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"It’s all right, nurse," Detective Canavan says, flipping open his wallet and showing her his badge "He’s with me"

"I don’t care if he’s with the Royal Acade back here"

"Have a cannoli," Cooper says, producing one fro The nurse stares at him like he’s insane

"No, really," Cooper says "Have one On usted, the nurse takes the cannoli, chos, then eyes the detective with undisguised hostility

"Well, if it isn’t the NYPD’s biggest dick," he says

"Cooper!" I’ hs bitterly, then stabs an index finger at the wide-eyed detective "Well, let , Canavan There is no way all six cables to an elevator cab could snap at the same time unless someone deliberately--"

"Cooper!" I cry, but Detective Canavan is chuckling

"Siar at us "We already established that a second atteirlfriend here Nobody’s sayin’ what happened with the elevator was an accident Keep your shirt on I’m on your side"

Cooper blinks a few ti like, "She’s not irlfriend" Only he doesn’t Instead he says, "The tuna salad didn’t look fresh I got you salami instead"

"Wow," I say Cooper hands , at least Not that there’s anything wrong with that

Detective Canavan peers at the s Cooper has scattered about "Got any chips in there?" he wants to know

"Sorry" Cooper unwrapsit up into bite-sized pieces, since I can’t hold anything real well "Olive?"

Detective Canavan looks disappointed

"No, thanks So," he says, as if there’d been no interruption "Who told you to get on that elevator?"

I say, speaking with ry to wait, "All I know is, I got a call from the reception desk that Gavin--he’s this kid that lives in the hall--was elevator surfing again, and so I ith Julio to try and chase the kid down"

"Yeah? And when you got up there, what?"

I describe the explosion, which had occurred almost simultaneously with my realization that Gavin wasn’t up there after all

"So," Detective Canavan says "Who told the kid at the desk to call you?"

"We all knoho did this," Cooper says The barely suppressed fury is back in his voice "Why are you just sitting there, Canavan, instead of arresting hiton He’s the killer It’s obvious Heather’s got hi scared"

"I’ll say," Canavan shakes his head "The kid left town last night He’s parked himself out at his folks’ place in the Hamptons No way he could have planted that bomb, not without soirlfriend dead, all right But it ain’t Chris Allington"

24

Tonight is the night

Tonight we’ll get it right