down Mina Alarid or sheâd called the paper herself. The article didnât say. There wasnât much I hadnât already heard from Martha or Saia, except that Mina Alarid was specific about what sheâd seen, a late-model gray American car, driving up and down her street the weekend before the accident. Sheâd be a good witness for the prosecution.
******
When I got to Marthaâs town house at five-twenty, Dan Rather was on the TV, trying not to look too pleased that some third-world disaster had upped his ratings. Martha had stuck pink Post-it notes all over the back of the doorâher shopping lists. One of them fell to the floor when she opened the door to let me in. I picked it up and handed it to her. Vodka and peas, it said.
She already had the vodka. It was in the glass in her hand, with two olives and, maybe, a splash of vermouth. It hadnât made her any happier with her attorney. She still looked at me as though I was a delinquent teenager, although one whoâd gotten old enough, at least, to drink. She asked me if Iâd like one.
The answer was yes, but would I accept one? âNo,â I said; we had business to discuss.
Gunga Dan finished the news and signed off with a smarmy smile. Martha hit the remote and got rid of him. I sat down on the chintz sofa, took out my yellow legal pad and prepared to start my interrogatories, but Martha spoke first.
âDid you see the paper?â
âYes.â
She was still fuming. âItâs outrageous that Mina Alarid is permitted to make statements like that.â
âYour car is a late-model Buick?â
âYes.â
âWhat color is it?â
âGray. That doesnât mean anything. There must be thousands of late-model gray cars out there.â
âYou didnât drive by Minaâs house that weekend? Not even once?â
âAbsolutely not.â Martha put her drink down on a coaster, aligned her vertebrae and looked me right in the eye. Her eyes didnât wander to the left or the right, the way the eyes of a person with a guilty conscience might. Either she was telling the truth and didnât have a guilty conscience or she lied better than most. âYou did talk to the DAâs office, didnât you?â
âI did.â
âWhat did they say?â
âThe police are investigating. Deputy DA Anthony Saia, who is handling the case, is considering whether to file charges.â
âWhat charges is he talking about?â
âSecond-degree murder or vehicular homicide.â
âWhat are the penalties for those?â
âA maximum of nine years and ten thousand dollars for second-degree, three years and five thousand dollars for vehicular homicide.â
Martha picked up her drink and took a large sip. âAnd if I was driving while under the influence?â
âMost likely vehicular homicide. Thereâs something I need to get straight with you right off,â I said, âand that is I donât enjoy getting surprises from the DAâs office or from the newspaper either. What I learn about you I want to learn from you, not from somebody else.â
âOh?â Martha said.
âFor starters, Saia told me that your grandson was killed on Halloween three years ago and that Justine Virga was driving the car. Youâre the one who should have told me that.â
âI was very close to my grandson. He was living with me when he died. I ⦠I find it difficult to talk about him.â
âSaia also told me that Justine was driving Michaelâs Porsche.â
âThatâs right; she was.â
âWhere did Michael get a Porsche?â
âHis father gave it to him.â That didnât sound like the Emilio Velásquez Iâd known, but I let it pass for the moment.
âAbout your Buickâdoes anyone have access to the keys?â
âNo. I never give the keys to anyone, not even