A Knight at the Opera (30 page)

Swain took control of the situation. "It doesn't matter, Joe. Mr. Larsen always
seems to be one step ahead of us. Besides, I believe I know exactly why he's here." He
looked over at me. "You want to make a deal, right?"

"Let's just say I want to discuss her situation," I said. "She understands that the
police have been looking for her, but she's been afraid to come forward in light of the
events that have taken place since Mr. Markowsky's death."

Swain said, "She admits that she was with him at the opera?"

"She does."

"Does she admit that she provided Rohypnol to him?"

"No. She didn't do that."

"Let me rephrase," he said. "We know that he procured the drug himself. You
were right, by the way. It was Pennington's son who acquired the pills. That was one of the
reasons he was willing to make a deal with us. We aren't going to charge his son with any
felonies. What I'm asking is, does Ms. Piper admit that she administered the drug to the
victim?"

"No. He administered it to himself."

"Oh?" He directed his next question at my new client. "Ms. Piper, did you see him
do that?"

She pursed her lips, looking pensive. "Well, I saw him drink a glass of wine. If the
drug was in there, then I guess I saw him when he drank it."

"But you didn't put it in there?"

"No." She looked for a moment as though she was going to say more, but then
she stopped. "No, I most definitely did not."

Stone said, "Don't play word games, with us. You switched glasses on him, didn't
you?"

"I don't know. I really don't. He tried to get fresh with me and pulled me up
against him, right there in front of everyone. I reached over for my drink, thinking I could
throw it in his face if he didn't stop. I wasn't looking at the table when I did that. I guess I
could have accidently grabbed the wrong glass. But, honestly, I don't know." That was one
of the surprises Rawlings had come up with.

And I had to admit, she was persuasive.

"Accidentally grabbed the wrong glass?" Stone said, not bothering to conceal his
disbelief.

"Accidentally," she asserted, with a wide-eyed, Little Bow Peep nod. "I would
never try to drug anyone."

Swain was taking this all in. Like Stone, he looked dubious. "What about after the
intermission? What happened?"

"He tried to get fresh again, and I didn't like that. I pretended I was enjoying the
opera and waited until there was a scene where everybody was singing on stage. Then I got
up and left."

"What condition was he in when you left?"

"As far as I knew, he was fine. I really didn't look at him. I just stood up and
walked out. I was afraid he might make a scene."

"I see," Swain said, with his habitual nod. "What were you doing there with him
at the opera?"

"I was his escort," she answered, as though it was perfectly obvious. "We're a
temp firm for professionals. That's what we do. But sometimes, someone will hire one of us
just to be their date at some event."

Swain said, "'Date' in what sense?"

She stared blankly at him, as though she didn't understand. "Date. As in two
people going out together. That's all there is to it. Nothing more."

Stone leaned forward aggressively. "I don't believe you."

She drew herself up. "I am a professional. I don't have sex with people for
hire."

Swain had heard enough. He asked Stone, "Is there any point in
continuing?"

"No," Stone conceded. "We couldn't prove a damn thing."

Swain turned to me. "What jury would convict her, knowing that Markowsky
would have been just fine if Pennington hadn't pushed him over the balcony?"

"None that I can imagine," I said, trying not to look smug.

But that was how I felt.

Stone said, "Get out of here, Larsen."

* * * *

When I got back to the office, Diana handed me a thick stack of phone messages.
"Interview requests. CNN, MSNBC, Fox News. Even Howard Stern."

"Not interested," I told her. "Have we heard anything from Maurice?"

"He called about an hour ago."

"How's he doing?"

"Oh, just fine," she said, with a twinkle in her eyes. "Evidently, his friend Robin is
there, nursing him back to health. He said he'll check in on Monday."

I smiled. "I won't bother him over the weekend."

"I would say definitely not." She gestured toward the clock on the wall behind
her desk. "Speaking of which, you've wreaked your share of havoc for one week. Why don't
you leave early and spend some time with Jana?"

I thought it over. "Thanks. I will. But first I need to make one more phone call." I
walked over to the phone in the reception area and called Joyce.

She sounded jubilant. "I almost didn't answer. But I saw your number pop up on
caller I.D."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Everything. My phone's been ringing off the hook. All sorts of people want to
interview me. Someone wants to buy the rights to my life story. There was even one
marriage proposal. It's a bit overwhelming."

"If you want my advice, don't get caught up in all the hoopla. It's fleeting."

"No, I'm pretty well grounded," she assured me. "I won't let any of this go to my
head. Are there any new developments?"

"Yes." I told her about my meeting with the DA.

"I'm glad that woman isn't going to be in trouble. It sounds like she was just as
much of a victim as Karl was. By the way, Larry Barbereau called me this morning. He
wanted to know if I still want to come work for PMBT."

"Oh? What did you tell him?"

"What do you think? I told him to go fuck himself."

I laughed. "How did he take it?"

"Not well. He's obviously regretting the deal we made. It is a pity that I can't
work for them, though. I'd like to start doing something productive again."

"Good timing," I told her. "Have you ever heard of the McCormick family?"

"Well, there was a Robin McCormick at my high school, but I barely knew her.
She was two years ahead of me. Why--"

"Call her," I said. "I'll get you her number. She's looking for someone to run her
finance department. I have a feeling you're that person."

"Really?"

"Really. Meanwhile, I'll be calling Gretchen's attorney, to demand that he cancel
the hearing in the probate case and withdraw that letter he sent to the life insurance
company." I leaned back in my chair and smiled. "That's one call I won't be billing you
for."

Kenneth L. Levinson is the managing partner of the law firm of Balaban,
Levinson & Costigan, P.C., focusing on real estate, litigation and the defense of
professional liability claims. An avid collector of early mystery novels, he is also a guitarist
and songwriter who has written more than 500 songs.
A Knight At The Opera
is the
fifth of Adam Larsen mystery series.

* * * *

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