“Good evening,” I politely said. “What a pleasant coincidence.”
“Kay, what a surprise,” she said in a flat voice. “How are you? So you’ve discovered Richmond’s little secret”
“By now, I know most of Richmond’s little secrets;” I said with irony. “There are many of them if you know where to look.”
“I stay away from red meat as much as possible.” Bray switched conversational lanes. “But their fish is very good.”
“That’s like going to a whorehouse and playing solitaire,” Marino remarked.
Bray ignored him and tried to stare me down with no success. I’d learned from many years of warring with bad employees, dishonest defense attorneys and ruthless politicians that if I stated between a person’s eyes, he didn’t know I wasn’t, in fact, staring into his eyes, and I could keep up the intimidation all day.
“I’m eating dinner here;” she said as if she were distracted and in a hurry.
“We’ll wait until your guest shows up;” Marino said. “Sure don’t want you sitting alone out here in the dark or being bothered inside. Truth is, Deputy Chief Bray, you shouldn’t be roaming around without security, as recognizable as you’ve gotten to be since you moved here. You’ve kind of gotten to be a celebrity, you know.”
“I’m not meeting anyone,” she said, irritation honing her tone.
“We’ve never had a woman so high up in the department, especially one so attractive and so loved by the media.” Marino wouldn’t shut up.
She collected her pocketbook and mail off the seat, her cold anger palpable.
“Now if you’ll please excuse me?” She said it as an order.
“It’s not going to be easy to get a table tonight,’ l let her know as she opened her door. “Unless you have a reservation,” I added, implying I knew damn well she didn’t.
Bray’s poise and self-confidence slipped just enough to unmask the evil coiling within. Her eyes struck at me, then revealed nothing as she climbed out of the car and Marino blocked her way. She couldn’t get past him without ducking around him and brushing against him, and her enormous ego would never allow that.
She was almost pinned against the door of her shiny new car. It didn’t escape my notice that she was dressed in corduroys, running shoes, and a Richmond Police Department jacket. Vain woman that she was, she would never show up in a fine restaurant dressed like that.
“Excuse me,” she said loudly to Marino.
“Oh gee, I’m sorry,” he gushed, stepping to one side.
I chose my next words carefully. I “could not directly accuse her, but I intended to make sure she knew she’d gotten away with nothing and if she persisted in her ambushes, she would lose and she would pay.
“You’re an investigator,” I thoughtfully said to her. “Maybe you can tell me your opinion on how someone might have gotten hold of my password and e-mailed messages, impersonating me. And then someone-most likely the same person-started an asinine, lobotomized chat room on the Internet called Dear Dr. Kay.”
“How awful. I’m sorry, I can’t help you. Computers are not my specialty;” she said with a smile.
Her eyes were dark holes, her teeth flashing like steel blades in the glow of sodium lights.
“All I can suggest is you look at the people closest to you, perhaps someone disgruntled, a friend you’ve fallen out with,” she continued her act. “I really have no idea, but I would expect it’s someone with a link to you. I’ve heard your niece is an expert in computers. Maybe she could help you.”
Her mention of Lucy infuriated me.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to her,” Bray said as a by-theway. “You know, we’re implementing COMPSTAT and need a computer expert.”
COMPSTAT, or computer-driven statistics, was a new model of enlightened, technologically advanced policing devised by the New York Police Department. Computer experts would be needed for it, but to suggest a project like that for someone with Lucy’s skills and experience was an insult.
“You might pass this along to her when you talk next,” Bray- added.
Marino’s rage was boiling like water in a pot.
“We really should sit down sometime, Kay, and let me tell you about some of my experiences in Washington,” she said as if I had never worked anywhere but in a small town. “You can’t even begin to know the things people will try to bring you down. Especially women against the women, sabotage in the workplace. I’ve seen the best topple.”