I know, myself included, laugh when something is funny, and Laurie does as well. But she also laughs when she is experiencing something that she thinks is wonderful, and at those times it’s an uninhibited, unrestrained laugh that sounds as good as it must feel.
I have other, different physical reactions after sex, but they are competing. I get simultaneously sleepy and hungry, and the only way to satisfy both would be to set up an intravenous system in the bedroom. One of the problems with this is I don’t think M&M’s and Oreos come in liquid form, so I’ll just have to wait for medical science to figure it out.
For tonight, hunger wins out, and I trudge down to the kitchen for a snack. Since I am psychologically incapable of being alone in a room without the television on, I turn on the little one on the kitchen counter.
CNN comes on, with a “Breaking News” banner across the screen. This no longer has the significance that it used to; in a desire to attract viewers surfing through channels, news stations have latched on to these kinds of banners as a way of getting the surfers to stop. So breaking news can be anything from the start of a war to an unusually large rainfall near Topeka.
This one gets my attention immediately, since I recognize a street in Paterson. The street is filled with police, and the helicopter shot clearly shows a body lying in the center of it all, covered by a sheet. I turn up the sound and hear the announcer say that the victim is a reputed mobster, allegedly a member of the Petrone family in North Jersey.
This is no doubt part of a developing war between Quintana and Petrone, and the first shot fired in revenge for the killing of Paul Moreno.
I turn off the television and go upstairs without eating anything. I also find that once I get into bed, I can no longer sleep. Since I can’t do the two things I usually do after sex, I try to copy Laurie and laugh. I can’t do that either.
If Quintana has his way, I could be the next one lying on the street with a sheet over me.
Murders take the fun out of everything.
I fall asleep at about two o’clock, and the alarm wakes me at six. I groan and tell a sleeping Tara to get the newspaper. She groans slightly and stretches, dog talk for “Get it yourself, asshole.”
The two stories on the front page of Vince’s paper are the Quintana break-in at my house and the murder of one of Petrone’s lieutenants. My story is the more prominent, and when I turn on the television news, the same is true there. Such is the media power of the Schilling trial that a failed break-in is considered more newsworthy than a successful murder.
The phone starts ringing, and Laurie helps out by dealing with the onslaught of media requests for interviews. I take a few of the calls, easily enough to keep the story going full blast.
Before I get to court, I call Adam and ask for an update. He’s learned the cause of death in each of the cases: There are five heart attacks, an ocean drowning, a hit-and-run, and Matt Lane’s hunting accident. None was considered murder by the police who investigated each death, and the only one that attracted criminal attention was the hit-and-run. The driver is still at large.
I can hear the disappointment in Adam’s voice; he doesn’t think he’s accomplished much, but he’s not understanding the significance of it. Five heart attacks in men this age seems an impossibility and therefore ominous. Adam wants his discoveries to solve the case. I don’t share his goal; if these deaths turn out to be related, it will likely be a disaster for Kenny.
I suggest to Adam that he give Sam Willis another assignment. By accessing Kenny’s records, especially his credit cards, I want to know where Kenny was when each of these people died. It’s a sign that I don’t trust my client, but I don’t want to just take his word for things. I want the absolute facts. Besides, assuming he wasn’t involved in these deaths, he would have no way of remembering where he was at specific times over the years.
Before Dylan calls his first witness, Harrison calls us into his chambers. He has seen the news reports and wants to know if I am concerned for my safety. If so,