Ah, but she was not quite done with him yet. ‘Charles?’

He stopped. She knew he would. There was a bruised and battered look about him when he turned to face her. Was he wondering how far ahead she had planned for this moment?

‘I’m sorry. I wanted it to be Parris or Loman,’ said the queen of all liars, and only Lars Geldorf believed her. The door closed on Charles Butler, and the old man’s sole source of comfort was gone.

The room was colder now.

‘I never set eyes on Natalie’s son,’ said Geldorf.

‘That’s probably what kept him alive,’ said Mallory.

The old man turned to Riker. ‘Help me out here. I’m telling you, I never – ’

‘Lars – don’t,’ said Riker, deadpan. ‘It’s over. Why would the kid lie?’

‘My apologies.’ Mallory smiled. ‘I thought you botched this case because you were such a lousy detective. In fact, you were the one who fed me that line.’ She picked up the small square Polaroids of the old crime scene, then dealt them out across the desk like playing cards. ‘I know why Parris isn’t in these shots. He was only in that room for two seconds. And you?’ She stacked the photographs into a neat deck. ‘You’re not in them because you took all the pictures that night.’

‘I could’ve told you that!’ said Geldorf.

She held up the empty film carton. ‘This always bothered me. The scarecrow left one at every hanging. It had nothing to do with Natalie’s murder – only her crime scene. This one’s twenty years old. The boy found it in the hall while you were shooting pictures of his dead mother.’ She dropped the film box on the desk. ‘A little something to remember you by.’

‘And now it makes sense,’ said Riker. ‘The kid’s family always knew a cop killed his mother. We wondered how a six-year-old would recognize a cop in street clothes. We thought that narrowed it down to Parris or Loman – the uniforms.’

‘The scarecrow set us straight,’ said Mallory, lying as easily as she drew breath. ‘When he watched you shoot those pictures of his mother, he knew you were police. And that was his second look at you.’

Geldorf sat back in his chair and grinned. ‘You guys are good, but you can’t scam the master. I invented this little game you’re playing. You got nothiri’.’ He stood up and buttoned his jacket. ‘Try this on some other sucker.’

‘Not so fast, Lars.’ The man was stunned when Riker put both hands on his shoulders and forced him back into the chair. ‘We haven’t booked you yet. The charge is murder.’

And that charge hung on a pack of lies told by a fly on the wall.

‘All those sausages,’ said Mallory. ‘Too many for one person, remember? Natalie was making dinner for her son. The boy was in the bathroom while you were killing his mother. We always figured the perp was someone she knew.’

‘Her ex-husband!’ Geldorf shouted this in the tone of, Are you blind?

‘No,’ said Riker. ‘He was Natalie’s^irsf stalker. Then he met his new wife and the harassment stopped. You were the one who left the notes under her door. You scared her right back to the stationhouse – back to you. What a joke. You and that beautiful girl. Even twenty years ago, you were twice her age.’

‘You didn’t expect Natalie to be home that night,’ said Mallory. ‘She was always at work when you stopped by with your love letters. She caught you leaving that last one under her door. That’s why the boy didn’t hear any conversation before you killed his mother.

How could you explain a thing like that?’

Riker was on his way through the door, saying, ‘I’ll tell the boss it’s a wrap.’

And Mallory continued, ‘He said his mother reached for the frying pan and dropped it. Then she tripped and fell. That’s when she hit her head on the stove. She was out cold, but you thought she was shamming. You pulled her through a puddle of grease, and then you rolled her on her back.’

Were Geldorf s eyes a little wider? Yes.

‘She was coming to,’ said Mallory. ‘Were you afraid she’d scream? Is that why you wrapped your hands around her throat and crushed the life out of her?’

Jack Coffey was standing in the doorway. ‘Is that when you panicked, old man?’ He walked into the room and tossed a pad of paper to Mallory. ‘That’s Loman’s statement.’

Geldorf craned his neck to read the upside-down lines of longhand on the top sheet. ‘Loman? The other – ’

‘Alan Parris’s ex-partner.’ Riker strolled into the room, smiling. ‘He rolled over on you, Lars. He claims you tried to bury this case, concealing evidence and – ’

‘I was protecting my evidence!’

‘Well, it’s your word against his.’ Mallory looked up from her reading. ‘And he’s a lieutenant.’ Though Loman’s statement was worthless, only repeating Geldorf s own story of misleading reporters, she said, ‘And that’s it. We’re done.’

Coffey cleared the evidence from the desk, sweeping it into the carton, packing up the debris of the day. The lieutenant paused to hand her a slip of paper. ‘I don’t recognize this witness.’

‘That’s the landlady’s granddaughter, Alice White. She saw a man steal the rope and duct tape out of the handyman’s tool chest.’ Another lie, another nail. ‘She’s on the way in for a photo ID.’ Mallory picked up the photograph of Geldorf and casually dropped it into the box. ‘She’ll testify that Natalie’s son was in that apartment for two days. Just his dead mother for company – and the flies, the roaches. No wonder that little boy went psycho.’ In an echo of Susan Qualen, she said, ‘Who do you call when a cop kills your mother? The cops?’ She turned to Geldorf ‘He told us the buzz of the flies was deafening, but he was only six years old. I guess the noise got louder as he got older.’

‘You have the right to remain silent,’ said Riker, pulling out his Miranda card, preparing for the last formality that would allow their suspect to call for a lawyer.

They were cutting the timing very fine.

Mallory snatched the card away from her partner and handed it to Geldorf. ‘Look, it’s been a long night. You know all the words. Just sign the damn thing, okay?’ She held out the pen, and Geldorf accepted it like thousands of felons before him. So natural to take an object when it’s offered. But now he only stared at the card.

Planning to lawyer up, old man?

In a preemptive strike, she slapped the desk. ‘Sign the card! Bring on the lawyers!’

They were coming to the closing shots – almost done, for Geldorf must realize that no deal was in the offering, and this was the sign of a case with abundant evidence. He began to shrink, shoulders slumping, hunching. His hands were rising, as if to beg. ‘I loved that woman. I grieved for her. Natalie was – ’ He had lost his train of thought, his reason; he had lost everything. The old man bowed his head, and Mallory strained to catch the mumbled words, ‘I was a good cop once. That’s worth – something.’

She stared at him, incredulous. ‘You were expecting a deal?’

‘I don’t care if he was a cop.’ Jack Coffey lifted the carton and feigned impatience. ‘We’re not gonna offer him any – ’

‘It’s my case.’ Mallory turned to Geldorf. ‘I know what you’re thinking, old man. All that embarrassment to the department. And saving the city the cost of a trial – that should be worth something, too, right?’

Geldorf nodded.

Jack Coffey dumped the carton on the floor, saying, ‘Keep it simple, Mallory. I’m not giving him the moon.’

She leaned forward, eyes trained on Geldorf. ‘This is the best deal – the only deal you get. The state won’t request the death penalty. No cameras, no media circus, and the real story never leaves this room. If you waive a trial, we can probably get the DA to push your arraignment through night court – quietly.’ In fact, the arrangements had already been approved. Sentencing would follow in the morning. ‘All the standard perks for an ex-cop, and you’ll do fifteen years in prison.’ A life sentence for a man of seventy-five.