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He looked at her standing by the table they’d secured, her eyes up on the TV screen in the corner, which was running constant coverage of the arrests She earing a thin, low-cut sweater and tight blue jeans She cut quite a figure She’d been a volleyball star at SIU and, more than ten years later, still had her athletic physique The tae kwon do and boxing classes she took probably helped, too So did the halfabout all the stuff Kate did

But not tonight He wasn’t tired He was buzzing, like Kate, from the arrests He always told hiardless—but he couldn’t deny hiht

People kept corats and their jokes about the rew cruder as the booze continued to flow At one point he turned toward Kate and saw Wizniewski, the Wiz, with his ar into her ear Kate had a smile planted on her face, but Billy knew her as well as anyone did He could see frorin that she would sooner have an enema than deal with the Wiz’s flirtation

Oh, the Wiz The sa the arrests in the first place, the politician as afraid that this bust ht upset the status quo, who turned around and took full credit with the deputy superintendent, and here he was yucking it up with the brass as if he were just one of the guys

“There you are The man of the hour”

Mike Goldberger—Goldie—in the flesh Goldie was a pretty low-key guy who, unlike Billy and his pals, didn’t do a lot of drinking and carousing, so it was unusual to see him at the Hole

“Don’t get too drunk,” he said, wagging a finger at Billy “You could be part of a presser tomorrow”

It had occurred to Billy that the press conferences would continue over the next few days, but he was pretty sure Wiznieould be the one standing behind the police superintendent, not him

“How you feelin’ about everything?” Goldie asked “Tonight The bust go okay?”

Billy nodded “I think so Pretty by-the-book No question I had PC”

“Okay” Goldie didn’t seem surprised Probable cause to search was a low barrier “Nothing unusual?”

“The mayor tried to bribe me”

Goldie recoiled “Seriously?”

“Well, he was on his way to it He said maybe we could work on that pension problem we have Maybe, if I let hi our cost-of-living adjustments”

“You shoulda said yes,” Goldie said with a straight face