“I don’t know what to say about that,” I said, real quick-before they realized they’d told me something I didn’t know. I’d already been in a lineup, but I’d just been guessing about the mug-shot book.
So I kept going: “I mean, I’ve been in lineups where I was the only white guy on the stage, but this one was fair. Hell, a couple of those guys looked enough like me to be my twin brother.”
The black cop laughed. Not the first time he’d heard that one, I guessed. “Probably so,” he said. “Only thing is-”
“Yeah, I know. They were cops, right? And no cop ever did a rape.”
They looked at each other for a second-just a quick glance. I was walking pretty close to the edge of their line with that last one. They must have had some way of signaling each other. Or maybe they’d worked together so long they didn’t need to.
“But you didn’t ask for your phone call,” the black cop said. “Which means you think you’ve got a shot at getting us to buy your story.”
Yeah, I was right-he was smart, just like his partner. Maybe I would get that shot. “It’s no story,” I said, making sure I didn’t sound resentful.
“You know what would turn it for you, Caine?” the older one said. “An alibi. That would pretty much trump our ace.”
I’d been hoping for something else, but I rolled with the punch, and tried again. “For you, or for a jury?”
“For you,” he hit back. “You know there’s no point giving us a piece of cellophane-that’d just make it worse. But you give us a real alibi, we’ll check it out. Check it out deep. Turn it upside down and sideways. If there’s a hole in it, we’ll find it; trust me on that. But if you’re telling the truth-and, like I said, I kind of think you just might be-that’d be good for you.”
It’s not just the hard eight; now I’m down to my third throw, I thought. Why wouldn’t they just ask me to take a-?
The older cop broke into my thoughts. “Here’s the good part for you, Caine. It’s not only you who knows how good we’d check out your alibi-the DA knows it, too. Believe me, my partner and me tell them your alibi’s rock-solid, no way those Ivy League wimps are going to take a chance on messing up their conviction rate.”