“Right. A house, an apartment, somewhere near the highway. Or from a car.”
“Exactly. But if he’d been living in the area, it’s likely someone would have seen him walking around in his underwear, something I’m sure the investigating officer looked into. Someone would have come forward with information. This may be Miami, but men don’t walk along the highway in their underwear every day. I believe he was in a car. That someone let him out or pushed him.”
“Well, Miss Montague, I actually believe the same thing. Maybe there was an argument, and in his drugged state, he just got out and started walking. Maybe he was with his supplier, and in that case, the guy sure as hell wasn’t going to hang around to see what happened.”
“Then again, maybe someone pushed him out on the highway, assuming he’d be killed.”
“A murderer who assumes his victim will be killed?”
She stood her ground. “I’m sure it’s happened.”
He turned and started walking again. She followed. “You must have an inkling something was wrong or else you wouldn’t have come here.”
He stopped again. “It’s a strange enough story. But I wasn’t blowing smoke when I said I have a full plate at the moment. I’ll talk to Carnegie—he’s the lead officer on this case—and find out what I can. But you need to remember this. You’re not even a patrol cop yet. You’re in the academy. Don’t go thinking you’re Detective Sipowicz, okay? You could be walking into danger you’re not experienced enough to deal with.”
“So,” she said triumphantly, “you do think—”
He stopped again, impatient. “I think that if he was involved with heavy drugs, you could get yourself in a mess. Remember where we are. A lot of the worst stuff that goes down here goes down because of drugs. So if you want to help your friend, visit him when you can, keep your nose to the grindstone in your classes and leave the investigating to experienced officers.”
Ashley walked ahead of him. “Yes, sir, Detective Dilessio.” She reached the door to the hospital parking garage. “But since the experienced officers are really busy and don’t believe in Stuart the way that I do, I’ve hit a bit of a wall, haven’t I?”
“Carnegie is good,” he said flatly. “Look, Ashley, you go with what you’ve got. It’s not unusual that most people are going to think your friend got into drugs—his bloodstream was filled with heroin when he came in here. So don’t get angry because people look at the case from that angle. Maybe what you’re saying is true. If so, we’ll find that out. We’re not magicians, but we do come up with the answers even in the really tough cases, most of the time. So have a little faith, all right?”
“Of course,” she said stiffly.
He opened the door. She led the way to her car, used the remote to spring the locks and got in, all too aware of him sitting next to her. It bugged her to realize she was being incredibly precise with every move she made as a driver, just because he was in the car. She jerked to a stop at the booth to pay, wincing as she did so. Shit. The guy was going to think she wasn’t even capable of driving.
He hadn’t said a word by the time they reached the road. To break the awkward silence, she asked, “So…how do you like your new slip?”
“It’s great. Convenient. I’m not much of a cook, so it’s good to have the restaurant right there.”
“I guess you’ve known Nick a long time.”
“Seven or eight years.”
“I’m surprised I didn’t know you…. Well, I’d seen you a few times, I guess. You’ve been coming into Nick’s that long?”
He shrugged. “Sunday afternoons now and then, but not too often, really.”
“I know most of the cops who come in, and when I was applying to the academy, they were helpful. I’m surprised Nick didn’t tell me to talk to you.”
“I probably wasn’t around, and if I had been, I might not have encouraged you.”
“Oh?”
He didn’t reply. And he’d just started to seem so human.
“You don’t think women should be on the force?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then what are you saying?” she persisted.
He turned to her, studying her in the shadows, in the flash and glare of the streetlights. “Maybe you’re not the type,” he told her. “You’re persistent—”
“I’d think that’s a plus,” she murmured.
“Persistence needs to come with patience. It’s a team effort out there on the streets. You don’t seem too willing to let your teammates carry the ball.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you should keep your nose out of this investigation. Don’t go hanging out in bad neighborhoods thinking you’re going to find the key that unlocks the case. You’re not ready for that kind of investigation. Trust people to do their jobs.”
She stared straight ahead at the road. “Because that’s how you are, right? That’s why you can’t even eat dinner without a file open in front of you.”