by Parnell Hall
“You’re no such thing. I don’t know what you are. You’re the most remarkable woman I’ve ever met.”
“What girl doesn’t want to hear that.”
“Oh, for God’s sake. We were fine until that son of a bitch screwed it up. He screwed it up. He meant to screw it up. He did it deliberately. That’s why he left the puzzle at my ex-wife’s house.”
Cora opened her mouth.
“Yes, I said ‘ex-wife.’ You want me to call her my wife? She hasn’t been that in fifteen years. What’s legal’s not important.”
“Sort of a strange position for a cop.”
Crowley smiled ruefully. “I knew it the minute I said it. You know what I mean. The thing is, it’s a shame to let him win.”
“Oh, you sweet-talking man. Be still my heart.”
The early-morning Bakerhaven street was bustling. Cora couldn’t remember it so crowded. Or maybe she’d never tried to have a personal conversation outside the police station before. But she’d become increasingly aware of people around her. On the sidewalk in front of Cushman’s Bake Shop, the usual crowd was hanging out, including young mothers with strollers. She was glad Sherry wasn’t among them. That would be more that she could bear.
But there were people she knew. First Selectman Iris Cooper, for instance, waved to her. Cora didn’t want to be outwardly rude, but she didn’t want to invite Iris over. Her answering wave was as discouraging as possible.
Cora turned back to Crowley. “You’re saying nothing happened?”
“What do you mean, ‘happened’?”
“You’re saying you want to go on as before.”
“Well, you gotta understand,” Crowley said. He broke off, grimaced.
“I get it,” Cora said. “You live in the city. I live in the town. The case is over. There’s no reason for us to see each other anymore. You gotta get back to work. You have other cases. Even if you don’t have other women. Which you may, but giving you the benefit of the doubt.”
“Cora…”
“That’s the situation, isn’t it? I don’t mean the other women. I mean the getting back to work. It’s like you said, our relationship has run its course. The polite thing to do is say good-bye. Maybe we’ll see each other again someday, and maybe we won’t. Forcing it now would be one of those big mistakes people make when they think they’re doing the right thing. And they’re doing it for all the wrong reasons and they resent it, so they wind up resenting each other. And on and on down the slippery slope to divorce. Only we’re lucky. We don’t need a divorce. We can simply shake hands and walk away.”
Cora wanted very much to do that, because she couldn’t keep the conversation going without breaking down, making an unseemly public display of herself.
The scene was getting more public by the minute. Dan Finley had driven up, and Chief Harper had come out the front door to meet him. They stood on the sidewalk talking.
While Cora watched, Dr. Barney Nathan came out of Cushman’s Bake Shop holding a latte and a scone.
Cora couldn’t take it. She turned back to Crowley, held out her hand. “So,” she said. “I guess this is good-bye.”
Crowley looked at her hand, but he didn’t take it. He looked back up at her.
“Aw, hell,” Crowley said.
He took her in his arms, and kissed her in front of half the town.
Also by Parnell Hall
Arsenic and Old Puzzles
$10,000 in Small, Unmarked Puzzles
The KenKen Killings
The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady
Dead Man’s Puzzle
The Sudoku Puzzle Murders
You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled
Stalking the Puzzle Lady
And a Puzzle to Die On
With This Puzzle, I Thee Kill
A Puzzle in a Pear Tree
Puzzled to Death
Last Puzzle & Testament
A Clue for the Puzzle Lady
About the Author
Edgar, Shamus, and Lefty finalist Parnell Hall is the author of the Puzzle Lady crossword puzzle mysteries, the Stanley Hastings private eye novels, and the Steve Winslow courtroom dramas. An actor, screenwriter, and former private investigator, Hall lives in New York City. Visit him online at www.parnellhall.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A THOMAS DUNNE BOOK FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
NYPD PUZZLE. Copyright © 2014 by Parnell Hall. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.minotaurbooks.com
Jacket design and illustration by Young Jin Kim
ISBN 9781250027160
First Edition: January 2014