at the New England School of Law. A former president of the Private Eye Writers of America, he has earned eight Shamus Award nominations, most recently for Foursome. RESCUE is the tenth novel in his acclaimed series featuring John Francis Cuddy. Previous entries include the Shamus Award-winner The Staked Goat, along with Blunt Darts, So Like Sleep, Swan Dive, Yesterday’s News, Right to Die, Shallow Graves, Foursome, and Act of God. His next Cuddy mystery, Invasion of Privacy, will soon be published in hardcover by Pocket Books.