kind?”
“They’re instead of a lineup. It used to be we’d put you in the room with that big window you see in the movies and trot out a row of guys. Now we show you photos.”
“It would be better if you showed me silhouettes.”
“Yeah, well, we can’t use those in court.”
“I was just saying—”
“I know, but we’re back on the record. Our little heart-to-heart is over.”
A moment later the door opened, and Marla looked in. Behind her a cop with a manila envelope said, “This is the place. Go on in there and take a seat.”
Rainey said, “Stevens, did Franklin hand those shots off on you?”
“I guess he did.”
“Well, that’s not important now. Let’s see what we got.”
Stevens approached the desk and patted his midsection, which had pretty much the normal swell for a middle-aged guy. “I can always use a walk, Sarge. I don’t mind.”
“Either our little alpha up there stops trying to take over or I’m going to march him by the ear into a cold shower.” He took the envelope from Stevens and thanked him.
Stevens looked at Marla and me. “You want a coffee? Soda pop?”
We said we were good. He looked at Rainey, who put up a hand. Stevens pointed at Marla, said, “Thanks for coming in,” and closed the door behind him.
Rainey said, “He’ll make some kid a wonderful grandfather.”
Marla said, “Yes, he’s nice.” I could tell she’d missed his point.
Rainey emptied the envelope onto his desk and pushed a dozen photographs toward us. “Just go through and take a good look at each face.”
I gathered up the shots, and Rainey said, “Come on, Jim. You have to share. Your wife was at the scene too. If I turn you loose and my boss asks me if both of you looked at the shots, and I say no, he’ll make us go through it again. So each of you, look at the shots, and we’ll be out of here in no time.” He looked at his watch. “Believe it or not, I have to get some sleep too.”
I laid out the photos and pretended to study them. I gave my full attention to each before moving on to the next, recognizing none of the faces. Marla looked at each one but paid less attention.
At the end we looked up, and Rainey said, “Nothing?”
We shook our heads.
“Well, I’ve taken up too much of your time.” He pushed back from his desk and stood. “You know what I’m going to say, but I’ll say it anyway. You have my card. If you think of anything else, give me a call.”
I stood at the bedroom window and said, “What did they do?”
Marla joined me from behind, sliding her hands under my arms and interlacing her fingers across my chest. She pressed her mouth into my shoulder as we looked down at our dead car beside the curb. The police cruiser that had dropped us off had left a while ago. It was four in the morning, and the world outside was as still as a painting. The session with Rainey had me sleepless, my head buzzing from the verbal tennis match. Marla can sleep anywhere for any length of time, and I could tell she was exhausted, but she stayed up with me.
She said, “I don’t know. I stayed by the phone like a good little girl.”
I bumped her pelvis with my butt. “Come on. It must have been strange. What did they do?”
“They just stood there like it was okay for their truck to leave without them. Like it wasn’t theirs.” After a pause she said, “Which, I mean, did you think about that? What if it wasn’t theirs?”
“There wasn’t a lot of thinking going on for a while. It was only after I wrecked it that I figured anything out. But Rainey said these guys won’t drive around in stolen vehicles looking to steal another one.” She accepted this with a nod. I gave it a moment before asking what had happened next.
She said, “Well, you took off in the truck, and the one in the street walked a short way after you, then just stood there. The other one jumped out of the Camry, and they kind of barked at each other, and suddenly they both ran up the street, which was when I heard sirens. I went downstairs and met the cops at the sidewalk. Two more cop cars went by without slowing down, lights going—no sirens on those—and the neighbors started showing up. I told the cop who questioned me—that guy Stevens—that I stayed by the phone and didn’t see anything. I’m pretty sure he believed me.”
“That’s good because Rainey didn’t even pretend to believe me. He said he didn’t care, but I’m pretty sure he thinks I took the truck.”
I was looking down at our car, trying to picture it—trying to imagine any earlier activity out there at all. Marla dropped her arms down around my waist, holding my belly. I’m self-conscious about the softness of my midsection when it’s relaxed, but tonight for some reason it seemed okay that I was showing signs of middle age. I was doing better than Stevens, though not by as much as I would have liked.
She said, “Are you in trouble with him?”
“Rainey? I don’t think so. I believed him when he said he didn’t care. In fact, that might have been the only truth told tonight.” Even this wasn’t true because he had certainly been telling the truth when he’d said the situation might go all the way. Nonboring.
She said, “You were so smooth. It was like a dream, especially from up here, not being able to hear much of anything. At first I didn’t think it was you …” she was picturing it, “because you were on the other side of the street, and I didn’t see how you got there. And mostly you were in the shadows and behind the parked cars, sliding along. But then you were right across from them, and I almost pounded on the window to distract them from seeing you. Then you were inside the truck, and it moved up the street, and you were gone.”
“Not the brightest thing I ever did.”
She gave me a warm squeeze, and I was reminded that I’m not very good at seeing myself through her eyes. Then she gave me a different kind of squeeze and said, “You shouldn’t have left me here like that.”
“I know. I’m sorry. That’s one of the things I figured out on my way back. I shouldn’t have taken the truck either, but leaving you alone was worse. I still like the idea of getting the plate number.”
She brought a hand up and patted me on the chest. “And I still like the idea of letting the cops handle it.”
We stood there for a while.
I said, “On my way home I realized the car thieves wouldn’t be hiding as I walked by because the cops would still be in the area, looking for them. Then it occurred to me that the cops should still be looking for me.”
“I told them you were probably hiding. Rainey asked if I was sure you didn’t take the truck, and I said you would never do anything like that. Then he asked me for like the third time if I looked out the window. He said it seemed more natural for me to want to see what was happening—with you out there and all—but I told him I was afraid they would look up and see me.”
“That guy figures stuff out like lightning.”
“He told me they probably wouldn’t chase you—they would want to just get the hell out of there. And all I could do was stand there and think how …”
“Stupid the whole thing was?”
She said, “I was going to say risky. How unlike you it seemed.”
“Okay, but it felt pretty stupid.”
“I’m not sure I’d—”
“I mean the kind you spell with two o’s. Stoopid.”
She