Page 58 of The Secret Dinner

“Aren’t you going to take a seat?” he asked.

“I’d rather stand.”

Amóz shrugged and took a small notepad from his pocket.

“Do you have a vehicle registered in your name?”

“Yes.”

“A black Ford Focus, license plate RMC2209?”

“That’s right.”

“Funny, because I checked the registration with the DMV and they told me the vehicle with RMC2209 plates is burgundy, not black.”

I gulped.

“There must be some mistake in the system.”

“Mistake?” He raised his eyes from the notepad and fixed them on me. “Are you the one driving the vehicle?”

“My friends and I … we’re four roommates, and we share the car.”

“Can you call your friends in here, please?”

“Unfortunately, two of them aren’t home right now.”

“And the other one’s my boyfriend,” Cora interjected. “But he’s asleep, sir.”

It was only then that Detective Amóz seemed to notice her presence. His eyes lit up briefly as they took in her plump thighs and perky breasts, only to dim again when they returned to his notepad.

“Do you want me to go wake him up?” I asked, uncomfortable with the silence.

“No need. Can you tell me where you were last Friday afternoon?”

He placed his glass on the coffee table and waved his left hand in the air, as if shooing away a fly.

“Friday, let me think … Ah! I was here, at home, cooking dinner for some friends.”

“Can anyone confirm this?”

“I can,” said Cora. “Everybody was here, getting things ready for the dinner.”

“Nobody went out at any time?”

“I don’t think so, Officer,” I said.

“I’m a detective, not a police officer.”

“Sorry, Detective.” I didn’t like the tone of this conversation one bit and decided to switch to the offensive. Innocent people tend to be more fearless. “What’s with all the questions?”

“We received a report. Last Friday, around one PM, a homeless man was run over near Largo do Machado by a black Ford Focus with the license plate RMC2209. The driver came to the man’s aid, but there was no record of him at any emergency room in any hospital in the region.”

“Whoa, that’s insane!” Cora said. “So, the man’s family has been looking and can’t find him?”

“No, ma’am. It was an anonymous tip.”

Cora beamed, seemingly thrilled at being called ma’am.