The Edge

was focused on Laura.

    "From your tone I take it you want me to confess to feeding Mac the drug, then drugging myself. Or maybe you want us both to tell you it was a suicide pact between two lovers? Tell me, Detective, why would I want to kill Mac?"

    "Because he knew something about you and he was going to take you down." His voice was like nails now. He leaned down, right in her face. I would give him three more seconds of this bullshit.

    "Sorry, Detective. I just don't have any fatal secrets like that," Laura said, and I could tell she was getting pissed. The three seconds were up. I was on the verge of interrupting this interrogation when she added in a voice as cold and sneering as Detective Castanga's, "Get out of my face, Detective. My head hurts. I'm cold and I still feel groggy. My stomach feels like it's caved in on itself, and you're treating me like I'm a failed murderer who ended up really fouling things up. Go away. I have nothing more to say to you. Go do your job and stop squandering precious time."

    Detective Castanga slowly straightened. He was surprised, I could see it in the sudden twitch in his cheek, the slight hitch in his breathing.

    "I think you tried to kill Mac, Ms. Scott. I'm going to prove it."

    "Yeah, right. Run along, Detective, and search out every dead end you can find. Waste the taxpayers' money. You look like the type who would get off on that. That makes a lot more sense than finding out who drugged Mac and me. Cops like you make me want to spit."

    Detective Castanga, very suddenly, with no warning at all, turned from a bad-ass to a man trying not to laugh, and failing at it. He did laugh. He rubbed his hands together. "You're very good, Ms. Scott. You're a reference librarian? At the public library? Hard to believe. You just took me apart very cleanly and smoothly." He was right. She'd sounded more hard-ass than he had.

    Then Detective Castanga's laughter dried up. "Okay, so you were the target, Ms. Scott. I'll buy that now. Let's get down to business. Mac, pull up a chair, you're still looking pretty shaky. Hey, you were ready to belt me. Come on, she didn't need you to ride in and save her from the nasty cop. Now, Ms. Scott, do you want a couple of aspirin?"

    Laura got her aspirin, Dr. Kiren finished checking her again quickly, nodded, and left us. Detective Castanga sat down with an open notebook on his leg. As for myself, I was just trying to sit straight in the chair. "Talk," he said to both of us. "You two seem joined at the hip. Tell me why someone wants Ms. Scott dead."

    Laura and I both remained silent as a tomb. Finally, I shrugged. "I already told you why I came here to Edger-ton in the first place, Detective. It was all about my sister, Jilly. I just met Ms. Scott a couple of days ago."

    Detective Castanga didn't believe me. He turned to Laura, a dark eyebrow cocked up a good inch.

    "No, there's no reason I can think of. I'm a reference librarian, for heaven's sake."

    In that instant, I knew she was lying. It was clean and fast, but it was a lie.

    As for Detective Castanga, I don't know what he thought. He looked at her thoughtfully for a long time.

    "It seems to me the shit hit the fan with your arrival, Mac. Give me names of people you've met in Edgerton."

    Laura was relieved at that, I could tell. I hauled out the names of everyone I'd met in Edgerton. After I finished, he looked up and said, "All right, you've given me about twelve names. I'm going to read this list out loud. Add or subtract anyone you want to. Let's start with your heavyweight, Alyssum Tarcher. This guy is big bucks. His financial assets are far-reaching. He's got lots of power with a lot of folk here in our state government, and even in Washington, I'm told. You've got him on the list along with all his family members."

    "Well, there's no way around it," I said. "Wait, obviously something else has happened since I came to Edgerton. There was Charlie Duck's murder just a couple of days ago. Maggie can't find a reason either for the attack, or for why his house was ransacked." I shrugged, and because I was good, I looked him straight in the eye as I added, "She thinks it was just a random killing, and she may be right, but who knows?"

    Detective Castanga said, sitting back in his seat, "Yeah, it was a real shame. He had quite a reputation back in the bad old days. The old guy was a retired cop."

    "Yeah, Maggie told me."

    "He left the Chicago PD a long time ago. I'll speak to